Excerpt from The Otterbein Cook Book

Thousands of churches in America to-day have ceased to be bulwarks of power in extending the kingdom of our Christ, simply because the membership was content with small things. Hundreds of churches are closed and are mouldering away by the roadside, because the congregations lacked a vision of a larger field and were unwilling to pay the price of a larger growth and an increased power of evangelism. These empty church houses, where once the gospel of love was proclaimed by men whose hearts were aglow with heavenly fervor, and where the struggling multitudes gathered in from the various walks of life in order that they might receive spiritual food and guidance, have now become mere habitations for the straying bird that seeks refuge from the disturbed elements. The faithful, along with the aged trustees and loyal members, have either passed on to their reward or lapsed into lethargy and indifference. The young men and maidens spend their hours in frivolty and pleasure. The bovs and girls roam the fields and loiter on the streets. The heart of the parent becomes burdened, and their eyes send forth tears of anguish on account of the ino diflerennce and waywardness of their children. When we seek to find out the cause of all this. We invariably find that it is a process of spiritual de generation and decay that had already begun as the result of a failure on the part of the christian forces in those communities to break away from obsolete customs and antiquated methods, and keep space With the pro gressive spirit of the age by attempting larger things for the cause of Christ, We as members and friends of this part of the christian church have learned some practical and very helpful lessons along this line during the last few years. All of us can remember when the congregations which assembled for worship in this village from time to time were content with quite crude and commonplace facilities for the promotion of religious wor ship and the extension of gospel privileges, No matter how comfortable and Cozy might be our own tiresndes, we thought little about it if the house of God was not in harmony with our homes. We'saw the hand of progress as it wrought its mighty transformation as if by the touch of magic, in other phases of human endeavor, but we realized that the church was not keeping pace. There came a time however, when conditions began to change - a brighter day was dawning, and a new star was appearing in the spiritual heavens which destined to shed its sombre light over the entire community, giving new hope and new life to all who would come under the influence of its marvellous power. Irefer to the larger vision that has come to this church in recent years, and tne remarkable growth and material enlargement that followed, the culmination of which we meet here to-night to celebrate.

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