On the evening of May sixth, I was received on probation, into the
Fleet Street A. M. E. Church, of which Elder Gould was then pastor.
I served as assistant superintendent and Secretary, Elder Cope being
superintendent of the Sunday School; Robert Turpin, one of the
preachers, was a close friend. I was engaged while in this church
together with others in a Social Betterment work. This work was
conducted in a house to house canvass, or visit. Great work was done
during this year at the Bridge Street A. M. E. Church the Rev. Wm.
Winder being pastor. There were about one hundred and fifty young
people added to the church on profession of their faith in Christ.
The Revs. Williams, Boyer, and Turpin, were the ministers who assisted
in this revival.
I preached my trial sermon at the Fleet Street Church on the evening of
September the 18th, 1871, and received Exhorters’ license from Elder
Theodore Gould. On the following Sunday, I went with Rev. Matthews and
others to Paterson, N. J., where we organized the A. M. E. Church. The
people of Paterson seemed to have been greatly lifted up and great
good was done in their city for the A. M. E. Church. Later on Bishop
J. P. Campbell told Elder Gould that he wanted a young man to take
charge of a church where a school was located. Brother Gould was kind
enough to tell him of my desire for work and doubtless recommended
me. Bishop Campbell took hold of me and gave me my first appointment
at Pennington, N. J., where I took charge of the church and attended
the school, Pennington Seminary. The leaders of the new church,
Brothers Allen, Ely and Amanias Johnson looked at the new preacher very
inquiringly and doubtless were laughing up their sleeves for I had
not gotten the flimsy, panhandle, look off me as yet, and they were a
little slow in taking hold of me and I did not know how to take hold
of them. However, I managed to get on the good side of Bro. Allen. I
told him the troubles of my heart and got his sympathy. One of these
troubles was that I did not know much. He said that he would help me
all he could and that I must stay close to the cross of Christ. So with
the assistance of God’s grace and the help of Brother Allen, I was able
to surmount all obstacles. I organized a church in the house of Lewis
Schenks, at Lawrenceville.
I organized the church at Birmingham, having been assisted by Brothers
Jos. Long and Maxwell Frost of Trenton. This church was afterwards
reorganized and moved to Langhorne by Dr. John W. Stevenson. I attended
the Pennington Seminary under the presidency of Dr. Hanlon. Rev. Mr.
Marshall and the sister of Dr. Hanlon were of great service to me in my
preparatory course. One day I was walking through the campass when I
met Dr. Hanlon. He stopped and fixing his eyes on me said: “Young man
you should walk upright before God and remember that all your strength
comes from Him.” I shall never forget the deep impression that his
advice made on me. It deepened my conviction of the Divine life in man
and of the necessity of living that life daily. I felt no doubt like
Naaman that I had need to go to the Jordan, the river of Israel and
be washed from my leprosy of sin. This was the first time that I had
charge of a church and I felt the keen responsibility. And I do not
doubt that those who heard me preach had the feeling that instead of
my having charge of them that they should have charge of me. But such
things are of the ordering of the Lord who chooses babes to confound
the wise and the weak things of the world to confound the mighty. There
is a time when a man feels that the best thing that he can do is to
get out of self into Christ. Self is one of the greatest blessings if
Christ is its center, but if man himself constitutes the center of life
it is the stronghold of every sin.
[Illustration: REV. THEODORE GOULD, D.D.,