Though Spurgeon would not support the idea of women serving in pastoral ministry or preaching to the gathered congregation, he nonetheless valued the role of women in the spreading of the gospel. He also believed it was entirely appropriate for women to teach other women in the church. Thus, Spurgeon sought to promote and resource women who evidenced an ability to teach the truth to others.

The Victorian era has captivated the imaginations of many in recent years. One contributing factor has been PBS’s hit series Victoria, which portrays the story of the illustrious queen from her coronation in 1837 at the tender age of eighteen through the ups and downs of one of the most intriguing periods in Britain’s national life. The Victorian era witnessed rapid industrial expansion, widespread social reform, and major developments in the fields of science and medicine. It was an age of enterprise and progress, of evolution and change.

When one peruses the most popular shows and books set in the Victorian era, certain stereotypes are usually present. Even the word “Victorian” itself evokes a certain set of ideas and expectations. Many think of civility, good breeding, and fine manners. Some of these stereotypes extend to gender and expectations for men and women. When one imagines Victorian women, one thinks of doilies, teas, dresses, novel-reading, and letter-writing. However, such associations are only superficial.

Many are surprised to learn that in the Victorian era, women formed a large part of the industrial work force. Women worked in factories, mills, and on farms. Many women engaged in philanthropic work and labored on the front lines of social reform. The Victorian era was the age of Florence Nightingale, Josephine Butler, and Elizabeth Fry. These women and others like them changed society in lasting ways, and all the while imbued millions of women with new prospects, aspirations, and ambitions.

In the evangelical world, women were heavily engaged in church ministry, philanthropic work, and social activism. Women discovered new usefulness in the life of the church, and many gave themselves with rugged determination to substantial kingdom efforts. Though almost all evangelicals of the day embraced the traditional biblical understanding of the office of elder/pastor and it being limited to men, this did not keep women from throwing themselves into various other forms of meaningful ministry.

Charles Spurgeon, the most popular preacher of the day, eagerly promoted a vision for women active in ministry to the church and to the world. Spurgeon believed that God called many women to serve Christ in large and inspiring ways. Spurgeon expected that the women of the Metropolitan Tabernacle would participate fully in the life of the local church and would contribute to the success of the church’s mission.

As Spurgeon expected women to engage in active work for Christ, he sought to promote the example of certain faithful women in his own life. Below is a brief survey of five women whose lives and ministries Spurgeon heartily celebrated and commended.

Eliza Spurgeon: A Faithful Mother

Eliza was the mother of seventeen children, only eight of whom survived infancy. She devoted herself tirelessly to the nurture and care of her family. Her eldest son, Charles, provided a number of touching tributes to his faithful mother over the course of his life and ministry. He once wrote,

“I cannot tell you how much I owe to the solemn words of my good mother…It was the custom, on Sunday evenings, while we were yet little children, for her to stay at home with us, and then we sat round the table and read verse by verse, and she explained the Scripture to us…. Certainly I have not the powers of speech with which to set forth my valuation of the choice blessing which the Lord bestowed on me in making me the son of one who prayed for me, and prayed with me. How can I ever forget her tearful eye when she warned me to escape from the wrath to come?… How can I forget when she bowed her knee, and with her arms about my neck, prayed, ‘Oh that my son might live before Thee!’”

Throughout his life, Spurgeon would reflect again on the profound worth and value of his godly mother.

Eliza’s second son, John Archer, who served as co-pastor to Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle once said, “She was the starting point of all the greatness any of us, by the grace of God, have ever enjoyed.”

Perhaps one of the greatest tokens of Eliza’s faithfulness as a Christian mother was that all eight of her surviving children professed faith in Christ and commended the faithful example of their mother in leading them to Jesus. Spurgeon’s father, John, also testified to Eliza’s faithful witness before her children, recalling how impressed he was as he “heard her pray for them one by one by name.”

Mary King: A Godly Mentor

After Spurgeon left his parents’ home, he went on to study at Newmarket Academy in Cambridge. While there he came under the influence of the humble and godly cook at the school named Mary King. Spurgeon was only fifteen-years-old when he met Mary, and she would come to have a tremendous influence on his spiritual development over the next two years. Spurgeon wrote of her,

“She was a good old soul [and] liked something very sweet indeed, good strong Calvinistic doctrine…. Many a time we have gone over the covenant of grace together, and talked of the personal election of the saints, their union to Christ, their final perseverance, and what vital godliness meant; and I do believe I learnt more from her than I should have learned from any six doctors of divinity of the sort we have nowadays.”

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