beyond. I asked God for 400 mission aries. I didn’t dream that my prayer would be answered in my own life time. I’m a missionary first and a hymnwriter-author second. I believe God has used me in a greater way by raising up substitutes and support, sending others in my place. I’m try ing to put first things first. God has not failed me and I know He won’t fail you or your church. As you trust Him, God will prosper you as never before. You’ll have a ministry which will thrill your heart as you do your part to get the message of salvation to those who've never heard before. C hapter F our I T is interesting to observe the personal habits of prayer prac ticed by our Lord. The disciples searched for Him in the early hours of the morning. Finally they found Him on top of a mountain, engaged in prayer. Impatiently they reasoned, “Master, the crowds are waiting for You! There are many more sick to be healed. Come back and finish Your work.” He replied, looking out over the valleys and mountains, “I must preach in the next towns for there unto am I sent.” Christ was always thinking of the next town where He had never yet ministered. They, too, needed to hear the Gospel. There were so many “other sheep.” Paul had the same vision. There were the regions beyond in unoccu pied areas. He was concerned about Spain and Rome. The Gospel had to be taken to all the world. At one time all of North Africa was evan gelized. H undreds of C h ris tian churches dotted the landscape. Some of our greatest theologians came from this area in the early centuries after Christ. Then, the area was swept by Mohammedanism. The light of faith burned lower and lower un til at last it went out. The reason for this was that the religious lead ers and theologians got into contro
was reached and I was definitely and finally rejected. The board felt I would be valueless on any field. I went into the pastorate, but still not satisfied, knowing I had to do some thing. Finally, I struck out on my own, going to Europe to preach the Gospel, all over Latvia, and Poland, winning many souls to Christ. Final ly, I became worn out and one day I fainted. Because of ill health, I had to leave the field. I returned to my church in Toronto, continuing my travels all over the United States and Canada, trying to challenge oth ers. Then I attempted to go again. This time it was Spain. Again ill health forced me to return. God en abled me to found the Peoples Church in Toronto in 1928. Four years later, the m ission a ry urge came again in force and I left for Africa. By horseback, I penetrated back into the interior. Finally, I collapsed in the long grass of Africa. After a very serious illness lasting for many weeks, I found myself at the coast, where I could return to civilization. By now I believed that the mission board hadn’t made a mistake. Yet I had seen the vision. Still that wasn’t the end. In 1938, I went once again, this time to the far Pacific. I travelled by steamer for a month and found myself preaching to the cannibals and the savages of the Solomon Islands. Be fore long, I contracted malarial fev er which lasted for three years. I was placed on a boat to be returned home. I thank the Lord that He’s allowed me to work in 70 different countries. Last year I went to Aus tralia for nationwide campaigns. This year it will be Sweden. Next year, the Lord willing, I plan to go to New Zealand. I must obey my Lord’s commands until I see my Mas ter face to face. Today our church has an army of workers on 66 dif ferent fields serving under 41 ac credited missionaries societies. These are our substitutes in the regions 6
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