Microfilm Reel 195, File 64, "Russia"

Rev. William Fetler, President, Russian Bible & Educational Institute, Philadelphia, Pa.,

States that on June 24th to 28th the first general conference in the interest of helping Russia spiritually and educationally is to be held in the Moody Tabernacle, Chicago. Has established in Philadelphia a Russian Bible Institute for training Russian men and women so as to prepare them for missionary work in their native land.

On Monday, June 10th, he expects to take 50 of these young missionaries to Chicago, via Washington. States it would give great joy and inspiration to and make a lasting impression upon this first group of Russian missionaries expecting to return to their native land as soon as circumstances will permit, if they could have the great privilege of meeting the President. He would like to have the students sing to the President a few Russian hymns. Adds that the Rev. J. Wilbur Chapman and Rev. John Henry Jowett have been two of his warmest supporters in his efforts to help the Russian people since he has been in this country.

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[stamp] THE WHITE HOUSE JUN 7 1918 RECEIVED [/stamp]

[stamp] [unclear] LOK'D JUN [?] 1918 T.M.W. [/unclear] [/stamp]

[letterhead] FIRST GENERAL CONFERENCE FOR THE EVANGELIZATION of Russia AT THE MOODY TABERNACLE Chicago, June 24th to June 28th, 1918 ---------- TELEPHONE HARRISON 5141 ---------- CONFERENCE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REV. JESSE W. BROOKS, Chairman Supt. Chicago Tract Society 440 S. Dearborn St., Chicago

MR. A. M. JOHNSON, Treasurer Pres. National Life Ins, Co., U.S.A. 29 S. LaSalle St., Chicago

REV. PAUL RADER, Pastor The Moody Church, Chicago

REV. WILLIAM FETLER Pres. Russian Bible Institute 1820 Spring Garden St., Philadelphia

REV. DAVID NYVALL Pres. North Park College, Chicago

MR. CHARLES G. TRUMBULL Editor S. S. Times, Philadelphia

REV. A. T. FRYKMAN Pastor Swedish Evang. Mis. Church 102 Chandler St., Jamestown, N.Y.

REV. OLOF HEDEEN Pastor Englewood Swed. Baptist Church, Chicago

REV. N. F. HOIJER Forty Years Missionary in Russia and Deputy Pan Russian Evang. Cem., Chicago

REV. ERIC OLSON Missionary Evangelist, Chicago

REV. HARRY LINDBLOM Pastor Lake View Swed. Free Church, Chicago

MR. THOMAS E. STEPHENS Director Great Com. Prayer League, Chicago

REV. ELOF K. JONSON Pastor Swed. Evang. Luth. Ebenezer Ch., Chicago

DR. V. J. VITA and MR. JOHN J. FRANZ Chicago

REV. E. Y. WOOLLEY Moody Church, Chicago Chairman Committee on Entertainment ---------- AMONG OTHERS WHO ALSO UNITE IN CALLING THIS CONFERENCE ARE:

J. WILBUR CHAPMAN, Moderator Presbyterian General Assembly

W. H. GRIFFITH THOMAS Toronto, Canada

C. I. SCOFIELD, Editor Scofield Reference Bible, Douglaston, New York

FRANCIS E. CLARK, President World's Christian Endeavor Union, Boston

CORTLAND MYERS, Pastor Tremont Temple Baptist Church, Boston

GEORGE H. SANDISON, Editor Christian Herald, New York City

DELAVAN L. PIERSON, Editor [mark?] Missionary Review of the World, New York

WILLIAM I. CHAMBERLAIN, Secretary Board For. Miss., Reformed Church in America and Chairman, For. Mis. Com., Federal Council, Churches of Christ in America, New York

WILLIAM I. HAVEN, Corresponding Secretary American Bible Society, New York

D. M. STEARNS, Pastor Reformed Episcopal Church of Atonement, Germantown, Philadelphia.

CHARLES A. BLANCHARD, President Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois

JOHN F. CARSON, Pastor Cent. Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn, New York

R. A. TORREY, Superintendent Bible Institute, Los Angeles, California

CHARLES L. HUSTON Coatesville, Pennsylvania

JOSEPH M. STEELE Philadelphia

LYMAN STEWART, President Bible Institute, Los Angeles, California

W. A. HARBISON Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

W. H. RIDGEWAY Coatesville, Pennsylvania

A. B. WINCHESTER, Pastor Knox Presbyterian Church, Toronto

WM. B. RILEY, Pastor First Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota

FLOYD W. TOMPKINS, Pastor Holy Trinity P. E. Church, Philadelphia

AUSTIN K. de BLOIS, Pastor First Baptist Church, Boston

WILLIAM R. WEDDERSPOON, Pastor St. James M. E. Church, Chicago

A. Z. CONRAD, Pastor Park Street Congretational Church, Boston

S. B. ROHOLD, Pastor Christian Synagogue, Toronto and President, Hebrew Christian Alliance of America

GUSTAV F. JOHNSON, Pastor Swedish Tabernacle, Minneapolis, Minnesota

H. W. FROST, Director China Inland Mission, Germantown, Philadelphia

ROBERT M. RUSSELL, Ex-Moderator United Presbyterian General Assembly, Chicago

WILLIAM HOLLOWAY MAIN, Pastor First Baptist Church, Chicago

Dr. EDWARD F. WILLIAMS, President Chicago Tract Society, Chicago

A. J. RAMSEY, Dean Union Missionary Training Institute, Brooklyn, New York

DANIEL HOFFMAN MARTIN, Pastor Washington Heights Presbyterian Church, New York

A. DeWITT MASON, One Time Editor Mission Field, New York

Professor GEORGE L. ROBINSON McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago

ROBERT C. McQUILKIN, Correspond. Secretary Victorious Life Conference, Philadelphia.

J. FRANK NORRIS, Pastor First Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas

DON O. SHELTON, President National Bible Institute, New York

HUGH R. MONRO, Vice-President Niagara Lithograph Co. and Chairman, Gospel Committee for Work Among War Prisoners, New York.

JOHN R. DAVIES, Pastor Bethlehem Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia

IVAN V. NEPRASH, Dean Russian Bible Institute, Philadelphia [/letterhead]

June 6, 1918

To his Excellency, Hon. Woodrow Wilson, President U. S. A., Washington, D. C.

Honorable Sir:—

On June 24th to 28th the first general Conference in the interest of helping Russia spiritually and educationally, is to be held in the Moody Tabernacle, Chicago.

Having been sentenced by the late regime in Russia to exile in Siberia for my Gospel work in Petrograd and in Moscow, and later allowed to come to this country, I have established in the City of Philadelphia a Russian Bible Institute for training Russian men and women so as to prepare them for missionary work in their native land.

On Monday next, June 10th, I expect to take fifty of these young missionaries through the City of Washington on our way to Chicago, where they will sing before the Conference. As this may be their only opportunity to visit the capital of the United States, I am planning to spend Monday in Washington.

PLEASE TURN OVER

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WORLD CRISIS FOR MISSIONS IN RUSSIA ---------- A CALL FOR PRAYER AND CONFERENCE ON BEHALF OF RUSSIA'S MILLIONS AT THE Moody Tabernacle, Chicago, Illinois, June 24th to June 28th, 1918 ----------

To the Lord's People Everywhere:--

The Revolution in Russia has resulted in throwing open to the Gospel the largest country, with its largest popula- tion of white people in the world. There are 182,000,000 people in Russia, and yet there are not as many Evangelical work- ers there as in the City of Chicago alone. Many are eagerly waiting for the Gospel. When recently one of the leaders of the "Dom Evangelia" Mission in Petrograd, immediately after returning from Siberia, went with his Choir and Workers to the large Square directly in front of the Winter Palace, and conducted for the first time in the existence of that City an open air Gospel Service, large numbers of men and women assembled. After the Message was delivered the people turned to the Preacher and said: "Where have you been so long? and why did you not tell us this before?" "I was in Siberia," was the reply.

Never since the beginning of Christianity has such an immense population of our own white people become accessible to Missionary Enterprise. Our Evangelization plan must embrace not only the hundred million native Russians, but also the seven million Jews, the twenty million Poles, the thirty million Ukrainians, millions of Mohammedans (Tartars, Kurds, Kirghiz etc.) Armenians, Roumanians and Greeks, and besides these the Bulgarians, Servians, Croatians, Montenegrians and other related Slavonic peoples.

The propaganda of Atheism and Materialism is already assuming awful proportions. There is no time to lose. The Greek Orthodox Church is rapidly losing its grip upon the hearts of the people, and before long large masses of simple religiously inclined Russians may be led astray into complete infidelity. Millions of the people are looking for something different. What is it to be? Atheism, or the Gospel? If the latter, then, because of existing conditions in Europe, [bold]America must assume chief responsibility[/bold] for meeting the need, else this greatest Missionary Opportunity of the Centuries may be turned into the most abysmal failure.

The greatest immediate need is the printing and circulating of at least a million copies of the Russian Bible, three million copies of the New Testament and a large supply of the very best Russian Evangelical Literature. Then several hundred Evangelists, Colporteurs and Christian Workers must be trained and equipped for service in Russia. Already one hundred Russians in America have offered themselves for soul-saving service in their native land and are now in training, and there are also hundreds of converted and educated men in Russia who have suffered for their faith and who need to be rallied and encouraged.

As a very vital factor in the realization of a comprehensive Evangelization plan for Russia we must immediately un- dertake the thorough Evangelization of the Russian and other Slavonic people in our own country and Canada, in order that they, in great numbers, being converted and trained here, may return to their native lands fully equipped for effective service. Last, but not least, the united prayers of God's people everywhere must be offered up in behalf of these long neglected multitudes.

We feel that the time has now come for the assembling of Evangelical Leaders and those whose hearts are moved, for a general meeting of prayer and conference. God seems to be leading very definitely in this direction. Accordingly, we send out this invitation to all who are stirred by the Spirit of God to assemble for the

FIRST GENERAL CONFERENCE IN BEHALF OF THE EVANGELIZATION OF RUSSIA

to be held from June 24th to June 28th in the City of Chicago, at the Moody Tabernacle, corner North Avenue and North Clark Street.

A Choir of about fifty Students from the Russian Bible Institute of Philadelphia is expected to be present to sing their beautiful Russian hymns during Conference week. Russian speaking and other Stavonic Evangelists and Missionary Work- ers of the Chicago Tract Society will also give their aid.

Ministers and friends who find it impossible to attend, but who are moved to have some part in this work, are urged to arrange special prayer services during the Conference Week, and all Evangelical Ministers are requested to preach special Missionary Sermons on "Russian Mission Sunday," June 23rd. Material of interest in connection with the Evangel- ization of Russia, will be sent to Ministers, Sunday School Superintendents and Bible Class Leaders upon application.

Any friends unable to attend, but whose hearts are stirred to take some financial part in this work, can send their gifts to Mr. A. M. Johnson. (President of the National Life Insurance Company of the U.S.A.), the Treasurer of the Confer- ence, 29 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois.

All inquiries and communications regarding the Conference should be addressed to Rev. Jesse W. Brooks, (Superintendent of the Chicago Tract Society), Chairman Conference Executive Committee, 440 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois.

Hon. Woodrow Wilson--3 June 6, 1898

Knowing of your great interest in Russia, and of the very helpful words you have again and again addressed to the Russian people, it would give great joy and inspiration to and make a lasting impression upon this first group of Russian missionaries expecting to return to their native land as soon as circumstances will permit, if they could have the great privilege of meeting the President of this liberty-loving and hospitable country whither they came for gold and have found God. Many of them have been reclaimed from drunkenness, and other sins, and have now become most exemplary Christian men.

I have established this work because I believe in no way Russia will be helped more than by preaching to them the same Gospel which has made both England and America free and great. Russia needs above all sound, strong spiritual leaders, and such we expect these men to become.

I should like my students to sing to you a couple of Russian hymns, and as representatives from many parts of Russia to thank you personally, and through you, the American people, for the kindness shown to Russia in this dark hour of her history. If this audience with your Excellency could possibly be arranged we would exceedingly appreciate your Kindness.

The Rev. J. Wilbur Chapman, and Rev. John Henry Jowett have been two of my warmest supporters in my efforts to help theRussian people since I have been in this country.

I am enclosing a clipping from The Missionary Review of the world about the Conference to be held in Chicago; together with a copy of the Moody Church paper containing a stenographic report of my address delivered there some time ago, and a circular relating to our work.

I am your Excellency's most obedient servant, W. Fetler

PRESIDENT RUSSIAN BIBLE AND EDUCATTONAL INSTITUE

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New Men For NEW RUSSIA A Personal Message

THE opportunity of a thousand years for Russia has come at last. After Siberian exiles, spirit- ual darkness and moral oppression, the Russians now can be evangelized. The grestest and only perma- nent hope of Russia is in the Gospel. I thank God, that being banished from Russia, I have been privi- leged to come to Americe. Though now I can go back, I do not want to return empty-handed and alone. I want to prepare several dozens of bright and devoted Russian converts to go with me back to Russia to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Would YOU not like to have a share in send- ing the First Group of Missionaries to Evangelize Russia's millions? Your help is urgenly needed NOW!

Yours in the OLD GOSPEL for NEW RUSSIA, WLLLAM FETLER.

President Russian Bible Institute.

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