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→Evangelistic Meetings 1923
==The Growth of a work of God in Bucks County, PA 1923-1953==
===Evangelistic Meetings 1923===
In November, 1922, Bro. [[Chester Myers]], then living in Plumsteadville, Pa., was burdened about the spiritual condition of folk living in the villages in that area. He had endeavored to spread the Gospel in every way that was open to him. Then he invited Mr. [[Harold Milton Harper]], an Evangelist who was at that time preaching in the Germantown Gospel Hall, to come to Plumsteadville School House for a series of Gospel meetings.
Notices of the meetings were posted in various towns nearby. The meetings were to last for ten nights, prior to Thanksgiving Day. People attended in great numbers. The school house was packed to capacity. The Friday night services were set apart for Gospel Object Lessons, and to learn Gospel Choruses. It was deemed wise in view of the outstanding interest to continue these meetings.
Friends in Pipersville Chapel then desired to have the Gospel preached in their community. Here the “Two Roads” chart was used for two weeks. Then a week of meetings in the Gardenville Chapel followed, which brought the time to Christmas of that year. Mr. Harper had to leave for three weeks because of prior commitments but returned for a week of meetings in the Hilltown Township High School at Blooming Glen, then back to Plumsteadville School House for two weeks, Fountainville Chapel for a week, Danboro Chapel for two weeks, Point Pleasant Baptist Church for two weeks, and a week in the Perkasie New Mennonite Church.
Then the Ottsville Church building, which had not been used regularly for services for a long time, was made ready and two weeks of Gospel meetings were held therein. Services followed in the Mechanicsville Chapel, and Harleysville Chapel until the close of May, 1923. The Gospel of God’s grace was faithfully preached in these meetings and between seventy-five and one hundred precious souls learned their deep need for Christ and trusted Him as their Lord and Saviour. The meetings were made attractive by the singing led by Mr. [[Samuel Godshalk Detweiler]] and the Deep Run Male Quartette, from the Mennonite community, who never joined Grace but several of his children did.
====Mennonite impact====
The traditional Mennonite stress on humility, which had led people to say they "hoped" they were accepted by God through the work of Christ, was seen in the newer "evangelical" perspective to show a lack of faith. Now schoolchildren in the community discussed whether they were "saved". Several Mennonite preachers offered Mr. Harper their pulpits on a Sunday morning. Some members who had not been happy about the recent stronger Franconia Conference (forementioned in the book) requirements regarding the "bonnet" began to prefer Mr. Harper's fervent preaching to that of their own ministers. Even Mahlon Gross at Doylestown was drawn, for a while, by the attraction of Mr. Harper's "eternal security" emphasis.
These early 1920s were not a period of strong leadership among the Deep Run Old Mennonites. When Mr. Harper, who had earlier told his audiences to "leave your money at home," began collections to build a chapel of his own, his talk of being nondenominational was seen in a negative light by the more traditional people at Deep Run. Yet a number of Mennonites were making substantial contributions, and eventually about fifty joined the new "Grace Gospel Chapel" near Fountainville, including all but two of song leader Samuel Godshalk Detweiler and his wife Rachel Myers Detweiler (unfortunately Sam Detweilerand Rachel were under pressure by the Mennonites to not join their children in joining the Assembly but here are the children who did join:Sam [[Samuel Myers Jr.Detweiler]] (1912-1958) married Bertha Getshikofski Labs (1874-1961) [[FrankMyers Detweiler]] (1899-1988) married Mildred Frances Copenhaver (1907-1987)[[WilmerMyers Detweiler]] (1905-1996) married Margaret Louise Crouch (1906-1980) [[Mabel Derstine Detweiler]] (who 1908-1998) married cousin Walton Detweileror cousin Walter Detweiler[[Monroe Myers Detweiler]] (1902-2000) married Carrie Miller Leatherman (1903-1995),Monroe[[Carrie Myers Detweiler Tyson]] (1894-1960) married William Hockman Tyson (1893-1964)
The new group turned out to be identical in doctrine with the "Plymouth Brethren". Apparently before their new chapel was completed one of the new members, an elderly woman of the Deep Run Tyson family, died, and the funeral was held in the Deep Run Mennonite meetinghouse. Mr. Harper expressed his happiness that Mrs. Tyson had been saved. Minister Jacob Rush, speaking from the same pulpit a bit later, commented that she had been saved long before Mr. Harper had come to the community." They were often referred to as "Harperites".
