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James Bourne
James Bourne (February 8, 1781 – January 15, 1860) was an English preacher and Primitive Methodist leader whose calling from God helped establish a vibrant evangelical movement across the early 19th century. Born at Ford Hayes, Bucknall, Staffordshire, England, to Joseph Bourne, a farmer, and Ellen Steele, he was the youngest of eight children in a modest rural family. His formal education was limited to local schooling, but his spiritual awakening came in 1799 at age 18 when he joined the Methodist society at Ridgeway near Tunstall, embracing a faith that propelled him into ministry without formal theological training. Bourne’s calling from God unfolded alongside his brother Hugh, beginning with open-air preaching and support for the 1807 Mow Cop camp meetings, defying Methodist Conference bans to spread revivalist zeal. Ordained informally within the Primitive Methodist Connexion he co-founded in 1811–1812, he preached tirelessly, traveling miles—such as 20 miles to Tean in 1808 to form a society—and served as a local preacher in the first Primitive Methodist circuit at Tunstall. His sermons called for personal salvation and practical faith, notably supporting the construction of the first chapel at Tunstall and later managing the Connexion’s printing press at Bemersley Farm from 1821 as book steward. Married to Sarah Rowley in 1807, with whom he had five children, he faced business reverses in later years but attended the 1857 Jubilee Camp Meeting at Mow Cop in frail health, passing away at age 78 at Bemersley, Staffordshire, buried with Hugh at Englesea Brook.
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James Bourne emphasizes the importance of seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness in all decisions, including where to settle and how to manage business. He contrasts the emptiness of prioritizing worldly pursuits with the fulfillment found in seeking eternal things and preserving spiritual life. Bourne encourages choosing a path that involves fellowship with believers, hearing the gospel, and enduring afflictions with God's people over a life of material abundance but spiritual emptiness. He urges the listener to prioritize following God and His people above all else for a truly fulfilling and blessed life.
Scriptures
Letter 16
[To a Friend.] London, 1821. Dear Friend, Whatever may be your thoughts, where you are to settle and how to manage your business, they ought to rim in this channel - "Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." While I make business first, I find "death in the pot;" everything goes counter, and I am as lifeless as a post; but when I am earnestly seeking for a better portion, and eternal things are uppermost, then I consider by what means God will preserve this spiritual life, and what steps will be most conducive to it; whether a distant country, where no fellowship with the saints is found, no sound of the gospel is heard, no affliction with the people of God suffered, but plenty of business, and plenty of admirers, and a soul as dark and as dry as a potsherd; or to be content with the daily manna, watching the hand of God, living with his people, and, like Ruth of old, saying, Let nothing prevent me following the people of God - "Thy people shall be my people, thy God my God; the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me." So let all your plans and pursuits be, and so shall they have an happy issue. Yours faithfully, J. B.
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James Bourne (February 8, 1781 – January 15, 1860) was an English preacher and Primitive Methodist leader whose calling from God helped establish a vibrant evangelical movement across the early 19th century. Born at Ford Hayes, Bucknall, Staffordshire, England, to Joseph Bourne, a farmer, and Ellen Steele, he was the youngest of eight children in a modest rural family. His formal education was limited to local schooling, but his spiritual awakening came in 1799 at age 18 when he joined the Methodist society at Ridgeway near Tunstall, embracing a faith that propelled him into ministry without formal theological training. Bourne’s calling from God unfolded alongside his brother Hugh, beginning with open-air preaching and support for the 1807 Mow Cop camp meetings, defying Methodist Conference bans to spread revivalist zeal. Ordained informally within the Primitive Methodist Connexion he co-founded in 1811–1812, he preached tirelessly, traveling miles—such as 20 miles to Tean in 1808 to form a society—and served as a local preacher in the first Primitive Methodist circuit at Tunstall. His sermons called for personal salvation and practical faith, notably supporting the construction of the first chapel at Tunstall and later managing the Connexion’s printing press at Bemersley Farm from 1821 as book steward. Married to Sarah Rowley in 1807, with whom he had five children, he faced business reverses in later years but attended the 1857 Jubilee Camp Meeting at Mow Cop in frail health, passing away at age 78 at Bemersley, Staffordshire, buried with Hugh at Englesea Brook.