Many in this place, several years ago, were very desirous of having the Gospel preached amongst them, as they are six miles from Oundle, eight from Kettering, nine from Rowell, and ten from Wellingborough,[6] and have bad roads all around us; consequently old people, and such as have large families, could seldom hear the word, these being the nearest places in which it was preached. Therefore they made their case known to the Rev. Mr. Doddridge, and by his means obtained an exhibition from the Independent Fund for the support of a monthly week-day lecture, which was preached for some time by the following ministers, viz.: Messrs. Doddridge, Saunders, Boyce, Hextal, Haywood, and Grant. A blessing attended the word; our numbers greatly increased; many joyfully received the Gospel, and became very desirous of hearing it, if possible, on a Lord's-day. They entered into a subscription for a lecture once a month on Lord's-day, which was the means of enlarging our interest still more. We continued in this state many years, till, having many that we hoped had received the grace of God, we began to think of embodying into a Church, and had it recommended to us by the ministers that used to attend our lecture, especially the Rev. Mr. Addington, who, being providentially cast amongst us for the first time about the year 1774, talked with us particularly upon this subject. What he said appeared to rest on many minds, and convinced us that it was our duty to attend on all the ordinances of Christ: we therefore sought direction and assistance from God in prayer; and after watching for some time the openings of providence, Mr. Hillyard, a member of the Church at Wellingborough, under the pastoral care of Mr. Carver, was recommended as a proper person to be our minister. We took opportunities of hearing him often; and it being always to our satisfaction, we applied to him to come amongst us. We first invited him for a quarter of a year, and when that was expired, for a year, fully approving his gifts and his general views of Christian doctrine and discipline. Thereupon, being desirous to honour Christ, as King and Head of the Church, and to testify our allegiance to him; in hope likewise of the fulfilment of his promise, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them," we desire to give up ourselves and ours to the Lord, to be ruled by his laws and to attend all his ordinances, agreeable to our confession of faith and Church covenant. And after having given ourselves to the Lord, we also give ourselves to one another, by a declaration of God's dealings with us, in a meeting appointed for that purpose, and the mutual giving and receiving the right hand of fellowship.
Witness our hands, the 4th of March, 1778. (Here follow the names of ten brethren.)
Then, in their Church covenant drawn up and subscribed June 9th of the same year, they say—
We, the professed disciples of Christ, whose names are hereunto subscribed, meeting together for the worship of God in Brigstock, having long enjoyed the means of grace through the favourable indulgence of God towards us, cannot think it will be for the glory of God to continue any longer as scattered individuals, like lambs in a large place, but judge it our duty, both from the openings of providence and from rules lying before us in God's word, to cleave to him with fuller purpose of heart than heretofore we have done, each one for ourselves, and, in the judgment of charity, each one hoping well for each other; and having given ourselves to the Lord, in a perpetual covenant that shall never be forgotten, do here, in the presence of God, angels, and men as our witnesses, give each other the right hand of fellowship, binding ourselves by covenant and by oath to walk together according to that order which is, for distinction sake, called Congregational, according to the Abrahamic covenant, including believers and their children, which we find pointed out to us in the New Testament by our Lord Jesus Christ and his holy apostles. Having thus covenanted together under Christ our Sovereign Lord and Head, we look upon it our duty to him solemnly to engage, in his strength, to maintain those truths which are essential to real Christianity, against all opposers whatever, at the expense of our properties and our lives, if God in his providence should call and strengthen us so to do.
(Then follow the articles of their faith.)
In reference to the commencement of Mr. Hillyard's ministry, who was the first pastor of this Church at Brigstock, we find the following records preserved by the Church at Wellingborough, of which he was a member:—
March 2nd, 1775.—The Church was informed that brother Hillyard had given an exhortation to some of the brethren, who should report to the Church their thoughts next meeting.
May 5th.—Brother Hillyard exercised his gift before the Church, when it was unanimously agreed that he should continue until the path of duty was more plain.
In 1776, June 6th, the Church met by appointment, and sent brother Hillyard to preach whithersoever the Lord is pleased to call him.
In 1778, May 3rd, a letter was read from Brigstock, saying that they had formed themselves into a Church, and requested that we would send messengers to behold their faith and order, on the 9th of June. That Church afterwards agreed, by the advice of ministers, to invite brother Hillyard to be ordained their pastor, and for this purpose requested his dismission.
He was ordained May 20th, and on this occasion Mr. Toller, of Kettering, Mr. Robins, and Mr. Toller, of London, preached.
Of Mr. Hillyard's early ministrations it is stated, "that they were distinguished by a glowing, holy, and enlightened zeal, accompanied with great modesty and diffidence. He was fully sensible of the disadvantages under which he laboured for want of a more liberal education, yet earnestly desirous of devoting all that he had attained, all that he possessed, to the good of souls and the furtherance of the Gospel. With much regret he was compelled to relinquish his station at Brigstock, on account of the inability of the people to meet the wants of his increasing family. He then settled for a few years at Kimbolton, in Huntingdonshire, until he fixed for the remainder of his life at Olney, in Buckinghamshire, where during forty years he experienced the great goodness of his God and Saviour. He fell asleep on the twelfth of July, 1828, in the eighty-third year of his age. His address was plain, powerful, and pointed. His ministry was abundantly blessed; his place of worship at Olney was enlarged four times."
An unsettled interval, attended with repeated changes, appears to have followed Mr. Hillyard's removal. A Mr. Griffin appears immediately to have succeeded Mr. Hillyard; then Mr. Maurice Phillips was placed here for a short time—he came in the year 1790, when this place became united with Weldon, under one pastor: Mr. Phillips afterwards became tutor of Rotherham College, in connexion with Dr. Williams. Mr. Morgan, from Dr. Williams' academy, was a candidate for one year (1796); Mr. William Bull, for nine months; Mr. Spencer also ministered unto them for one year (1798). About the year 1798 we read, "that Mr. Mitchel was universally approved of, and about being settled with us; but he removed to Leicester, and the hopes of the people were disappointed." It does not appear that any person was settled long as pastor for a number of years. This undoubtedly had a very unfavourable influence as to the numbers in Church fellowship, for the next pastor observes, when he first admitted four members to the Church, "for nearly twenty years there had been no addition to the little band, the result probably of being without a pastor." "The number of communicants at the time of my first dispensing the Lord's Supper was only five, and two of them were members of another religious community. The members of the Church were reduced to eight only, and for some reasons three did not unite with us at the table. O thou Spirit Divine, carry on the work of salvation, that many may first give themselves to the Lord, and then unto us for Christ's sake! 'By whom shall Jacob arise, for he is small, but by thee, O Lord?'" Again he wrote—"With gratitude I now look back nine years, and with holy joy my heart exclaims, What has God wrought, through whose blessing the Church has increased to upwards of sixty members! This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes."
Thus wrote Mr. Robert Pickering, who was the next that was settled over them as a minister of Christ.
But during this unsettled interval, a new Meeting House was built. A statement of their case was drawn up, sanctioned by the names of a number of ministers, soliciting aid from the Churches towards this object, dated 1798. In this document they say—
We now have stated supplies, in hopes that the great Head of the Church will send us a pastor that will go in and out before us, and feed our souls with spiritual food. Our numbers being increased to about two hundred, the place which has been rented about fifty years being very small, and we being only tenants at will and under a discharge to quit at Lady-day next, we have been under the necessity of purchasing a house, with ground to it sufficient for the purpose of erecting a new place for public worship, on which we have built a shell, the walls of stone, and covered with slate, to finish which in a plain comfortable manner will cost in the whole expense about £300. We are not able to raise more than £100 amongst ourselves, there being no individual belonging to the congregation of independent fortune; therefore we are obliged to make our case known, and to request the assistance of our friends of other congregations.