Practical Bible Training School - Theologue Yearbook (Johnson City, NY)

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Chicago, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Seattle, Binghamton, and smaller cities and towns such as Altoona, Scotdale, Connellsville, Uniontown, Monongahela, Dubois and Punxsutawney in Pennsylvaniag and towns in New York such as Corning, Norwich, Sherburne, Earlville, and Walton. After forty years memories of these campaigns are recalled with enthusiasm by older members of these communities. The impact and spiritual vitality of those glorious meetings still abide, as we have noted fre- asked to sing, following a message on Prayer, and selected the hymn Unan- swered yet? Believing that he was per- fectly familiar with it, I whispered the title to him as I rose to sing. He said, Wait a moment. Let me look at it. He gave a swift glance at the music and nodded. I noticed during the rendition that he changed one or two of the harmonies of the song, otherwise thought nothing was amiss. When I finished and sat down he said, Mills, don't do that again. At least A Tabernacle Used During One oi Evangelist Davis' Campaigns quently in recent years. Much credit for the excellent music pro- duced in our meetings is due to the excel- lent musicianship and skill of our talented piano accompanist, Mr. George H. Carr. He was well trained in the resources of his instrument and prepared to respond instantly to the spiritual mood of the moment, adapting his accompaniments to the exacting demands of solo, choir or congregational singing. He quickly memo- rized the contents of our hymnbook, Songs of Redemption and Praise, and my near- ly one hundred solos. Seldom had he the music before him, but played from mem- ory, improvising as he played, many beautiful obligato melodies and nuances that greatly heightened the spiritual values of the music. His unusual ability may be illustrated by this incident: I was Now let me burnout for give me a minute to look a new one over. I never saw that hymn before! He was an excellent composer of hymns. Both lyrics and music flowed from his pen, some of which have achieved wide popu- larity, such as You Can Win the Victory Through Christ, The Old Book and the Old Faith, We're Here to Win, and Choose the Best. The hymn God Will Take Care of You was first used in Davis and Mills meet- ings. We were the first to use this hymn for it was composed for Mr. Davis by Rev. and Mrs. W. Stillman Martin at the old Bible School in Lestershire, to be in- corporated in the new song book he and John Clements were compiling. Singularly and fortunately, Mr. Davis selected this particular hymn to dedicate to his devoted CContinued ofn Page 126, God. -Henrv Martvn. Page Nine

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successful was this summer campaign that the evangelists were invited to return to Northeast Baltimore and conduct a revival with fifteen churches uniting-five denomi- nations in all. At its close the altars of the churches were filled with converts uniting in membership, and God's bless- ing fell upon the whole city. THATS 'I-'YNI4 vmzv rnzv, 'l'EiA1-TK. YOU That autumn our party of evangelists visited Saginaw, Michigan, and saw a fine church revived, the pastor stirred to a greater work for the Lord, and many con- verts, among whom was the Chief of Po- lice of Saginaw. Then began a series of campaigns in Brooklyn, New York, that brought Davis, Mills and Carr into high standing among evangelists of the period. The meetings began with a Watch Night service at Sum- ner Avenue Baptist Church in December 1906, the Embury Methodist Church unit- mg. Within a week the spirit of The Old Time Religion caught fire in the Stuy- vesant Heights section of the city. It spread rapidly until its influence and power were felt over in Manhattan. Dele- gations attended from many distant churches and communities. The daily papers devoted columns in descriptions of the unique methods of Mr. Davis, of strik- ing and unusual incidents Cof which there were manyl, and the spiritual fervor and enthusiastic singing of the people. Bibles appeared, carried by attendants of the services, and Bible study became popular. A Bible famine in the stores was reported! A New York Sun reporter is said to have asked, Why do we hear the people sing- ing, humming and whistling gospel hymns here in Brooklyn instead of the popular coon songs? His friend replied, Go to Sumner Avenue Baptist Church and find out at the Davis-Mills meeting! He came, and next morning in a prominent column of the New York Sun appeared a delight- fully written column describing the meet- ing. Colonel Sellers, Religious Editor of the Brooklyn Eagle, saw the article and decided he had better investigate person- ally. Thereafter, for many weeks he missed scarcely a meeting, writing glowing de- scriptions of the progress of the cam- paigns. These papers were distributed nation wide. For sixteen weeks the meetings continued in Brooklyn in a succession of churches- Sumner Avenue Baptist, Asbury Meth- odist, Janes Methodist, Washington Ave- nue Baptist, Simpson Methodist, and Han- son Place Baptist. God alone knows the numerical or spir- itual results of these marvelous meetings, for Mr. Davis did not believe in statistics, nor the signing of convert cards. Near the close of a campaign a pastor anxiously inquired, Mr. Davis, I do not have the names and addresses of all these new people, how shall I look them up after the meetings? John Davis replied confident- ly, Brother, they will look you up! And they did! They kept coming, oftimes many months after the close of the campaigns. One pastor, who had vigorously opposed our coming, relented and confessing his mistake announced publicly, A friend asked me today what I thought of Davis and Mills, and I replied, 'Well, Davis and Mills are a success, and you can't argue with a success.' One night, being in com- plimentary mood, he described us thus: Davis is a spiritual wizardg and Mills is a musical corkscrew! Our work called us back to Brooklyn and Manhattan for three successive years, as well as to many other cities, such as A man's greatness is measured by his capacity to be humble. Page Eight

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V E 5 D A V .Presenting the story of the iiTWENTIETH CENTURY M1RAcLE',- Old things are passed way and all things are become new as the history of Practical Bible Training School has progressed and is progressing. THE OLD WHITE CITY HOTEL Back in the early 1900's, just outside the city limits of Binghamton, N. Y., there was a notorious amusement park known as the White City. The drunkenness and debauchery of the place was unspeak- able. Residents of the neighborhood feared to ride on the street cars going to and from that section because of the undesir- able characters so often crowding the cars. John A. Davis was residing near this section and was familiar with the condi- tions. Realizing the possibilities of this place if it could be secured, he one day paid the admission fee and visited the grounds. He saw the beautiful oak trees, the elms, the evergreens, and visualized the possibilities of the place as a permanent home for Practical Bible Training School. As he walked about the grounds he hap- pened to glance into the bar-room and saw the men and women lined up three-deep around the bar. As he turned to leave, he vowed to himself, With the help of God I'll smash this place. As he passed out- side the gate he knelt and prayed to God to give him this place for His work. This brewery-backed resort was a sep- arate organization for the purpose of sell- ing liquors, and any effort to obtain the grounds for other purposes would natur- ally meet with the determined resistance of those financially interested. There was many a prayer and many a struggle. For two years John A. Davis waited for the manifestation of the hand of God. Finally, because of a fight within the amusement organization, the White City corporation was thrown into the hands of a receiver. A Binghamton business man, interested in the School, though not aware of Mr. Davis' hopes, secured a short term option on the property and asked him if he would be interested. Within three hours he had secured the option, which gave them title to the property with all the buildings on it, one of which was a large and roomy hotel. Expect great things from God. -Carey. Page Ten