The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-02-10

That is the way to have good time. You
will never amount to anything unless
you become Christian
You Will not be near so apt to take this
step in middle age. Nearly all these
ministers came into the folds of Christ
before they were fifteen or twenty years
of age. The officers of your churches
were mainly converted when boys your
mothers when girls" Speaking to the
boys Mr.. Mills said:-"I would rather see
any boy converted at ten than any man
at seventy, with all the habits of his past
life weighing upon him, in the United
States.o Then he made comparison be-
tween two churches that he knew Of
which were built up-one with old con-
verts and the other with young ones
The former languished; the latter grew
God wants the SERVICE" he said, ''of
boys and girls, as well as that of men and
women.
why once" he continued. II was
thoroughly discouraged after preaching a
sermon and asking those who felt they
ought, to become Christians Everybody
went out. | sat alone in deep thought
Suddenly caught sight of boy peering
through the doorway. He marched down
the aisle and came and stood before me.
He was soon followed by four others, all
between twelve and fifteen years of age.
We want to be a Christian, the boys
said in chorus.
:" What does tnat mean p asked of one.
''' 90 to church and-and-Sunday
school, answered one bright little fell
What elses" 1 asked. They didn't
know.
II advised them to hold prayer meet
ings," said Mr.. Mills, ''and told them how
to go about it. The first night five at
tended; the next night seven; and SO on
till twenty-one souls were enlisted in
-, 0f
hve boys. had desire to see how they
conducted prayer meeting. One night
dropped in upon them. Harry, said
the leader, you pray And Harry prayed.
Then Charlie, then Walter, then Tommy.
Then the leader called upon Bill, a burly
Bill. I'm wicked. steal and get drunk
viii you give these up?' / asked of him.
Yes, he said. God will help you, then.
Now you can pray And Bill prayed. |
subsequently, found out that when any of
the boys refused to pray he was put out
of the room. Some of these meetings
were quite lively. But through their
instrumentality Bill's father and mother,
and brother and sister were all saved -
YOUNG MEMBERS.
Mr.. Mills told his audience that more
than twO-uhirds of the entire churchs
membership were converted before the
age of twenty. In New Brunswick, DR..
hand in welcome TO 1000 converts, half of
whom were under fifteen years of age.
Out of every thousand church members
not more than fifty joined after their
thlrtieth year, and not more than three
out of a thousand joined between the
ages of forty ana fifty
In closing, Mr.. Mills told the pathetic
story of young girl who listened to
sermon he preached from the text.
Almost thou persuadest me to become
q Christian She did not rise among
those whom he had persuaded to take
this important STEP Six months later
she sent for him to visit her on her dying
bed. She asked him if he remembered
the night he preached the sermon from
the text above quoted. Mr.. Mills re-
it.
Pm lost she said. I can't become
a Christian
Hers was the most hopeless case lever
session. of all her faculties; but nothing
could Change her opinion.
She had written four terrible words
on the margin of one of the pages in
hymn book, while half persuaded inn
mediately after which she lost all desire
to become Christian. These she would
not snow me. But she promised / should
have possession of the book after her
death. She died. / tremblingly opened
the book. These were the words found
pencilled on the margin:-T will run the
risk She had run the risk and lost her
soul.''
At the conclusion of the sermon Mr..
Mills invited all who felt they ought to
become disciples of Christ to meet him in
the Sunday school room below. The Rev.
DR.. McKelvey, the Rev. DR.. Mitchell, the
Rev. Mr.. Halloran, the Rev. Mr.. Nichol-
son, the Rev. MIR. Hathaway and the Rev.
Mr., Birmingham, of New York, all of
whom sat upon the platform during the
sermon, together with Mr.. Greenwood,
who directed the singing. accompanied
the evangelist below, where they found
the Sunday school parlors packed with an
eager. earnest throng. Mr.. Mills, aftera
song and prayer, simply asked those to
rise and say II WHIP in answer to his re-
quest for promise to hereafter give up
their lives to the service of God. Several
hundred rose quietly and orderly in re-
nerad ~ ~ tIls,, foaaaa nvar S rha s1 heoSs Mni S
the throng with noise akin to that of
the whirring of SO many doves.