Rodney Smith was born in Wanstead, England on March 31, 1860 to Cornelius and Mary Smith. His family was poor and couldn't afford to give him an education. To make ends meet they would sell baskets, tinware, and clothespins. They lived in a gipsy wagon.
Cornelius would play his violin at the local taverns while Rodney would dance and collect money. Even though they were around these rough men, Rodney never smoked or drank. His father, however, was in and out of prison for various offenses, usually because he couldn't afford to pay fines.
One day, while in prison, Cornelius heard the gospel from a prison chaplain. When he went home, he tried to explain the gospel to his wife who was sick with smallpox. Her dying words were, "I believe. Be a good father to my children. I know God will take care of my children."
Rodney was still a young child when his mother died, but he never forgot seeing her burial.
Cornelius made good on his promise to Mary. All six children grew up to enter into the ministry.
Cornelius got together with his brothers and they met a local innkeeper who had a copy of Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. Hearing the story made them decide that this was the ministry that they wanted to be in. He was invited to the Latimer Road Mission where he started to attend regularly with all his children. It was here that he accepted Christ as his personal Savior.
Rodney ran out of the church thinking that his dad had gone crazy! But, he soon began to see the power of prayer in his father's life. Once when they had no food or money, their father fell on his knees and prayed and then began to sing with the children. They were interrupted by a knock on the side of the gipsy wagon. The town missionary said that there was groceries for them at their relatives house in town. It took a wheelbarrow to bring the load of groceries home.
Rodney wasn't saved until he was 16 years old. He was able to hear Ira Sankey sing, visit the home of John Bunyan, and witness the faith of his "new" father. It was at the foot of a statue of John Bunyan that Rodney decided he wanted to live for Jesus.
A few days later, at a chapel, Rodney went forward for the invitation and received Christ as his personal Savior. Somebody whispered, "Oh, it's only a gipsy boy." This statement would later become how he was affectionately known.
He got a Bible, and a dictionary, and carried them everywhere he went. He said, "One day I'll be able to read them, and I'm going to preach, too." He taught himself to read and write. And he would practice preaching to a turnip field.
He would sing hymns to the people he met and became known as the singing gipsy boy. At 17, he attempted his first public preaching on a corner near where the family gipsy wagon was parked. Not long after, William Booth (founder of the Salvation Army) asked Rodney to preach. Rodney sang a solo and gave his testimony. Mr. Booth invited him to be an evangelist for the Mission.
He married Annie Pennock on December 17, 1879. She was one of his converts from a Mission in Whitby, England. Their first child was born in 1880.
It was in the town of Hull that Rodney first was called Gipsy Smith. He would meet at a local Ice House, and soon had around 1,500 people gathering to hear him preach. But, Satan began to discourage him.
When Dwight L. Moody visited England in 1881, Gipsy went to hear him. He was greatly encouraged by this visit to London.
In December 1881, Gipsy moved his family to Hanley. He stayed always came back here and considered it his second home. He was gathering large crowds not 6 months after starting his ministry there. The local people warmly accepted them, and brought them gifts. Gipsy accepted the presents, which was against the Salvation Army's policy, and so he was dismissed from them. His eight assignments for the Salvation Army had yielded 23,000 proclamations of Salvation.
The next chapter in Gipsy's life found him in Cambridge, which became his permanent home. He would regularly travel to Hanley to minister to the people there. The crowds grew to be around 4,000 people. Once, they caused the floor to collapse under them injuring 70 people.
He visited Sweden in 1883 and again in 1884. His daughter was born during one of these visits. He was invited to appear on the Congregational Union of England and Wales, and because of this invitation he began to travel extensively for the years of 1886 through 1888.
In 1889, He visited America. He met a Dr. Prince who opened his church in Brooklyn to Gipsy for a three week crusade. The auditorium was packed and between 300 to 400 people accepted Christ as their personal Savior.
Next, he travelled to San Francisco and preached to large crowds there.
When he returned to England in 1900, he became the assistant in the Manchester Wesleyan Mission. He did a ten day campaign there where the Holy Spirit moved so mightily that people left the local theatre and bars to come hear him preach.
His took more than twenty-five more trips to America, preached in Canada, Scotland, and even went as far as Australia and New Zealand multiple times, and down to South Africa to spread the news that sinners need a Savior. Among those who heard his preaching were Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, President Grover Cleveland, and a 70 year old Fanny Crosby who also sang one of her hymns at his meeting, and he received a letter from Queen Victoria herself.
He preached in France at the beginning of World War 1, and for the next 3 years ministered under the YMCA to the British troops there, often visiting the front lines.
In 1922, during his sixth trip to America, he was preaching to around 6,000 blacks in Nashville, Tennessee. Once while preaching to a black only congregation in Dallas, one woman yelled out, "What color are we going to be in heaven? Shall we be black or white?" and Gipsy replied, "My dear sister, we are going to be just like Christ." This resulted in a loud "Amen" all over the hall.
Gipsy's wife, Annie, died in 1937 in America. He, himself, went home to be with the Lord while traveling across the Atlantic on August 4, 1947.
Gipsy smith wrote several books and songs during his lifetime and preached all over the world and through two world wars. It wasn't the size of the congregation, the nationality or race of the people, or even the famous people that came to hear him preach that kept Gipsy going. He would preach to any and all denominations, rich or poor, young or old, in tobacco warehouses and war ravaged cities, and it is said that he never had a meeting without conversions. He once said, "I didn't go through your colleges and seminaries. They wouldn't have me. But, I have been to the feet of Jesus where the only true scholarship is learned."
Gipsy's life shows us what we can accomplish if we use our lives for Christ's ministry. Our education and status in life mean nothing. We are all sinners in need of a Savior who can become a mirror that reflects Christ's grace.
The world says I'm dreaming, but I know 'tis Jesus
Who saves me from bondage and sin's guilty stain;
He is my Lover, my Savior, my Master,
'Tis He who has freed me from guilt and it's pain.
The world says I'm dreaming;
Let me dream on, My sins are gone;
Night turns to dawn, Love's light is beaming,
So if I'm dreaming, Let me dream on.
- Rodney "Gipsy" Smith
