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

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He Lived For Oll2er.r 21 heart hunger was in each soul, and not only that, but in the souls of many of their people. On their return one of the pastors went to the other neigh- boring pastor only to find that God had given to him the same burden. This led to a meeting for conference and prayer by the pastors of the three churches, and from the first it was decided to ad- vise our people to unite in the early fall in a union evangelistic campaign, if we could find the right man to lead us. After a few weeks a committee .of laymen from each church was invited to join with the pastors in conference and to advise in regard to the selection of an evangelist. With the increased numbers the interest broadened and the desire to have the united work deepened. Gradually but surely we came to the conclusion that we wanted Brothers Davis, Mills and Carr, whom we so well knew and loved, to be our leaders. Therefore our brethren were invited to come with us early in Oc- tober. Believing that our invitations expressed to them the will of God, they accepted, and we com- menced to plan for the work. Besides these campaigns already mentioned, Mr. Davis labored in many other cities and towns. Some of the better known cities in which he worked dur- ing the early years of his evangelistic career are: Elmira, N. Y., Reading, Pa., Birmingham, Pa., Kal- ' bln 4, nviif, 's MR. DAVIS AT HAZLETON, PA., SEATED AS HE WAS VVHEN THE VIS- ION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A BIBLE SCHOOL CAME TO HIM amazoo, Mich., Hancock, N. Y., and at Hazleton, Pa., where he received the vision of a Bible training school, out of which grew the present Practical Bible Training School. Other cities include Clyde, Ohio, Cambridge Springs, Uniontown, Wfellsboro, Phoenix- ville, and Wyalusing, Pa., Baltimore, Md., Afton, N. Y., his boyhood home, Worcester, Sidney, Mas- sena, Oneonta, Illion, Governeur, Albany, Sherburne, Cortland, Ithaca, N. Y., and back to his home sec- tion, Lestershire and Binghamton, N. Y. He also held campaigns in New England cities and in the West. Why were the campaigns of Evangelist Davis so different from all others and why were they readily recalled many years after the evangelist had left the field? Because Evangelist Davis thoroughly believed in using all legitimate methods to God's glory. He did not propose that the children of the world should be wiser than the children of Light. Therefore, he employed the most unique methods of procedure, not only in the conducting of the services, but also in getting the attention of the crowds. His methods were different, startling and attractive. One of the methods commonly employed was his parades. In some of his parades as many as 500 horses have been used. It took two hours for some of his larger parades to pass a given point. He solicited the co- operation of the Mayor and leading officials of the town and often the Mayor of the town led the pa- rade. Some of his parades were said to have cost as much as 35,000 for a single town. He spared neither money nor effort in order to make each pa- rade a success. One of the interesting features of the parade was the white brigade, which was a company of girls whom the Evangelist had trained in military tactics. This brigade never failed to win the heartiest ap- plause from the enthusiastic on-lookers. Interest ran high-people from every walk of life offered their heartiest co-operation. Business men closed their ofiices, stores were closed, and it seemed that the central theme for the day was the great Davis and Mills parade. Every vantage point was filled with eager, enthusiastic spectators. Roofs of houses, hre escapes, windows and sidewalks were crowded with people who had come to see the sights, Many times Evangelist Davis has been criticized for conducting these parades. Many people have said that it was a waste of money and that such methods should never be employed in the service of the King. But the parades had their psycholog- ical effect. For a whole day the eyes of an entire town were focused upon the Davis and Mills evan- gelistic party, and after one of these parades Evan- gelist Davis uowned the town by the popular vote of the people themselves. The support and the en- thusiasm of the towns-people never waned at the end of a parade, but extended far into the campaign, where many hundreds, and often thousands, looked upon the crucified Christ and believed. He held meetings where no one else would ever think of holding them, The incident has been told Holding fast the faillijiul Wrivd as he liazli been Lauglic, than he may he able by .wound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayersf Titus l:9.

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20 He Lived For Olherf' 12,000 people, situated some forty miles east of Pittsburgh, was mightily stirred by the reports that came to him from Altoona concerning the great things the Lord was doing for that city, and his heart longed for a similar work for his own home town. After much prayer he and a fellow worker decided to spend a Sunday in Altoona to see if the reports were not exaggerated and if possible to catch some of the fire of the revival. It was toward the close of the Altoona campaign that he and L. A. Stahl visited the meetings, and as they expressed it after- ward, soon learned that the half had not been told them. They at once entered into communication with the evangelists to learn if it were possible to secure their services for a campaign in Latrobe, and upon what terms. After correspondence the way opened, and an invitation was extended to Davis and Mills to conduct a campaign in that city. The meetings were held in the skating rink which was arranged so as to accommodate over 2,000 peo- ple. At the first Sunday afternoon service, the fol- lowing communication was read by General Secretary Thomas B. Dilts: Midnight, Oct. 2, 1908. Altoona, Pa., My dear Brother: At an enormous gathering of people in the Second Presbyterian Church tonight, I was unanimously and enthusiastically authorized to send the following mes- sage: The churches of Altoona send Christian greeting to the churches of Latrobe, bespeaking for our beloved evangelists their warm-hearted, earnest co-operation and prayers, being well assured as we are that divine approbation and blessing will rest in fullest measure upon them in the saving of souls and for this we will ever pray. Henry Howard Stiles, Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church It would be practically impossible to tell all the in- cidents that indicated the power of God as it was manifested in this campaign. Dance Called Off-Merchants 'Failed to Put in Appearance. Under the above head the following article ap- peared in the Latrobe Daily Bulletin, and is here given to indicate the great interest aroused by the workers in the evangelistic campaign. lThere's no use trying to have a dance while this religious revival is going on,' said Prof. R. E. lakes, the dancing teacher, late yesterday afternoon, when he called off the dance which he had announced for last evening in the Doherty Auditorium, and stated that he would discontinue his weekly dances until after the evangelistic campaign comes to an end. This means that there will be no dance in school until early in November at least. Prof. jakes stated that a number of his regular patrons had requested him to discontinue the dances during the revival, and as the attendance had been falling off very noticeably since the evangelistic meetings started, he believed the proper thing to do was to call off his dances. The effort to have a big meeting of the business men of the town for the purpose of rehabilitating the Merchants' Association, proved unavailing last evening, less than a dozen business men having as- sembled at the city hall. Consequently, the meeting had to be called off. The reason for the non-attend- ance of many merchants was to be found in the fact that they were at the evangelistic services at the rink, a number of them being in the choir, and others being in the audience. It is likely that no further effort will be made to hold a big meeting until after the evangelistic campaign has been concluded, in- asmuch as so many of the merchants are actively iden- tified with the religious movement, making them loath to miss any of the services. A prophet is not without honor except in his own country. It is the exception that proves the rule. There proved to be an exception to this rule when Davis and Mills returned to Mr. Davis' home city, Binghamton, to conduct a campaign, in 1907. The story of the inception of the Binghamton campaign is a story of the power of the Holy Spirit's work to bring about the will of God. For two years previously a few godly women.had met at different times to pray for an outpouring of the Spirit of God upon the city of Binghamton. In God's own way the an- swer came. And in a article by Rev. F. O. Belden in Echoes, our Bible School paper, on the prepara- tions for the revival, he says: If I were asked to tell when preparations began for the great spiritual awakening, known to us as the Davis and Mills meetings, I should answer, 'God foreordained it before the foundation of the world.' He began to reveal it to some in the city, however, several months ago. While it was not known who would 'command the battle,' yet there were groups of praying men and women that were laying hold of God's great promises and believing that the time of refreshing from the hand of the Lord was near and He was about to 'pour water upon him that was thirsty and floods upon the dry ground.' The way the three churches, the West Pres- byterian, the Tabernacle Methodist and Main Street Baptist came to unite in this work is of special inter- est. In fact, to those to whom Christ committed the work it is sacred, because of the manifest leading, as we believe, of the Holy Spirit. Last spring two of the pastors were together attending a commence- ment at Colgate Univeristy. While they were talk- ing over their work and plans for the fall, to their great surprise it was found that the same desire and The way of the cross is the way to the crown.

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22 He Lived For OtlJerJ ' of the time when the great fair was held in Seattle, Washington. Evangelist Davis had been informed that no religious meeting could be held on the fair grounds. But he was a man who never stopped at oddssif he couldn't do things in an ordinary way he was bound to do them in an extraordinary one. After praying much about it and getting God's ap- proval, he consulted the people of the church where he was holding his campaign. All plans were in readiness for a service. The time chosen was a pe- riod when everyone was interested in looking at the side-shows and other attractions always presented the sole purpose of studying the Welsli Revival which was at that time sweeping, not only the entire Brit- ish Isles but was reaching into the adjacent countries of Europe. Evangelist Davis always tried to get his congre- gation to participate in the services. He firmly be- lieved that if he could break down the flesh and get the minds of the people from themselves, that the Spirit of God would have a greater right-of-way in their lives. One of the methods effectively used, most enthus- AN AUDITORIUM DURING ONE OF EVANGELIST DAVIS' CAMPAIGNS at a fair of this sort, and the problem was to draw the people so that they could preach to them. Evan- gelist Davis walked down the main street and, jump- ing upon a platform erected for some side-show, he began shouting at the top of his voice. Mr. Mills came running from another direction, Mr. Carr from still another, and the people of the congregation came pouring in from all around. In just no time at all a huge crowd congregated in front of the plat- form and a wonderful service followed in which God marvelously owned and blessed His W'ord. One may wonder how it was that after attracting the crowd by parades and in other unusual ways, that Dr. Davis could hold their attention-even more, promote a greater interest night after night throughout a campaign. The fact was Mr. Davis through his search and study of the many and varied methods of great and mightily used men of God had developed a style and method entirely original, distinct and unique. The instance has been brought to mind when Evangelist Davis crossed the Atlantic to Wales, for iastically received, and perhaps with the greatest re- sults was his popcorn meeting. Mr. Davis first explained how corn could not be popped over a re- frigerator, but over a fire. Now warm-up was a characteristic expression, and the people always heart- ily responded. Quickly and from all over the house, the main auditorium and the galleries, people arose and in a short concise manner they earnestly told of the blessings that the meetings had been to their own lives and of their love and devotion for the Lord jesus Christ. As many as 225 have taken part in these meetings in eighteen minutes, while applause, laughter and tears punctuated the different testi- monies. His after-meetings were unexcelled for variety of program and results. One of the evangelist's plans was to have what he called a line-up of Christians. He asked for all those who were not ashamed of Christ to raise their hands. Upon response to this question he requested those who professed the Name of Christ to step out into the aisle, form a line and march down to the front of the church auditorium. There they gave a clear and forceful witness of the When two quarrel, there are two in the wrong.