Aberystwyth - Humphrey Jones (1859)
Around the middle of November the alliance between Jones and Morgan was amicably dissolved and they went off to minister in different places. On December 19th Jones began to minister at the Queen Street Wesleyan Chapel, however, there were signs that not all was well. Jones would allow no preaching or singing; the meetings consisting of prayers and Scripture reading. For a season the chapel was crowded every night and many new converts sought membership of the church, but Jones refused them entry, on the grounds that the spiritual atmosphere of the church was not favourable for the nurture of new Christians. Because of the rigidity of the services, numbers began to drop. Early in June the leader began to think that Jones’ mind had become unbalanced. The climax came when Jones prophesied that Holy Spirit would descend on the chapel in visible form at 11 o’clock a certain morning. The chapel was packed with expectant people and at the designated time Jones, who was kneeling, raised his arms and said “He is coming! He is coming!” When nothing happened Jones ran to his rooms weeping.
What went wrong is not known. Perhaps the relationship Jones had with the Lord was not close enough, and he began to have difficulty differentiating what was from the Lord and what was from his imagination. Leading a revival is an awesome responsibility and one that is dangerous to do alone. It is interesting that he felt that the Lord told him that Morgan would help him in the work, and yet within around seven weeks they had split up. If they had stayed together and worked as a team, respecting one another, it is probable that the enemy would not have got in and stopped Jones’ important ministry.
Humphrey Jones went into seclusion for about four years after this incident and then began ministering in the Aberystwyth circuit. In 1869 he had medical treatment and in 1871 returned to America, where he preached for some years before dying in 1895.
Additional Information
This Chapel is closed. It can be found between Queen's Street and Gray's Inn Raod.