Perry Boardman was raised in a Christian home; his parents saw to it that he was in church every Sunday. Though the church he attended was somewhat liberal and worldly, there were some individuals within whom God used to plant seeds in his life.
For a number of years, Perry had no interest in spiritual things. He was rebellious against authority and as a teenager became heavily involved in drugs. It appeared his life was ruined and without hope. But God in His mercy intervened and, through various circumstances, drew Perry to Christ, his only hope.
When a good friend made a profession of faith, God used it to spark a desire in Perry to become a Christian. But as so many do to their peril, he chose to wait for a more convenient time. A little later he attended a revival, which the Lord used to bring him under conviction, but he was still unwilling to make a commitment to Christ. Then one night, he talked with his sister about the need to become saved—and she urged him to seek Christ. He feared that if he didn’t do so that night, he never would, and therefore could put it off no longer. He repented from his sins and received Christ as his Lord and Savior.
For the next few years, Perry’s life was like a roller coaster because he was inconsistent in his devotions. He often fell into the same sins he was involved in before he became saved. But since he was a new creature in Christ, he couldn’t remain comfortable in his sin. God was always faithful to deliver him and bring him back to the narrow way.
By God’s grace, Perry began memorizing Scripture and became more consistent in his devotions, which provided more spiritual stability. In his quest for truth, God led him to the biblical teachings of the Protestant Reformation. He came to love the doctrines of grace and the writings of Charles Spurgeon, Arthur W. Pink, and the Puritans.
Eventually, Perry felt the Lord wanted him to become involved in some kind of ministry, so he began attending Bible college. But it wasn’t until his final year that he knew what the Lord wanted him to do. A friend told him how Spurgeon used to send tracts to people; that gave him the idea to follow his example and do the same. Soon afterwards, upon the suggestion of his father, he was led to start Eternal Life Ministries in order to expand his outreach. With limited funds, he made some tracts and obtained resources from other ministries to distribute. It was at this time that Chapel Library was especially helpful, as they provided many excellent resources at low cost.
Chapel Library was not only helpful to Eternal Life Ministries, but to Perry personally. He frequently visited their website for the resources they had to offer and posted messages on their message board. It was there he came in contact with Emmett O’Donnell, who was updating Spurgeon’s sermons into modern English for use in his prison ministry. He gave some to Perry on a CD and Perry began adding them to the Eternal Life Ministries’ site.
With limited server space, it soon became evident another site would be needed for the sermons: thus the Spurgeon Gems site was created. Emmett wanted to help with the site and so he was taken on as webmaster. Over the next several years, he faithfully added sermons until the Spurgeon’s complete 63 volumes of sermons were online. During this time, Allan Roman, who was translating Spurgeon’s sermons into Spanish, provided over 500 sermons for the site. Also during this time, Eternal Life Ministries obtained audio sermons of Spurgeon on CDs and received permission to make copies. These were converted to MP3s and added to the site, along with others provided by Chapel Library.
When Emmett finished proofing the sermons, they were proofed again with the help of other volunteers. One of these volunteers (who asked that her name not be given) offered to provide unabridged sermons. Since then, she and her sister have been faithfully sending sermons for Spurgeon Gems as soon as they are proofed. She also has proofed a number of books for the site.
Not long after Spurgeon Gems was created, writings of Arthur W. Pink were provided by Chapel Library for the Eternal Life Ministries’ site. They were added over a period of several years and included a number of books and issues of Studies in the Scriptures from 1932 to 1953.
In 2008, a brother (who asked that his name not be given) offered Albert Martin’s “Here We Stand” series, which he converted to MP3 files from tapes provided by Chapel Library. These were then added to the Eternal Life Ministries’ site. When additional messages were offered, another site was needed, and so Sovereign Grace Audio Treasures was created the next year (www.sg-audiotreasures.org). This brother became the webmaster and has provided thousands of messages by Albert Martin and hundreds of messages by other reformed preachers.
Chapel Library and the volunteers who have generously given of their time have been a great blessing; their help has been greatly appreciated. Praise the Lord for how He has wonderfully blessed and provided for the needs of these ministries through the voluntary help of His people! It’s by His grace they have been able to continue and minister to others with the teaching of His Word. To Him be all the glory!
Perry considered it a wonderful privilege to minister to others through Spurgeon Gems. Many people expressed their appreciation for the blessings they received, which was a great encouragement. So it was difficult for him to part with this ministry, but this became necessary due to health problems. However, Perry counted it a joy to put it in the hands of Chapel Library because of the blessing they have been, and knowing they are seeking be faithful to God’s Word to do all for His glory.