William was born at the very beginning of the 20th century. He was never taken to a place of worship until he was 8 years old. Aged 12 a sensitive Sunday school teacher asked him if he wanted to become a disciple of Jesus.* I spluttered out my little prayer. I had one merit . I meant it.*
In his autobiography he wrote * I believe I was born to be a minister I felt the pressure of a directing hand upon me from my tenderest years. *
He fought in the WW1. Army life tested him and deepened him. He did a 4 year course at college. After he was ordained he ministered in Bognor, Colwyn Bay Liverpool and Scarborough attracting large congregations in each place. In 1936 he became the minister at Brunswick Church, Leeds.
The out break of WW11 found him senior minster at Westminster Hall, the cathedral of Methodism. The hall held 3,000 and was full, mornings and evenings for the next 16 years to listen to him preach his 30-45 minute sermons. The basement became an air raid shelter. His family for 5 years lived on the hazardous ground floor - they slept nightly in the smelly men’s washroom. 450,00 found refuge in the basement.
In 1949 William was elected president of the Methodist Conference of Great Britain. His two fold agenda was evangelism and spiritual deepening.
In 1955 he was appointed head of the Home Mission Department of the Methodist Church.
He wrote and published 3 invaluable books on preaching The Craft of the Sermon, The Approach to preaching, Power in Preaching
Numerous engagements on behalf of International Methodism took him around the world and several times to the USA. While lecturing In Texas he had difficulty swallowing and walking. He was diagnosed with progressive muscular atrophy. Towards the end it was even difficult to lift the finger of his right hand. After a two year struggle he died on May 24th 1960.
His life had been to serve one passion *O let me commend my savior to you *
William was one of the top 10 preachers of the 20th century.
Sources used
The 10 Greatest preachers of the 20th century Michael Duduit
Preaching.com
oChristian .com
WikiTree
EThos e-theses online sevices
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