Lionel Bale FLETCHER

FLETCHER, LIONEL BALE (b. West Maitland, NSW, 22 May 1877; d. Mosman, NSW, 19 Feb 1954). Congregational minister and evangelist.

Lionel Fletcher was the eighth child of a family with Methodist connections: his father, John, was a teacher and Methodist lay preacher. His mother was Eliza née Bale. All seven sons were preachers, three were ordained Methodist ministers, including Michael Scott Fletcher, foundation master of Wesley College within the University of Sydney (1916) and professor of philosophy at the University of Queensland (1923-38).

Completing his education at Newington College, Sydney, Fletcher served as an apprentice on the sailing ship Macquarie. He then worked on the land in western NSW with his brother Henry. At Peak Hill on 28 July 1896 he was converted. After a disturbed night he was out riding when words of John Wesley came to him: 'The Spirit Himself beareth witness with my spirit, that I, even I am a child of Cod; that is my sins, even mine, have been blotted out for His name's sake'. He stood in the stirrups and sang for joy. Several influences combined to bring him to a dramatic awareness of his need of divine grace, not the least among which was his brother Henry's gentle chiding of Lionel's manner of life and dominating personality. Friendship with Methodist preachers in the district of Peak Hill also left their imprint on the future evangelist.

In Sydney in Dec 1897 Fletcher attended the evangelical Petersham Conference where Archdeacon Tress' address convinced him that effective Christian ministry is only possible by complete dependence on the power of the Spirit. It was this conviction, Fletcher believed, that decisively influenced his future ministry.

Fletcher married Maude Basham on 24 Jan 1900. An accomplished speaker and musician Maude Fletcher proved a most able partner in Lionel Fletcher's subsequent ministry. Marriage at the age of 23 and the prospect of four years of probation without financial assistance from the Methodist Church for a wife and child led Fletcher to undertake work as a miner and journalist in Charters Towers, Qld.

Returning to Sydney in 1905 the Congregational Union of NSW appointed him as a home mission agent at Campbelltown. Enthusiastically committed to his ministry, he also successfully undertook part-time theological studies and three years later was ordained in the Pitt St Congregational Church.

At both Campbelltown and briefly at Kurri Kurri evangelistic preaching went hand in hand with an active concern for the leisure activities of young men. A growing reputation brought Fletcher to the attention of the influential Port Adelaide Congregational Church where he served 1909-15. When he left it had the largest membership of any Congregational church in Australia. The Chapman and Alexander missions took place in Adelaide during this time. Fletcher introduced their methods to his congregation. In the 1915 referendum in SA he took a leading part in support of six o'clock closing of hotels.

Dramatic success attended his ministry in the Wood St Congregational Church, Cardiff, Wales, during the years 1916-22. Then with his wife sharing the speaking engagements he led the Congregational New Life Campaign throughout Britain, took up the presidency of the CE Union of Great Britain and made a successful preaching tour of the United States. He was now an evangelist with a world-wide reputation.

Beresford St Congregational Church, Auckland, was Fletcher's next pastorate. It experienced a remarkable revival, the membership reaching 800. In 1927 Fletcher instituted his Uncle Leo radio programs for children until in 1930-31 he and his wife were again overseas to conduct the London Youth Evangelistic Campaign. In 1932 Fletcher became the 'Empire Evangelist' for the Movement for World Evangelization until breaking with the movement in 1935 he became the evangelist for the National Council of Evangelical Free Churches.

In 1934, 1936 and 1938 Fletcher was invited to lead evangelistic campaigns in South Africa. Thousands crowded into his meetings, many to make decisions or to rededicate themselves to Christ. In 1941 the Fletchers returned to Australia where he was still in demand as a campaign preacher and as a pastor (he served briefly at Manly Congregational Church). His physical strength was beginning to fail when he returned to New Zealand in 1945 for evangelistic campaigns. The Bible Institute and Seminary of Los Angeles honoured him with a DD in 1951.

Fletcher was particularly influenced by Wilbur Chapman and Charles Alexander. A Cape Town reporter aware of the preacher's fame found on meeting him 'a very ordinary person'. His preaching was practical, relevant, illustrated from everyday life and the very expression of his own biblical and evangelical piety. His pulpit eloquence translated readily into a considerable literary output. The booklet, Step by Step in the Christian Life, reached 100 000 copies. Fletcher had an equally passionate concern for matters of public morality. His emphasis on the power of the gospel to convert the soul and his concern for social well-being were characteristic of the late nineteenth century evangelists in the English-speaking world.

ADB 8; C W Malcolm, Twelve Hours in the Day (London, 1956); Congregational Union of NSW Year Book, 1955: 15; NSW Congregationalist, Apr 1954: 3

SELECT WRITINGS: The Effective Evangelist (London, 1923); Mighty Moments (London, 1931); Refining Fires (Sydney, 1932); Life's Quest and Conquest (London, 1933); The Pathway to the Stars (London, 1933?); Skipper my Chum (London, 1935); After Conversion - What? (London, 1939)

GEOFFREY L BARNES