Our Connection to John Bunyan

Tap on the insightful documentary below to discover how St Johns Church is connected to John Bunyan as explained by Dr Peter Morden & Andrew Harrison. The documentary also highlights his beginnings in the parish of Elstow, within Elstow Abbey, his imprisonment in Bedford County Jail, the significance of his literary success and his life after prison as a pastor at The Independent Church on Mill Street in Bedford as well as the importance of the John Bunyan Musuem also on Mill Street in Bedford.

Who was John Bunyan?

Early Life & Spiritual Journey:

• Humble beginnings: Bunyan was born in Elstow, Bedfordshire, in 1628 and followed in his father's footsteps as a tinker, but rebelled against God.
• Military Service: He served in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War, likely at Newport Pagnell. His time in the army provided him with military language that later influenced his writing, and exposed him to the diverse religious ideas of the time.
• Spiritual Awakening: Bunyan experienced a profound spiritual crisis and conversion in the early 1650s. He was deeply affected by a sermon and the conversations of some pious women, leading him to abandon his pastimes and join the Bedford Meeting, a nonconformist congregation, in 1653.
• Preaching and imprisonment: Bunyan's natural talent for preaching quickly made him a recognized leader among nonconformists. However, after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, nonconformist worship was suppressed, leading to his arrest and imprisonment in Bedford Gaol in 1661 for refusing to stop preaching without a license. 

Years of Imprisonment & Literary work:

• Years in prison: Bunyan spent a total of 12 years in prison during his first incarceration (1661-1672) and a further 6 months in 1677.
• Prison writings: During his imprisonment, Bunyan wrote extensively, including his spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666), and the first part of The Pilgrim's Progress. It is believed he made and sold shoelaces to support his family while imprisoned.
• Release and continued ministry: Bunyan was released in 1672 under King Charles II's Declaration of Indulgence. He became the pastor of the Bedford Meeting and continued to preach and write. 

Later life & Legacy:

• Later works: Bunyan's later publications include the second part of The Pilgrim's Progress (1684), The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680), and The Holy War (1682). He published ten more books in the final three years of his life, according to Banner of Truth.
• Death and burial: Bunyan died in 1688 after falling ill on a journey to London, and is buried in Bunhill Fields, a nonconformist burial ground in London.
• Enduring influence: The Pilgrim's Progress became a worldwide bestseller, translated into over 200 languages and influencing countless writers and artists. Bunyan's use of allegory and vivid imagery, rooted in his own experiences and the Bible, has resonated with readers for centuries. He is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on August 30.

What was John Bunyan's connection to St John's Church?

John Gifford & The Three Women's Influence:

One day during 1653 John Bunyan whilst walking through Bedford received his spiritual awakening after conversing or overhearing three women, discussing the Mercy of God visiting their souls with the love of the lord Jesus and the new birth in Christ. The women attended our Independent Gospel Church in Bedford which was under the leadership of Rector John Gifford.

Bunyan had discovered the truth but he went through a period of torment searching the scriptures for the assurance of salvation, his mind was questioned and doubted for numerous months regarding his unpardonable sins. He however, found stability when he joined the three women that attended the independent Church at St John's established by John Gifford. Bunyan would refer to his beloved pastor as 'Holy Mr Gifford'.

Mr Gifford himself who was a royalist officer was described as an interesting character with a devious youth similar to John Bunyan, he found religion through puritan books and cleaned up his life. His conversations with Bunyan led the latter to his own conversion. They would often meet in the Rectory one-to-one, which still stands near the church (now local headquarters for St John's Ambulance).

One of the main features of this Independent Church as St John's were that those who attended had a real and living faith who wanted to know Jesus personally and even gave testimonies upon joining the Church, of which to become a member they would have to establish a real testimony of Salvation and how God had worked in their life. For Bunyan himself this was a new approach and something he had not come across before and in doing so, found it very attractive.

Bunyan became a leading supporter of Gifford, and it appears he came to faith following one of Gifford's sermons regarding the love of Christ. Bunyan was excited by the fact he had come to know Jesus, but then quickly began to struggle with doubts whether God loved him personally. (detailed in his book entitlied Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners) Bunyan reaches resolution in the end, through pushing through a greater assurance of salvation over numerous years. 

When the rector died, Bunyan was chosen to replace him as the preacher alongside his preachings elsewhere which he became well known for. It was in this role that Bunyan raised the ire of the authorities. He was eventually arrested and sentenced to three months in prison after the 1660 Cromwell protectorate came to an end and restoration of the monachy begun. In the belief that national unity could only be achieved by religious uniformity, the state attempted to restrain the developing independent congregations by forbidding preaching.

Bunyan was arrested in the hamlet of Samsell just after he had begun a meeting and was held in nearby Harlington Manor over night, before appearing to local justices the next morning whereby he refused to give an assurance not to preach. He remained in the County Gaol for 12 years, there to write numerous literary pieces including his infamous 'The Pilgrims Progress' of which a modern adaptation film can be watched by tapping on the video below. (sources regarding John Bunyan also linked below)

johnbunyansociety.org 

bunyanmeeting.co.uk

englandschristianheritage.org.uk

This Church and Rectory meant more to John Bunyan than any other building now standing. Here he came during the Commonwealth after the Rector had been removed, and Holy Mr Gifford installed with the Bedford Gospel Church (now called Bunyan Meeting). Gifford, a one time royalist major and drunkard, had become, after his conversion to God. the first minister of this Independant Church. Bunyan came to him on the recommendation of three radiant Christian women with whom he used to converse on his rounds as a tinker. Through Mr. Gifford’s ministry he began to enjoy the assurance of Salvation. Here he was received into Church membership about 1653. Here he was made a Deacon. Here after fasting and solemn prayer he was appointed open air preacher for the country and town, On the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, Bunyan was thrown into prison, and the Independant Gospel Church ejected (scripsit from Glyn Phillips, October 1964 - displayed in St John's Church today)