The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1911-11-30
4 NEW BAPTIST CHURCH

1t is within the memory of some Of
us when the pastor Of church was
merely a preacher whose work con-
sisted in a couple of sermons on Sun
day, with occasional visiting the sick,
officiating at funerals, or joining in
marriage a couple Of members of his
own flock. But today pastor must
be man practica BILE in business affairs
and not only a leader of his congrega-
ton in thought but in action also: and
just at present Ocala is singularly
fortunate in the men who stand at the
head of the various churches of the
city for more practicable, level-headed
men than the pastors of our sew
era1 churches it would be hard to find
and the new pastor of the Baptist
church, the Rev. J. D. Chapman, has
already proven his right to be counted
with the best of them.
Last Sunday he preached a sermon
to large congregation on the subject
of GA New Church., and the absolute
necessity of the same, and the stand
he took on This subject must have con-
WINGED the most skeptical of the fact
that the present church was utterly in
adequate even for the present needs
Of the conereg ation-to say nothing of
future growth-that something must
must be done and done quickly. He
said that the fact that nothing in ma
| ture ever stood still, applied even to
church growth and that a church that
| had outgrown its present capacity was
| bound to retrograde, and as proof of
| this he asserted that the Overcrowded
condition of. the Sunday school had
| driven some Of their scholars to other
| schools, and at the present time they
We're unable to hold their own. He
said this was not the fault of poor
teaching or poor preparation on the
part of the teachers, but simply the
conditions which surrounded them, and
| that we needed a revival, a revival Of
| church building, and this applied not
| only to Oca1a but to the whole state.
which was sadly behind in church
| buildings. That while there were
homes here which might be designated
as pa1atial there was not church
edifice in this city that fully up
to the standard of what Gods house
should be.
The great crying needs of the time
was in behalf of the children. Children
were Gods gift to man and the grand
est work a. man can be engaged in
was to train that child for a useful,
it's environments were Of especial i'm
portance, ard when they congregated
in an overcrowded school room or a
poorly constructed and dingy church
building, their spiritual up1ift was an
Iimpossibility. A church house is the
expression Of our thoughts of God, and
il we think more of ourselves and
build fine homes for our own enjoy
ment but tolerate old delapidated
buildings in which to worship the
Lord, our souls will be no larger than
our idea of God.
\ modern successful church is not
built for day or even a generation
a legacy of the love which their par
ents had for them. 1t consists not OF
. one room only in which to hold church
services and Sunday school-which i:
Railways impractical ble-but a series OF
rooms adapted to various parts OF
Gods work Thus the needs Of ths
Baptist church were a larger and bet
ter arranged auditorium, room fol
the BaracaS. who could double theil
membership if they had more room
and room for the Philatheas and 9th
er Bible classes; primary room,
church parlor, and room for socia
gatherings, suppers. etc. In the matter
Of altering anG adding to the presen
church edifice the speaker thought /
inadvisable, a. in the first place i
fwou1d be almost impossible TO chang
the auditorium 20 suit present need
without tearing it down and startins
again. as one IF the best assets of
church is a good basement room