Henry Alline - Ministry

Ministry

Alline immediately revealed his rebirth experience to his parents, which they initially welcome. With his announcement of his need and desire to spread the gospel he came into conflict with them. At this time Alline’s parents where certainly in the sunset of their lives and depended on Henry’s management of the family farm for their welfare. More importantly though they recognized, as did Alline, that under the traditional Congregational churches only appropriately educated and ordained ministers were eligible to preach. This weighted heavily on Alline and in short order he did attempt to sail to New England to seek the appropriate education and training. This was on the eve of the American Revolution and the violent convulsions that began to occur in New England precluded his departure from Nova Scotia.

Despite his misgivings he began preaching in Falmouth, particularly after his neighbors heard he had become a New Light and sought his advice and asked him to lead them in prayer. This again brought him at odds with his parents. They were known to walk out of churches where he began to preach. In 1776 he began preaching at Newport, the township adjacent to Falmouth. His reputation as a gifted spiritual speaker spread and soon crowds were flocking to Falmouth to hear him. That same year both Falmouth and Newport formed churches with his assistance. These churches were anti-Calvinist in nature and generally rejected traditional Congregationalism. By 1777 Alline finally breaks way from his parents and pursues his evangelical ministry on a full-time basis. In 1778 the Horton/Cornwallis townships seek his assistance in establishing a Baptist church. This church was the first Baptist Church in Canada (see Baptists in Canada). The following year this Church along with the Falmouth and Newport Newlight churches ordained him. This act removed one of Alline’s perceived impediments to his right to preach. Interestingly, despite Alline’s assistance in establishing the Horton/Cornwallis Baptist church, it, over a dispute concerning the proper mode of baptism, denied him fellowship.

Until 1783 Alline travelled extensively throughout the Planter settled areas of Nova Scotia, the Saint John River Valley and the Chignecto area. His effort to reach the people was herculean, travelling mostly by foot and at times horseback to reach every little hamlet possible. His ministry was hugely successful drawing the attention and grudging admiration of even those who opposed him such as Simeon Perkins of Liverpool who stated “Never did I behold Such an Appearance of the Spirit of God moving upon the people ... Since the time of the Great Religious Stir in New England many years ago.” Despite his success he was not accepted by all he encountered. Opposition rose against him from those who thought he was a destabilizing factor to the social order of the day - primarily government representatives in Halifax, as well as the Anglican clergy who were fully integrated into the governmental power structure. Ministers of various other Protestant sects also opposed him on theological grounds, the Newlight’s jettisoning of an educated and ‘properly’ ordained ministry, and assuredly the loss of parishioners which eroded both tithing flows and the clergy’s status within their community hierarchy.

Throughout this period Alline established seven additional churches and composed his many hymns, pamphlets, sermons, personal Journal, and two major theological works. The frantic pace which Alline imposed upon himself weakened his health and allowed the rapid advance of tuberculosis. Even so, in 1783 he decided to travel to New England to spread his Newlight ideas to his former brethren. His ministry there lasted until February 1784 when he finally succumbed to his illness.