THE EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION.
1. Origin of the Evangelical Association. This is an ecclesiastical body which took its rise in Eastern Pennsylvania, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, under the labors of that godly man, Jacob Albright. Albright was of German descent, and was born near Pottstown, Montgomery County, Pa„ May ist, inn. In 1791 he came to a saving knowledge of the truth and was soundly converted. Soon thereafter he felt himself inwardly called to preach the Gospel to those of his own tongue, who were at that time sadly neglected and given over to dead formal ism in religion and immorality in life. He had united with the Methodist Episcopal Church and felt much at home, but the deplorable condition of his German brethren preyed upon his mind. Much was being done for the English-speaking population, but practically nothing for these peo ple. Finding that his cal] was imperative, and his duty plain, he began his work independently, that being the only course open to him, since the Methodist Episcopal Church did not feel drawn into that field. Albright's talent and piety were recognized and he was in full accord with the Church. There was no dissension or schism of any kind. Albright was simply led into this field by the Spirit of God. He was to become a chosen vessel unto the Lord. To use his own account, he felt called "to preach the Gospel to his own people in its purity and with energy and power, trusting in the grace of God that all those who hear and believe shall partake of his salvation." He began to preach in 1796 and his efforts soon resulted in conversions. Though this hum ble and godly man had no thought of organizing a new denomination, he nevertheless recognized the necessity of organization in order to conserve the results of his labor and to facilitate the spirit ual culture of his converts. Accordingly a meeting of the leaders was held, in t800, at which several "classes" were formed. There were but twenty members, but God was with the little company, and the work prospered in their hands. This became the inception of a new denomination.
2. The First Council. On November 3, the first Council was held, in which 17 men were present. These solemnly recognized Jacob Albright as "an Evangelical Preacher," and ordained him as such. In 1807 the "Origi
nal Conference" was held at Kleinfeltersville, Pa., at which there were present five itinerant ministers and a number of local preachers and laymen. This Conference adopted an episcopal form of government, modeled in general outline after that of the M. E. Church as it then ex isted, with which they were in full accord. They then organized by electing Albright as their bishop with full episcopal authority, and in structed him to compile a Book of Discipline. Before he could complete this important work, this wonderful itinerant succumbed to the effects of exposure and privation and died May 18, 18o8, after a ministry of only twelve years. His last message to his colaborers was: "In all that you do or think of doing, let your object be to enhance the glory of God and advance the work of His grace in your own hearts and iit the hearts of others." 3. Development. The work, however, went forward after his death, though it met with strong opposition and severe persecution. In 1816 the work had sufficiently developed to or ganize a system of conferences and in that year the first delegated General Conference was held. It was then that the name, "The Evangelical As sociation," was adopted. The work was rapidly extending its borders. Already it had been pushed into the State of Ohio, and eventually it spread over the entire country.
To-day she has 120,000 members-15,0°o in Europe, and nearly r,000 in Japan; 1,5oo preach ers. itinerant and local; 26 Annual Conferences, nearly 2,000 churches, over 2,000 Sunday-schools, in which 20,00o teachers instruct iso,000 children and youth in the word of God. There is a Mis sionary Society with 27 auxiliary branches, of which the Missionary Society is the most important; this society operates on three grand divisions of the globe, sustains 668 mis sionaries and 656 missions, and has an annual income, wholly by voluntary contributions, of over $t5o,000. The children alone contributed last year through Children's Day ;collections nearly $12,000. There is a publishing house in Cleveland, O., valued at half a million dollars and issuing monthly at least half a million copies of good literature, besides a prosperous branch in Stuttgart, Germany. At Flat Rock, O., is lo cated an Orphan Home harboring r3o orphans.