Evening star., 1899-03-01
breaches LARGE CROWD
Evangelist Chapman's Meeting Last Night
at Calvary Baptist Church.
An Overflow Audience Addressed by
Rev. DIR. LuccOck-The Services
Yesterday Afternoon.

1HS CIO"u WAS lIle 1sdlo1e vi tht evan
gelistic meeti ,g conducted by DR.. Chap
man. the pastor-evangelst of Philadelphia,
at the Calvary Baptist Church last night.
AT each succeeding service since the be-
ginning of the series last Thursday the
audience has BEEN larger than the one pre-
| ceding. The audience last night was esti-
mated at 5000. The church doors were
opened al o'clock, and thu meeting sched-
| uled to begin a half hour later. However,
as the auditorium was crowded within ten
minutes, the schedule was advanced fifteen
minutes. Even after the doors were closed
the people begged and pleaded for admjs-
sion, but the effort was useless, as there
was positively no standing room within the
church. The peopls who came late we're
sent to the Sunday school house, where an
overflow meeting was held, conducted by
Rev. DR.. Luccock and Percy 8. Foster In
the church auditorium Mr.. Harper Garcia
Smyth was the leader of the chorus. On
the platform were Revs. s. H. Greene,
Charles Warren, J. j. Muir, Joseph Kelly,
j. G. Butler, w. C. Alexander, Teunfs s.
Hamlin, George o. Littla and George p.
Wilson.
There was the usual preliminary service,
consisting Of song, prayer and responsive
reading. DR.. Chapman preached from Mark
1877 and Peter. He said he preached from
this text because when it had been printed
some years ago it had reached a man In
southern prison who had formerly been
very wealthy, but by reason Of dissipation
had been confined. The man lived to do
great work for the church.
DR.. Chapman said when we study the
character of Peter we know ourselves bet
ter, because Peter was man among men.
We can look into his failures and say that
if a man like Peter, so near to Christ,
should make so many mistakes. ws so far
hn ha plnr "a arafIlt 1aS
We make a worse failure. He is an ex-
ample for us. ons whom we may take les
sons from in all conditions and at all times
of life.
Il like Peter for his enthusiasm" said
DIR. Chapman. Enthusiastic often in
wrong but always enthusiastic Such a
man is worth our following, for 1 admire a
man whether he Is enthusiastically right or
enthusiastically wrong. Above all, let him
be enthusiastic"
The message of the night said the speak
er, was principally to those who had Slip
ped away from Christ He urged those who
had gotten in this position to come back
into the church 1t is called by different
names in different denominations backslid-
ing in one, falling from grace in another,
becoming apostate in another. DR.. Chap
man said he would not agree with all of
these, but believed that "out of COM
munion" included all conditions of fallen
Christians
Speaking of the things that caused people
to turn away from Christ, Dr. Chapman
said that much was due to natural tenn
perament. Disease and ordinary bodily Ills
is another reason, but 1t is possible through
the help of Christ. to mount above bodily
Ills and rejoice in pain.
In conclusion DR.. Chapman said there are
two reasons why Christians fall away from
Christ-because they follow Him afar off,
and because they have been in the com
pany of the enemies of the Master He
pleaded with the backsliders and non-C Chris
tians to accept Christ.
The meeting was dismissed with the bene-
diction by Rev. George p. Wilson of the
Assembly's Presbyterian Church.
AT the afternoon meeting in the New
York Avenue Presbyterian Church DR.
Chapman spoke of the necessity to Chris
tians Of a baptism of the Holy Ghost, if
they expected to obtain results from their
Christian work.
The meetings will continue daily until
Saturday, at 4:15 in the afternoon in the
New York Avenue Church, and at 1:3o in
the evening at Calvary Baptist Church