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A CHAIN OF GREAT CONFERENCES
Dr. Chapman and Mr. Alexander Trabel Three Thousand Miles and Conduct Thirty Meetings in Ten Cities
m Nineteen Days—A Unique TLbangelistic Achievement.
By Qeorge T. B. Dabis.
R. CHAPMAN and Mr. Alexander have
just completed one of the most remark
able achievements of modern evangel
ism. During the last nineteen days
they have traveled three thousand miles,
visited ten cities and held thirty meet
ings. Throughout the entire journey
they were received with large enthu
siasm. Great crowds flocked to hear
DR
them at every point. Everywhere they left a trail
of revival fervor which will mean much for the
future of evangelism in America.
A Chain of Conferences.
The evangelists had expected to go from Orillia
to Hamilton Canada, for a mission, but no large,
central auditorium could be secured, and, instead,
the chain of conferences was hurriedly arranged.
The route of the evangelists was as follows: To
ronto, Chicago, Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio;
Berea, Ky.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Louisville, Ky.;
Brantford and Paris, Ont., and New York city,
The party included Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman, Mr.
and Mrs. Charles M. Alexander, Mr. Robert Hark
ness and Mr. Ernest W. Naftzger. Dr. Parley E.
Zartmann, Dr. Chapman’s associate in the Winona
Bible conference and in evangelistic work, also ac
companied us a part of the way. The journey was
a great strain for the evangelists, for they traveled
day and night, but at its conclusion they both de
clared that it was one of the greatest events in
their entire evangelistic experience.
Conference of Ministers.
The first point visited was Toronto, Canada.
Here there was a conference with the ministers
in the morning; an enthusiastic gathering in a cen
trally located church in the afternoon; and at night
a great mass meeting in Massey Hall. The big
auditorium, which accommodates nearly four thou
sand people, was packed to the doors with thousands
of disappointed people vainly clamoring for admis
sion. The meeting was so full of power and fervor
that it seemed like a meeting near the close of a
mission rather than an isolated gathering. Mr.
Alexander’s choir contained about four hundred
voices, and they sang splendidly. It had been kept
up as a distinct organization since the Torrey-
Alexander meetings in Toronto two years ago. It
is called the “Alexander Choir,” and their motto
is “All for Christ.” During the last year four
men have gone into the ministry from the choir,
and five are now preparing to preach the gospel.
Dr. Chapman preached from 2 Kings, 6:6: “And
the iron did swim.” It was a strong defence of
the miraculous in modern as well as in Biblical
times, and thrilled the great audience. At the
conclusion of the address large numbers raised
their hands for prayer, or for reconsecration to
God.
Reached Chicago.
The following day the evangelists reached Chicago
and took part in a large and enthusiastic gather
ing of the Presbyterian brotherhood, ministers,
theological students and business men of Chicago
and vicinity.
From Chicago the evangelists went to Columbus,
Ohio, where they spent two days, holding five serv
ices. The first meeting was at Memorial Hall on
Sunday afternoon, when the building was filled with
about 3,500 people. On Sunday and Monday nights
the meetings were held in Dr. S. <S. Palmer’s beau
tiful church on Broad street, which had just been
enlarged to nearly twice its size. At all the serv
ices Mr. Alexander was astonished at the manner
in which the audiences sang the gospel hymns. He
said it seemed as if everyone in Columbus was a
singer. Dr. Chapman spoke four times in Colum
bus, and on each occasion his message was one of
power. One of the most important services was
The Golden Age for November 19, 1909.
the meeting for the ministers of Columbus and
vicinity on Monday morning.
Lane Theological Seminary.
From Columbus the evangelists went to Cin
cinnati, Ohio, where they held a meeting with the
students of Lane Theological Seminary. In an
impassioned address to the students Dr. Chapman
made some statements which deeply moved them.
He said: “If I could not get a passion for souls,
I would stop my theological training. The success
ful man in the ministry is the man who is a soul
winner. I would not dare to go into the ministry
unless I had the conscious presence of Jesus Christ.
It is when we have this presence of Christ that we
have power. There has never been a day like the
present one in which to preach the gospel of Jesus
Christ. If I were you men, I’d have days of
prayer and nights of prayer while I was still pre
paring for the ministry.”
Berea College.
From Cincinnati the evangelists went to Berea
College, Ky., where a two days’ conference had
been arranged for the students and the ministers
and people of all the surrounding country. Berea
College is probably the most famous institution in
the United States for the education of poor moun
tain people. During the last seventeen years, un
der the direction of President William G. Frost,
the institution Iras made great strides in endowment
and equipment and is becoming a spiritual leaven
through all that part of the state, which is the
heart of the famous “feud” district. Large prepa
ration had been made for the conference, and
visitors came in wagons and on trains from a radius
of a hundred miles. God’s Spirit was present in
such power that the two days’ conference devel
oped into a revival meeting, in which scores of the
students accepted Christ and ministers went back
to their churches on fire with a passion for souls,
which will doubtless mean revivals in various dis
tricts in Kentucky. At the conclusion of the serv
ices President Frost said that the results of the
conference had been so great that Chapman and
Alexander would hereafter be enrolled among the
great benefactors of the college.
Former Home of Mr. Alexander.
The next place visited in the chain of confer
ences was Knoxville, Tenn., formerly the home of
Mr. Alexander, and where his mother and a brother
and sister now reside. The evangelists could only
stay in the city a few hours, but during that time
three rousing meetings were held. It was the first
time that Mr. Alexander had taken part in a re
vival service in Knoxville, and the people came out
in throngs. It was a beautiful sight when the
gospel singer led his mother on the platform, and
later told the audience what a joy it was to him,
in whatever part of the world he was working, to
know that back in Knoxville he had a Christian
mother. Morning, afternoon and night, Dr. Chap
man preached with great force and eloquence, and
many declared their intention to begin the Chris
tian life or to come back to God.
Seven Meetings in Two Days.
At Louisville, the next point visited by the evan
gelists, seven meetings were held in two days. On
both Sunday and Monday nights audiences of about
2,000 packed the Warren Memorial church, with
many standing. On Monday morning at ten o’clock
one of the most important meetings of the entire
trip was held with about 300 ministers and theo
logical students from Louisville and the neighbor
ing towns. At noon the evangelists were hurried in
an automobile to the shops of the Louisville &
Nashville railway, where they conducted a brief
service with 500 workmen, Dr. Chapman spoke
briefly, and the men sang vigorously several Gospel
hymns. The men were especially pleased with
“Tell Mother I’ll be There.” As they sang it
tears were seen rolling down the face of one of the
workmen, and after it was over he said: “That
song got me. It set me thinking of my mother.” At
2:30 in the afternoon they conducted a meeting for
300 men and women prisoners in the jail. Dr.
Chapman took as his theme a jail story from the
New Testament, and as his text, “What must I do
to be saved?” The prisoners were deeply moved
by the sermon and the singing, and during the
service tears were seen running down the cheeks
of a man near the front, who had killed his wife,
and who is under a life sentence of imprisonment.
Brantford, Canada.
From Louisville the evangelists made a long
journey to Brantford, Canada, where a number of
evangelists and Gospel singers were conducting a
simultaneous mission under Dr. Chapman’s direc
tion. The evangelists could only spend a few hours
in the city, but during that time they conducted
three services. Tn the evening, they went on by trol
ley to Paris, a neighboring city, where a fourth
stirring meeting concluded the work of the day.
Pocket Testament League.
Tn almost every city visited during the journey,
the Pocket Testament League was presented, and
large numbers joined enthusiastically in the move
ment, to read at least one chapter in the Bible
daily, and to constantly carry a Testament or Bible
wherever one may go. Mrs. Charles M. Alexander
spoke frequently on the league telling how it
originated when she was attending high school in
Birmingham, and showing the value of carrying
God’s Word as an aid to persona] work. At Co
lumbus, Ohio, almost every minister attending the
conference joined the league and will help to pro
mote the cause. At Lane Theological Seminary
every student present was enlisted. At Berea Col
lege, after the plan was presented to the students,
almost all of them joined, and marphed down to
the front, where each was handed an illustrated New
Testament by Mrs. Alexander. The Testaments
were the gift of Dr. William 11. Hubbard, of Au
burn, N. Y., who conducted a remarkable revival
among the students a few years ago.
Throughout the journey also the League was pro
moted, not only in conferences, but on the trains,
in hotels and restaurants, as the party traveled, and
scores of railway men, hotel employes and others
agreed to read and carry God’s Word. The news
papers in the various cities not only gave much
space to the conferences, but had special articles
on the Pocket Testament League, the reporters
and editors themselves readily joining the move
ment. Tn Columbus, Ohio, eight newspaper men
were enlisted, including three city editors.
Tribute to Mr. Robert Harkness.
The story of the journey would be incomplete
without a tribute to the effective work of the
pianist and composer, Mr. Robert Harkness, and the
soloist, Mr. Ernest W. Naftzger. The music of
most of the hymns used at the conferences was
written by Mr. Harkness, and his playing gave a
spiritual tone to the meetings before a note had
been sung. Everywhere the audiences were de
lighted with Mr. Naftzger’s singing. His solos,
which seemed to make the deepest impression,
were, “Bearing His Cross,” “Is He Yours?” and
“Who Could it be but Jesus?”
The final meeting was held in the Fifth Avenue
Presbyterian church, New York, to inaugurate a
series of Sunday evening evangelistic services in
the famous church. As in the ether ciiie< it was
a meeting of power and victory and was a fitting
close qf >he 3,000-mile revival tunr,
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