The Columbus weekly dispatch., 1907-03-21
GOD REVEALED
A MAGIC VISION
EVANGELIST GATES SAYS THAT
IN A VISION GOD REVEALED
TO HIM THE NEED FOR
A REVIVAL HERE.
This, Says Mr.. Gates. was His Reason
for Coming Here, i'm Spite of the
Fact That Many Larger
Cities Needed Him.

bus, and that is why / came here in
spite of the fact that many larger
cities were anxious TO secure my SER
vices
Rev. Geo. c. Gates, the we'll konwn
evangelist, made this statement at
the First Methodist church last Sun
day afternoon, at which time he be-
gan a meeting which, according to
present plans, is to continue for ten
days. Mr.. Gates arrived over the
| Mobile & Ohio Railroad at noon on
Sunday, having come from Union
City, Tenn, where he had just closed
a meeting which resulted in the saw
ing of more than six hundred souls.
The evangelist was met at the depot
A. Clark, and was Immediately driven
to the elegant home of Gen. Lee on
North Seventh street, where he will
be domiciled during his stay in Co.
lumbus
| Upon reaching the city Mr.. Gates
almost Immediately entered upon his
work here, having arrived at noon
and having delivered his first sermon
three hours later. His coming has
| been extensively heralded, and there
was a large congregation present at
| the time the service began.
I Before beginning his discourse the
evangelist made preliminary talk,
in which he briefly conveyed to his
hearers the policy to be pursued in
the conduct of the meeting. He said
that he was by no means a believer
in or an advocate of what is known
as the 'one man meeting is,
meeting in which the evangelist
does all of the work, and the people
sit supinely by without assisting by
word or action in the great work of
theory into action, Mr.. Gates proceed
ed to invite speeches from the differ
ent officers of the churches and Sun
day schools of the city, calling on
them to answer as briefly as possible
the question, What is the object of
this meeting?" First the local minis
ters, next the Sunday school super
intendents, and finally the Sunday
school teachers were called upon to
reply to this interrogatory They all
replied briefly to the question, the
consensus of opinion as conveyed in
these replies being that the object
of the meeting was to bring about a
great religious awakening that would
result in the conversion of hundreds
of misguided sinners.
Following this colIoquy Mr.. Gates
began his sermon, taking for his I
1t was in this sermon that he made
the statement regarding the command /
from on high to come to Colum bus. !
He said that the people in scores of .
cities in all parts of the South were
urging him to come to them, but
that God appeared to him in a dream
and told him that there was urgent
need for him in Columbus, that the
time was ripe for a great religious
awakening here, and he could do
more good in this city just at the
present time than at any other place.
he had a second dream, in which
God appeared, and this time solemnly
him TO come to Colum-
bus. He said that he debated the
question no longer, but Immediately
notified the members of the local
that he had decided to ac-
cept their invitation to come here.
Mr.. Gates said that before begin
ming a meeting in any city he made
t rule to institute dilligent inquiry .
the people whom he would
De called upon to address, and that
lie had secured a great deal of infor- ;
nation concerning the people of Co ,
umbus. He said that he had been 7
old that most of our citizens were .
old ante bellum Southern aristo- 8
rats but that the religion which :
lie preached was intended for the Q
,oor as well as for the rich, and the !.
lay 1aborer as well as the patrician; !;
hat it was the old time religion, :
which was good for forefathers and =
which placed all mankind on an equal ;
OOliuS, IOCOSaIZiDS 1O0 dS tue OAS n
upreme and all-wise King of the h
inverse. The evangelist said that ;.
uring his stay here he might say +
nd do things at which the people :,
7ould feel inclined to take offense, .
ut assured them that he would pur- =
ue a policy which mad proven emca- s.
ious in other cities, and asked that s.
riticism be reserved until the close !,
the meeting. ;s
After concluding his exhortation, ;,
II CatoS Said that he wanted ALI the