JOHN WELCH
The man who couldn't be stopped
By Ethel Barrett. Christian Focus. 215 pages
ISBN 1857929284
In an age when young people are all too often presented with heroes of the wrong kind, this 'true story of the adventurous Scottish preacher who defied the Kings of England and France' is a great encouragement to look to godly role models.
Aimed at children aged 8-11 years, it tells the story of how a headstrong young man who had run away from his home to join a gang of thieves grew up to become a renowned preacher and son-in-law of John Knox who was mightily used by God. Ethel Barrett has done her research and she recounts events and ups and downs from John Welch's various pastorates in Scotland and France. Barrett is a vivid storyteller and remarks, rightly, that 'the facts of his life were so incredible that they seem like inventions', but any literary licence is employed merely insofar as is necessary to recount the story.
