John Kershaw (1792-1870) was a Particular Baptists pastor for fifty-two years of Hope Chapel, Rochdale. He exercised a powerful ministry among the church, and became an influential preacher across the country. Few ministers remain faithful to a single congregation for an extended period-Kershaw committed himself to the same church he attended as a boy. This autobiography "Memorials of the Mercies of a Covenant God while Traveling through the Wilderness", is one of the best written of its genre. He preached and taught the doctrines of grace along with his contemporaries William Gadsby, John Warburton, J.C. Philpott. These men were all Calvinists maintaining the bible to be the word of God and giving all the praise and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation.