nt religious movements of the century. It was
primarily designed to promote spiritual development among young
people. It had its birth in 1881 in a Congregational Church at
Portland, Me. Dr. Francis E. Clark, the pastor of the church, had a
number of young people around him who had recently made public
profession of faith in Christ and pledged themselves to His service.
Precisely what that implied, may not have been definitely understood
by any of them. As every pastor is aware, the period immediately
following such a profession is a critical time in the life of every
young convert. In the college or the office, or the store, the youth
comes in contact with people who have made no profession of the kind,
and he is apt to ask himself, and to be asked, in what way he differs
from them. The early enthusiasm of his new relation to the Church is
liable to decline, and he may become doubtful whether any radical
change has taken place in him. He does not realize that he is at the
beginning of a period of growth, a gradual process, which is to be
lifelong. Taking his conception of personal religion from the sermons
he has heard and the appeals that have been made to him, he has a
tendency to regard conversion as an experience complete and final, an
occult mysterious transformation, effected in a moment and concluded.
Disappointment is inevitable, and when non-Christian influences are
Strong, there is a probability of his drifting into indifference. Dr.
Clark was aware of this fact, as other pastors were, by sad
experience, and he sought means to remedy it. Some plan was needed
which would help the young convert and teach him how to apply his
religion to his daily life, to make it an active influence, instead of
a past experience. The plan Dr. Clark adopted was of an association of
young people in his Church, who should meet weekly for prayer and
mutual encouragement and helpfulness, with so much of an aggressive
quality as to exert an influence over young people outside its
membership. The plan succeeded. The religious force in the soul, so
liable to become latent, became active, and the young converts made
rapid progress. Dr. Clark explained his experiment to other pastors,
who tried it with like results. The remedy for a widespread defect was
found. It was adopted on all hands and by all evangelical
denominations. It spread from church to church, from town to town and
into foreign lands. Annual conventions of these Christian E