Settled Ministry in Bath Parish (1763)

On August 29, 1763, Rev. Devereux Jarratt began his settled ministry in Bath Parish, Virginia, a countryside field near the growing roads and plantations south of Petersburg. He arrived young, without worldly clout, and found a parish dulled by neglect—public worship treated as custom, Scripture little read at home, and many households marked by drunkenness and open profanity. Yet he believed God had placed him there for more than maintenance. He set himself to steady, patient labor, trusting that the Lord could revive even a hardened neighborhood.

Plain Preaching and Pastoral Courage

Jarratt’s preaching was direct and searching, pressing the conscience rather than entertaining the mind. He called hearers away from mere form to repentance, a living faith, and the necessity of the new birth: “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). Opposition came from the indifferent and the offended—those who preferred a quiet parish to a holy one. His heroism was not spectacle but endurance: returning to the pulpit, week after week, with earnest prayer and a tender but unbending message.

He also shepherded from house to house, urging family prayer, reconciling quarrels, and pressing the claims of Christ upon everyday life. He embodied the pastoral conviction that hearing must become obedience: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).

Revival and Methodist Cooperation

In humble cooperation with Methodist evangelists who traveled the Virginia countryside, Jarratt welcomed their zeal while guarding reverence and order. He did not treat their work as a threat but as a providential help, so long as Christ was preached and sinners were awakened. Through pulpit faithfulness, tireless visiting, and shared labors with itinerant preachers, revival fires spread beyond Bath Parish, restoring respect for Scripture and strengthening wavering souls. His ministry stands as a witness that God often renews communities through ordinary means—Word, prayer, repentance, and steadfast love.