250
July, 1941
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
The Church That God Built The Story of How a Year-Old Church Was Organized, Free of Debt , in a $5 ,000 Plant A MARCH cloudburst pelted down rain upon the roof of a long, low .building in the center of one of
that command. He had enabled them to build well. Everything in evidence was plain and simple—but good—there was not a cheap or shoddy thing about the structure or its appointments. Here was a five-thousand-dollar plant, stand ing FREE OF DEBT, where, but one short year before, there had been noth ing but a vacant lot! “The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad,” the pastor quoted reverently. Understanding glances were- exchang ed about the table. There was joy on every face. But perhaps the pastor and his faithful praying wife were the only ones present who could feel the full significance of that brief announcement. To them had been given to see the forg ing—link by link—of that chain of mir acles which the Lord was using to bind an ever larger company to Himself. A Community Without Spiritual Defenses It was in the spring of 1939 that Mr. Wall had “discovered” t h i s aircraft community, with its 2,500 or more
in his hand, looked from face to face, with something of the solicitude that a father has for his own children. It was an epochal occasion: The infant church had gathered to choose its first elders. Before the election could proceed, the pastor must share with his flock the good news that was rejoicing his own heart. (The rain was beating merci lessly oh the roof and against the win dows. Here he was—he and his people —safe within the warm shelter of the Lord’s house, graciously protected from that devastating storm of hindrance that many another church has encoun tered because of debt.) Just a few days previous to this gatherings he now told his people, an unexpected check had come from one of the Lord’s children in distant New York State, which was sufficient to pay the last amount due on the building and also to make pos sible the purchase of needed equipment. “Now we can look our community squarely in the face!” the leader’s voice rang out in triumph. The One who had said, “ Owe no man anything,” had made possible His people’s obedience to
Southern California’s largest aircraft communities. Occasional flashes of lightning showed up the structure’s whiteness and newness. Every window glowed with friendly light. Inside, about thirty men and women and several small children pushed back their chairs from the temporary table that had been set behind the rows of seats. If there were a few more women than men in the gathering, it was be cause some of the husbands, assigned to the night shift at the factory, could not be present at this hour. The group had finished a simple meal, had mingled their voices heartily in hymns of praise, and now they turned expectantly toward the pastor. Peter F. Wall,* his Bible *Following his graduation from the Bible Institute of Los Angeles in 1921, Mr. Wall was graduated from Wheaton College in 1925 and from Princeton Theological Seminarg in 1929. Though his training and his service in the East might seem to entitle him to seek the security of a well-established church, the In stitute rejoices in the pioneer vision behind the story on these pages .—E ditor .
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