The New York herald., 1869-05-24
RELIGIOUS SERVICES IN TE,s CITY.
mA0Soa SQUARE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
City Evnngelization.

meeting In behalf OF city missions was held
last night at Rev. DR.. Adams church, Madison
square, The attendance was very large. Dr. Adams
presided. After prayer and singing the chairman
stated the object Of the meeting. He said they were
not assembled In the interest Of any particular local
organization They were invited by the church or
PASTOR but had come together Christian ministers
and Christian citizens to confer together upon a
great subject to which thought was specially di.
rected at the present time-that was city evangell-
xatlon. Reference was had not merely to New
York, but to all the large and growing cities
throughout the country. No part of the coun-
try seemed to be growing SO much as the
large cities. Growth was largest in the largest
cities Of the world just now. There were special
reasons why thought and reason should be concen-
trated upon these ctles The Lord instructed His
apostles to begin at Jerusalem in their work of
evangelizing the world. 1t great cities that
men were massed in the largest numbers and their
mission effect should be most concentrated. Not
Church extension, but Christian evangelization
was the topic they were to take under considera-
tlOn.
Rev. Mr.. Mingins was the first speaker. He COM
menced his remarks by giving an account Of the
Glasgow, and how the enterprise was inaugurated
by him in this city. Thirty-fOur years ago the City
Tract Society was organized IN this city. Nesmith's
idea was that 1t should be auxiliary to the Church.
His work for thirty-lour years had been to sus-
tain the Church. To-day. in New York its
man. During It's existence it had stimulated the
Church to great efforts in this direction so that the
d r M was eet cy IN e
York. Thirty. four years ago there missions
such as there are now. There were this city
some Of them having very large and elegant accom-
mOdations. Christians had also realized tnat Chris
sion; not a union OF words, but union Of worS
Every Monday morning the representatives OF all the
Evangelical churches meet at the Bible House to
consult how to send the gospel to the hundreds and
thousands and tens OF thousands VINO annually
land on our shores. The speaker said he would
these people. The first thing the City Mission
determined upon was tnat 1t must come in con-
tact with the masses to enable it to DO them
any good. Something like forty-fve per cent
OF our Inhabitants habituay neglected the house OF
God. In great cities like New York, Philadelphia
and Chicago, the percentage was much larger The
sun never looked down upon the city OF New York
with more than 100 o)o OF the Inhabitants enjoying
masses was not by building chapes, but by going to
the masses and making their earrets ana their cell
lars the house OF God, SO far as teaching was con-
Cerned. For this there we're regularly appointed,
regularly paid and regularly trained men and
women. These were OF three classes. First, clerl-
cal missionaries-these or1cated IN the chapeIs and
were the pastors Of those who worshiped in them.
Second, the lay missionaries, whose duty was to
and nothing else. II he did not do that it was con.
0ldered he did nothing. Third female missionaries,
whose great work was visitations. Unless this work
was done no missions successful. This was
the only way that the masses could be thoroughly
and enectualy reached. They would not 60 to
church. Build nfty chapels a. nice as the Madison
square church and they would stand empty all the
hve0ng Sabbath day. These people had toabe edu-
Gated to loving Gods house as well as doing Gods
work. Last year one hundred and twenty-three
thousand visits were made by missionaries The
speaker did not mean by these simply tract visits for
the distribution Of tracts. Last year 9S7 persons
who habitually neglected the sabbath were induced
by the missionaries to attend the church, ana 436
were gathered into the Sunday school and brought
under Christian instruction. Meetings were
held IN the tenements. The poor went to
these who would utterly refuse to go to a church
pr chapel but after they had attended these meet
lngs they gradually began to feel ncl'nation to-
wards the house Of God, and, after q whI.> would
visit 1t. One OF the mission buildings belonging to
the Madison square church had last night from four
20 seven hundred persons, who could not have been
induced by missionaries to visit a fashionable
church. the masses liked good preaching as well
a. anybody else. II they do not have II they will
have none at all. There were fourteen OF these
chapels, varying in capacity from one hundred to
ewo Thousand sttlngs. During the last year six
hundred converts from the missions had Joined the
different churches OF the city.
Rev. Drs. John Hall and stephen II. Tying then
addressed the meeting and were listened to with deep
attention. after which the meeting closed, singing
the doxology. "Praise God, from whom all blessings
0OW.v