Conference and Missionary Work—a World-Wide Campaign

Chapter 11, 1884-1889

While Dr. Pierson was devoting his energies to the training of his people at Bethany and in his own prayer life was seeking earnestly for new power and new victories, he himself was being trained, in unseen ways, for a new campaign. His preaching, writings, and Bible lectures had caused his name to become widely known in America and he received many invitations to address colleges, conventions and conferences. While pastor at Detroit and Indianapolis his work had been local, now it was national and was soon to become international. The era of missionary and Bible study conferences was dawning all over America, and Dr. Pierson was recognized as a man peculiarly well fitted for inspiring and teaching such gatherings by reason of his exhaustive study, his wide reading, his retentive memory and his fluent, fiery utterance.

The Second Coming

For several years he addressed the Prophetical Bible Conference, conducted by his college friends, Drs. William and Albert Erdman, at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Here he came into close fellowship with such Bible students and teachers as Drs. James H. Brookes of St. Louis, Nathaniel West, William G. Moorehead of Xenia, Ohio, and Η.M. Parsons of Toronto.

These were the days of warm and even bitter discussion relative to “The Lord’s Second Coming.”