Colne, Lancashire (1748)

Colne, a Pennine market and cloth-making town, lay along the rough roads of the Evangelical Revival. Preaching in open air and in borrowed spaces often exposed the growing Methodist societies to suspicion: some feared social disorder, others resented the call to repentance and holy living. On August 24, 1748, the town became a proving ground for whether gospel witness would answer hostility with fleshly force or with Christlike restraint.

William Grimshaw (1708–1763)

William Grimshaw, the zealous minister of Haworth, was known for tireless pastoral labor and a plain, searching pulpit. He pressed the claims of Christ on conscience, urging sinners to flee to the Savior and believers to pursue practical holiness. In Colne he stood not as a brawler but as a shepherd, resolved to speak truth even when the “wolves” seemed near. His courage was not brashness; it was duty under God.

John Wesley (1703–1791)

John Wesley, itinerant evangelist and organizer of Methodist societies, preached with disciplined clarity: the new birth, justification by faith, and the necessity of holiness flowing from grace. Wesley’s steadiness in danger was a recurring mark of his ministry. He trusted that the Word, not the fist, is God’s appointed instrument to awaken and gather His people.

The Preaching at Colne: Opposition and Restraint

A hostile crowd shouted, surged around them, and struck at them—stones and blows flying as if noise and pain could silence the message. Yet Grimshaw and Wesley refused retaliation. They pressed on with calm words, prayer, and steadfast restraint, entrusting themselves to God rather than to their own strength. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)

Their conduct echoed Christ: “When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23)

Legacy: Bruises as Testimony

Their bruises became a quiet sermon: Christ is worth reproach, and faithful shepherds do not abandon the flock when the cost is high. Like the apostles, they counted it no strange thing to suffer for the Name: “rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” (Acts 5:41)