THE K I N G ’ S B U S I NE S S
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Band into Kwangsi, the province just south of Hunan, I agreed to write home (to Los Angeles) and ask permis sion to send a Band to that province. The missionary there seems to take it for granted that the letter home means permission to send the Band there, and he writes me: “We are overjoyed to hear that a Band will be able to come over to Kwangsi next year. May noth ing prevent the promise being fulfilled.” I have not yet had your reply in regard to this matter, but I hope that it may come soon and that it may be favorable, for there is nothing like a practical demonstration of a plan to convince men of its value and to induce them to adopt it. Therefore the more widely this work can be demonstrated the more widely we may hope to have the method adopted and thus the more quickly will China he evangelized. A Practical Demonstration A practical illustration of this has just come to hand in a letter from the missionary in charge of the field in which Band No. 6 is at work, in the neighboring province of Kiangsi. After telling me of God’s rich blessing on the work of our men, and of twenty new converts whom he has just met for the first time, he goes on to say: “ You will be interested to know that I have two little groups of men away out in the unevangelized districts doing good work. They, are very earnest and God is blessing their testimony. At one cen ter they report some twenty new in quirers. All of the men thus employed were soul-winners prior to their taking up this special work.” Another letter just came from the same missionary. He writes: “We have now fourteen men at work in four hands evangelizing the unreached dis tricts, chiefly as a result of Band No. 6 having come to this district. Praise God!” Other Missions Waking Up This is a great cause for praise and thanksgiving to God, and a call to prayer, too. It is a blessed thing to have eighty men out in our six Bands preaching the glorious Gospel, like Paul, “ Publicly and from house to house,” but if these Bands inspire other missions and churches to undertake the same kind of work on a large scale how much greater will be the results of our work. Oh, how I do hope that every person who reads this letter-may find in it a personal call to earnest prayer
to “ The Lord of the harvest” that He may move upon many to do what- that earnest Kiangsi missionary has done, having seen the remarkable efficiency of this method of work, to adopt it, and so get multitudes of Chinese out preach ing to their fellow countrymen and lead ing them to Christ. If God sees best to increase the number of our Bands to twelve, as we hope, let us not be satis fied, but hope and pray that there may be a very much larger number of Evan gelistic Bands working under other aus pices. Leading Men Smash Their Idols Splendid news comes from Band No. 3 working in the Church Missionary Society field in southern Hunan. I really, intended to write a separate let ter about it with the title, “ And there was much joy in that city.” Acts 8:8. Last fall at the beginning of the new year’s work the Band No. 3 went to the large hsien city called Sintien, an en tirely new and unevangelized field. Prom the beginning God’s blessing rested on the work, the people seemed most eager to hear the Word. Many have believed and have given up their idols. A num ber of the leading men in the city have taken a positive stand for Christ, the Church Missionary Society has secured a building and has opened a chapel there, and forty-nine earnest inquirers have been enrolled as catechumens ( can didates for church membership) and are being trained for examination prepara tory to baptism. A year ago there was no church, no chapel, no preacher in that important hsien city, the majority of the forty-nine new converts had never even heard the Gospel in a general way, much less had they received a personal invitation to accept of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. Now they are rejoicing in their new faith and are working to lead others to the same Saviour. Band No. 3 is being supported by a single donor, and he is also the supporter of Band No. 4 mentioned above. What must be his joy as he reads of God’s wonderful blessing on the work of these two Bands made possible by his loyalty to the Master’s command to “ Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” Earnestly longing for your daily help in prayer, I remain, Most truly yours in Christ, PRANK A. KELLER. Changsha, Hunan, China.
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