The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1910-02-15
GOSPEL SQUAD ON.
FOOTBALL LINES.
Kansas Wesleyan University
Men Form Novel Organization.
QUICK, SHORT TALKS THE RULE

Members of the Team Visit Western
Kansas Towns and Hold Night and
One Day Revvals With Success
The Idea of the Rev. J. M. Newton,
Coach of the Squad.
On the theory that the jaded public
is only interested in something new in
religion as In all other things Rev.
James M. Newton, pastor of the Uni
versity Methodist church, at Salina,
Kan, has organized football squad
gospel team composed of students at
Kansas Wesleyan university, and the
team is carrying the gospel out over
the countryside with considerable sue
cess. The students devote only their
leisure time to the gospel work.
The Rev. Mr. Newton went to Salina
year ago from Boston university,
where there was similar gospel
team, the first of its kind in the United
States. He was coach" of that or
ganization, and after he had become
settled in Salina he believed he saw a
field for gospel team to visit neigh
boring towns.
"Why not organize a gospel team
here and, to give it touch of novelty
to interest both the members and the
people, organize it on football lines r.
he said to himself. "Why not let the
young men make a fight to advance
the kingdom of God, just as they make
a fight to advance the ball on the grid
iron?" So the Kansas Wesleyan Cos
pei team was organized.
Have Visited Several Towns.
The business Of this gospel team"
is to hold revivals-redhot football en-
thusiasm revivals-which begin Satur-
day night and continue all day Sun
day. The team has already visited
Solomon, Kanapolis and other sur
rounding towns and has made several
converts. There are so many calls
for dates that the coach" has been
obliged to decline many of them. He
won't take his team out every week,
for he says it is just like football, SO
far as the strain is concerned, and he
does not believe in overworking the
boys.
The Kansas Wesleyan gospel team
when it goes on trip takes its own
chorister, pianist and quartet along,
for members of the team are musi-
clans. Raymond Ryder is the pianist,
Lynn Garfield is chorister, and the
quartet is composed of members of the
team. The members are all students
at the college with the exception of
the coach, as follows: W. N. Clark,
Smith Center, captain; Clayton Boldly.
Norton, historian; J. M. Haney, Court
land, treasurer; Lowell Honderick
Bison; Cicil Seaman, Claflin; Walter
Strife, Kanapolis; w. e. Scott,
Wakeeney; E. P. Curtis, Ransom;
William Warren, Chester, Neb.; Lynn
Garfield. Belleville; Raymond Ryder.
Kirwtn.
Say What They Have to Say and Quit.
81 never let the members of my
gospel team talk more than five min
utes," the Rev. Mr.. Newton said.
Each man says what he has to say
and says it quickly. We have one
good, rousing meeting Saturday night,
and then Sunday we start with sun
rise meeting and get eight meetings
in the day. We plan to have four of
the team talk at each meeting, FIVE
minutes each. Then we have some
music.
II coach the members of the team
on how to work with different per-
sons. Every person has to be handled
in different way. With some the
old fashioned holiness methods are
the best, but most people prefer to
have us talk to them in plain, bust
nesslike way. What we desire is re-
suits. We get them in whatever way
seems best suited to the individual"