Over the past two months, we have been considering the pastoral ministry of Benjamin Beddome at Bourton-on-the-Water.
In the first 15 years or so of his ministry, the church knew revival. But during the 1750s and the first half of the 1760s the numerical growth of the church began to slow. In 1751 the total number of members stood at 180. Between 1752 and 1754 none were added to the church and 15 members were lost through death. In 1755, though, there were 22 individuals who came into the membership of the church by baptism. Another year which saw a large accession to the church was 1764, when 28 new members were added. A good number must have died since the mid-1750s, for in that year the membership stood at 183. But the next 30 years of his ministry saw a decline in the church membership. And by 1795, the year that Beddome died, the church had 123 on the membership roll, 60 less than in 1764.
It is quite clear from letters that Beddome wrote on behalf of the church to the local Baptist association during the last three decades of his ministry that he lamented this lack of growth. The size of the congregation held its own – probably around 500 or 600 – to the end of his life, but that vital step of believer’s baptism leading to full church membership was taken by far fewer in the final three decades of his ministry than in the first two and a half. A prayer written by Beddome well expresses his concern:
