Needham was the son of John Needham, Bap­tist min­is­ter of Hitch­in, Hert­ford­shire, Eng­land. He was doubt­less ed­u­cat­ed by his fa­ther, who was a tu­tor and in re­pute as a learn­ed man. In 1750 John be­came co-pas­tor with John Bed­dome at the Bap­tist meet­ing house in Pi­thay, Bris­tol; two years lat­er, Beddome hav­ing re­tired, a vi­o­lent con­tro­ver­sy arose with­in the church re­gard­ing the co-pas­tor sys­tem. As a re­sult, Need­ham and a num­ber of his friends moved to a Bap­tist meet­ing house in Cal­low­hill Street, where a Mr. Foot was pas­tor. For a time the two groups used the same build­ing at dif­fer­ent hours, but in 1755 they unit­ed, with Need­ham and Foot as co-pas­tors. The ar­range­ment con­tin­ued at least to 1774, but both Need­ham and Foot died by 1787. Need­ham’s works in­clude:

• Hymns De­vo­tion­al and Mor­al on Var­i­ous Sub­jects (Bris­tol, Eng­land: S. Far­ley, 1768)

Sources

Lyrics

1. Ashamed of Christ! My Soul Disdains
2. Awake, My Tongue, Thy Tribute Bring
3. Glory to God, Who Reigns Above
4. Great Author of the Immortal Mind
5. Happy the Man Whose Cautious Steps
6. Ho­ly and Reverend Is the Name
7. Kind Are the Words That Jesus Speaks
8. Lord, Ere the Heavenly Seed Is Sown
9. Methinks the Last Great Day Is Come
10. Rise, O My Soul, Pursue the Path
11. See How the Little Toiling Ant
12. Thou Art, O God, a Spirit Pure
13. To Praise the Ever Bounteous Lord
14. When Some Kind Shepherd from His Fold