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Tolvn Transformed by 'Re bib al.
The Story of a 'Remarkable Rebib al in Abingdon, 111. —Ober 700 Conberts and the Place Completely Transformed.
REMARKABLE revival has just swept
over the town of Abingdon, 111., con
verting all the unsaved inhabitants save
two or three hundred. The place is
now transformed. The streets resound
with Gospel songs day and night. Cot
tage prayer meetings are the chief in
terest of the people. Young hoodlums,
who loafed about gambling and swear-
A
ihg, now spend their leisure hours reading their
Bibles and praying, and working for the lost. I
have just returned from spending a week in the
town, and find the 'community has been moved in
much the same manner as were the Welsh villages
in the height of the awakening there.
The movement began under the leadership of two
young evangelists, Ira Evans Hicks and E. S. Gallo
way, assisted by Homer Alexander, brother of
Charles M. Alexander, the associate of Doctor Tor
rey. Some idea of the upheaval wrought by the re
vival may be gained from the fact that there were
over 700 converted, with scores of backsliders re
claimed, in a town of only about 2,500 population.
The meetings began a month ago in the largest
church in Abingdon, seating SOO people. It soon
proved altogether too small, and with typical west
ern energy the people, led by the evangelists, set
to work to erect a tabernacle that would accommo
date the crowds. With the assistance of about fifty
volunteers a tabernacle seating 2.000 was erected
in three days. Not a penny was spent for labor. It
contained a semi-circular choir platform accom
modating three hundred; was lighted with elec
tricty, heated with stoves. Then the meetings went
forward with redoubled vigor. The “tough” young
men of the town attended nightly, the farmers drove
in from all the surrounding district, and the build
ing proved none too large to hold the throngs which
gathered day by day to witness the work of grace.
It was in answer to prayer that the fire fell and
the work began. The young evangelists and their
helpers make it a rule to spend an hour daily .in
united prayer for the unsaved and for the descent
of the Holy Ghost upon the community where they
labor. The people quickly caught the burden for
souls and they, too, spent much time upon their
knees crying to God. During the fourth week over
one hundred people agreed to spend at least half
an hour daily in prayer. Some of the children
were filled with such great fervor that they spent
an hour or more in supplication during the closing
days of the work.
The revival flame swept the town in away that
left no doubt that it was a genuine work of God.
Among the early converts were boys and girls; then
came young men and women; and, finally, drunkards,
gamblers, business men, college students, workmen
in the factories, and gray-haired army veterans. In
a number of cases four or five members of one
family were converted, and the homes changed into
a bit of heaven on earth. One young man arose
in the meeting last Sunday night and testified that
his father (an ex-saloonkeeper), and mother and
five brothers and four sisters had been saved—-
eleven in all —and that his father had established a
family altar. Only one sister remains unsaved.
Please pray for her that the whole family may be
united in Christ.
Near the close of the big tabernacle meetings only
a small percentage of the people remained unsaved
—about one-tenth. In the large wagon factory in
Abingdon, scores of the men went forward and
found Christ. The entire atmosphere of the place
was changed. Scarcely half a dozen men were left
unsaved.
Instead of drinking and swearing at the dinner
hour, they now have a daily song service and pray
er meeting. One of the factory converts was an
atheist for many years, who roundly cursed every
thing Christian. His face now shines with the
peace of God and he carries a little Testament in
his pocket wherever he goes. Another convert was a
notorious character about town, drinking and ca-
The Golden Age for February 21, 1907.
By GEORGE T. B. DAVIS
rousing, and being once nearly killed in a brawl.
He is a big, vigorous man, and is now throwing all
his energy into winning others to Christ. Within
four days after his conversion he had led nine old
companions to the front .to publicly confess their
faith.
Hedding College is located in Abingdon, and the
revival wrought a great change there. Os the
hundred and fifty regular students, all but four or
five are now saved, and “every student for Christ”
is the watchword of the student body. As one of
the professors expressed it: “Nobody tries to keep
track of the prayer meetings. The attendance varies
from two up to almost the "whole number of stu
dents. ’ ’
One of the most enthusiastic converts was the ed
itor of one of the local newspapers. He helped
promote the movement and spread the fire into the
country districts by placing his paper in the hands
of the evangelists last week. They issued three
“revival editions,” describing the work in Abing
don and giving news of the world-wide awakening.
In each issue there were about two columns of
Scripture narrative put into newspaper form; and
a decision card which could be signed by any reader
and sent to the evangelists. It created great inter
est, and it is hoped it will result in the salvation of
souls.
Rev. F. L. Hanscom pastor of the Congregational
church in Abingdon, in giving one of the “revival
editions” his impressions of the work of grace, be
fore the tabernacle meetings ended, said:
“The great revival which is sweeping over the
city is the greatest blessing that has come to it
since its inception. The churches are united as
never before, Christians love as at no other time.
And there are more saved souls in Abingdon today
than at any period of her past history. Five hun
dred and more have been wondrously and glorious
ly converted to God. Husbands have been saved
and liberated from habits that bound them and made
them slaves—wives have been saved from indiffer
ent lives and made to shine anew for Jesus—while
scores have gone back to the grave where they years
ago buried all their hopes and bidding them come
forth came back with shining faces, saying, “The
lost is found; henceforth and forever we live for
Jesus.’ Pay—it has paid many thousand-fold. No
valuation can be placed upon the good done during
this revival meeting.
“Christian people should thank God for the com
ing of Hicks and Galloway. They have awakened
us—aroused us—led us into a closer walk with God,
and, best of all, have piloted five hundred precious
souls over the turbulent waters of a sinful world
to the foot of the cross. Thank God—'but God be
praised for the great, the marvelous, the glorio ’s
work of grace. Let all the people say, ‘Amen.’ ”
The greatest day of the revival was the day which
the people spent in fasting and prayer. The public
schools and stores closed a part of the morning,
while Hedding College had no session throughout
the day. About 1,000 people assembled at the tab
ernacle at 10:30 a. m., to listen to a sermon on
the 'Second Coming of Christ, by Mr. Hicks;’ and
thereafter the service continued for over twelve
hours. It was nearly 11:00 p. in. when they finally
left the 'tabernacle. All the people did not stay
the entire twelve hours, but the meeting went on
without a break, and the average present throughout
the day was fully 600. Hundreds spent four to
eight hours at the tabernacle singing praises and
crying mightily to God for the unsaved. Between
five and six o’clock all knelt and continued an hour
upon their knees before the Lord. Prayer was an
swered in a wonderful manner. In the afternoon
a noted local character, for whom many had been
praying, went to the front amid tears of joy. At
night he proudly took forward four of his former
associates. Almost agonizing prayer had also been
offered for a man who seemed well-nigh demon-pos
sessed in his opposition to the revival and to Chris
tianity. At night he was one of about thirty—
most of them strong men—who went forward to ac
cept Christ.
One of the most striking visible results of the
awakening was the increased demand for Bibles and
Testaments. The dealers could not gel them fast
enough. First Chicago was drawn upon and then
New York. It seemed as if every boy and man in
the town wanted to carry a Testament or Bible in
his pocket. And in their new-born enthusiasm the
converts were not particular about the pocket Bible
being very small. One Irish Catholic section-hand
who was gloriously saved, and who worked heroic
ally for his comrades, had a rather large Bible given
him, weighing over a pound. But he proudly carried
it about in his pocket and used it on every possible
occasion, One evening a fifteen-year-old boy walked
into the store and paid $2.50 for a Bible, telling the
dealer he was going to spend all the next day read
ing it.
Numerous “Pocket Testament Leagues” have
been organized among the boys and girls and young
people of the town. Each member carries a Testa
ment in his or her pocket, reads the Scriptures daily
and endeavors to win others to Christ. The members
meet weekly at one another’s homes for testimony
and prayer.
Another result of the revival is that the hearts
of several have been stirred with a desire to preach
or sing the Gospel. One lad, about fifteen years of
age, said he had decided to become a minister,
while another, about twelve, said that was what he
wanted to do. A young workman in a factory hopes
shortly to go to the Moody Bible Institute to pre
pare for evangelistic work. He told me that he
now loves his Bible and souls so much that he can
not put his heart into his work at the factory any
more. He longs to spend the whole day at home
reading his Bible and then going out to win the lost
to Christ.
A young man, who is one of the foremost stu
dents in Hedding College, has decided to become a
Gospel singer. He now has charge of the choir
in the largest church in Abingdon, and has excep
tional talent as a singer and musical conductor. He
had been a nominal Christian for years. A few)
days ago he declared that heretofore his ambition
had been to become a professional singer for his
own glory; but that now he has yielded all to Christ
and desires to be used for God’s glory. In a few
days he will probably unite with Homer Alexander
in conducting revival meetings in a neighboring
town.
The business men of Abingdon, realizing the need
of caring for the bodies as well as the souls of
the large number of young men among the converts,
have started a movement for the erection of a Y. M.
C. A. building. This will stand as a brick and
mortar monument to the work of grace which trans
formed the town into a community like that in the
early Christian church when the people went about
from house to house “praising God, and having fa
vor with all the people. And the Lord added to
the church daily such as should be saved.”
A Home Song.
Dr. Henry Van Dyke has broken a too long con
tinued silence with a little poem that will win its
way to the heart of many readers of The Golden
Age:
I turned an ancient poet’s book,
And found upon the page:
“Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage.”
Yes, that is true; and something more:
You’ll find, where’er you roam,
That marble floors and gilded walls
Can never make a home.
But every house where Love abides
And Friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home, sweet home.
For there the heart can rest.
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