James H. Brookes

Who was James H. Brookes?

James H. Brookes, D. D., American religious writer, was pastor of Walnut Street Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Brookes Bible Institute of St. Louis was named in his honor. Dr. Brookes was a prolific writer, having authored more than 200 booklets and tracts. He was a well-known Bible teacher and the editor of The Truth, a periodical which served, along with the journal Watchword, as the official organ of the premillennial movement until his death in 1897.

Brookes was the most prominent dispensationalist of his generation and was the central figure of the dispensationalist movement during a period of growth. He was a key leader in the famous Niagara Bible Conference and largely responsible for the authorship of the Niagara Creed. Beginning in 1875, he was the keynote speaker of the conference and for many years served as its president. He befriended Dwight L. Moody during a revival in St. Louis in 1880 and mentored C. I. Scofield, editor of the Scofield Reference Bible.