The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1890-04-27
Mr.. MILLS CONVERTS.
All The Pastors Speak Of Him and
His Deeds in Che High
est Terms.


Gently in this city, has transferred the
scenes of his labors to Newark There he
is meeting with the same success which
attended his work in Jersey City. Large
crowds throng the churches in which he
speaks and, as in this city. numbers are
turned away from the doors daily, unable
to gain admission. Great enthusiasm pre-
walls In religious circles and those not
connected with the church are taking an
interest in the services. The clergymen
who are interested in the movement en-
Enthusiastically declare that the city has
undergone q great religious awakening,
and that the Mills meetings are an as
sured success.
WORK IN THIS CITY.
1t is not, however. by the crowded
churches aud the enthusiasm which pre-
walls during the meetings that the sue
cess OF Mr.. Mills meetings is to be
judged, but rather by the permanent i'm
preston which the services leave upon
two series OF meetings in this city The
first was during last spring and WAS
among the churches on the Heights. The
work which he then did was so pro-
ductive OF good in the estimation OF the
pastors of those churches that this spring
several OF the clergymen in the lower
part OF the y city arranged with
him to conduct the second series
among the churches below the Hill.
The popular evangelist came here on Feb
ruary and Immediately entered upon
his work. For over three weeks two and
in many cases THEE services were held
daily. The editice in which each service
was held was crowded to its utmost ca
pacity and great interest was taken in
the meetings by all classes Of society. At
each service many arose at the invitation
and expressed their desire to lead religi-
Gus lives. MIR. Mills had system of
distributing among his congrega-
tions blank cards with spaces for
names and residences and the church
with which the person signing the cards
wished TO be connected. These cards
were handed to the pastors of the
churches named thereon, and they were
supposed to look after the signers. This
was the chief method by which any APP
proach to definite estimate of the result
of Mr.. Mills labors was ascertainable.
1t has been estimated that 600 persons
were induced TO lead Il Christian life
through Mr.. Mills work in this city in
February. Some clergyinen consider
this as an oyeresttnate but all agree that
the meetings were of great benefit to the
city. Thinking that 1t might be of inter-
est TO ascertain, If possible, the amount
of good each church received from
Mr.. Mills efforts and what has be-
come of the 800 now that the
enthusiasm and influence of the meetings
had died away, called on several of the
clergyrnen who were Instrumental In
bringing Mr.. Mills here. The first gentle
man visited was the Rev. John l.. Scud-
der, pastor of the Tabernacle, who is an
enthusiastic admirer of Mr.. Mills and his
work.
CATERING TO THE BETTER CLASS.
MIR. Mills Mr.. Scudder said, does
a a
call the 'old buns to his meetings, but
the educated and refined people; people of
sense and Judgment, who are not church
goers. He does not make appeals to feel
ings and the excitement of the hour, but
he speaks directly to their intelligence
and sense of manhood. 1t is for that rea-
son that he is so successful, and the per-
sons who become converted under his
preaching remain permanent aud Jealous
church members.
1--WE have taken in my church recently
$50 members, all of whom were converted
under the preaching of Mr.. Mills, and to
this day each one of those is as enthusi-
astic in the cause as he was the day he
joined the church,
The Rev. W. c. Snodgrass, pastor of
the Hedding Methodist Church, was
another staunch believer of the efficacy
of Mr.. Mills work. He said that he had
received forty-hve persons on probation
since the meetings who professed to have
been converted by the evangelist's
preaching But one of these, he stated,
had fallen from grace.
Next to the Tabernacle, the church
which benefited in numbers most from
the meetings was the Park Reformed
Church, on West Hamilton place. There
ninety persons, who attribute their de-
sire to become Christians to Mr. Mills
work, have joined that church. The Rev
j. Howard Suytlam, the pastor of the
nh o. bfel, itr of IN.
Mills and his work, and said that these
converts of his are now earnest Chris
tians.
The pastor emeritus of the Wayne
Street Reformed Church Is another clergy
man who looks upon Mr.. Mills work in
| this city as productive of lasting bene-
| fit. His church, ne said the other day,
| had received seventy new members as u
result OF the meetings. None of these
have thus far, he said, eyinced any dispo-
sition TO recede from the stand they have
| taken.
| The North Baptist Church has also
been benefited by the Mills movement to
| the extent os about forty members and
the pastor of the church, the Rev. George
w. Nicholson, considers that the work
| Mr.. Mills did was a great benefit to the
| city.
NO BENEFIT HERE
| The Rev. Daniel Halloran, of st. Paups
| Methodist Church, said he could not see
| that the meetings had been any benefit to
his church. The officers OF his church.
he said, had given up the edifice to Mr..
| Mills and together with Mr.. Halloran
had aided his meetings by every means
| IN their power, but he regretted to say he
| had not been able to discover any gain in
| his church due 10 the meetings.
| While conyersing with the clergymen
| on this subject l discovered a phase of
| deprayity which one would hardly have
supposed would exist III such moral
community as Jersey City. 1t seems that
theirs were manypersons in the community
upon whom all the eloquence OF Mr.. Mills
and the sweet singing of Mr.. Greenwood
| had no effect whatever.
| When the clergymen to whom the cards
mentioned above were referred, came to
| look up the names at the addresses given,
many could not be found, while at the
addresses given by others the weary
pastors, after tramping all about the city,
| found vacant lots in some cases and in
| others factories and stables With deep
sigh the revertnd gentlemen We're COM
| PEELED to declare that in their belief any
one who would play such a trick on a
hard working clergyman had little to ex
| pecL in this world or the next