“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Mark 16:15
“Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled”
Luke 14:23
“Proclaim all these words in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them”
Jeremiah 11:6
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Order of Contents
Articles
Books
Quote
Diary
Minister’s Duty for
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Articles
1800’s
Spurgeon, Charles – ‘Open Air Preaching: a Sketch of its History and Remarks Thereon’ 30 paragraphs
Spurgeon, in his characteristic style, shows open-air preaching to be throughout scripture and the best of church history. He also gives some reasons for it along with a few pointers.
Murray, John & Calvin Cummings – ch. 6, ‘The Open-Air Meeting’ in Biblical Evangelism Today: A Symposium, by the Committee on Christian Education of the OPC (1954)
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Books
1800’s
Taylor, William – Seven Years Street Preaching in San Francisco California, Embracing Incidents, Triumphant Death Scenes, etc. (1857) 394 pp.
Flockhart, Robert – The Street Preacher: being the Autobiography of R. Flockhart ed. Thomas Guthrie (1858) 170 pp.
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Quote
1600’s
Samuel Rutherford
The Due Right of Presbyteries… (1644), pt. 2, p. 301
“…for we deny not but some men in office are permitted, yea and commanded to prophesy in public…”
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A Street Preacher’s Diary
Fentiman, Travis – The Chronicles at Greenville Street Preaching
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On the Minister’s Duty for Open-Air Preaching
Quotes
1600’s
Samuel Rutherford
The Due Right of Presbyteries (1644), pt. 2
p. 204
“Answer. First, we hold that by a calling or ordination he is made a pastor; by election he is restricted to be ordinarily the pastor of his flock.
Secondly, a pastor is a pastor of the catholic Church, but he is not a catholic pastor of the catholic Church, as were the apostles.
Thirdly, the Reformed Churches may send pastors to the Indians, for that which Acosta says of Jesuits, we may with better reason say it of our selves: That pastors are as soldiers, and some soldiers are to keep order and remain in a certain place; others run up and down in all places; So some are affixed to a congregation, to feed them; others may be sent to those people who have not heard of the Gospel, which sending is ordinary and lawful in respect of pastors sending and the pastors who are sent, because in pastors, even after the apostles be dead, there remains a general pastoral care for all the Churches of Christ. Thus sending is not ordinary, but extraordinary in respect of those to whom the pastors are sent; yet is it a pastoral sending [as opposed to this being absent in congregationalism in such a case].
…but a pastoral care for the Churches is not proper to apostles only, but only such a pastoral care by special direction from Christ immediately to preach to all, 2. Backed with the gift of tongues and of miracles; and this essentially differences the apostle from the ordinary pastor; but the former pastoral care to preach the Gospel to all nations, and to convert, is common both to the apostle and pastor.”
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pp. 207-8
“It is true, they [the Independents] object that the apostles, Mt. 18, were commanded to preach to all nations, but pastors are not so now, but are commanded to feed the flock over which God has appointed them, Acts 20:28; but it is as true [that] the apostles were commanded to preach to all nations, in opposition to the charge that the prophets of old were to speak to the people of Israel only, and the apostles, Mt. 10, [were] forbidden to preach to the Samaritans and gentiles; and it is as true that God’s Spirit limited the apostles to preach to Macedonia, not to Bithynia;
Now because this particular direction for places is wanting in the Church, it is certain that a man is yet a pastor in office in relation to as many as God’s hand of providence shall send him unto, though he be chosen by a people to feed ordinarily one determinate flock, and though he be not an extraordinary and immediately inspired planter of Churches, or the first planter, as were the apostles, yet is he a pastor in relation to all. And if this be not said:
1. It were simply unlawful for pastors now to plant churches and spread the Gospel to those nations who have not heard it, because all pastors now are ordinary [according to congregationalists], and none are immediately inspired apostles: but it is certain what the apostles did by an extraordinary gift, as such immediately called pastors, it is unlawful for ordinary pastors to attempt to do, as to attempt to speak with tongues, and to plant Churches by speaking with tongues and confirming it with miracles is unlawful. Papists, as Bellarmine, Suarez, Acosta, ascribe this to the Pope and his apostles.
Our divines answer that the apostles that way have no successors; But what the apostles did by an ordinary pastoral gift, as to preach the Word, administrate the Sacraments, to erect and plant Churches by ordinary gifts, where the pastors can speak to the Churches by an ordinary gift in their own language, they are obliged both within and without the congregation, to preach as pastors, because where God gives gifts pastoral to pastors, he commands them to exercise these gifts, else they dig their Lord’s talent in the earth: but God gives to pastors pastoral gifts to preach to others than their own congregation, and to administrate the seals to them also, and to plant churches. Therefore, it is presumed that the Church does give authority and an external ministerial calling to the exercise of these gifts.”
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Rev. Travis Fentiman preaching to the multitudes, Mt. 9:36
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“No sort of defense is needed for preaching out-of-doors; but it would need very potent arguments to prove that a man had done his duty who has never preached beyond the walls of his meeting-house.”
Charles Spurgeon
“Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words… Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved”
Acts 2:14, 21
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