The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-06-25

Los Angeles. Cal, June 1s.-In every
large city in the union there IS eonsld-
cradle population to which this sermon
peculiarly applies. The preacher voices
their plea for the gospel, and urges that
il be no longer rejected. The text is Acts
xvi. 9, Come over into Macedonia, and
hep us"
Nearby Macedonians! What do you
mean?2 says some one rs there any
class of people living near to me who
have not the gospel preached to them as
K ought to be preached? Why, nearly all
my life | have been living in one of our
large cities l have sat under some of
the greatest preachers of the world. Sure
~ all those who live near to me have the
same kind of gospel advantages l have ?"
No my friend, you are wrong. There are
scores and hundreds, and thousands and
tens of thousands who have not. Before
l get through with my subject l hope to
prove to you that my premise is true. for
today | am going To speak for the most
part to those who have lived nearly all
their lives in a large city.
Where did you go to church when you
first came to town? oh" you say =
used to worship In such and such a street
The great DIR. So-and-so preached there.
but L moved away. and most of my old
ne.ghbors moved away long ago The
boarding house element crowded us out.
The region where | used to live is now
filled with 'roomers Indeed! | sup
pose very few people are now living in
your old street. "Oh. no; quite the con-
trary" You answer. Where there used
to be one family living in a house there
are now sometimes twenty or thirty peo-
pie Light housekeeping in many in
stances has made each double room house
a whole family indeed Then. with
the increased population swarming there.
/ suppose your old church is crowded to
the doors ! suppose your old Sunday
school is five times larger than 1t used to
be and the church members have taken
eYey pew. No" you answer. Il only
wish that We're true, | love that old
church now more than | have ever loved
it. But the trouble is the wealthy people
moved away. Then old Dr. So-and-so got
a call to heaven. Then the people who re-
manned called a fine young man. but he
could not make the church so. He strug
gled on and on. They could not pay him
a salary sufficient To live upon and he
had to leave. Now the old church has
very ordinary man in the pulpit The
seats are only n sixth full. The whole
work there seems to be at a standstill.
What is being done is done in the quick
sands. one month the people are there
and the next they are gone. | am afraid
the old church is geographically doomed.
You old church's work geographically
doomed? What! Can such condition ex-
list at our very doors? There are thou
sands and hundreds of thousands of
eity's population swarming around those
old churches. Shall all our best church
strongholds be turned to secular uses?
Such a condition must not exist. My
theme today is call for help for what Is
termed the deserted church of the board
ing house regions of a large city. l would
make plea not for the down town
church. which is situated in the heart of
the business center of a great city I
have been pastor of such n church as that
In Plttsburg and ] know they can be
made useful and prosperous If right meth
DDS are adopted. make not plea for
the church situated in the residential re-
gion. / have such a curch as that I'm the
beautiful city of Los Angeles If a man
does his work there it is not difficult to
gather In the families But | make a
plea for the 'halfway" city curch, the
church which is not downtown nor up
town I plead for the church which Is
surrounded by rooming houses and by
the boarding mousse element-the halfway
church." which Is in a region congested
with multitudes of people who have not
the gospel preached to them as 1t ought
to be- make a plea for such a church
because I have been pastor or one and |
know OF the almost insurmountable OBJ
stacles which 1t has to overcome.
The "Haliway Church."
The halfway church of the large city
to be a spiritual success must have. in the
first place, an earnest band of strong
abiebodied men and women who for the
c1urch's sake are eady to help the min
lister and fill the official positions of that
church. 1t must have tried gospel veter-
ans in its boards of elders deacons and
trustees. 1t must have able leaders in the
Sunday school who know the Bible and
are ready to stay by their classes under
all conditions. 1t must have those men
and women, not as visitors, but as MEM
bers in good and regular standing who
are identified with the church because
there they know they can best serve their