Stockwell Orphanage - Spurgeon (1869-1940)

Charles H Spurgeon

In August 1866, Spurgeon asked his congregation for God to send them a new ministry. A few days earlier, a lady had been asking a friend who she could entrust £20,000 to, to further the Kingdom of God. The friend suggested Spurgeon, and as it happened, she had a copy of Spurgeon's magazine, in which there was an article on helping educate poor children. This really impacted her, and she immediately wrote to Spurgeon saying she would like to start an orphanage with the £20,000 she had. The letter arrived just a few days after they had prayed for a new ministry. On meeting the lady, he suggested that she give the money to George Müller, but she believed that God wanted him to have it.

Having seen how God supplied the funds to build the Tabernacle, he decided to pull on God by faith once more in the building of the Orphanage. He wanted to copy George Müller in the way he raised funds for his huge Orphanages; in other words, he just wanted to pray for the money to come in and not ask anyone for funds. He believed God wanted this done, so, being a man of faith, he trusted in Him and the trust was well-founded. Whenever funds ran out and more were required, they prayed, and the prayers were answered. Not only was Spurgeon a man of faith, but the men he gathered around him regarding the Orphanage project were like-minded. By the end of 1869, the Stockwell Orphanage was built for £10,200 and paid for.

The Orphanage ran out of money time and time again, but prayer brought the money when it was required. There were 220 boys. They were divided into different houses, each having a Christian matron. Meals were taken in a common hall and every morning family prayers were said. Spurgeon made a point of each boy dressing differently, individually. They received a good education that would help them find jobs in commerce. The institution was strictly Christian but non-sectarian - the headmaster was a Congregational minister. By the time of Spurgeon's death, around 1,600 boys had passed through the school, about 40% CofE, 25% Baptist... In 1879, a girls' wing was planned and by 1882 the whole Orphanage was open, with 250 boys and 250 girls. Just as with the boys' wing, the money came in exactly when it was required.