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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
July, 1941
Evangelism in War Time
W i/.'.y
By HERBERT LOCKYER
Illustrated by Robert G. Doares
G ONE are the days when churches in warring nations can carry on a formal routine. From this the disruption London churches are ex periencing as the result of devastating raids. But with remarkable courage church leaders are forging fresh chan nels of opportunity. An example is the work of W. E. Sangster, the well-known Methodist minister who is successor to the late Dinsdale T. Young at West minster Central Hall, London. “ Shelter Evangelism’’ is the name Dr. Sangster gives to his great undertaking. Hun dreds of people flock nightly to the large basement of the Central Hall for safety. Dr. and Mrs. Sangster have moved into the building to act as host and hostess to crowds who gather for shelter. Their own home was destroyed. “My whole life has been changed since Hitler be gan in earnest his blitzkrieg against L o n d o n last September,” writes Dr. Sangster. He continues: “We provide cups of tea for the shelterers; friendly contacts are made; a sort of family life has de veloped among the homeless people who gather. Evening prayers were introduced by the voice of a tough old man who shouted, ‘Parson, do your stuff.’ It was oddly expressed, but that night family prayers were commenced and have been held every night since. It is the most moving time of the day. We let the people choose their own hymns, and we sing such well-known ones as ‘Hock of Ages,’ ‘Abide with Me,’ and ‘Jesus, Lover of My Soul.’ The other night some one asked for ‘Peace, Perfect Peace.’ It was stir ring to hear these brave souls sing ing:
authorities asked the warden in charge to canvass the shelterers, and to discover their wishes. The vot ing showed 398 in favor of continu ing the services, and o n l y two against! And now the two objec tors are as keen as the rest.” Geoffrey King, the pastor of East London Tabernacle, is another leader in thil “Shelter Evangelism.” He has stirred his own pebple with enthusiasm for this enterprising form of Christian witness, and is endeavoring to link the churches and missions of the district in a united effort. Some of the shelters within easy reach provide nightly ac commodations for 1,000 people each. What an open door for the message of the cross! A special advantage in these present circumstances is the fact that the ministers and the people they serve are being brought into unusually close contact with each other. Besides “Shelter Evangelism,” other terms one meets with in correspondence from Britain are “Doorstep Evangelism” and “Patrol Evangelism.” The recent Fire-Watchers Order will have the ef fect of throwing the Lord’s people into fresh contacts with unconverted neigh bors and fellow employees for periods of two, three, or more hours of patrol duty. And already these vigils are be ing taken as opportunities to speak of thè Lord Jesus as Saviour. Realizing that death is ever near, courageous Christians are alert for openings that present themselves for a witness t to Christ. Customary services are almost impos sible. But fresh avenues of service have opened, and it would seem that the war has made it possible for sincere Chris tian workers to reach a greater number of unconverted people than ever before. [ Continued on Page 273]
“ ‘Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours? Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers.’1 “During these ‘Siren %Services,’ personal work is going on all the time, and many souls have been won for the Saviour.” Dr. Sangster goes on to relate how “Shelter Evangelism” is gripping all denominational leaders: “ So far as can be traced, the work in East London began with a London. City Missionary. He was invited into a shelter to have pray er with a woman who had been bombed out of her home. Finding many people present, the missionary lifted up his voice so that all could hear his prayer. He was gratified by the result of the meeting, and the following evening he went along to the same, shelter with a quantity of Sankey’s hymn books. That night,\they had a good ‘sing,’ using well-known hymns. “On several occasions he repeated this, and then he received a great encouragement. This shelter, which houses several hundred people, is divided into galleries. So far, he had restricted his visits to one of these g a l l e r i e s . But a request reached him from the other galler ies for similar ‘community singing’ to be arranged for them. So now he moves from p o i n t to point through this underground refuge, conducting the singing, reading the Scriptures, leading in prayer, and passing on a brief, bright gospel message. “ One day the adversary'got busy. A complaint was lodged ¿gainst the missionary: He was disturbing peo ple who wanted to sleep. So the
distance it is impossible to appreciate
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