Jessie Penn-Lewis

Jessie Penn-Lewis
Jessie Penn-Lewis
Born	Jessie Jones; February 28, 1861; Neath
Died	August 15, 1927; London
Nationality	United Kingdom
Occupation	evangelist and writer
Spouse(s)	William Penn-Lewis
Children	none

Jessie Penn-Lewis (28 February 1861 – 15 August 1927) was a Welsh evangelical speaker and the author of a number of Christian evangelical works. Her religious work took her to Russia, Scandinavia, Canada, the United States and India.

Early life

Penn-Lewis was born in Victoria Terrace, Neath in 1861. She was the first child of Heziah and Elias Jones, he being a civil engineer and her family religious.[1] Her grandfather was a Calvinist Methodist minister.[2] When she was young she was said to be sickly and to have an "over active brain" and she was therefore kept from school until she was twelve.[1]

She was married on 15 September 1880 to William Penn-Lewis, a clerk for Sussex County Council.[1] They moved to Richmond, where she attended Holy Trinity Church and helped to establish a Richmond branch of the YWCA.[1] She was an admirer of Henrietta Soltau, a YWCA activist, who supported the China Inland Mission.[3]

Welsh revival

Penn-Lewis was involved in the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival, which led to the mental and physical collapse of Evan Roberts.[4] Penn-Lewis travelled internationally to take her message to audiences in Russia, Scandinavia, Canada, the U.S., and India.[5]

After the breakdown by Roberts, he stayed with the Penn-Lewises from 1905. He and Penn-Lewis wrote War on the Saints, describing how to right Satan and the individual self. This was published in 1912.[1]

Influences

Penn-Lewis was influenced by the Dutch Reformed, South African writer Andrew Murray, among others – her books contain quotes from him and references to his works. Frank Buchman, founder of the Oxford Group, credits Penn-Lewis with helping him to rid his life of depression, when he heard her speak at a Keswick Convention.[6] She also influenced Johan Oscar Smith, the founder of Brunstad Christian Church[7] and the missionary statesman Norman Grubb.[8]

Works

War on The Saints (with Evan Roberts), 1912[1]
The Awakening in Wales & Some of the Hidden Springs
The Spiritual Warfare
The Centrality of the Cross
Thy Hidden Ones
Dying to Live
Conquest of Canaan
Face to Face
All Things New
Story of Job
Fruitful Living
Life in the Spirit
Opened Heavens
The Cross of Calvary
"The Magna Charta of Woman"
Soul and Spirit
The Battle for the Mind
The Warfare with Satan
"Power for Service"

She founded the magazine The Overcomer, which still appears.

References

"Lewis, Jessie Elizabeth Penn- [née Jessie Elizabeth Jones] (1861–1927), missioner and revivalist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/47645. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
Haddad, M. R. (2005): The Mystical theology of Jessie Penn-Lewis (1861-1927), Durham Thesis, Durham University, p. 83. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2708.
"Soltau, Henrietta Eliza (1843–1934), evangelist and promoter of missionary work". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/47063. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
Fisher, G. Richard (2000). "Pressing Truth to the Extreme: The Errors of Jessie Penn-Lewis". Personal Freedom Outreach. Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
Garrard, Mary (2014). Mrs. Penn-Lewis: A Memoir. Shoals, Indiana: Kingsley Press. ISBN 9781937428457.
Selby, Saul (15 September 2000). Twelve Step Christianity: The Christian Roots & Application of the Twelve Steps. Hazelden. p. 208. ISBN 1-56838-561-7.
Lie, Gier (2004). "The Christology Among Smith's Friends: A Misunderstood Impulse from the Keswick Tradition?" (PDF). Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies. 7 (2): 305. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
"Grubb, Norman P. Yes I am". Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2011.