Christmas Evans: The Preacher of Wild Wales

Before there was David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, there was Christmas Evans, whose orations declaring God’s Word rang through the hills and vales of Wales. Evans is remembered as a powerful non-conformist minister. Born near the village of Llandysul, Cardiganshire, on Christmas Day 1766, his father died when Christmas was quite young, and consequently, he grew up illiterate and having to work at farm labour for a bare living. As a young man, he obtained a position as a servant for a minister, and thus began his education and growth in Grace. Said to have been seven feet tall, Evans other notable physical characteristic was that he had lost one of his eyes in an affray as a youth. Known as “the one-eyed preacher," and “The Welsh John Bunyan,” his sermons were not sectarian, but being meant simply to edify, instruct, and warm the heart, consequently, were and are appreciated by Christians in general. Read and be amazed at how God chose this nondescript poor Welshman, and through His Providence equipped him to become one of the mightiest preachers Great Britain has ever known. The following excerpt from this biography shows the wit and wisdom of Christmas Evans: “Once, two ministers of different sects were disputing upon some altogether trifling, and most immaterial point of ecclesiastical discipline. One of them said, “What is your opinion, Mr. Evans?” and he said, “To-day I saw two boys quarreling over two snails: one of them insisted that his snail was the best, because it had horns; while the other as strenuously insisted that his was the best, because it had none. The boys were very angry, and vociferous, but the two snails were very good friends.”