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T H B K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
May, 1940
The method of teaching, as presented to the teachers each week in the train ing classes and relayed by them to the children, is largely visual. Much use is made of the Scripturegraph, Scrip ture-chart, cut-outs, and object lessons. This new, fascinating way of presenting Bible truth attracts the children and usually solves the discipline problem. The Gospel of John and the first five books of the Old Testament taught by these methods not only have led many children to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour, but also have created in their hearts a great love for the Word of God. What m ore, glorious result could be desired! WHEN A BOY LEARNED FAITH [ Continued, from Page 169] on, in the inner stillness of my own heart, between the Lord and me. “The covenant—” He reminded. “Have you forgotten?” “Yes, Lord,” I answered, tearfully. "I should have been true to our agree ment. But I wasn’t. And now—look what I’ve done! I’ve promised my hus band that he should have the money. Can I go back on my word? If I should do that, the boys would lose faith in me, and perhaps in Thee. I should be come a stumbling block to my own chil dren.” “True,” the Lord assented patiently. “A promise is a sacred thing, and you promised Me.” I cried and, I prayed and I reasoned —all night long. By morning I was ready. At the breakfast table, two shining young faces looked up at me proudly. My husband's quiet attitude of joy made me know "how much the gift of the car would mean to him. But in the face of all this, I told the simple story of the broken covenant. Oh, what a sad morning that was for all of us! We said very little. My three precious ones sat wrapped in sorrow that I felt I had woven. Even my hus band’s understanding assurance did not comfort me. Edwin, our younger son, was far from happy. He was depressed and grieved, and' he became the spokesman of the two youngsters. “Why, Mother,” he said to me disappointedly that after noon, when he and I were alone, “I don’t see how you could do it! You know Father is the very best father anybody can have. And he needs that car.” “Yes, Sonny,” I put in lamely. “But perhaps the Lord wants to give Father a car Himself!” He rushed on with his own boyish argument. “But you promised that Fathei* should have the money. I don’t think God likes it to have you go back on your word like that.” Every syllable my boy uttered stabbed me. I knew that what he was
saying expressed the feeling of both our children—the boys we were seeking to train in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And yet, there was the covenant. To quiet the turmoil in my twelve- year-old’s heart, he and I took a long walk together. We spoke to each other quite frankly. “Your mother made a mistake, Edwin,” I admitted. “I never should have' promised that money to Father for his birthday. It was not mine to give. It belonged to God. I don’t know what to do about the mis take, but I’m very sorry about it. Still, I believe the Lord wants Father to have a car, and He wants that hundred dol lars to be used for foreign missions, too, and somehow—I don’t know how— He’ll work out these two problems for us.” We stopped under a big tree on the way to the village and had prayer together. “We’re going to trust Thee to send Daddy just the kind of car that’s best for him—when he needs it, most,” Ed win prayed, and there was a little catch in his voice. ( The next day, the amount in the bank was sent out—all of it—to missionaries of whose needs I had been informed, and the Lord gave me real joy in doing this. Our household settled down to re joicing consciously in a circumstance that we did not choose. Continually I pleaded with the Lord to show, espe cially to the children, the perfection of His plan. No more than two or three days passed until a letter came to me from a friend in Chicago, written about the time of the wayside prayer meeting. Henry Ford was stopping at their hotel, the writer pointed out, and she, with some others, had been discussing the new car Mr. Ford was putting out. Our friend had decided to send one of the latest models to us for use in our work, and it would be delivered at our door in a few days. Through happy tears, I read that let ter to the family and showed them the picture of the car that had been en closed in the letter. The boys gasped at the wonder of it. A brand new Ford—alh paid for—all ours—and ours now, without waiting! Edwin murmured something about its being a good thing to keep a promise, all right. And I saw the flame of vic tory shining in his eyes, and in his older brother’s .as well. There was springtime in our hearts, and there was a car for Father’s birth day! In the midst of all the gaiety of that exceptionally glorious day, my heart sang a song of praise to God. In teaching me to walk by faith, He had taught my children as well. I wqndered: Is not this always the heavenly Father’s desire ?
Child Evangelism Fellowship “If you want to win the household, Set the parent-hearts athirst For a knowledge of the Saviour, Lead the children to Him first!” It was this truth which, several years ago, gripped the heart of J. Irvin Over- holtzer, who is now International Di rector of the Child Evangelism Fellow ship. Since that time, the vision of the glorious possibilities connected with child evangelism has extended to many other hearts, not only in the United States, but in distant lands as well. About three years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Warren E.Ranney, of 2746 Angus Street, Los Angeles, California, became the Di rectors of the Child Evangelism Fel lowship in Southern California, and to them was given also the supervision of the work in Arizona and New Mexico. They are devoting full time to this serv ice, and the record of the past three years reveals the glorious grace of God. “We have been living in a constant mir acle,” they declare. From a few scattered classes in the beginning, the work under Mr. and Mrs. Ranney has grown to include several hundred women who are being trained as teachers of child evangelism classes. The training groups meet in twenty-one cities, from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, California. The following statis tics, covering the first three months of the past school year (September 15 to December 15, 1939) will give an idea of the scope of the work in this section of the Pacific Southwest: Number of children enrolled .......7,393 Number of week-day classes held.... 346 Number of decisions reported.......2,425 Number of churches cooperating.... 187 In addition to the regular week-day classes, conducted in private homes where the teacher is often the mother in the home as well, work is being car ried on in migrant camps and in open- air meetings. Special classes for Gyp sies, Mexicans, Negroes, Russians, and Jews also are conducted. The great objective of these classes, of course, is to win boys and girls to the Lord Jesus Christ. But the enrich ment of the loves of those who teach, with the influencing of parents by means of the classes, has been an im portant by-product of the work.
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