Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1920-01-02
3 H0D|ST Revival
DRHIR|NGOUT mall
PARTS Of COUNTRY
George Mecklenburg, Executive
Secretary Of Missionary Gen.
tenary Sends Statement to
Boise.

Methodists in Boise are greatly in
terested in statement that has just
reached Boise from George Mecklen-
burg, executive secretary OF the Mis-
8iOnary Centenary of the Methodist
EpiscOpal church, headquarters head
quarters Helena, Mont, dealing with
the big revival movement for CONVEX
sions that has been started by that re-
ltgious denomination.
The statement is In part as follows:
A million souls by June lin other
words, a million new conversions by
June lis the astounding objective Of
awakened Methodism. For audacity
and dimensions the project breaks all
records. In the entire history OF
Christianity no such stupendous
evangelistic campaign was ever plan
ned. Will it succeed? Can 1t? For
one sympathetic onlooker there are a
hundred who consider this glaring
and unprecedented example OF fanatic
Ism gone mad.
Be it recalled, however, that the hun
dred were as sceptical year or two
ago when Methodists undertook to
subscribe a centenary fund OF *12O,0o0,-
600 for evangelistic, educational, medi-
cal and relief work abroad and for war
Reconstruction in America. A fantastic
scheme! Hysterical. What with Lib
erty loan drives, Red Cross drives, T.
M. C.. A. drives and Salvation Army
drives raging simultaneously or in
swift succession, who could fancy that
Methodists-poor as they are, mostly
would go over the top with a cheer?
Yet they did.
WHAT THE TASK REPRESENTS.
They recognize that 100000 new
conversions by June l Is a large order.
But they have not plunged into this
tremendous adventure without first
.f,,.r Jhar hn
conversions are to be obtained. AS DIR.
Edgar Blake observes: THE bishops
say that Of the 100000 conversions
they expect in America $4,000 must
come from the Sunday schools. This
seems like an almost impossible task
until you remember that 1t represents
about Is per cent of our present Sun
day school membership and the further
fact that approximately half of our
Sunday school membership (2,250,O00)
have not as yet united with the
church.
During the last ten years there have
been 1,70S,000 conversions for every
Sunday of the decade. More than
100000 Sunday school scholars are
united with the church during the last
ten years. In 1918 our church had an
increase of about 10000 in it's church
membership, counting the foreign field.
Had 1t not been for the accessions to
Ine CnuTCn from the SufluaN ScTOOi
(126,000) there would have been an
actual decrease in our church member
ship of nearly 100000. II you were
to eliminate the accessions TO the
church membership from the Sunday
school for the last 10 years, the present
membership G91S) instead of being
100000, would be only 2,640.O 600"
WHERE Is ROMANCE.
Except for the brilliancy of huge
figures, such observations as these
make tame reading-for the outsider.
Is the much trumpeted campaign after
all only more or less moderate speed
Ing up of forces already active within
the Methodist church? Then where
does the romance come in? Truth is.
stories blazing with sensatonalism
pour in from the mission fields. Sto-
ries as sensational may develop on the
street corners Of American cities. For
Methodism has locked horns success
tuly with heathenism abroad and
Methodism bids fair to lock horns as
successfully with Bolshevism here at
home.
Most people think of foreign missions
IS KIND OF forlorn hope kept miser-
ABLY aiiVe by harmless fanatics whose
energies might more profitably be in
vested IN almost any other enterprise.
After these years of effort, where are
lne results? Where, indeed? Such be-
ing the general belief or unbelief I
ran almost hear alienists on nv trail
when l risk the assertion that of the
million souls demanded by June a
kooaIy proportlon might be won in In