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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
March, 1936
Surely this type of ministry is worthy of support and emulation. There are vast unrealized needs in the home mission fields of our own country. May we who love the Lord Jesus Christ intelligently pray and effectively plan to evangelize the villages. The church in a certain community was The Church on fire. Among those who were following on Fire that peculiar instinct that makes most folks run to a fire was an infidel. A church member called to him, “ This is the first time I ever saw you run to church.” “ Well,” said the infidel, “ this is the first time the church has been on fire.” This reply, taken in another sense, gives food for thought. Why are there so many empty pews in the aver age church ? There are many reasons, but one cause lies in the fact that many churches are cold. The little girl who was trying to quote “ Many are called, but few are chosen,” and who misquoted as follows: “ Many are cold, and a few are frozen,” unconsciously described many church members. Coldness in the pulpit begets coldness in the pew. Why should there be the very apparent lack of enthusiasm and warmth in the average church service? W e are dealing with the greatest of all themes, the gospel o f Jesus Christ, and we are teaching the greatest of all books, the Bible, and we have the greatest of all objectives, the salvation of eternity-bound men and women. How can we be cold and indifferent in the light o f our responsibility as Christ’s representatives and witnesses ? Our God is “ the God that answereth by fire.” When Elijah prayed, “ then the fire o f the Lord fell.” When God can find in a church a group o f people that will pay the price of earnest, importunate prayer, the fire will fall upon that church. In a revived church there will be people o f burning hearts that have been set on fire by fellowship with the Lord and by prayerful study of God’s Word. They will say with the Emmaus disciples: “ Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures ?”
organized religion was concerned. A closer analysis o f this situation revealed that the condition was even more serious than it appeared to be. Among the 103,000 members of organized religious groups, there were the followers of many cults. The number of even nominal Christians was o f course considerably less than 103,000, and only God knows how many from among that company were truly born again. This tragic condition is not peculiar to Seattle. Every city in America could make a somewhat similar re port. Los Angeles, for instance, has approximately one million people who are untouched by any sort of religious work—although in the city there are operative three hun dred sects o f various kinds. Facing the facts, we ask our selves candidly: Are we adequately coping with the situa tion? Are we not playing at the task o f evangelizing the city? Is it not time for every child o f God to echo the heart cry of D. L. Moody, uttered not long before his death : “ O Lord, stir the cities of America once again” ? The Lord Jesus was interested in villages as well as cities, for He was concerned that men and women, no matter where they lived, should hear the good news of salvation. This fact is indi cated in the utterance o f our Lord, recorded in Mark 1 :38: “ Let us go into the next towns.” There are at least 10,000 villages in America in which there is no church, and 30,000 others that have a building but no resident pastor. What is being done to bring Christ to these villages ? Thank God, some of His people have responded to the call to preach Christ in the rural regions. For example, a graduate o f the Bible Institute of Los Angeles has caught the vision of these unevangelized communities and is giving his life to the giving o f the gospel in these needy places. His evangelistic party, traveling and living in auto mobiles with trailers, goes into a community and uses a vacant church or rents a hall— conducting an evangelistic meeting for about two weeks in each center. In the sum mer, Daily Vacation Bible Schools are also held. Many children have been saved, and in some instances parents have accepted Christ. The Next Towns
t(/~) C 0 3 i b l e d J n s i i i u i e with COLLEG IATE STAND ING ★ By virtue of the authority of the State of California, THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS _ ANGELES, INCORPORATED, became eligi
ble, on February 11, 1936, to confer"academic degrees upon those who satisfactorily complete the courses prescribed for the obtaining of these degrees. This action has therefore made the Institute a school of collegiate standing. Although the curriculum has been strengthened and enlarged, in its doctrinal posi tion and in the subjects taught, the Institute remains unchanged. Details concerning the courses offered will be published in an early issue of the KING’S BUSINESS. THE BIBLE INSTITUTE of LOS ANGELES, INCORPORATED 558 SOUTH HOPE STREET LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
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