John George Govan (1861–1927) was a Scottish businessman and evangelist who founded The Faith Mission in 1886.

Life

The grave of John George Govan, Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh

He was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

on 19 January 1861 one of 12 children to William Govan and his wife Margaret Rattray Arthur. They lived at a villa "Southpark" in

Hillhead Hillhead ( sco, Hullheid, gd, Ceann a' Chnuic) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland. Situated north of Kelvingrove Park and to the south of the River Kelvin, Hillhead is at the heart of Glasgow's fashionable West End, with Byres Road forming th ...

and his father owned and ran a company William Govan & Sons.Glasgow Post Office Directory 1861-62 He converted to evangelism in 1873 aged only 12. In 1882 he was further influenced by the preaching of

Dwight L. Moody Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massa ...

whilst on a travelling tour from America. He claimed to be "cleansed of all sin" by 1883.The A to Z of the Holiness Movement, William Kostlevy He was inspired on hearing accounts of the holiness movement from friends who had attended the

Keswick Convention The Keswick Convention is an annual gathering of conservative evangelical Christians in Keswick, in the English county of Cumbria. The Christian theological tradition of Keswickianism, also known as the Higher Life movement, became popularised ...

of 1884. With the goal of leading a life wholly devoted to God, he then set about removing all personal and worldly ambition from his psyche. After several months of this, one night he came to a point where he knew that his life had been changed forever. "My friends," he later wrote, "get into this position of entire surrender to

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

, and real trust in Him, and then He will show you when to wait upon Him, and how long to wait upon Him; and He will visit you and bless you in a way perhaps you have little idea of now". A typical day involved "morning watch" from 6 am to 7 am, then work, then revivalist meetings in the evening. "He came to know the voice of God"; said his daughter, Isobel. In 1886 Govan decided to leave the business world and devote himself full-time to evangelization. To this end he founded The Faith Mission, a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

evangelistic Christian organization initially based in

Rothesay Rothesay ( ; gd, Baile Bhòid ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay, which offers an onward rail ...

, Scotland. Among its principles were that its evangelistic workers should "live by faith". In 1900 the movement spread to England and Wales, in 1924 to South Africa and in 1927 to Canada. He died in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

in September 1927. He is buried with his wife near the centre of the northern 20th-century extension to Dean Cemetery in western

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

Family

Married to Annie Martin in 1894, they had four children: sons Frank and Ellis, and daughters Isobel (who wrote the book, ''Spirit of revival'', about his life and work) and Sheena. In 1889 his younger brother Horace Govan (1866-1932) began editing the Faith Mission's newspaper ''Bright Words''.

References

*''Spirit of Revival: The Biography of J G Govan'' (1938) by his grandchildren Isobel Rosie Govan and namesake John George Govan. {{DEFAULTSORT:Govan, John George 1861 births 1927 deaths Evangelists 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Scottish Christian religious leaders