Wilfred Lemuel JARVIS

JARVIS, WILFRED LEMUEL (b. Macclesfield, England, 28 Jan 1895; d. Sydney, NSW, 30 Oct 1977). Baptist evangelist and minister.

Wilfred Jarvis was the fifth child of the Rev A C Jarvis, Baptist minister who emigrated to Australia in 1913. After work as a commercial artist Jarvis was a Home Missions pastor in Queensland, studied briefly at the Baptist College in Victoria (1916) and enlisted in the AIF. After the war Jarvis m. Bessie Stumbles (1919) and became an effective itinerant evangelist working with the Rev John Ridley (q.v.). He had a remarkable range of gifts in art, drama, and music. From 1931-33 he was assistant to Rev C J Tinsley (q.v.) at Stanmore and then became pastor (1933-51) at Central Baptist Church in Sydney.

He revived that church's life and made it a centre of vigorous evangelism. He led the church during its enforced relocation from its Bathurst Street site to 619 George Street in 1937. During the war years Jarvis maintained a remarkable ministry to many visiting servicemen. The membership grew from 187 in 1939 to 333 by the end of the war.

Jarvis enjoyed warm relations with other church leaders but did issue a pamphlet in 1939 which attacked the teaching of Presbyterian theologian Dr Samuel Angus. Jarvis was active in his denomination serving as president of Baptist Union of NSW (1939/40), president-general of the Baptist Union of Australia (1950-53) and was a vice-president of the Baptist World Alliance (1950-55). He led many evangelistic missions, notably the Christian Commonwealth Crusade, an Australia wide crusade by Baptists in 1947-50. He was honoured with an honorary DD from East Texas Baptist College in 1950. Jarvis was survived by three sons and two daughters.

K R Manley, In the Heart of Sydney Central Baptist Church 1836-1986 (Sydney, 1987)

K R MANLEY