The Central Presbyterian

For the Central Presbyterian.

GREAT RELIGIOUS INTEREST AT PARADISE, KENTUCKY

GREENVILLE, Ky., May 11th, 1870.

As a friend has suggested that an account of the glorious work of grace which we have lately witnessed at Paradise, Ky., might be profitable to the Church, we send you a brief history of the work that has been recently accomplished there. About the year 1855, a number of Scotch emigrants came from their father-land and settled at Paradise, a little mining town on Green river, in Mecklenburg county, Ky. The object of this settlement was to develop the rich coal and iron mines in the vicinity. Some of these emigrants were communicants in the Free and Established Churches of Scotland. But when they came to Kentucky they found that they were completely removed from Presbyterian influences, and with the exception of an occasional sermon from the pastors of the Presbyterian church at Greenville, 16 miles distant, this people had not enjoyed the advantages of Presbyterian worship for some 14 years, and some of them had not entered a church for that length of time. Several families united with the Methodist church at Paradise, as there was no Presbyterian organization in the place. Within a few months past the Evangelist of Muhlenburg Presbytery, now resident at Greenville, visited Paradise and preached with such encouraging results that he determined (in compliance with the request of some of the people.) to hold a protracted meeting at that point with the hope of organizing a Presbyterian church, Before commencing the succession of services, the Evangelist crossed Green river and visited Ohio county, where he found several Scotch families who had retired from mining and were engaged in farming. The head of one of these families with little sympathy for, and perhaps some prejudice against other denominations, had not been to church more than twice for a dozen years. But like "Burns Cotter," had gathered his family together, and bringing out the guide book, had worshipped God in the plain humble manner of the Old Kirk. This person was selected as a candidate for the eldership in the prospective church, and having been informed of the meeting, he brought his family six miles to Paradise to attend the services. Preaching commenced on the 13th of April. But until Sunday, the 17th, there had been but one profession, and the congregations were comparatively small.-After this the Spirit of God was poured out in great power. At night numbers requested the prayers of the people of God, and in the morning the enquiry meetings were thronged with earnest enquirers whose sad faces would oft and again be lit up with a radiant hope as they received the word of truth, and rested upon Jesus as their ground of salvation. During this and the next week the Presbyterian minister was kindly assisted by the Baptist, and especially the Methodist brethren. The religious interest still increased, and erelong the church-building was insufficient to accommodate the crowds who came to hear the word preached. On April the 24th there had been 32 professions of faith in Christ and on that day the infant church was organized by the Evangelist with 45 members; of this number 44 were received on examination. The people still thirsted for the word, and after the election and ordination of the church-officers another week of services commenced. At its termination sixty had professed their faith in Jesus, and the church had received 25 accessions, making a total aggregate of 70 members, a large proportion of whom are heads of families. The church is now in a flourishing condition, and parents are anxious to teach their children the Shorter Catechism and organize a Sabbath school. If it will not be trespassing upon your columns, your correspondent would here like to mention some noticeable features in this awakening, which may be profitable to the readers of your paper.

I. We observed that the Scotch people seemed to believe more readily than the Americans. We attributed this in a great measure to the faithful religious training which, as children, they had received in the bosom of the Church of Scotland. When convicted the interest in religion was evident from their deep earnestness. They would leave the house of God in sadness and retire to a lonely place, in some cases a hay-loft or smoke house, and pour out the burdened spirit into the arms of Jesus and come forth rejoicing in hope. We conversed with many, and could see that the influences of the home teachings, received perhaps a score of years before in a far off land, were bearing their fruit. The bread had been cast upon the waters, but it was not lost.

II. The zeal with which the new converts commenced working for Christ is worthy of note and imitation. They would seek out their irreligious friends and walk with them, and speak of the love of Christ, and strive to influence them to seek the Lord.

III. Again, we observed that in proportion to their means they were more liberal in their contributions to the support of the ministry than many of the American Christians. Every male member of the church is either engaged in mining or farming on a small scale. Yet, men whose property all told would amount to but a few hundreds of dollars, would subscribe more to pastoral support than some old church members who are worth thousands. A collection for Foreign Missions gave the cause $19.35.

Brethren, we ask your prayers for this infant church.