The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1910-06-07
TRAINING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE

trained workers. he VINO Wouiu pe
successful in life must needs prepare
for it. Few indeed there are but what
realize the advantage of education ana
training. We now and then find man
who will contend that inasmuch as he
has gotten along inN~life and perhaps
made a success without any or little
book learning, his children can do so
also. Most men, however, realize that
they have been seriously handicapped
by lack of education and training and
wish their children to be better pre-,
pared for the duties of life ana
therefore are willing to give them
the advantages of an education: There
can be no question rs TO the advantage
the educated and trained individual has
over the one not thus equipped. This be
ing true in secular affairs 1t reasonably
follows that the educated and traineu
Young people in our church nave
much larger field of usefulness
open to them and are capable of accom-.
plishing much more for the cause oil
Christ than those without such prepa-
ration. Is it not, therefore, worth
while to give some, yea, serious, atten
ton to this all-impOrtant matter! Too
long have we failed 70 realize the I'M
portance of this work, cursory
glance will show US that there Is
great need in our churches for workers,
consecrated trained workers. We look
into our Sunday school department and
find a lack of efficient superintendent
and woeful lack of efficient teachers.
We 90 to our church prayer meetings
and find few who lead in prayer or VINO
can or will lead the service. Our pub
lie worship drags because there are so
few who will take part.
This was not always so, perhaps
Some of these churches used to have
efficient workers and the prayer meet
ings flourished and the churches pros
pered and there was great Joy among
the saints. Even the deacons ana ON
GERS of the church are often careless
and indifferent regarding these matters
and lack the training necessary 10
make them efficient and useful and
helpful to the pastor IN the duties ue-
voving upon them. why TINS ehahge
from the good old times when the
PRAYER service of the church was so m
spring and Spirltuallzlng! II ne
cause there is less of spiritual ME. Inc
fathers having gone 10 their reward
and their sons are unqualified, united
10 fiji their place. And why has this
condition developed? Is not one cause
the lack Of training? We believe so.
Ard what is training? We have spoken
of education and training, but training
does not necessarily depend upon ecu
cation. that is education IN the
sense usually understood. We would
define training as putting into practice
by exercise that which we have learned
or gained by education or teaching, ana
so a mistake We have made. or duty
we have neglected, is the development
of the young converts as they nave
come into our churches. About all the
church has done has been 10 turn him
out when he has yielded TO temptation,
or perhaps even worse than that, CON
demned him without a hearing or re-
proof and still retaining the name on
the church roll. We have made 1t very
easy for one to enter the church WITH
out instruction or examination as 10
their conception Of the obligations they
thus assume, and then take little no
tice of them after they are IN. We
have too often failed to touch the re-
ligious life of the new convert
and the consequence has been
tnat he has remainded dwarf
all the days of his life or has drlited
away from our influence entirely. The
new convert is but babe in Christ,
and as an infant on its mothers bosom
has to grow and develop before reach
ing manhood. so likewise must the babe
in Christ grow and mature, be trained,
if he is 10 become strong in the Lord
and the strength Of his might. The
church's duty is to provide for TINS pro-
cess and superintend, so TO speak, this
work: provide the means that will in
sure the full and proper development.
This means in the first place that the
church must give instruction, educate;
that she must teach the doctrines OF
Christ. The church that is spending
all her efforts in winning souls is per
forming only part Of her duty. The
pastor who is seeking to enlarge the
membership of his church by gaming
new converts and counts success by
numbers only has missed his calling.
He should resign the pastorate and be-
come an evangelist. The pastor should
be the teacher as well as preacher.
Every sermon should have some deh-
mite aim in view, should impart In
struction.
Then the Sunday school has its part
in the work Of training the young con-
vert. A good Sunday school, in good
working order, can accomplish wonders
in the training of new converts. The
godly. consecrated teacher before his
class every Sunday can accomplish
much in this line. The church should
see to it that, the Sunday school is made
efficient and perfect, this God given in
strumentality, in all its departments. A
good Sunday school is a good place to
teach and train those born into the
kingdom, as. well as a source OF supply
of the converts. After instruction,
training, to be efficient, as we have indl-
Gated, should involve practice, exer-
else, discipline. To this end the church
should foster a young peoples society,
a young mems prayer meeting, ayoung
woman's missionary society. and here
is where our young people will get the
needed practice and exercise. Then
the Young convert should be encouraged
TO take some part in the more public
church prayer meeting. He should be
pressed into the harness and every posi-
bic means should be employed to induce
him to take part and that at once.
Right here many churches have made
their mistake, they have failed to take
advantage of the young converts
GLOWING heart. but have left him to
pass on without inducing him to exer-
else the gift that is within him, and
the result of this neglecthas been when
that this same convert gets older ne
gets colder and refuses TO perform these
sacred duties, when otherwise, il he
had had proper training, he would
gladly do the work assigned him. Then
there is great need in our church of
trained trainers or trained teachers.
This, as we have said, is depIorably evil
dent in our Sunday schools. The Sunday
school is a great institution and we DO