Arizona republican., 1914-05-15
|F|NE WORK 0F 1 APT|ST CHURCH
Growth Along All Lines and Every Activity Prosper ing-Debt Finally Wiped Out and Pastors Salary
 Raised-Prospects Bright

A new preacher had come to town and grandma went to hear him. At dinner the folks asked how she liked the new preacher. Well" says she, T got just three things agin him. In the first place he read his sermon. In the second place he didn't read it well. In the third place twan't worth readin nohoW" Be it said without fear of contradiction that she was not attending the First Bap- tist church of Phoenix, Arizona.
 In J. Harvey Deere, D. D., the Baptist church has one of the strong est preachers in the state As one of the members said recently. T church in California and the east and have never had d pastor that I liked so well or who could hold my atten- tion so consecutively as Dr. Deere" He is one of the few preachers who does not preach from a barrel, and therein lies his power. Though it means work and enormous intellec- tual responsibility, Dr. Deere. does not spare himself but gives his peo- pie sermons that have in them the power of immediate preparation It IS impossible for a pastor to be in that close sympathy with his sub ject that will give it the fullest in- depreciation if he has written it ten years before. Actions speak louder ' nn,, Ie hA ahr their high regard for their pastor when they voted unanimously at the last business meeting to increase his salary six hundred dollars in appre- citation of his great service and un- tiring labors in this field
 In the years that Pastor Deere has been with the church it has grown greatly in all departments. Especial mention should be made of the prayer meeting service on We'd nesday night There are few if any churches that can show steady at tendance of close to one hundred and fifty. That, however. is not the best part of it. The spirit of wor- ship and prayer are the real things | that count The attendance is sec ondary matter, but it means large number getting the help and inspira- 1 ton of the meetings. Another fea- ture that should not be overlooked, | is the large proportion of young people in the Wednesday night ser vice. They are not only there but come right up front where they are an inspirat tion to the pastor and an
 incentive for him to give his very best When church can show a
 strong percentage of young people,
 that church is accomplishing a great mission.
 The church has grown rapidly. Dr. Deeres sermons are strongly evan
 gelical He remembers that the
 great mission of the church is evan
 gelism. There have been seventy
 five additions to the church since
 the first of the year and a very large
 proportion have been by baptism,
 which means real growth for the kingdom. The membership is now six hundred.
 i Last Sunday was a day to be espe
 cially remembered as the debt of s2500 on the church property was raised. The members gave them
 selves to it with a will and the final result was s2720 subscribed. The
 debt was incurred ten years ago when
 the church was much weaker than
 at the present time and when it had
 the task of erecting the present edi- flee The old one had burned leav-
 ing them with 5000 insurance and
 $500 debt. Nothing daunted they
 went to work to erect the beautiful
 building that now occupies the pretty
 site among the trees on the corner
 of Third avenue and Monroe. One of the head men in the edifice depart
 ment of another denomination pro-
 nounced it the most artistic church
 building west of the Rocky Noun l tains.
 Under the able leadership of B W | Getsinger the Sunday school has
 grown rapidly. He set the goal for
 a membership and attendance of fouI | hundred" This was reached last fall
 and heralded by a potato roast and picnic on the desert. The Young
 Peoples organization has been doing splendid work during the past year
 under the able leadership of Miss
 Ruth Percival and promises the | same for the future under their present president. Earl Benson. All the organizations of the church have been living up to their opportunities and responsibilities The church has