The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-12-11
THE MILLS MEETINGS.
Sketch of the Life of Noble Worker in
 the Masters Vineyard.

 Sketch of the Life of a Noble Worker in
 the Masters Vineyard.
 A union meeting of the cooperating churches preliminary to the Mills meet ing will be held this afternoon at the First M E. church at 4 o'clock
 pr. Masden will lead the meeting.
 A WORD ABOUT MIR. MILLS.
 Rev. B. Fay Mills was born in Rah- way, N. J., in 1857, and is therefore thirty-nine years of age. He is a son of pr. Thornton A, Mills we'll known Presbyterian minister, and is himself a member of the presbytery. He grad uated from Lake Forest university, Ilh- nols, in 1872 His first pastorate was at Granite Falls, Minn. From there he went to Cannon Falls in the same state. In 1884 he accepted a call to Congrega- tional church in Rutland, Vt. Here he found very discouraging field. The church of which he was pastor was weakened by dissensions and had be- come a repellant instead of an attract i've force in the community. Here hfs powers were taxed to the utmost; but his burning zeal, his hopefuness, his rare tact, his wonderful talent for or sanization, his faith in God, and, above 1 all, his complete conservation to his chosen work soon wrought marvellous | change on his congregation. He turn 1 ed the thoughts of his people from the less to the greater; from themselves and their grievances to God and the great hungry, perishing world. Under the in- fuence, of his inspiring preaching and tactful pastoral care the church was once more united and filled with en- thusiasm for work.
 In this church he developed his evan. | gelistc plans and methods, which he has since used so successfully in his large field. Because of his conspicuous success in this difficult field many pas tors, whose hearts were burdened fol the salvation of men, wrote to him in. viting him to assist them in special services. But he resolutely declined all such calls, having no desire to leave | the regular pastorate.
 At last, however, he consented to gc | to Middlabury, Vt., for a few days Being a college town, this has natural. | ly become one of the New England cen. | ters of culture, and as such offered the | severest test of the ability of the evan. gelist. Only fifty attended his first ser. l vice, but the audience grew fast from l the very first until he and his addresses were the talk of the town. The eandor 1 earnestness and above all the reason. able ard severely ethical and practiea character of his sermons at once drew | the students to him. His success as 1 an evangelist of the highest grade was now fully assured. He stayed not only many days, but even weeks, and it wa: 1 the result of this first 'evangelistic eff | fort away from his own church which let him to believe that he was called to be come a specialist in this line of work. l When finally he went home it was tt ask his congregation to release him st that he might devote his whole tin' | to the evangelistic work His peopl, quite naturally refused to grant his re 1 lease, but were willing to eompromist l by allowing him to devote three month each year to work in the wider sphere So great was his success now that hi: | people felt that it would be wrong tt insist on his staying with them an! 1 longer, so they released him from lht pastorate with much regret. During the ten years which have elapsed sine that time he developed intellectual, and spiritually until he is now reeog | ls-~& Sc @1,. day.
 | Great success is a very complex re suit into which many streams of goot fortune enter. MT. Mills was exception ally fortunate in his marriage. Mrs Mills is regarded by those who knov
 her best as a woman of bright intellect gre at force of character, rare eloauenc and beauty. She is the happy mothe
 of six children, and presides over he
 home With pleasing grace and gentle
 ness. When her husband was in Sal
 Francisco she assisted him ably b.
 holding services for women only, whic
 were largely attended and productiv
 of great good.
 If one were asked what is the secre
 of MT. Mills marvellous success, h
 would say that it was due to his entir
 consecration to his work. One of hi
 guiding principles is, This one thing
 do;" to his thorough conviction tha
 men who are living an un-Christian Tiff
 are losing themselves; to his first fait
 in God; t9 his faith of the possibiliJ
 of saving man from sin; faith in himsel
 as one through whom God will produc great results; his rare talent as an ora
 tor and leader of men; the modernnes
 Of the gospel which he breaches.
 His coming to this city, aided by a
 the pastors and Christian people, wi
 not only bring personal salvation to
 great many, but will give a powerfl
 impulse 10 civic reform in all it's pha Se: l By bestowing on him such a rar