The Saint Paul globe., 1903-01-17


Prayer Meeting Topics of the Chris
tian Endeavor Societies, the Ep-
worth Leagues, the Baptist Younq
Peoples Union, Etc, for Jan. 18,
Young People in Training for
Church Work." Acts H., 17-18; Prov.
III, 1-8; Mark l., 1920.
preparation must precede perform
ance. We must learn before we can
DO. Before he can be a competent ar
tlsan man must serve an apprentice
snip; before he can teach or preach
ne must spend years in study; before
he can lead the soldiers Of his country
ne must have long, severe training
in the field or at West Point-prefer-
| ABLY the latter. So it is with the great
| work OF the church, which is the most
| important work undertaken by man. 1t
was primarily to secure trained serv-
| ants Of the church that the modern
| young peoples societies came into ex-
lstence. They are the West Point of
the church, from which she gets drilled
leaders in her worldwide warfare. All
over the land-and, indeed, all over
the World-these young peoples So
cieties are quietly and unostentatious-
ly equIpp1ng young men and women to
do all forms of Christian work and to
assume the leadership in the great
| religious moral and philanthropfc
movements of the day. Thousands of
individual churches are stronger for
their work, and scores Of young men in
the front rank of public service in their
communities confess that they obtain
ed both the impulse and the skill for
their larger duties from the young peo-
pies society.
! Any young peoples society that
puts its own claims above the claims
of the church shows thereby that it
has failed to grasp the essential pur-
pose of it's existence.
Practice is the best preparation. We
learn to do by doing That is the prin-
ciple on which the young peoples So
cieties are established. They train by
service. Through the performance Of
a wide range Of Christian work they
lead their members to a high degree
of efficiency. The activities of a sue
cesSful young peoples society are many
and varied; they run almost the en-
tire scale of church work, from the
feeding of the poor to the dealing with
persons seeking spiritual light. Thus
the young Christian is equipped to
assume the larger responsibilities Of
religious duties with an experience and
a skill that increases his power as q
part Of the working force Of the great
church.
A homely proverb declares that
you can't teach an old dog new
tricks "A man may become q Chris
tian in old age, but he will not then
be able to serve his fellows in the
name of the Master, with the same
freedom and effectiveness that would
have been his had he begun his dis
cipleship early. 1t is the person who
becomes a Christian in youth who
does the most effective service, as we'll
as the longest.
The spirit Of the world was never
before so altruistic as today. There
never were so many men and women
eager to give their best powers to the
service of their fellows. A thousand
new agencies for human ministry have
sprung into being within a generation.
Yet it still remains true that the
church is the best helper of man.
More deeply. effectively and abidingly
than any other organization, she serves
humanity. She offers the best channel
for spending ones life in ministry to
men. One can make his personally
count for most by entering whole
heartedly into the work of the Chris
tian church. She, better than any new
movement or society that has arisen,
expresses the brotherly spirit of the
age So the young people by the mill
lion who are today training for church
work are training for the most useful
service to their fellow men.