King's Business - 1916-07

580

THE KING’S BUSINESS practice; it has been celebrated for its orthodoxy of faith as well as for its energy in service, and success in achievement. Rev. Dr. Mark Matthews, the pastor, was chosen as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., in 1915. He has stood like a rock for the faith once for all delivered to the saints and was untiring in his visitation of the churches. At a recent gathering of the Session of this great church the following resolutions, which will be^of great interest to all readers of T he K ing ’ s B usiness , were unanimously passed and spread upon the minutes: “B e I t R esolved , By the Session of the First Presbyterian Church, in regular monthly meeting assembled, that the Bible work now being done and hereafter to be done, of an institutional character, shall be connected with and considered a part of the work being done by the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. “Be it further resolved, That we offer said school every encouragement, sympathy and moral assistance possible. “Be it further resolved, That we urge pupils of this church and commun­ ity who contemplate attending a Bible school to attend the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. “Be it further resolved, That the doctrinal statement of said Bible Insti­ tute be and the same is hereby incorporated and adopted as the doctrinal state­ ment of the Bible work being done by this church.” not be carried on as well in Summer as in Autumn, Winter and Spring, Sum­ mer offers peculiar opportunities for other forms of Christian activity. While it is difficult to get the people to come in large numbers to services inside the church building in sweltering weather, very large audiences may be gathered in the open air and ift wisely located tents—far larger audiences in many cases than could ever be gathered in any building that is available. There is no need of closing up our work in the Summer, but the work should be pushed along different lines from those followed at other seasons of the year. The minister himself may need a rest of a month or more, but Hymen can be found with the ability, the time, and the willingness for the work. The minister'who is willing to go out into the open air and preach, where the Lord Jesus and Paul did most of their preaching, will often find he can reach men in the Summer­ time that he could not reach in the Winter,-and that he can have a larger har­ vest of souls in the Summer than he ever had in the Winter. More than one city church has abandoned its church and gone into a tent during the warm period, with the result that when Autumn came it was necessary to build a new church. The country church that is situated near a grove will often do well on pleasant Sunday mornings and evenings to vacate the church and hold the meetings in the open air. Two Summers ago the writer was over Sunday in a little country community. The regular morning service was held in the church and was poorly attended and dull. .In the afternoon and at night we went out into a grove about a mile away. Hundreds of people gathered, the services were full of interest and there were a number of conversions. This experience can be repeated in almost any country community. But Summer not only presents unusual opportunities for gatherings in the open air, but it also gives In many churches the months of July, August and September are months in which there is a great let down in attendance, work and achievement. While there are certain forms of religious activity that can­ The Opportunities of Summertime.

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