Witnesses to a World at War

Everson did not attract his audiences by "following only popular lines," he empha­sized; presenting, rather, "almost every phase of the truth," including the some­what controversial Adventist doctrines. The doctrine of the judgment, for exam­ple, "drew the greatest crowds of the sea­son," Everson reported; "not even the war topics appealing to the people so strongly."

Everson's later-to-become-famous emo­tional effect on audiences was evidenced in this, his first extended campaign. "An un­usual power characterized this service the night the subject of the sin against the Holy Spirit was presented," said Everson. "There was a solemn hush, and when an appeal was made, all over the theater peo­ple stood up for Christ."

The evangelist made extensive use of the newspapers in advertising his campaigns, this being his primary means of attracting an audience. He also used tickets for special meetings, window cards, and circulars, and also stimulated direct news coverage on certain of his topics. This extensive pro­motion helped to make Everson's meetings something of a conversation piece in New York. "One minister .. ," he reported, "remarked to a worker of another church, that wherever he visited the people in the neighborhood of [hisl church, he heard about our meetings."

Here in Everson's own breakthrough in New York was evidence that through the ministry of other evangelists, even without Daniells' personal kind of "magic," the public was ready to hear the Adventist mes­sage.

Official Impetus

As the time approached for the Autumn Council, in October, 1916, many minds were thinking in a similar line. The new "city evangelism" must be given effective form and order so that it might be pur­sued more consistently and effectively by a variety of men and that it might be fol­lowed up with greater results.

Carlyle B. Haynes, who had been called to assist Daniells, K. C. Russell, and others in follow-up work in Maine, set down his thoughts on evangelistic organization for the benefit of I. H. Evans, president of the North American Division.' These sugges­tions served as a basis for the discussion of evangelism and were, in part, responsible for an Autumn Council resolution encour­aging " 'the formation of strong evangelical teams, either by local or union conferences, or both, as conditions will permit, the same to undertake stronger evangelical efforts in the larger centers of population than we have hitherto been able to conduct.' "⁸

The resolution also urged that large city campaigns be conducted as training schools for the benefit of younger or less successful workers, and that systematic procedures be adopted by the local and union confer­ences to be sure that the way was properly prepared for such large campaigns and that plans were laid early in the effort to pro­vide for the follow-up of interests created. It was also urged that the public press be used, harnessing "its power in proclaiming the truth for this time."

Perhaps even more productive of im­mediate results was a pointed provision that "every laborer under conference pay be earnestly urged to undertake a stronger and more active soul-winning campaign than ever before; and that those who are unable to succeed be advised to take up self-supporting work."

Here in unmistakable terms, every min­ister was served notice that evangelism had indeed become the order of the day, and that failing his personal results along this line, he might think of looking elsewhere for his salary!

Convinced that their message of an im­minent Second Advent was the message of the hour, fortified by unprecedented suc­cess in attracting public audiences, and stimulated by church leadership, Adventist ministers made rapid progress. A survey, reported in March, 1918, revealed that dur­ing 1917, major evangelistic campaigns had been conducted in more than half of Amer­ica's 71 cities of 100,000 population or more; and plans were afoot to cover the rest during the next year or so. The de­nomination thrilled to the prospect of con­tinuing expansion. Said Daniells:

Whose heart has not been cheered by the experi­ences of our city evangelists the last two or three years? During the past winter the largest buildings our evangelists have been able to pay for in a num­ber of cities have been well filled, and at times thousands of anxious people have been unable to get seats or standing room. The authorities have been compelled to lock the doors to prevent over­crowding. This has been the experience of our evangelists in New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, Nashville, and other cities. Not only have thousands come to hear, but they have become deeply interested and have continued to come week after week. . . Hundreds have taken their stand for the truth and are now members of our churches. . . . It looks as if we must secure larger halls, and organize stronger staffs of helpers.'

Daniells recalled the seemingly enor­mous problems the church had faced in 1909 and 1910 when first it tried to respond to Ellen G. White's appeal for more aggres­sive work in the cities, and declared that the church was well on its way toward solv­ing those problems:

We are all acquainted with the stirring messages that came to us through the Spirit of prophecy a few years ago in behalf of the masses gathered in our large cities. When these messages began coming, we had done but little really successful work in these great, congested centers. We did not know how to make ourselves known or heard. The task seemed insurmountable. These cities seemed like so many mighty Jerichos whose walls we could neither scale nor throw down. But aroused by oft-repeated and most urgent messages, we applied ourselves to the great undertaking. Our efforts have been blessed of God.'

Proliferation of Success

Among the evangelists sharing in this blessing were many old hands as well as new men who had but recently risen to prominence. Almost without exception they experienced success unknown to Ad­ventists before the great conflict.

In Chicago major campaigns were con­ducted in 1917 by M. H. St. John and I. J. Woodman in an attractive hall in the heart of the Chicago Loop. There they spoke to standing-room-only crowds and in addi­tion had their sermons published gratis in the Chicago Daily News.

E. L. Cardey conducted several cam­paigns in Boston. Early in 1917 he deliv­ered a series of Sunday afternoon lectures to overflow crowds in the Tremont Tem­ple in the center of Boston's downtown area. In July he began tent meetings, secur­ing liberal free newspaper space for evan­gelistic sermons. In the fall of 1917 he moved to the Colonial Theater, one of the best known theaters in the city.' In 1918 Cardey held Sunday evening services in the Park Square Theater during January, Feb­ruary, and March, with capacity crowds, and conducted tent efforts in the summer.

Carlyle B. Haynes, recently returned from his round of meetings with A. G. Dan­iells in Maine, was invited to conduct a series of meetings in Atlanta. The Grand Theater was leased for five Sunday nights, 2,000 invitations in the form of free tickets were distributed, and announcements were made in the three leading daily newspapers.

The first meeting, on Sunday night, Jan­uary 27, featured the subject, "The Crash of Empires." According to an associate, B. W. Brown:

Long before the hour announced for the opening of the doors, several hundred people were present. Before seven-thirty, the time for the meeting to begin, every seat was filled, and the aisles were packed, with several hundred persons standing. And still the people came, many urging that they be admitted. At least 500 persons were turned away. The seating capacity of the theater is 2,200, and it is safe to say that fully 2,500 persons were present.

This large audience listened, almost spellbound, as Elder Haynes gave the message from the second chapter of Daniel. Hundreds of soldiers and army officers were present and listened attentively, hoping to hear something that would give them light on the present world war. As the speaker presented the events leading up to Christ's coming, the people assented to the fact that we are living in the last days of earth's history."

In Philadelphia, under the local leader­ship of H. M. J. Richards, B. G. 'Wilkinson was booked as the speaker for a series of meetings in the Garrick Theater, "one of the finest in the city," beginning Sunday, February 25, 1917, and continuing for ten Sunday evenings." Weeknight meetings were scheduled for a smaller hall nearby. Again was given a by-now-familiar report:

At seven-thirty the doors were locked, and hun­dreds were turned away. . . . That large audience listened with rapt attention as he [Wilkinson] ex­plained the meaning of the war from the Biblical standpoint .¹²

Spokesmen reported that the names and addresses of 2,000 persons interested in obtaining further information on the Ad­ventist message were turned in at the meet­ing.

In Philadelphia the conference scheduled another series of meetings in the Garrick Theater, beginning on November 25, 1917. The opening night attendance revealed that the interest was even greater than it had been at the previous meetings. It was estimated that as many as 2,000 people were turned away after the doors were locked. One anxious person, having been locked out, succeeded in passing himself off as a fireman, mounting the fire escape for entry into the building. Another secured a police­man's star, pinned it to his lapel, and en­deavored to gain entrance to hear the evan­gelist."

Everson's Continued Triumph

In New York, Charles T. Everson, dur­ing the summer of 1916, used a tent—"the largest that has ever been used by our peo­ple in work in this city," with the crowds at times overflowing onto a surrounding lot." In the winter of 1917 and 1918, he rented the Casino Theater—"one of the finest and largest theaters on Broadway"—for every Sunday night during a period of seven months, using the long campaign format he had inaugurated the year before. Here, Everson said, "the beacon light of God's truth" was placed "right on the 'White Way.' " Across the stage Everson hung an electric sign proclaiming, "Behold, I Come Quickly," which he felt "wonderfully im­pressed" the audience.

At a time when pastors of other churches were complaining of difficulty in attracting crowds in New York "where there are so many unfilled churches," Everson reported that he was "holding the largest Sunday night audience to be found in the city." His weeknight meetings in the Bronx and up­per Manhattan also attracted large audi­ences.

Everson continued to make a point of the fact that he did not dwell on the sensa­tionalism of war, but rather was "giving the whole counsel of God in the most straight­forward way of which we are capable." Taking a cue from Billy Sunday, whose largest campaign was held in New York in 1917, Everson sought to make a strong ap­peal to men and to leading lights of the community. Recounting one experience, Everson reported:

One of the leading members of the Republican Club of New York, perhaps the most noted club in America, invited me to speak on "Peace After the War" at the club. I did so, and had the privilege of telling some of the most noted men in New York of the coming of the Prince of Peace as the only solu­tion of the peace problem after the war ¹⁵

In Milwaukee, J. H. N. Tindall lectured in the City Auditorium in the very center of town, attracting overflow crowds. The auditorium's capacity was 1,000 persons. Tindall's sermons were published regularly in the Milwaukee Journal, and later pub­lished in booklet form with accompanying photographs. Along with his lectures Tin­dall conducted a series of decision classes for interested persons. These were held in a room "in one of the best down-town build­ings." A worker was in charge at the loca­tion throughout the day with an assort­ment of literature for interested persons who might call during the evangelist's ab­sence ¹⁶

James W. McComas conducted a tent se­ries in Toronto with an attendance of less than a thousand, but another tent cam­paign in a larger pavilion in the spring of 1917 attracted what was described as the largest attendance ever experienced by Ad­ventists in that city. In the winter of 1917 and 1918, McComas, accompanied by Harry P. Gray, rented the Strand Theater for lectures in downtown Toronto. Si­multaneously, H. M. J. Richards conducted meetings in the Regent Theater in Ottawa. In each case the audiences numbered well over 1,000 persons. McComas utilized the stereopticon for illustrated lectures, and dis­played life-size images on the stage illustrat­ing the prophecies of Daniel."

A. S. Booth continued his work with hall and theater campaigns in Baltimore and Hagerstown, Maryland. In the latter city a 2,000-seat theater was packed, with nearly 300 persons standing throughout the serv­ice, and many hundreds turned away."

In California, J. W. McCord during 1917 conducted successful campaigns in Pasa­dena, Long Beach, and Sacramento."

Meanwhile, work among Negroes was spearheaded by J. K. Humphrey in New York City, with converts numbering more than 1,000 from 1914 to 1917." In Jackson­ville, Florida, G. E. Peters conducted a large tent effort in the spring of 1917. In 1918 he conducted similar meetings in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and in Savannah, Georgia'

A Hard-hitting Style

In Detroit, Archer V. Cotton attracted audiences ranging between 1,200 and 3,500 in the Arcadia Auditorium, beginning in October, 1917, and continuing until Febru­ary, 1918. Working with Cotton were L. C. Metcalfe, directing a chorus of 150 voices, and Walter L. Burgan, director of the Gen­eral Conference Bureau of Press Relations. The Arcadia Auditorium campaign had been preceded in the summer of 1917 by an outdoor tent meeting conducted by Cot­ton on the same spot Billy Sunday's taber­nacle had occupied in 1916.

The newspaper was the primary means of promoting Cotton's campaign, although other means were also employed, such as posters on streetcars, and leaflets distrib­uted door to door. Cotton's advertising sug­gests the tone of his campaign, typical of many others of the period. For example, in the second week a 12-column-inch display advertisement was placed in the newspa­pers declaring:

Turkey Will Be Driven From Europe, Followed by the Battle of Armageddon. Momentous Things Are About to Happen. The Bible Tells All About Them. Hundreds Are Being Benefited .²²

Cotton's most unusual advertisements consisted of a series of hard-hitting panel "comic strip" features. They were doubt­less an unusual kind of advertising for churches at the time or perhaps at any time, although the art work was reminiscent of O.O. Bernstein's cartoon illustrations used as early as 1910.

Cotton's list of topics as advertised in Detroit newspapers reveals clearly the pro­vocative nature of his evangelistic ap­proach. He appeared as a prophetic fig­ure with a certain voice at an apocalyptic moment in the nation's history. He issued striking predictions as to the outcome of present events. He challenged long-held religious views. He freely reproached the established clergy who led the people in these views. At length he presented his own church as the true church, giving the last warning message to the world. Headlines such as these would surely appear very rarely in evangelistic advertising today:

Coming of Christ Forecasted in Present War.

Clergy Blind Who Follow Evolution.

False Doctrines Are Doing More to Spread Infidelity Than . . .

Bible Authority Is Lacking for Sunday Observance.

Apostle Peter, if Living, Would Be an Adventist.

Man-Made Sabbath a Forgery to Heaven.

Those Who Uphold Sacredness of First Day Guilty Before Heaven.

However, because of the mood of the times, this "hard" evangelistic approach probably struck less fire in clerical circles than might be imagined. It is important to remember that the established denomina­tions during this period were experiencing tension from internal sources, probably as acute as anything that might have been created from the outside. As mentioned previously, it was a time of struggle for denominational control between fundamen­talists and the new generation of liberals or modernists. In a setting of denominational agitation with theological stalwarts within the established churches crying charges of betrayal against the newly dominant liber­als, the Adventist evangelist's advertising and preaching do not seem so singularly harsh.

Whatever may be said of the "crisis" ap­proach of Adventist evangelists during the early war years, at least it succeeded in at­tracting a flood of new converts. The an­nual membership increase reached a peak in 1917 of nearly 10 per cent over the pre­ceding year. Thus, the Adventist denomi­nation, momentarily at least, reaped abundantly the benefits of commitment, or­ganizational strength, and preparedness, together with what was firmly believed to be the apocalyptic message of the hour.