Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) was born in London, the son of a Congregational minister. He joined the Baptist church in 1850 after his conversion and began preaching immediately. Demonstrating powerful skills as an orator he filled the small chapels he spoke in to capacity. In the 1850s, while a vast new church was being built for him, he preached to audiences approaching 10,000 people at the Surrey Music Hall. When the Metropolitan Tabernacle was completed in 1861 it held over 6,000 and could be used for numerous church-related and mission outreach functions, a new concept in that day. Among his many accomplishments was the creation of a monthly magazine, The Sword and Trowel; the publication of over 2,000 sermons and numerous books, including Commenting and Commentaries; the establishment of the Stockwell Orphanage, which housed 500 children; the creation of the Colportage Society to distribute books, tracts, and Bibles; and the establishment of a pastor’s college.
Impact: Spurgeon and the Metropolitan Tabernacle are synonymous with nineteenth-century evangelicalism and his paraphrased writing continues to sell widely.