December – Frederick Brotherton Meyer

The Rev. Frederick Brotherton Meyer (April 8, 1847 – March 28, 1929), a contemporary and friend of D. L. Moody was a Baptist pastor and evangelist in England involved in ministry and inner city mission work on both sides of the Atlantic. Author of numerous religious books and articles, many of which remain in print today, he has been described as The Archbishop of the Free Churches.

Frederick Meyer was born in London. He attended Brighton College and graduated from the University of London in 1869. He studied theology at Regent’s Park College.

The Rev F. B. Meyer was part of the Higher Life movement and preached often at the Keswick Convention. He is said to have brought about the closing of hundreds of saloons and brothels.

While in York in the early 1870s F. B. Meyer met the American evangelist Dwight L. Moody, whom he introduced to other chapels, churches, and ministers in England, and by exchange was invited to make several trips to minister in America. The two preachers became lifelong friends.

F. B. Meyer wrote over 40 books, including Christian biographies and devotional commentaries on the Bible. He, along with seven other clergymen, was also a signatory to the London Manifesto asserting that the Second Coming was imminent in 1918.

Meyer began pastoring churches in 1870; his first pastorate was at Pembroke Baptist Chapel in Liverpool, his second at Priory Street Baptist Church in York, 1872. Other churches he pastored were Victoria Road Church in Leicester (1874-1878), Melbourne Hall in Leicester (1878- 1888) and Regent’s Park Chapel in London (1888-1892). In 1895 Meyer went to Christ Church in Lambeth. At the time only 100 people attended the church, but within two years over 2,000 were regularly attending. He stayed there for fifteen years, and then began traveling to preach at conferences and evangelistic services. His evangelistic tours included South Africa and Asia. He also visited the United States and Canada several times. He spent the last few years of his life working as a pastor in England’s churches, but still made trips to North America, including one he made at age 80.

A few days before his death, Meyer wrote the following words to a friend:

I have just heard, to my great surprise, that I have but a few days to live. It may be that before this reaches you, I shall have entered the palace. Don’t trouble to write. We shall meet in the morning.

Books by Meyer:
The Way Into the Holiest: Expositions on the Epistle to the Hebrews, The Secret of Guidance, Our Daily Homily, Christian Living

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