FIFTY YEARS OLD

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 50, 27 August 1938, Page 14

FIFTY YEARS OLD

ST. JOHN'S BIBLE CLASS

JUBILEE CELEBRATION

The St. John's Young Men's Bible Class is holding its jubilee celebrations this weekend. Tonight there will be a jubilee banquet in St. John's Hall, and tomorrow there will be special services and meetings. On Monday evening there will be an "at; home." The Bible Class was formed in the year 1888 and has continued without any breaks since. Prior to 1888 there were Bible classes in connection with St. John's Church, but these were more of the ordinary Sunday School type, and were not conducted on the co- | operative system which has been the distinctive feature of the St. John's Young Men's Bible Class since its inception. The birth of the class is centred round "Mr. (now Sir) George Troup. He came to Wellington from.: Dunedin in 1888. One Sunday morning that year he met the Rev. James Paterson after the service and told him of his desire to enter into Christian work. Mr. Troup joined the Sunday School staff and in August took over a Bible class which had been formed by Mr. Robert Gardner to meet the needs of the older lads. Mr. Gardner was leader for only about two Sundays, as he left to take up residence in another part of the colony. Another leader was required, and on Mr. Paterson's representations, Mr. Troup grasped the opportunity of taking up a work dear to his heart. This class met in the manager's room of St. John's Church. August, 1888, therefore marks the beginning of the St. John's Young { Men's Bible Class. When Mr. Troup took over the membership was six, but with the departure of Mr. Gardner's sons and two others, it dropped to two. It had been suggested to Mr. Troup that he should return to the Sunday School, but he was determined to hold on and his next step was to obtain a list of names of members of the congregation who had sons of Bible class age. These he visited and so gathered in several new members. But even then progress was slow and! disappointments were many. At one stage he asked the few remaining members

of the class to make it a matter of earnest prayer for two weeks as to whether they should continue as a class. This they did, and at the end of that period all were of one mind. They carried on. This was the modest but sure foundation of the class from which in later years was to develop the Bible class movement. The following year, 1889, saw a real thrust forward in the work. Mr. 'Troup had realised that it was necessary to give the young men a real interest in the welfare of his class and he explored all possible avenues whereby this could be achieved. He was convinced that it was no longer possible to hold and influence effectively young men by the methods then prevailing and so he decided to adopt methods which gave to each member work and responsibility. The wisdom of such a course soon became apparent, the young men on their part responded, interest increased, and with it, the attendance. Thus the now wellknown co-operative method, characteristic of the Bible class movement, was initiated. The success attending this new form of Bible class was noted elsewhere; and other churches adopted this.kind of organisation. In 1896, Mr. C. S. Moore, who had for some years been a member of the class, was elected to the position of joint leader with Mr. Troup. In 1907 Mr. C. A. Redgrave was appointed acting joint leader with Mr. Moore, Mr. Troup relinquishing his duties temporarily on account of ill health. Mr. Troup and Mr. Moore resigned in 1908, the former after being at the helm for twenty years. Their successors were Mr. Redgrave and Mr. J. S. Butler. Since then there have been a number of single or joint leaders, the leader at the present time being Mr. W. J. Ferguson. , ? The class has always been noted for the wide scope of its activities. Apart from its study meetings, it has always been active in its support of various movements and enterprises connected with the church. Those who have been members of it —and they number a good many hundreds by this timeare to be found in all walks of life in the Dominion, as well as in many places overseas. As the pioneer, in the Bible class movement, the St. John's class has reason to be proud of its record, and the value of the Christian influence which it has brought to bear on the lives of hundreds of young men has had an effect the value of which it is impossible to estimate.

In connection with the jubilee celebrations, an attractive booklet, illus-