The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1901-02-28
w. w. Cooper Gives Out the First Fig
ures OF the Work of Twentieth
Century Forward Movement.
800, 600 CONVERTS TO METHODISM
The First Six Months of the Great Church
Movement Shows Greatest Revival
OF a Generation.

ACSPOuuAuS SCC1Cld1y u l1C WCAlAClA
Century Forward Movement of the
Methodist Episcopal church, this
morning made public his first report
of the work done in the different
churches of the denomination since
the movement was started on August
the first of last year. The result of
this six months of work is astounding
the greatest revival of a generation.
The report of Mr.. Cooper will make
the hearts of millions of Methodists of
the world beat wild with pride, and it
is doubtful if any denomination
ever showed such great increase in
so short time.
Mr.. Cooper is not as yet prepared to
give figures of the number of converts
to Methodism in all parts of the coun-
try, as there are many districts that
have not as yet been heard from, but
from the districts now heard from it is
apparent that the Twentieth Century
movement will result in the addition
of at least four hundred thousand con-
verts to the Methodist church. The
churches and presiding elders districts
now heard from include almost every
part of the United States, and not a
single district has been neglected.
Special revival meetings have been
held in every district of the church in
America, and. in many places the re-
viva1s are still going on with no abate-
ment of the interest. Societies in
which the interest in church work had
died out have been revived, and many
new. societies have been formed, a the
direct result of the special services in
connection with the great revival
movement. At this, his first report to
the church, Mr.. Cooper has not made a.
statement of the amount of money
raised for the purpose of spreading the
Gospel of Christ in the mission
fields, but he is confident that the
amount raised will far exceed the early
estimates of the men managing the
forward movement. Speaking of the
figures thus far secured from the work
Mr.. Cooper stated that the report from
one hundred presiding elders districts,
in which only two-thirds of the
churches had reported, a total of "a, 103
conversions had been reported. Using
these reports as basis for comparison
the reports from the six hundred pre-
siding elders districts in the United
States will show for the six months
total of over three hundred thousand
converts. Should this ratio be kept up
for the year in which the special SER
vices are to continue the movement
will result in the addition of fully six
hundred thousand souls to the Meth
odist church.
AS to the number of accessions to
the church it is hardly as large as the
number of conversions, but Mr.. Cooper
holds that it will not be possible to tell
of the number of acceSsions to the
church until the full year has elapsed,
and the converts have been added to
the church membership.
The work of the movement has been
especially active in the middle west,
where meetings have been held in al
most every church. Several Of the
districts in the middle west report that
the movement will result ia the con-
version of thousand souls.
Up to the present time the banner
district of the country is the Salisbury
district of Maryland, in which presid-
ing elder 7. E. Martindale reports a
total of 1874 conversions, and 832 Access
sions to the different churches of the
district.
The managers of the forward move
ment are planning to have no abate-
ment of the campaign for Methodism
during the summer months when the
churches are closed, but the work will
be carried on at hun dreds of camp
grounds in all parts of the United
States. Besides this the managers
have arranged for the inauguratio
Cd, "home camp meetings" to be held
in every church in the country. One
of the unique points of the summer
campaign will be the meetings to be
held in every school district. These
meetings are scheduled to be of deep
spiritual nature, and are being urged
to reach the large country population
which is not in touch with the city
churches. All these meetings will be
conducted largely by the pastors of the
church and the 1aity.
The church is in the midst of the
greatest revival in the history of any
denomination, and the above results
will cause the members to take heart
for even greater movement, and it is
expected by the management of the
crusade that this is the beginning of a
movement which will sweep on and
bring even greater results in approach
ing years.
And thus the watch cry of the TWEEN
tieth Century Movement 'two million
souls for Christ and twenty millions of
dollars for missions will be realized.
Ida r. Boyer will leave for New York
in few days. where she will make her
future home.
Miss Alice Hanson, of Racine, is
spending week with friends and re-