Share a Story
Share a story about how John Stott or his work has made an impact on your life. Simply fill out the form at the bottom of this page. Please note that all messages are moderated are published upon approval.
Share a story about how John Stott or his work has made an impact on your life. Simply fill out the form at the bottom of this page. Please note that all messages are moderated are published upon approval.
hello – I am a student at Toronto Baptist Seminary & BC and just had the oppourtunity to read through John R. W. Stott’s ‘The Cross of Christ’. Although it’s not the longest book written it is definitely the most thick book I have read yet. Packed and packed with gems on every page that made me look at the uniqueness and glory of the Saviour. It has definitely ingrained in me the centrality of Christ and His cross coupled with the resurrection. Any teaching or more soberly any person that does not have this at their centre of their being is not proclaiming Christ as God has declared Him through Scripture. Thanks Mr. Stott for the gems.
Belated Birthday Greetings and fond remembrances from Rev. Alice Fitzjohn (ordained in 1984 Sierra Leone UMC), widow of Rev. Dr William Henry Fitzjohn, former High Commisioner from Sierra Leone to UK (died 1989). The family recalls your kindness to them in London in 1964, when you baptized their last son Jonathan Henry Fitzjohn at All Soul’s Church. Rev Alice, now 84, lives in the Washington DC metro area with her children. BTW April 27 is also Sierra Leone’s Independence Day:-)!
Dear Dr John,
After recieving your last book, ‘The Radical Disciple’I decided to it was time to acknowledge the debt which I owe to you for the wonderful contribution you have made to my life and witness. I first came across you in the early 70s when my life began to take a new direction through my involvement with the Evangelical Union at Uni of New England. Particularly helpful was “Men Made New” and “Your Mind Matters”. I heard you during a couple of your visits to Australia. I am currently reading (again) “God’s New Society” as I’m preaching on discipleship at Ashford/Delungra NSW where I’ve been the vicar for the past eight years. God bless you (and Frances W) and a million thanks to God for the contribution you have had in my life.
If I chose to recommend one scholar to any one for a clear exposition of God’s Word which really leads the reader or hearer to draw more closer to God would be Dr. Stott. Dr. Stott, you are one of a God-given gift to us in this generation. Every time I read a book came from your hand, I was really made to see myself afresh again. Thanks a lot for all that you do for His glory.
I have never met John Stott, nor heard him speak in person, but his writing ministry has had a profound influence on my growth and maturity as a disciple of Jesus Christ. His clear-sighted and unflinching commitment to proclaiming the truth of God’s creative and redemptive purposes has spoken powerfully through the fluff and waffle of the age we live in. I will always be grateful to know that there is still so much for me to read from his legacy to the glory of God. Thank you Dr Stott.
Happy birthday to one of my spiritual mentors. I first heard Pastor Stott at Urbana 70 Missionary Conference, speaking on John 13-17. I still have the transcripts.
Several years ago, Pastor Stott spoke at my church. Afterwards, I had the honor to speak to him and shake his hand. What a delight!
Two days ago, Christopher Wright spoke in a local church on the dedication of Solomon’s Temple. I am looking forward to reading Pastor Stott’s latest book.
Dear Uncle John,
Happy Belated Birthday!
I was a student at LICC in 1987 and so very blessed by your thoughtful, Biblical teaching, and the life of Christ in you. It definitely has impacted my life of discipleship to Jesus, and continues to encourage me to keep going onward!
Sheila Druck
Dr.Stott–on this your 89th year I send you greetings, prayers and gratitude. Your writings have given me counsel, information and inspiration–but one of the greatest gifts you gave me was the sharing of 2 hours of time in your flat in London. I was on sabbatical from First Baptist, Orlando and had requested it and you granted it; plus a spot of tea! I am now redeployed after 29 years in that good church and staying busy! God’s favor rest on you great warrior of the faith.
Forever grateful in Christ,
Jim Henry
I am so grateful to be a part of the JSM ministries. May the legacy of Uncle John encourages me to serve our Lord in China faithfully.
Happy Birthday Uncle John! I do hope to see you one day!
Kind regards and blessings,
Lukas
Happy Birthday, Uncle John. I’m also looking forward to seeing him in Cape Town this Oct.
What a wonderful and faithful servant of the Lord!
Esther from Fuller
I am so bless to receive this email, I received Jesus through Rev. John Stott ministry 39 years ago and I am so glad to celebrate his birthday .
George Leung
I suppose indirectly my commitment to Christ as an adult came about through Uncle John as he was one of the people involved in bringing Billy Graham over to England for hus Haringey crusade in 1954 and subsequently to Wembley in 1955. Billy taught us the meaning of faith, illustrating this by sharing how he had to believe the big platform would bear his weight before he could step on to it. Of course this was not a problem he said when he saw that it was “a mighty fine platform”! etc. I was later able to commit my life to Christ lock, stock and barrel, knowing who He was and that He was able to guide and direct my life from then on. So although I did not go to All Souls’ and had never met Uncle John I have to thank him for making Christianity a living reality for me. As another writer at that time said “Christianity is Christ” and I guess Uncle John would agree.
As I had been taught and trained in another church by an older generation it was a good many years before I read Uncle John’s “Basic Christianity”.
When eventually I did so, I realised why it had become a bestseller, putting Christ and His ministry in a completely new light. It was a revelation! Thank you Uncle John and Very Many Happy Returns!
I owe a great deal to John Stott for his teaching and encouragement during student days at Cambridge in the early fities and through various brief contacts in his parish, the Jerusalem Conference on Bible Prophecy and his two visits to New Zealand. You gave me a wonderful foundation for a balanced understanding of the Scriptures. This, more than anything else, has provided the groundwork for the booklets and books I have been publishing since retirement. Should you ever read this, John, the book I am writing at the moment is The Biblical Mandate for Caring for Creation. I have particularly enjoyed writing the chapter “The Renewal of Creation”. I shall definitely look forward to catching up with you in the new earth, which the Bible so clearly points to. Thanks heaps for your faithfulness.
Greetings, John, on your 89th birthday. Babby and I remember so well and fondly being at your 80th birthday, traveling around England — to Stratford, Rugby School, Trinity College Cambridge, the House of Lords, All Souls — with you as our travel guide. What a glorious celebration! I am taking a course on church history at Fuller Seminary Southwest in Phoenix. The professor, Grayson Carter, who graduated from Oxford, talked about the life of Charles Simeon and said, “John Stott was the twentieth century’s Charles Simeon,” and went on to talk about the similarities in your and Simeon’s lives. We had hoped to go to England this summer, but Babby’s health has not been very good. If things change, we will come see you. In the meantime, I want you to know how wonderful and life-changing it has been knowing and being with you since our days on the Sea Cloud in 1992 — our correspondence (I have saved all of the letters you sent me, some 20 in all), my time on the JSM board, especially when you came to the meetings, the commendation you gave me on my Word Alive! book, the “Life’s Big Questions” video we did in St Paul in 1997, and our personal time together. Mungu akubariki sana (“May God bless you much”), John and Babby
One the great treats while a student at Fuller Seminary was occasional presence of Dr. Stott to either deliver a message at chapel or sit under his teaching of short term class. Either way, my life was blessed!
A very ‘Happy Birthday’ Uncle John! My first book of yours was ‘Basic Christianity’. Ever since I read number of your books. I have been immensely benefited by every of one of your books I read. I have used them in my teaching and preaching. More recently on Good Friday I went back to ‘The Cross of Christ’. I cannot express how much I benefited from you ministry. Most of all, your vision for training trainers for the two/third leaders of whom I was privileged to be one. My first face to face listening to you was at LICC 1987! I was so impressed by your simplicity and gentleness. I praise God every time I remember you. I wish uncle John every convenience and comfort that your need during this period!
Congratulations and Happy Birthday Baba John!
Yours is a life well lived. Yours is a life evident of God’s grace. Yours is a life worth emulating. Yours is a life of a workman that has been approved. Before I came to benefit from your scholarship for my PhD at Westminster, you had already touched my life as a pastor through your books: The Contemporary Christian and Issues Facing Christians Today. Those books will continue to speak to us evangelists and pastors and lay members on how we respond to the challenges of the gospel today. May God fill the rest of your years with joy and greater vision for heaven, where you shall be crowned with the crown of victory along with your Savior.
Happy Uncle John. I first met Dr John Stott at All Nation Christian College, England. This was in 1992. As a patron, he was invited to speak to the students, the staff and the Board of Trustees. His message on Double Listening became a transforming factor to my missional and contextual aspects of gospel proclamation. The anthropological insights enables us to listen the global and indigenous social cultural contexts so that we can effectively proclaim the message of the power of risen Christ. The centrality of the Cross is the mark of apostolic witness. Thank You Uncle John.
Happy Uncle Dr. John Stott! The good Lord has used you to touch my life and ministry in a tremendous way. I would not have been able to finish my PhD work at Fuller without the JSM scholarship that I received for three years. Today I am engaged in the ministry of just peacemaking and reconciliation in Nigeria because of what I have learned at Fuller Theological Seminary. Your commitment to biblical scholarship has inspired me to take writing seriously. You are an awesome gift to the Kingdom of God! May God grant you more fruitful years. Sunday
A few months after my first visit with Rev. Stott, I had a new amazing opportunity of visiting again that place. Uncle John had an interesting tradition. Once a year he was inviting a group of people (ten or twelve, I do not remember well) to have lunch in his home. An American lady was cooking that meal for his guests (a whole salmon baked in the oven was always part of the menu).
I was one of the lucky invitees in the early month of 2002, together with my friend Silviu Rogobete, who was himself a Langham scholar. It was a very special time. We had the opportunity to talk with Uncle John about our studies and about our plans for the future. We also came to know a little bit the other guests, although, I must confess, we did not keep contact with any of them.
This is another memory that I will treasure along the years.
PS I have made a mistake in my previous post. It was, obviously. All Souls Church Langham.
Happy Birthday Dr. Stott! What a joy it was to be with you at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity and hear your expositions on Genesis 1-3 which forever changed my understanding of Creation, the fall and redemption. Your teaching on the issues facing Christians today was challenging and enlightening and helpful for formulating Biblical perspectives on tough issues which continue to challenge the church today; the insight and wisdom you helped me gain has influenced my belief system for over 25 years and I thank God for the important role you played in helping to develop my Christian faith. I will forever be grateful to God for using you to touch my life!
During the summer of 2001, while I was doing my PhD studies at London School of Theology, with support from Langham Scholarship, uncle John agreed to support an unusual project: providing funding for an Eastern Orthodox Biblical scholar from Romania for spending a number of weeks in doing research at the Tyndale House in Cambridge.
My friend Dr. Stelian Tofana who did his PhD in Germany and only knew of liberal Biblical scholarship, was very impressed by the depth of conservative Biblical scholarship that he met at this prestigious academic institution. Even today, many of his Orthodox students are using extensively the amazing resources that Fr. Tofana found at Tyndale House.
Later on during that trip, uncle John had the kindness of receiving me and Fr. Tofana as his guests in his apartment, close to All Saints Church in Langham Place. It was a for us an unforgettable meeting, where the gracious host made us feel at home in that modest abode. I will always cherish that time in my memory.
Thanks, uncle John, for this visionary decision, that still pays dividends in terms of the Evangelical-Orthodox theological dialogue in Romania.
I first came upon John Stott’s books in the late 1950’s. His clear analytical approach to expounding Scripture made an instant appeal to my own mind. His commentary on the 7 Churches is still a classic of expository preaching. Since then I have heard him speak when he came to N. Ireland. It was a treat to also hear him at the Keswick Convention many years ago. Happy birthday dear brother. I thank God upon every remembrance of you. God bless.
While at Ontario Bible College in the 1970s, John Stott’s influence was strongly felt in my life and that of my classmates. He was probably our favourite author.
Fast forward to 2005 when I married Pastor Paluku Kavunga, a Congolese pastor in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I was telling him about John Stott’s books and how good they were, when he looked me in the eye and said, “Yes I know, he came to teach us when I was at seminary in Bunia”. Put me in my place and showed me that Stotty’s influence is indeed global.
Dr Stott, thank-you for all you’ve meant to me, to my husband and to countless others, especially in Africa.
Some 15 years ago my wife and I had the honor of hosting Dr. John Stott for a Sunday dinner in our home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dr. Stott had given the message in our church that morning. We had invited several guests for lunch as well to meet and converse with Dr. John. We had a lovely dinner with lively discussion about the various approaches churches are taking in their worship service styles and content.
After completing the meal I simply could not dissuade Dr. John from helping both clear and wash the dishes. Dr. John has been a servant leader in every way. For me, Dr. John has been the most Christ like human being I have been privileged to meet.
May God bless, favor and grant peace to His servant, John Stott, in these days of failing health.
We meet Dr. John Stott when we did the course “Christians in the modern world” (Institute for Contemporary Christianity)in 1998! It was a blessed time and learn/grow with Stott –it was really special for us.
Taking a breakfast in Portugal with him it was very nice and feel his simple way of life too. We give thanks and pray for you dear Stott. Obrigado! (Thankyou)
Marge and I had the privilege to host John Stott in our home in Sao Paulo, Brazil when he was on a lecturing tour there. John blessed us with his deep interest in each one of us. His love for the LORD permeated the conversations at the table. One day John borrowed a long sleeve shirt because he was going out to do bird watching. Some time later we had a “garage sale” specially for Seminary students and that shirt did not attract any buyers. Finally one seminarian looked a bit more closely at the many colored shirt then put it back. When I said, “You know, John Stott wore that shirt,” the student immediately said, “I’ll have it!” Thanks John for being a friend and “pastor” through your writing ministry. Karl and Marge Lachler
I was brought up in the Christian faith, but lacked assurance of salvation. Someone from a young people’s group I attended, age 22, gave me Uncle John’s booklet: “Becoming a Christian”. I was not offended, as I was impressed by this person’s assurance. So, one lunch-hour, I went into a nearby church – rather out of the fear of God, I think – read the booklet and prayed the prayer at the end, which was based on Revelation 3:20. I knew Christ had come into my heart because He said so. I have to thank Uncle John for that. It was a new beginning.
I had a very inadequate idea of sin and a shadow came between me and God, so I had go to the Vicar of the church I attended for help. He got me to pray Isaiah 53:6. I did this and the shadow between me and God went away and I followed him meekly to the Prayer Meeting. This was St. Paul’s, Portman Square, not All Souls’,Langham Place, which I only began to attend when St. Paul’s was pulled down.
It’s a long story. I had the privilege of sitting under Uncle John’s ministry for many years and only missed one of his sermons in twenty years, because I was unwell!!
We have considered John Stott a member of our family since we first met in college in California in the late 70s. My future husband was helping start a new IVCF group on our small campus and John Stott’s books were constantly being studied, taught from and passed around.
Then we went on IV staff and had to haul a multi-media presentation from church to church to recruit students and funds for the 82 Urbana Student Missions conference. The presentation was called “The Promise and the Blessing,” but it was so heavy and unwieldy, we used to call it “The Curse and the Burden.” We heard it so many times, I can never hear those sections of Galatians now without hearing his booming, confident voice, “GOD is WORKING HIS purposes OUT!” After the student conference he spent a few days with the staff workers, where he was teased about his pronunciation of “the WROTH of God!”
We have only met him a few times, in California, in Urbana, IL, in London and we’ve heard him a couple of times when he’s come to speak here in Egypt where we now serve. His energy and gentle spirit have been an inspiration, say almost as much as his clear-headed thinking about faith issues. We look forward to more great preaching from him when we all get to heaven — it’s been one of the great pleasures in life! Thank you Dr. Stott — Glory to God!
I will never forget Uncle John’s aside during one of his lectures at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity during ‘Wide Open ‘98′. He said, ‘I feel free to criticize this theologian by name because I have met him personally. If I had not met him personally, I would simply criticize his ideas but without mentioning his name. I do not criticize anyone’s ideas by name unless I have met them personally.’
What WISDOM! Would that we would all be so careful in our person rhetoric during arguments!
Thanks for you deep impact in my life and Happy Birthday!
John Stott impacted the lives of thousands in the Netherlands and Belgium. Through his books, his speaking at various occasions in the Netherlands and his spiritual influence via-via. What a blessed ministry.
Our prayers are with him and we are eagerly looking forward to his forthcoming latest book. We commit ourselves to ensuring that the book will soon have its Dutch edition and will talk to some of our
publishing friends.
Warmly in Christ, Oswin & Marleen Ramaker / GROEI-magazine
I first met uncle John when I was a student at Holy Cross Theogical College, Rangoon, Myanmar in 1980. He presented me a NT English Bible (NIV), this was my first own Bible. Since then uncle John became a hero and model in my Christian leadership and ministry.
Happy birthday uncle John,
Love from
David T Haokip
St Georges, East Ham
When I was a new Christian, in College, in Bogota, Colombia, Dr. John Stott came to teach us in a retreat at UNIDAD CRISTIANA UNIVERSITARIA (UCU), the Christian Ministry to College Students. I learn with my brain but I was more impressed when I went to the kitchen and found Rev. John Stott washing the dishes, and having a big smile! His humility touched me!
Thank you, Rev. Stott. I’ll never forget that!
If there is one human model that inspires me to follow Jesus Christ as Lord and finish well, it is Dr John Stott. I first heard him at All Souls, Langham then spent tıme with him when he visited the South Asia Institute for Advanced Christian Studies (SAIACS) in Bangalore, India. This ‘gentle giant’ invited my wıfe Dorothy and me to his apartment, made us a cup of tea and discussed not only my PhD proposal but what it will take for ‘us’ to succeed!
Both my doctoral researches, on Suffering in 1 Peter and a Christian theology wıth regard to miracles and money, were shaped by ‘Uncle’ John’s teachings. Having moved on from being a professor at SAIACS to train pastoral leaders in restricted access countries in Asia, my goal is to teach them what John Stott taught me – to stay biblically balanced, wınsome yet radical disciples of our lovely Lord – Jesus!
I worked for “Uncle John” at his Institute for Contemporary Christianity in the mid-1990s. I was healing from a less-than-fully-though-through near-fundamentalism that clashed with the harsh realities of the campus and several challenging professors–and nearly left me faith-less–a few years earlier.
Uncle John’s passionate love for the word combined with his immense intellect were balms to my beleaguered soul. And the fact that he could laugh at himself (I used to write skits and give him ridiculous lines, which he would happily read) didn’t hurt!
I have known many people who felt chewed up and spit out by paid employment for a ministry, but neither InterVarsity or the ICC did that to me–I left Christian work more in love with Jesus than I came in to it. And John Stott’s teaching, influence and humanity had a lot to do with that.
Hello Sir/Madam,
May I used this opportunity to thank and appreciate Rev. Dr. John Stott for His diligence for the existing generation and the generation to come.
His books has impacted my life and way of my preaching and teaching, especially, a preacher’s portrait.
Please, don’t stop the efforts to spread his books and advancing his ministry, especially here in Africa.
Pastor Tesfaye Nenko
Ethiopian Full Gospel Believers’ Church board chairman
Thank you Lord Jesus, for Dr. Stott – a saint of your Church!
I recent heard your sermon discussing Christians who badger God with incessant prayers for “more filling” “more of God” “more of the Holy Spirit” – and who don’t seem to understand that they have received the fullness of God in Christ Jesus. What a refreshing and prescient message – hard to believe it was more than 30 years ago that you preached it!
Thank you Dr. Stott for your faithfulness to the fullness of the Gospel these sixty plus years. May God continue to be glorified in your work.
I heard Brother John Stott in an interview with Chris Fabre on the Moody Broadcasting Network (MBN) several years a go. Brother Stott talk about his salvation in the light of Revelation 3; he mentioned keyhole prayers and pushing pennies under the door to keep Jesus quiet. What dear Brother Stott said touched my heart, and prayed to the Lord Jesus, “Jesus please remind me of Brother Stott said if I ever get complacent in my life with you.”
I also throughly enjoyed John Stott’s book “The Birds, Our Teachers”
I heard Brother John Stott in an interview with Chris Fabre on the Moody Broadcasting Network (MBN0 several years a go. Brother Stott talk about his salvation in the light of Revelation 3; he mentioned keyhole prayers and pushing pennies under the door to keep Jesus quiet. What dear Brother Stott said touched my heart, and prayed to the Lord Jesus, “Jesus please remind me of Brother Stott said if I ever get complacent in my life with you.”
I also throughly enjoyed John Stott’s book “The Birds, Our Teachers”
My college mentor, Dr. Robert E. Antonian, gave me a copy of YOUR MIND MATTERS my freshman. It still amazes me, now 33 years later, what an impact just a small book made on me and my life. I have known, felt, lived, shared and taught the spiritual wisdom I gained from that book ever since. Of the myriad things Dr. A. gave me so freely the two years I was fortunate enough to be under his guidance, this book ranks in the top two, next to his unconditional love and support. Thank you for that book and for its powerful message.