St. Andrews Seven

the long version

Occasionally, in the annals of Christian history, the heroic stories of long-forgotten movements of God's Spirit are rediscovered. This little book contains the narrative of such a movement in the nineteenth century. Its chief characters are the great Thomas Chalmers and six of his students: Alexander Duff, John Urquhart, John Adam, Robert Nesbit, William Sinclair Mackay and John Ewart. These six young men, deeply influenced by the legendary Chalmers, also exerted a remarkable influence on one another as fellow students at the University of Saint Andrews, Scotland, in the 1820s. Their influence in later life, especially in India, was to be far beyond their wildest expectation, even in their teenage enthusiasm to serve Christ to the ends of the earth. In this extraordinary account, Stuart Piggin and John Roxborogh, both experts in the field of missions, trace vividly and popularly the story -- the aspirations, fears, doubts, struggles, opposition, sorrows, triumphs -- of these six most gifted and dedicated young Christians. In moving simplicity they recount the astonishing influence of one of their number who died before he could fulfil his heart's ambitions, but whose life led the others to the profound conviction that "only one thing seemed to matter: to discover God's will and do it". The St. Andrews Seven not only restores their name from obscurity, but also challenges the church of today to put aside its mediocrity and respond obediently to Christ's great commission. - Back cover.