BIO:John Jasper 1812-1901 

   John Jasper was born a slave, the last of 24 children. He grew up on
a plantation where he labored in the fields until he reached adulthood.
One day, in 1839, while working in a tobacco factory, he was converted
to Christ. Immediately sensing a divine call to the ministry, he began
to tell everyone of his salvation. He preached for 60 years, 25 of them
as a slave.

   After the Civil War, he started a church on an island on the James
River in Richmond, Virginia. The congregation grew to thousands before
his death. Legislators, judges, governors, and many men of distinction
went to hear him preach. He preached the fundamental doctrines of the
faith with unsurpassed ardor. Jasper believed the Bible to be the
source of all authority, and he preached it in nearly every county and
city in Virginia and often beyond.

   He was sought after continually, and in that respect he stood
unmatched by any man of his race. His moral and re- ligious ideals were
very lofty, and he lived up to them to a degree not true of many men.
Many of the most distinguished white ministers of the country went to
hear him preach when they were in Richmond.

   John Jasper was called the most original, masterful and powerful
Negro preacher that this country has ever produced.
