The Golden age. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1906-1915, May 03, 1906, Page 7, Image 7

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Hundreds Become Eager Soul-Winners How Business Man Led a Young Man to Christ at a Baseball Game —An Eleven-Year-Old Personal Worker How a Butcher, a Barber and a Blacksmith Started a Revival. UST one more week remains of the Phila delphia campaign, and as the memora ble three months’ movement draws to a close, the most significant feature of the work is the way in which hundreds of Christians have been fired with a holy passion for soul-winning. Their white hot fervor is a guarantee that the J revival will not end with the depart ure of the evangelists, but will continue for months and, maybe, years to come. Scores of people are pledging themselves to try to emulate the example of the late D. L. Moody, and never let a day pass without speaking to some one about their soul’s salvation and putting to them the question, “Are you a Christian?” A large number are carrying their Bibles in their pockets wherever they go in order that they may have a weapon—the Sword of the Spirit—with which to fight in their warfare against Satan. Business men are being fired with a passion for winning souls such as I have never seen surpassed. One member of a large firm is present almost every evening, and rarely leaves the building until the lights are turned out about 11 p. m. Since the movement began he has led thirty-three persons— mostly men—to Christ by actual count. He led one young man to Christ in the grand stand at the baseball park, while waiting for the first game of the season to begin. He told me the story as follows: Conversion at a Ball Game. “One day this week a friend sent me two tickets to the opening of the baseball season. I did not know what to do with them, and after going home I decided that I would give them away. On coming out of my house I met a young man friend whom I was anxious to see saved. I asked him where he was going, and he said to the baseball game. I said, ‘lf you will go with me, I will be very glad to take you in, as I have passes.’ “The young man consented, and we entered the grounds. After we were seated, the first thing I asked him was, ‘Are you a Christian?’ He said that he was not. I asked him if he had ever con sidered the matter, and he said that he thought he was too great a sinner. I showed him, however, that he was not, quoting to him several passages of Scripture. He replied, ‘This is a very serious matter with me, and I will now accept Jesus Christ as my Savior, and be baptized at our next baptism.’ “I had only gone to the ball game to lead that young man to Christ, though in former years I would have gone for the game itself, as I used to dearly love such sports. Oh, the joy that came into my heart as I heard that young man say he would take Christ as his Savior. He had been ill for six weeks. He had been a cigarette fiend. The transformation that came over him in a few min utes was beyond description.” In conclusion, the business man said, “Men do not get away from me in business, and I am de termined they shall not get away from me in com ing out for Christ. I am determined to use every bit of diplomacy I possess to win souls to Christ. I believe I have led more people to a definite de cision for Christ during the last two months than during my entire previous life.” Ch?Td Evangelists. The way in which some of the children of Phila delphia have caught the revival spirit is astonish ing. I recently noticed among those wearing a worker’s badge and doing active and personal work at the Armory, a bright-faced girl of eleven years of age. I asked her how she liked the work, and she said, “I am just delighted with it.” The Golden Age for May 3, 1906. By GEORGE T. B. DAVIS “Do you intend to keep it up after the meetings have ended?” “Yes, indeed,” exclaimed the little girl enthusi astically. “Here is my list of children with their names and addresses.” And the ardent little personal worker showed me a number of sheets of paper carefully cut and tied with ribbon. On one page were the names and ad dresses of the five she had led to Christ, written in a beautiful round, childish hand. “I talked to a girl all during recess,” she contin ued, “the other day. I just talked and talked, but she said she wouldn’t be a Christian. ‘Well,’ I said, ‘is there any harm in being a Christian?’ ‘No,’ she said, ‘but I just don’t want to be a Christian. ’ And she wouldn’t decide for Christ, but I’m going to. get another talk with her.” The bright-eyed soul-winner then went on to tell me about a little six year-old child with whom she had talked on the street, and who had clearly and definitely taken Christ as her Savior. The young soul-winner in sneaking of what happened after the six year-old child accepted Christ, said: “I sold, ‘What are you going to do now?’ Sim said, ‘I am going to tell mother I am saved. And I am going to confess mv Lord.’ She told me just what ‘repent’ and ‘believe’ meant, and said she was going to try and get her brother to take Christ. I was astonished at the little six year-old girl understanding everything so clearly.” The young worker then told me how she intended to keep the names of thos° she led to Christ until she was an old woman, and write to them occasion ally as the years went by. Her enthusiasm for per sonal work, and her clear-cut understanding of the way of salvation, and of how to win others, was one of the most beautiful and tonchino- things T, have witnessed in connection with the entire Phila delphia revival. Puhi'cation of the Revival Songs. A few days ago, Mr. Alexander was taking din ner with the editor of a loading Philadelphia naner, the Evening Telegraph, when tlm sinking evangelist was asked if he would like to take two columns in the paper each day during the rest of his stay in Philadelphia, and use them ns a means for reaching thousands of people who could not attend the meet ings at the Armory. The editor, Mr. Warburton, said he would give Mr. Alexander carte blanche to put anything he wished in the columns. The offer was gladly ac cepted, and now the singer has become an editor for two weeks. The feature made its appearance on Saturday on the front page of the paper under the title of “Alexander’s Songs and Stories.” Each day one of Mr. Alexander’s hymns, words and music, is also given. Tn introducing the series of articles in the Evening Telegraph, Mr. Alexan der said: “The editor of the Evening Telegraph has kindly given me two columns each day while I am in Phil adelphia to talk to the readers of his paper in any way I desire. I do not want to miss this oppor tunity of reaching the thousands of people who cannot possibly attend our meetings, and so I have gladly accepted his offer. “I am going to give you the kind of news that I wish had been given me when, as a boy, I used to read of the evangilistic campaign. I found when looking up the meetings of Moody and Sankey that they gave but four or five lines to the music and all the rest to a description of something else. I loved the sermons, but I wanted to know what songs were used, and what eff-et they had on the people. Using the Reports as Sermons. “I received a letter from a friend this morning in which was a statement of how a minister had been reading the reports of our meetings here in Philadelphia at each service in his church, and that the interest had increased until there were new conversions at every service.” The first song that appeared was Mr. Alexan der’s newest revival hymn, “Don’t Stop Praying,” which was used for the first time at the recent con vert’s testimony meeting at the Academy of Mu sic. The song was an instant success, and has now become one of the favorites of the campaign. A isitors continue to come from long distances, to witness the great work. Among recent visitors have been Mr. H. J. Heinz, the well known pickle manufacturer and Christian leader of Pittsburg; Dr. 11. AV. Pope, who has been associated with the Northfield work for many years; and the two broth ers of Mr. Alexander. One evening Dr. Torrey called upon Dr. Pope to tell “How the Revival Came to Berwick.” The narrative aroused much interest. Dr. Pope said in part: Answers to Prayer. “It was in the winter of 1892-3, in the town of Berwick, Me. There had been a special effort to get young men into the lodges which was very suc cessful. A converted barber had become greatly concerned about the difficulty of getting men into the churches and the ease with which they got them into the lodges. He took into his counsel a very earnest Christian man who was a butcher. They talked and prayed it over, and took in a third man —a blacksmith. These three men prayed on a lit tle while, and finally decided to organize a band ol men to work. They organized a body of seven teen men, and decided for lack of a better name to call it “The Berwick Band.” They met every Monday night in the vestry of the church. “The Berwick Band selected the wickedest man they knew of, and prayed for him persistently, and went after him persistently. They picked out a man who had been a drunkard from his boyhood; his father and his brother had committed suicide in drunkenness. In less than a couple of weeks he came down to one of the meetings, and said, ‘Boys, I’d give my life if I could get what you fellows •say you have.’ They assured him that he could have it, that Christ could save him, and he accept ed Christ that night. “That encouraged them, and they selected the next worst man they .knew and prayed definitely for him. In two years there were no less than 350 conversions as the result of the efforts of the Berwick Band, 200 of whom were men, and fully sixty of whom had been drunkards all their lives before their conversion, and only three had backslidden. “The blacksmith became a traveling salesman, and was so earnest in his Christian life, that they made him a local preacher. The butcher and bar ber remain in their trades, but are often at con ventions, and find time to do a great deal of Chris tian work.” This remarkable story shows what three simple men accomplished through united prayer. AA T hat they did in Berwick can be done anywhere, if a little group of people will get together, form a prayer circle, and meet weekly, to pray definitely and be lievingly for the unsaved persons. "Will not every reader of th’s paper endeavor to form such a prayer circle in your community. “Pray Through” and “Don’t Stop Praying,” and victory will come, 7