"The conversion and salvation of sinners is owing entirely to the sovereign mercy of God"..."it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, because sinners always will wrong, and always run wrong".

Soon after his conversion which occurred during the great revival of 1800 Asahel determined to serve Christ on the mission field, but God planned other wise. He entered Yale in 1805 and graduated in 1809 as an ordinary student academically but he had an extraordinary passion for Christ and the lost.

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A Brief Biographical Sketch of Asahel Nettleton
The Conversion of Asahel Nettleton
The Life and Labours of Asahel Nettleton

Sermons:
The Final Warning
Regeneration
Professing Christians, Awake
The Destruction of Hardened Sinners
Rejoice Youn Man

After studying under Rev. Bezaleel Pinneo of Connecticut, he began his itinerant ministry. His work began during the time of the great excesses and divisions that were arising out of the great awakening. After studying the cause and effects of these numerous disorders, he set a sane course for himself and his ministry. From the beginning of his labors God crowned his preaching with glorious power, and revival after revival occurred. In 1817 he was ordained a congregational evangelist. He was himself one the wisest and most cautious itinerants ever to grace this nation. His theology was thoroughly in keeping with that of the godly men who had preceded him in the Congregational and Presbyterian Churches of the land.

Asahel Nettleton was a leading figure in one of the most important half-centuries in American Church history. From the late 1790s to the early 1840s a succession of revivals transformed the spiritual prospects of the nation.

(abbreviated from a biographical sketch of Asahel Nettleton by Dr. Tom Nettles, www.founders.org)

In his meetings, the atmosphere was quiet, dignified, and solemn. He always involved local pastors in his awakening work, and emphasized the need to teach and nurture any who were converted. A bachelor, Nettleton lived simply, accumulated no property, and did not charge any fees. When Charles Finney began to become popular, Nettleton was the most outspoken in criticizing him for his innovations; he thought Finney's informal approach was not as dignified and reverential as it should be. Nor did he like Finney's method of pressing for immediate decisions. Nettleton suffered poor health for most of his life, and died at the age of 61.