Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1905-02-27


NOT then taught how Christ wants ms
70 90 forth into the highways and the
hodges seeking sinful men and women
wherever they may be found?
One. two. three. four, five, six. seven
+oIIed the city bells The evangelists
ond their followers worked on. Nine
ron half past ten--the Christian disci-
nles worked on. Eleven. twelve, went
the clock. What! Is any one out to
night? oh. yes: the messengers of sin
are ont tonight This is the harvest hour
for the demons of death. But tonight
ave tonight-the angels of mercy are
calling and pleading. Mothers and ia,
thers in heaven, wives ana children in
beaven. over the embellishments did We
NOT see the prayers being answered in
the midnight hour? oh, God, teach us
as. these evangelists have taught us
that the mission of Christian church
Is not alone to care for d few peDple
who are our social equals and who hap
non to come to our churcheS The
greatest mission of Christian churches
is to 90 after men and women-to O..
after them in saloons, in haunts of sin
In gambling dens, everywhere and any
Where-to go after them in the morn
ming. at noon and at midnight.
The Church's Mission.
But. lastly, learn from the work of
these evangelists a lesson which ought
to make us one and all ashamed of our
selves. If the churches of the Lord
Jesus Christ would join together their
forces to make a conquest for Christ
they could win the same triumphs for
the Master year in and year out. The
mightiest mission Of ]. Wilbur Chap
man and his associates is to unite
Christ's forces. They have given us an
object lesson Of the victory that may
be won by the united effort of all the
denominations.
Supposing every fall the Congrega-
tional ministers, and the Baptist minis
tiers, and the Methodist ministers, and
the Campbellite ministers, and the Pres
byterian ministers, and the Lutheran
ministers, aud the Reformed ministers
would all get together. Then suppos-
ing they should say: Let us join in sec
lions. We will exchange pulpits. We
will preach for souls, no matter in what
church we preach. We will have our
cottage prayer meetings and our noon
day prayer meetings. We will send our
best men down into the Sums" What
would happen? Not only would they
break down sectarian lines, but they
no
mightiest business on earth is not to
build up a denomination, but to save
immortal souls. They would do just
what Dr. Chapman and his associates
have done. They would shake the cities
and the states from center to circum-
ference.
One Of the most farseeing acts DR..
Chapman ever did for the advancement
of a gospel movement was to combine
evangelists of different ecclesiastical
denominations into a unit for the
spreading of the gospel. DR.. Chapman
is a Presbyterian and is laboring under
the orders Of the general assembly of
the Presbyterian church. DR.. Henry
Ostrum, his associate, is a Methodist,
W. Slough is Congregationalist, R. A
Walton belongs to the southern Pres
byterian church-here there were no
northern and southern churches-John
K. Elliott is a Dutch Reformed minis
ter. All Sectarian fences have been
burned in these evangelistic meetings.
Why cannot we do the same every year
mic of
ward movement. Yes, but also a unit
ed movement for Christ.
One In Essentials.
Every Sectarian minister wants to
hoe in his own ecclesiastical row,
whereas, in fact and in truth, there is
but little difference in these rows. They
all end in having their sheaves of
wheat deposited at the foot of the
cross. Why cannot we work hand in
hand with other Christian denomina-
tons? Are we not all servants of
Christ? The Presbyterian differs in
doctrine from the Methodist, the Con
gregationalist differs in church govern
ment from the Episcopalian, but all
give the same answer to the question,
"Vhat must l do to be saved?" Every
evangelical denomination points the sin
ner to Christ as the one and only
source of salvation. Love, gospel love
ought to make US all one. Oh, for Cos
| pei forces alntted and welded together!
, Oh. that the churches of all the PrOtes
tant denominations might enter into q
| concerted and single purposed move
ment for Christ, as was done in this
great gospel campaign on the Pacific
| coast. which has won thousands OF
souls for the MASTER
cannot close without an expression
of gratitude to the evangelists who
have aided u.s. l honor all evangelists
Do we realize how much these evangel
lists give up for their work? All the
ioys of home life all the sweet fellow
ship with their people that the regular
minister enjoys-these must all be sur
rendered by the evangelist who goes
from city to city to arouse and stimu
late the churches. Dr. Walton told me