In Depth:  Ralph Walker

‘The Multi-Faith Group.’ An alarm bell sounded in my spirit when I heard the words.

An elder of my church groaned when I mentioned it. A year on, I am grateful to the Lord that I am part of it. How did I, as a sound evangelical Christian, ever get involved with such a thing?

Among the portraits of Christian leaders of past times in the Evangelical Library, one constantly caught my eye. It showed a grim-faced, rough looking man, and somehow I knew it would not have been wise to cross him.

My curiosity about this man grew, and I found his biography on the Library shelves. After just a few pages I realised I had found one of the most remarkable Christian biographies I had ever read. This all but forgotten man, William Huntingdon, was in his time one of the most influential and best-known preachers in England. More than that, his ministry had begun in the village of Ewell, near Epsom in Surrey, where I myself live.