The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1914-09-18


d. D., Ii. d., founder o
the Christian Endeavor SO
ciety and president of thu
Worlds Christian Endeavor union.
Doctor Clark was born at Aylmer
Que, Canada, September y, 1851
Thirty.three years ago Doctor Clarl
was pastor of the Williston Congrega
tional church Of Portland Me. He wa.
then a young man just fresh from col
lege and seminary. Williston church
was a typical New England church
with all of the problems and Difficult
ties that those churches had to meet
In the winter of 1SSO-1SS1 a series
of special evangelistic services in the
church had led a great many young
people into church membership. This
wise young pastor realized that If
those young people we're to be held for
the church they must be trained for
service they must have something to
do, and they must be shown how to
do it. He called his young people to-
gether, and on February 2, 1881, the
first Christian Endeavor society was
formed, the first Christian Endeavor
pledge was signed, and the following
Sunday the first Christian Endeavor
prayer meeting was held.
From that small beginning in Port
land the society has spread and grown,
until today there are more than $4,000
Christian Endeavor societies in the
world, with more than 100000 mem.
bers.
There are Christian Endeavor soci-
eties in every country of the world,
and each week meetings are conducted
in more than eighty different Ian
guages; the literature of the society
has been printed in as many tongues.
Something like 1900 daily, weekly and
monthly periodicals carry Christian
Endeavor news; more than 200 peri
odicals are devoted entirely to the
work of Christian Endeavor. There
are more than $50 different kinds of
books, leaflets cards, etc, published
for use in the work Of the society and
as aids to It. Millions of pages of
special printed matter are issued ev-
cry year.
From almost the very beginning of
the movement Christian Endeavor has
been interdenominational in its scope |
and work. Though it began in a Con-
gregational church, today there are 81
different denominations that take
Christian Endeavor as their young
peoples society. Throughout the world
there are probably more Methodist
Christian Endeavor societies than
those of any other denomination,
though in North America many Of the
Methodist churches have a purely de-
nominational young peoples society.
On this continent there are more So
Cieties in Presbyterian churches than
in those Of any other denomination;
the Christian church has the second
largest number of societies, the Con.
gregational third, the Baptist fourth.
In England, Burma and India the Ban {
lists lead in Christian EndeaVor while | {
In Australia, Spain, France and other
countries the Methodists lead; in Nor '
way, Denmark, Germany and Russia t
the Lutherans lead; in Italy the Wal |
1ensians, etc. '
No agency has done more to bring
the Christian people of all denomina- {
tions closer together than has this f
great society. The present tendency g
toward unity of Christian people and t
churches is due, in a large part, to l.
Christian Endeavor, with its more 4
han 1900 union meetings every year, g
-anging from local and county Chris T
ian Endeavor union gatherings of one 7
hundred or less to the state, interna-
ional and worlds conventions, with 4
thousands and tens of thousands of t
delegates present. Some of the county c
in this country are large; o