The Penn's Grove record., 1916-01-21
nAcksLIprRs ar rRAIL
Sudden Response Comes As Sunday
Scores Trenton.


Scores Of the best church members
days call in the most productive OF
any of the Sunday meetings, and when
the ~acrobatic evangelist kicked a chair
from the pulpit platform and demand
ed that the entire audience enlist for
Christ, there was a mad scramble on
tho part of hundreds to reach his
hand. In all 457 came forward.
One of the very first to get to Sum
day vas Judge John Rellstab, Of the
United States District Court. He was
followed by Rev. William IL. Curry,
pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian
Church, and Charles H FRESHMAN.
secretary of the Trenton Y. M. G. A.,
ann next. Then came hundreds from
the audience and from the choir. 1t
was the most satisfying incident Of
the two weeks campaign, because up
to that minute there were doubts as
to its success.
1t was a bitterly cold night, and
Homer Rhodeheaver said that the au-
dience of less than 1000 IA the small
est night crowd to which Sunday had
preached in the 1ast five years. and 1t
was not complimentary to the city.
Sunday, too, was depressed by the
poor attendance and particularly so
b~ecause-there were not mor than
2000 at the afternoon service. He
said there were some features Of the
Trenton meetings that were simply
wonderful, but there were others that
were punk.
He lever preached better, however,
and when he cles.ned the platform with
his feet, the aisles were filled with
trail-hitters. He also asked for recon-
secrations and pleaded with the
ushers, choir members and preachers
to reconsecrate themselves publicly.
This brought results and Sunday for
got all of the uncertain things he had
been thinking about Trenton. The
example set by the public declaration
of Judge Rellstab and the other big
men of the city had its effect. III. M.
Voorhees,, head of a big department
store, and John E. Gill, president OF
the Trenton Chamber of Commerce,
were among the big business men who
took to the sawdust.
Sunday was in a fighting mood when
he began his sermon. 1t was upon
the subject. "Backsliders," and he
said that it might be a godsend If
the Lord would sweep some commun-
tiles with typhoid or some other
pestilence Immediately after q revival,
as that would be the only chance that
some alleged Christians would have
that to be a backslider was to be a
liar, because a backslider breaks his
VOWS with God.
In telling of his early work in a
Chicago Y. M. C. A.. Sunday said he
was getting just $1,000 a year as an
assistant secretary, and he was o n
stantly in receipt of off rs for $500
a month to go back to playing base
ball. But l had told the Lord that
I would work for him, and / did not
backslide," he declared.
The road to he'll, he said, was greas-
ed for easy going, but it was so hard
to climb back. Then began the 80
peal for converts and reconsecrations-
The preacher ros to high flights of
oratory and the audience was deeply
moved. The response was so sud-
den, however, that Sunday himself
seemed confused, SO he announced:
"If every one of you don't want to
take your seats and sign cards. why,
don't come up"
But they fought to get to the pulpit
and soon the singing of the choir be-
came weak because the singers had
taken their seats in front of the plat
form and were being prayed for by
the evangelist.