George Verwer through the decades: an appreciation

The impact of George Verwer, the mission pioneer who has just died (see obituary here), was so extensive that for me, as with many others, he has seemed like a constant influence, even though we never met.

My first encounter with his work was when one of the OM ships visited Bristol, where we lived, in the 1970s. To a small boy, the idea of Christians voyaging round the world giving out books seemed an exotic, alluring and rather exciting one, and I still remember the smiles of those serving on the ship.

A few years later I remember sitting under his preaching at St Helen’s, Bishopsgate. In this case, it literally was ‘under’ as we were sat pretty much directly in front of and beneath the pulpit where Verwer was preaching. There was no escape as Verwer held forth at, I think, some considerable length. His talk, memorably, had 13 points, came from Proverbs 5, was delivered with passion and contained (given the chapter’s contents) some quite eye-popping moments for an adolescent boy! The fact that I can remember parts of it all these years later speaks for its power.