The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-05
FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY.
Movement to Organize Local Branch
Of the Evangelical Alliance.

Movement to Organize a Local Branch
Of the Evangelical Alliance.
There was a very fair audience at the
Savannah Baptist Church last night to hear
the address of Rev. Josiah Strong, DID, of
New York, General Secretary Of the Evan
gelical Alliance of the United States.
There were six of the Protestant clergy of
Savannah on TIE platform. After
singing and prayer Rev. DIR. w.
s. Bowman introduced the speaker.
In doing so DR.. Bowman Endorsed the aim
and ends of the Evangelical Alliance. The
churches should be united, he said. God
was type and model Of unity in the
trinity Of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
as one. The enemies OF Christianity de-
lighted i'll frequently abiding to the dlyls-
| ions and opposition among Protestants,
and it was 10 meet this argument that an
| evangelical alliance was conceived, so that
! there might be concentrated action to adj
vance the cause of Christianity. Much has
already been accomplished IN this direction,
yet much remains of accomplishment.
| DR., Strong made an Innovation IN the
| manner Of opening his address. He did
! not say ladies and gentlemen but lmme-
! diatey upon coming forward began his
| address without preface by referring to the
| recent conference at Washington Of the
| At that conference the movement on the
/ line of Christian cooperation was inaugar-
| ated, and already Twenty-Five States ana
! Territories had become deeply interested IN
the new idea. The rapid spread of the
! movement, the speaker said, showed that 1T
was timely and popular 1t had seized hold
| of all the great cities North and West and
now it was proposed TO bring it South. Inc
| chief aim of the movement IS 10 substitute
| Christian C0-0IanTa fiop for 0Y1-( 'hrlStlaQ
competition. He believed that the new idea
| when fully developed would surely solve the
| great problems of the age, many of which
! confronted the people of the United States.
| 1t could not be denied, he said, that the
population of the United States, and
especially in the larger cities, was increasing
! at a rate that was alarmingly dispropor
| tionate to the increase of the churches. DIR.
! Strong showed that in New York the in
crease of population was such as would de-
| mand the building of 100 new churches, yet
only four had been erected.
Dir. Strong showed that there is wide
| spread dissatisfaction among the artisan
| classes, which was due to an increase Of
| knowledge, and that succinctly stated this
| dissatisfaction sprang from the fact that
wealth was being centralized while knOwl-
edge was being popularized. The artisan
| classes were out OF the church. What then
| is the church going to do with the 3O,UOO,OOO
| of people who are practically untouched by
its influenced The gospel alone can solve
| the problem, but the gospel must be applied.
The church is Intellectual and imperative
| for four great reasons: First a lack of in
formation on the part of church members
second, Indifference; third, lack of personal
! contact, and fourth, lack OF cooperation.
| Cooperation is impossible without or
gauization. Everything appeared to be
organized except tine church. Organization
| is the distinctive power of the nineteenth
century 1t was exhibited in the science of
war, in the vast trusts, even in the saloons.
| In the churches-at least many of them
competition took the place of organization,
and congregations apparently regarded
! themselves as so many lotteries, SO many
! select circles having no sympathy with
the lower classes, and some of them had no
vacancies in its membership.
| The work done by the churches was what
might be termed institutional, and diametric-
| ally opposed to the personal activity of
| Christ, the founder of Christianity. The
| congregations were under the impression
| that the minister was hired to do all the
work"
The cooperation movement was intended
| to counteract many of these facts and in
fluences that initiated against the spread
of the Gospel among the lower classes.
| The plan proposed was very simple. 1t
| is proposed to divide every city into dis
| tricts. Each church in the city shall furnish
committee of 10 visitors, each committee
| to be under the charge of a supervisor. The
| districts are, of course, to be subdivided,
each visitor to be responsible for the Chris
ton well-being of, say, 10 families. Visits
are to be made each month, and the invita-
tions are to be extended not to any particu-
! lar church, but to that church to which
the families may have at any time be-
| longed.
This movement would certainly effect a
| great spiritual change; and hard work was
needed now when it was attempted to crush
out the public school system and the Sab
bath itself DR.. Strong believes that God
is in the movement, and that it is the be-
ginning of a new era the rise of a new
! dawn.
AT the close of the address the preliminary
work of organizing a local committee was
| begun and future meeting will be held
to perfect the organization OF a Savannah
branch of the alliance.