Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman served the Lord as a pastor in several pastorates. Later he would work with the legendary evangelist, D. L. Moody. Mr. Moody shook our nation for Jesus and started one of the premier Bible Institutes of that time--Moody Bible. That school has grown and still trains men and women. No doubt as Chapman worked under the direction of Mr. Moody, he was inspired by the Lord to do the same kind of work. Chapman attracted good men to work with him in his evangelistic outreaches. One such man, Billy Sunday. What a find! It wasn't long before Mr. Chapman was appointed Corresponding Secretary of the Presbyterian General Assembly's Committee on Evangelism. Through that work he had some 51 evangelists doing work in over 470 cities. He tested ways to make evangelism more effective. He had good success--especially in Pennsylvania where his work grew using some 21 evangelists to produce some 8000 converts. His style of evangelism and singing stirred all who heard it.
Little did Dr. Chapman know that his beloved disciple and fellow laborer in the Lord, Billy Sunday, would surpass his evangelistic work winning an estimated one million souls to Christ. Sunday had been a popular outfielder in baseball's National League during the 1880's. He would become the nation's most celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century. Sunday gave up baseball for the ministry. It is reported that when he became impressed to step out and conduct his own evangelistic outreach that he borrowed some of Dr. Chapman's messages that he put to use in the Midwest. Under his preaching the term, "Hitting the Sawdust Trail" became common. His meetings stretched out from the large tents to erected structures called tabernacles where the sawdust was spread throughout the facility. His extended meetings lasted a month or more would set the stage for another Billy who would take up where he left off-Billy Graham.
It is easy to look back and see the foot print of J. Wilbur Chapman in the evangelistic ministries of Moody, Sunday and Graham. All of these men had things in common. 1. They loved the Lord., 2. The believed the Bible. 3. Garnered the cooperation of great numbers of Christian workers. 4. Saw great numbers converted to Christ. It is safe to say God used these men to revive America to godly living and church attendance.
Billy Sunday Book worth Reading. Here is a link that will take you to a book that shares a good bit light on his life, his minstry and the souls that were saved on the old sawdust trail. Do read it. Study it. Share it with a friend. The Man and His Message
By Wlliam T. Ellis
Authorized Edition
http://bit.ly/9elNN7
