"The Truth" Really Began...

With:..   Founder, William Irvine
Where:  Ireland
When:   Around the turn of the 20th century (1897-1899)

The following chronological account of the group's history is supported by letters, records of the court and government, books, newspaper reports, sermon and funeral notes, as well as eye-witness accounts.

1893, Jan 7:  William Irvine, a Scotsman (age 30) professed in a revival service held in Motherwell, Scotland by Reverend John McNeill, who was a well-known evangelist associated with the D. L. Moody campaign. Additional Information

1895, June 14:  William Irvine became a worker with the Faith Mission. The Faith Mission was founded in 1886 to evangelize rural Scotland. It is an independent evangelistic movement, not a denomination. Their workers depend upon God for guidance, wisdom and material needs; are itinerant, preach in pairs, hold conventions, special and union meetings, stay in converts' homes and make no appeals for money. They use the terms: professing, workers, missions, companion, fields, the work, harvest field.

1897:  Faith Mission sent William Irvine to pioneer their work in S. Ireland. Reportedly, while reading Matt. 10:8-10, William was struck with a thought. "WHAT IF Jesus intended for His instructions to the 12 Apostles in Matt. 10 to be followed by all preachers for all times?"

1897, Aug.:  William Irvine met John Long, a Methodist colporteur (itinerant seller of religious printed material) and together, they held the FIRST mission independent of Faith Mission, in Nenagh, County Tipperary, S. Ireland.  Several converts later became workers.

For the next 3 years, Irvine accepted Faith Mission funds, hospitality and facilities while he worked out his own method. He wanted to get back to Biblical basics and taught that all ministers must follow Jesus' instructions to the apostles in Matt. 10; leaving their homes, families, property and responsibilities and going out to preach two-by-two. He copied the majority of the Faith Mission methods and traditions; used their terminology and dress code; duplicated their portable meeting halls and living quarters (batches), black stockings, hats and court-shoes for women; and conventions. He believed he had restored "God's only true way."

1897, Oct. 10-31:  Irvine held his second independent mission in County Meath near Rathmolyon, 25 miles NW of Dublin. 14 workers resulted.

1899:  George Walker was FIRST associated with William Irvine.

1899, Oct.:  William Irvine and 7 other young men travelled to Scotland for the FIRST experimental GROUP mission, putting into practice Jesus' Matt. 10 instructions to the Apostles. (View photo of Bicycle Boys.) The others believed Irvine introduced religious methods which were ordained by God and believed that "The Jesus' Way" was a restoration of God's Scriptural pattern for ministers, and that theirs was the only true New Testament ministry.

1900:  The FIRST women entered the work: Sara Rogers, and sisters, Jennie and Emma Gill. William Irvine was joined by Willie Gill, John Hardie, Irvine Weir, Will Cleland, Matt Wilson, John Sullivan, A. Alexander, Ben Boles, Albert Quinn, for a total of 17 workers.

1900-1901:  The FIRST convention was held on Willie Gill's farm in Rathmolyon, Ireland, near Dublin. It was similar to the annual conventions held at Keswick, England; and those of Faith Mission. 70 attended for 3 weeks. William Irvine was viewed as a prophet; one God raised up to restore God's way. The group began to be called "Tramp Preachers."

1901:  Irvine and John Kelly left the Faith Mission.

1901:  Edward Cooney joined William Irvine. Followers increased rapidly. The group FIRST began to be called Cooneyites.  [10 new workers went out making 28 total.]

1902:  FIRST Convention was held at Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, S. Ireland. [23 new Workers went out making 51 total.]

1903:  FIRST Convention was held at Portadown, Co. Armagh, N. Ireland. Started baptizing for the FIRST time and also formed churches. The followers now consisted of both  workers and saints. [Jack Carroll and his sister, Francis, entered the work, making 125 workers total.] [32 new workers went out making 83 total; including Mr. & Mrs. William (Bill) Carroll and Bill's sister May.]

1903, Sept.:  The FIRST workers ventured outside the British Isles, pioneering the work around the world. The FIRST workers in the USA were William Irvine, George Walker and Irvine Weir.

1904, Sept/Oct:  The FIRST Convention at Crocknacrievewas held on John West's farm near Enniskillen, N. Ireland, lasting 4 weeks.

1904-08:  The FIRST Sunday Morning Meeting was held in Dublin. Ireland, over Weirs Store on Baggot Street where the Weir family lived.  View Photo

1905:  The FIRST Official Workers' List was distributed, containing 200+ workers' names.

1906: All the workers were required to accept, believe and promote The Living Witness Doctrine; i.e. that Irvine's workers were God's ONLY true preachers, and that salvation could ONLY be acquired by professing through one of them; i.e. "Life begets life. Without life, there can be no life."  "A person may be born again through a living witness, without one -- never."

THE OMEGA GOSPEL:   Wm Irvine saw the period leading up to Aug, 1914 as the end of the Age of Saving Grace, and believed God had appointed him to bring the last message of Jesus Christ to the world before the judgment.  He believed that he and the Apostle John were to be the two witnesses of Rev. l l, who would have power over plagues and droughts and would be killed and raised up after 3-1/2 days.  He encouraged people to prepare for a great famine, and urged them to sell their homes and farms and invest their money in food and other provisions that would enable them to survive this impending calamity.  He referred to his earlier teachings as his "Alpha Gospel," and his later beliefs as his "Omega Gospel."

1914, The Division of 1914:   Irvine's  new revelations were not well received by the other leading workers.  Some felt certain that in the beginning, Wm Irvine had been "highly favored by God." HOWEVER, they drew the line at his Omega Message, and some felt that, like Saul, Irvine had lost "his anointing."  Eventually, the other leading workers refused to submit to Irvine's leadership any longer, and offered him a position as one of them, which he refused.  After that, they refused to give him opportunity to speak at conventions in their fields, and began to turn his friends against him, and to excommunicate any who were loyal to him.  In time, Wm Irvine and the other leading workers parted ways, and the group split for the FIRST time.  The majority of the friends followed the leading workers, yet some believed and followed his Omega Gospel and followed Wm and his new revelations. Some reasons given for Irvine's departure are that Irvine (1) had too much pride, (2) made wild, embarrassing prophecies, (3) became mentally unbalanced and (4) was morally indiscreet.

1913-14: The FIRST edition of Hymns Old & New was published, consisting of 256 hymns. Many hymns were taken from popular Christian hymnbooks. Additional Information

1919: William Irvine moved to Jerusalem. Those believing his "Omega Gospel" continued to support him financially via correspondence. Calling themselves the Message People or The Witnesses, they took no official name, and there are still members of this group who believe they alone know the true meaning of the Scriptures, as written in Irvine's letters to them.

1921: The Staffordshire Workers' Convention was held with a commemorative photograph. 200+ workers were present. [Some pictured are: Ed Cooney #69; Geo. Walker #17; Jack Carroll #93; May Carroll #201.]

Ed Cooney refused to recognize territories of others, or to stay in one himself. He was against taking a name for the group and didn't believe in the Living Witness Doctrine. He didn't believe baches or conventions were scriptural. The workers asked when he was in their fields that he not teach anything contrary to what they did, but Cooney would not agree.

1928, The Division of 1928: Ed Cooney was excommunicated and the SECOND split in the group occurred. Those siding with Cooney left and this group still exists. Cooney's followers took no official name, use the 1951 Hymns Old & New, and are called by others "The Cooneyites."  Cooney continued as an itinerant, unmarried, evangelist until his death in 1960.

1929: Central Bible Truth Depot, London, published a warning pamphlet titled: The Cooneyites or Go-Preachers and Their Doctrine.

1930, July 19-20:  At a conference of workers, a decision was made to bury the past and repair the breach between Jack Carroll and George Walker. This was held in/at W. Hanney in England. A Statement  was signed by 16 workers that read: "It was unanimously agreed by all present that THE PAST SHOULD BE BURIED, and that in the future all would use their influence to discourage anything that would disturb the peace in God's family, adhering to the teaching and example of Jesus."

1941: The SECOND World War began. George Walker registered the group with the USA under the name of "Christian Conventions," and stated: "...during the closing years of the last century and the first years of this century a number of people in the British Isles and in America... became fully convinced that there should be a return to the methods...carried out by Christ and His first disciples...and in due time, a number of these people went forth to devote their lives to the preaching of the Gospel according to the teaching and example of Christ as given in the New Testament, i.e. "two by two" and without salary or making appeals for financial assistance, putting implicit trust in God and His promise...As a result...many people expressed their desire to be in fellowship with such preachers and this led to regular gatherings of small assemblies in homes for worship and study of God's word."

1947, March 3: William Irvine died in Jerusalem at age 84 from throat cancer. He is buried in Zion Cemetery, Jerusalem without a tombstone. Additional Information

1951-52: THIRD Edition of Hymns Old & New published. Of 335 hymns, 43% were written by outsiders.

1954:  Doug Parker distributed thousands of his report, "A Spiritual Fraud," uncovering the hidden history of the group.

1960, June 20: Edward Cooney died at age 93 in Mildura, Victoria, Australia, 32 years after his excommunication. His influence has lived on through the well known Hymns he wrote: Jesus Died for Sinners; As We Gather; Our God, Our Father; Here We Come; and Lord, We Are Met Together. These are the ONLY hymns for which the the author's name is not given on the Hymn Author List.

1982: The FIRST book is published about the history of the group: The Secret Sect by Doug & Helen Parker.

1987: FOURTH Edition of Hymns Old & New is published. Of 412 hymns, 26% were written by outsiders.

1990:  The historical facts were well on the way to becoming common knowledge of the friends through mass mailings and internet.

There are some that refuse to believe that this group started as described above.

If it is true...it should be easy to prove that this ministry and church has continued in an unbroken line from the New Testament Days.

Just locate one of the following, bearing a date earlier than 1896:

 1. hymn written by a friend or worker
 2. printed hymnbook
 3. photograph of a worker or friend
 4. workers' list
 5. letter written by a worker or friend
 6. convention date list or speakers list
 7. notes of any convention, funeral or meeting

Or find just one person who:

 1. had a family member to profess prior to 1896
 2. had heard of anyone professing prior to 1896
 3. has known of any workers prior to 1896  

HARD QUESTIONS...

• If one MUST hear the gospel from a worker to be saved, how was William Irvine saved?

• Since this church was started by a man a little over 100 years ago, how can it be God's only true way?

• How is it different from or superior to any other church having a founder?

• What happened to the millions of people who lived before William Irvine started this church?   Did they all go to a lost eternity?

Sources are substantiated in The Basic Researcher's Guide, which contains bibliography information for books, newspaper articles, publications, photos, meetings, funerals, letters, genealogy, conventions, lists, statements, early missions, transcripts, quotes regarding this church and William Irvine.

SOME WORKERS' EXPLANATIONS:

Over the years some have asked workers about the beginnings and some have needed to document the beginnings. Here are some of those explanations:

"During the closing years of the last century and the first years of this century, a number of people in the British Isles and America…in the several churches of which they were then members…became fully convinced that there should be a return to the methods and purposes taught and carried out by Christ and His first disciples. This conviction led to…religious meetings, and in due time a number of these people…devote(d) their lives to the preaching of the Gospel according to the teaching and example of Christ as given in the New Testament, i.e., "two by two" and without salary …putting implicit trust in God…As a result…many people…desired to be in fellowship with such preachers and this led to regular gatherings together of small assemblies in homes for worship and study of God's word."  George Walker, Letter to US Selective Service, 1942

"We did not start this Jesus way...it was started and planned by God before we were ever thought of, and if you go any other way you will go to hell." Ed Cooney, Aug. 5, 1909 Impartial Reporter

"Our mission was started by William Irwin, a Scotchman, seven or eight years ago.  Others followed him.  I myself was a Civil Servant in Dublin.  I resigned my post, sold all that I had and gave to the poor, and went out to preach."  Wilson McClung, Overseer of New Zealand, Feb. 16, 1905 Impartial Reporter)

"Since early workers followed a Scottish preacher in Ireland before the turn of the 20th century, they have spent their lives traveling from home to home with little more than their clothes." William Lewis, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota 11/2/86

"We are often asked who started this church? Heb. 12:2 'Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith...' Jesus gave us God's eternal plan of salvation in its fullness. He is both the author and finisher." Dan Hilton, Burlington, WA Special Meeting, 1/1/84

"Jesus Himself set us up." Tharold Sylvester, The Bellingham Herald, 8/20-/83.  "We are not following some way founded in the early 1900's, but it goes clear back to Christ." Tharold Sylvester, 11/16/83

"Ireland is the only country where workers weren't imported, but rather exported." Sydney Holt, 6/27/85 Letter

"We believe we have existed since Jesus sent forth the 70 disciples, two by two." Richard Sullivan, 1943

"The church does not have a name, even though it has existed at least since the turn of the century," Greg Kilgas;  

"The church has existed right from the beginning. It's a continuation of what happened in the New Testament in the Book of Acts."  Howard Nussbaum, The N'West Iowa Review, Sheldon, IA 9/14/96

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