Richard Baxter and the Shot at the Gospel Meeting (March 26, 1665)

On March 26, 1665, Richard Baxter (1615–1691), a devoted English pastor and writer, preached in a private house while hostility toward gospel meetings was rising. Such gatherings—often held outside official parish structures—were increasingly watched, restricted, and sometimes threatened. During the message, a bullet was fired into the room. It tore through the air near Baxter and narrowly missed the head of his sister-in-law, turning a place of quiet exhortation into an instant of violent alarm.

Baxter later recorded the incident with sober clarity, not as a tale of bravado, but as a reminder of life’s frailty and the Lord’s preserving hand. The moment exposed how quickly a servant of Christ may be called to suffer, and how swiftly God may restrain evil. “The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1). The danger was real, yet the greater reality was the governance of God over every breath and hour.

Private Houses, Public Pressure, and Steadfast Ministry

Private houses became important refuges for preaching and prayer when public doors closed. These meetings were not merely political statements; they were efforts to keep the Word central, to call sinners to repentance, and to strengthen believers in faith and holiness. In that setting, the bullet served as a crude attempt to intimidate and scatter hearers. It did not succeed.

Baxter continued his ministry with calm courage. His steadiness displayed not a hardened indifference to danger, but a shepherd’s resolve to feed Christ’s flock. In a time when fear could silence testimony, he urged hearers to repentance, faith, and steadfastness, embodying the counsel, “Be alert and sober-minded. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Endurance Under Threat and the Preserving Hand of God

The episode stands as a small but sharp witness to Christian endurance under persecution. The heroism is quiet: a preacher who keeps proclaiming, a congregation who keeps listening, and a household that refuses to let violence dethrone the gospel. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). In a moment meant to terrify, the Lord gave protection, and His servant modeled patient endurance—pressing on, not because life is secure, but because Christ is.