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In November, 1806, a group of earnest young
men, students at Williams College, Massachusetts,
met in a field for- prayer and consecration. A
shower drove them to seek shelter beneath a hay
stack, but did not interfere with the prayer meeting.
As they prayed God so laid the needs of the
heathen world on their hearts, that fpom that
little prayer meeting came the American Board of
Commissioners for Foreighn Missions, all the organ
ized missionary work of the American Protestant
Churches, and later the Student Volunteer Move
ment.
These five or six young men, pledged themselves to
do all in their power to forward the cause of mis
sions and unless providentially hindered, to go as
missionaries to the heathen. Later some of them
filled martyrs’ graves. On that eventful afternoon,
Samuel B. Mills was the leader; object was the
evangelization of the world, and their motto: “We
can do it IF we will.”
This was the now historic “Haystack Movement.”
In November, 1906, the one hundredth anniversary
of the Haystack Meeting was celebrated by a series
of inter-denominational missionary meetings.
One of these meetings was for laymen alone, and
there, on that stormy afternoon, after three hours
spent in actual prayer, the Laymen’s Missionary
Movement was called into existence.
At this meeting Samuel B. Capen presided; their
object, the enlistment of all laymen, in the enter
prise of evangelizing the world in THIS genera
tion, and their motto, “We can do it AND we will.”
Thus speaks the twentieth century.
The following February, the Movement was form
ally adopted by the Churches and each Church
began immediately to marshal the hitherto almost
totally unused power, for the gigantic task ahead.
Naturally following methods in which they are
trained and equipped, the laymen are carrying on
the campaign along the recognized lines of every
day business, and all plans that have been found
successful in the business world and that are in ac
cordance with the gospel of Christ are made to serve
for His glory and the coming of His kingdom.
Wineless Banquet at Waycross.
How the men are meeting in all of our great
cities, uniting the forces of all our great Churches,
and bringing to bear all the great talent and spirit
ual power of both clergy and laity, is too long a
story for the telling here; but how the work is be
ing carried on in the individual church may be
WHAT TWO EDITORS OTTER
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w. d. upshaw, ] n g j n condensed form the news of the world happening on that
Editor den ge. jj- a i so carr j es the Sunday School Lesson by Dr. G. Camp
bell Morgan, of London, a sermon by some prominent Southern preacher, a com
plete market page and several short stories. 1 Send us $2 for a year’s renewal to
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Waycross Has Delightful Laymen's ‘Banquet,
well illustrated, by a recent meeting held in the
First Methodists church in Waycross, Ga.
It has been found expedient to have the men
come to supper as it is a saving of time and con
ducive to informality and with some a strong draw
ing card.
On this occasion the Sunday school room of the
church was used and two long tables were made
beautiful with flowers, china, linen and silver. Every
thing had been done by the Ladies’ Committee, to
make eating a feast of beauty as well as a physical
enjoyment.
But of how little consequence seemed the mate
rial things of life, as we looked at those rows of
practical business men who had laid aside their own
affairs to spend an evening considering the af
fairs of Christ’s coming kingdom.
Music has a part in all true worship and those
who gave freely of the God-given talent of song did
much to add to the pleasure of the evening.
As Church Leader, Prof. E. A. Pound introduced
the guest of the hour, Rev. Willis R. Hotchkiss, of
British East Africa, a missionary at home on his
furlough—using his rest time to stimulate others
in the homeland.
Magnetic Missionary in Africa.
The personality of Mr. Hotchkiss is impressive. He
looks like a man who is doing a man’s work, and
is terribly in earnest about it. Can we say as
much for many who are loitering here at home,
gathering in money when there are thousands of
sheaves to be gleaned out yonder?
Mr. Hotchkiss began his address with a tribute
to our modern Paul, the wonderful pioneer mission
ary to Africa, David Livingstone. He spoke of the
awe which thrilled him when he was once permit
ted to read a letter written by the great explorer’s
own hand, and of the inspiration Livingstone’s life
had been to him. Os his own great work among
the wild tribes of South Afica he spoke modestly but
with a Christ-like enthusiasm and love for souls. His
hearers listened with bated breath as he told of
his many advetures among beasts, both human and
animal. But even as incredulity at the awful
deeds was still written on the faces of his hearers, he
began to tell of the Divine Power that could and
did turn those human beasts into men and women,
made in the image of God.
As in closing he summed up the dangers, the dis
comforts and the deprivations of the life he lead, he
said he wondered if anyone thought he lead this
The Golden Age for February 24, 1910.
life because he liked it. He wanted to tell his hear
ers that he was willing to do this for the love of
Christ and was happy in His favor. On the men,
who listened so attentively, he laid the burden of
heathen souls and begged them to do a man’s work
for the Master. As he resumed his seat a moment’s
hush was on the listening men and some saw vis
ions of a larger field of usefulness undreamed of
before.
Judge Parker, of the First Baptist church, who as
chairman of the Interdenominational Co-operating
Committe, was an honored guest, made a brief and
forceful speech and was followed by Rev. Chas.
Jenkins, the pastor of the church, in a few well
chosen words of encouragement.
Peabody Shows What One Church Can Do.
The closing talk of the evening was made by Mr.
E. P. Peabody, one of the leaders among the lay
men in Georgia. He called attention to two large
charts displayed on the wall, the first showing
the number of unevangelized in the world, and that
portion of them for whose evangelization the South
ern Methodist Church has agreed to become re
sponsible. The second chart showed how easily the
men in the church could raise nearly $2,000, if
they would only give according to the Scriptural
plan; that is “lay by them in store on the first day
of the week as the Lord prospered them.”
Two facts were remarked in passing: The Wo
man’s Foreign Missionary Society of First church
last year gave about three times as much as
was given by the whole church on its regular col
lection. Nevertheless, the same church gave more
than did seven churches of the same denomination
in a neighboring city. Mr. Peabody told of the way
in which Korean Christians give. This impoverish
ed people, have no money and so they give whole
days, in Christ’s service. In a recent “day collec
tion” enough days were given to the work to amount
to the time of one man for more than seven and
a half years.
As Mr. Peabody finished speaking, subscription
cards were passed through the company and after a
short prayer, twenty-six men agreed to pay week
ly this year, an amount that exceeded that contrib
uted by the entire church last year, by SIOO.
After the benediction the men dispersed thought
fully, evidently feeling in the evening’s service they
had received the greatest possible spiritual chal
lenge, and the largest opportunity for service that
can come to man in this life. P. H. M.
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F. L. SEELY, Editor Georgian.
