50 years Ago
September 1966
Twelve laymen, 13 musicians and four preachers from across the Southern Baptist Convention, including Alabama, began a month-long Baptist evangelistic crusade in Japan on Sept. 27. Collaborating with other preachers from Japanese Baptists and missionaries in the country, they formed and sent 13 evangelistic teams.
Each evangelical team spent time working in four churches devoting a week to each stop. The daily schedule included planned visitation, personal witnessing and an evening of worship service during which a layman gave a testimony of his Christian experience.
The laymen participating in the missions trip represented various vocations such as medicine, construction, engineering, law, insurance, real estate and sales. During business hours they would contact men of similar vocations to share the reason for their trip — Christian witness.
100 years Ago
September 1916
William H. Smith returned to his native state of Alabama to become the educational secretary. This appointment brought Judson College and Howard College to the forefront of Alabama Baptists’ minds as Smith was campaigning strongly in their interests. Smith was believed to be well equipped for secretarial service because of the many quality years he spent serving the Foreign Mission Board.
In other news, everyone in Avondale, irrespective of creed, was rejoicing with Pastor John W. Inzer and his church over the fact they would soon be worshipping in one of the most handsome and best-equipped churches, according to modern methods, in the city. The church was modern and its organization, the work of its young people, the WMU and the Sunday School were of the best.
150 years Ago
September 1866
A superintendent of a southern Sunday School was recently in some of the northern cities and made it his business to inquire of three large publishing houses whether any Sunday School books could be acquired free from the taint of “sectional animosity” and was informed by one that no such books could be furnished and by the other two that they could but would not do it. Clearly, Southerners had no alternative but to provide Sunday School literature for themselves. “We must rally to our own Sunday School Board and furnish it with the means of publishing books for ourselves.” It was believed this was a duty to the children that could not be overlooked. Southern Baptists did not want literature that included caricatures of southern history and civilization.
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