THE KING’S BUSINESS ered for the purpose of his re-engaging in the work of an evangelist, and from 1915 to the present time he has been engaged in that work. Of one of the meet ings that he has held since, the meeting held in Wilkinsburg, Pa., in 1916, the Honorable D. B. Douthett writes in “The United Presbyterian,” “Dr. Ralph Atkinson, until recently pastor of our First church, Seattle, Wash., has brought such a wonderful blessing to the First United Presbyterian church of Wilkins- burg, Pa./ that it would be disobedience to thq call of our Master if we refused to tell others. Dr. Atkinson came to us unusually well recommended by many of the leading ministers of the denomination. But so far did he exceed our most sanguine expectations that we felt when he left like the Queen of Sheba after her 1500 mile journey to see the glories of Solomon, that the half had not been told. He was with us from February 6th to 20th, for twenty-three enthusiastic, inspiring and helpful meetings. For three reasons we consider him the greatest modern evangelist: First, As a leader of song; second, As a Bible teacher, and, third, As a preacher of great spiritual power. There is nothing new or modern in his methods, just the plain, practical presentation of the gospel in 'such power as to convert sinners and renew the faith of the believers. . . . The Bible studies might be called the cream of the serv ices. They were a great stimulus to the believer, to strengthen his faith and create a desire to bring others to Christ.” It will be noticed that Hon. D. B. Douthett refers to Dr. Atkinson’s musical ability. It ought to be said that he has very rare gifts in this direction. When the General Assembly of the Pres byterian Church, U. S. A„ and the General Assembly of the United Presby terian Church, and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church South, met in Atlanta, Ga., a few years ago, Dr. Atkinson was chosen to lead the sing ing of all three Presbyteries in their united meetings. The united meetings were held in the Atlanta auditorium seating over 8,000 people.' The present Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church, Rev. W. E. McCulloch, D.D., in another number of “The United Presbyterian, ' writes of Dr. Atkinson’s evangelistic work as follows: “A very successful evangelistic campaign was conducted recently in the Homewood church, Pitts burgh, under the leadership of Dr. Ralph Atkinson. _ At the communion service, February 6th, seventy-five persons were received into the membership of the church, fifty-eight of these on profession of faith in Christ. This is the largest accession in the history of the congregation. . . . Dr. Atkinson made the singing a very enjoyable and profitable feature of the meetings. He is a master in the service of song, full of enthusiasm, magnetic, and possessing the rare power of compelling people to sing eyen to the full measure of their skill and capacity. . . . As.a combination of musical director and evangelist, Dr. Atkinson seems to be in a class by himself. His afternoon Bible studies were excellent. They were mainly expositions of familiar passages of Scripture, dealing with the great fundamentals of the Christian faith. As a preacher Dr. Atkinson exhibits simplicity, directness and power. He is exceptionally inter esting and is not lacking in ‘terminal facilities.’ At times he rises to heights of impassioned eloquence. He strikes hard blows at sin, but never fails to let the sinner know that he is proclaiming the gospel of a great salvation. He is strong in presenting the gospel appeal and in emphasizing the wisdom of immediate decision. We desire to say freely that Dr. Atkinson was used by the Lord in the bringing of a great blessing to our congregation. This is written in the earnest hope that he and other good men now engaged in the work of evangel ism may have large opportunity in the great field of the United Presbyterian
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