LETTER OF
The GOSPEL TRUTH CHARLES G. FINNEY
1863
To F. J. Tytus
16 January 1863
[MS in Finney Papers # 1756]
Finney received the following letter from. F. J. Tytus:
Middleton Butler City Ohio.
January 14. 1863.
Revd Mr Finney,
My dear brother,
You
will be surprised no doubt in receiving
a letter form one who is an entire
stranger to you. Although a stranger
personally I am well acquainted with your
history from many years as an Evangelist,
& have read with much interest form time
to time how the Lord blessed your
labors. I also watched with great interest
the success that attended the preaching
of Elder Knapp & greatly desired that
he should visit our town & we succeeded
about six years ago in getting him to
spend a few weeks with us. His labours
were greatly blessed & as the result of
the meeting 45 precious souls were
[page 2]
converted and added to the Baptist
church of this place of which I am
a member. We have a good church
of about 200 members. A beautiful house
of worship and an excellent Parsonage
for our Pastor & all paid for. we
pay our minister Revs D. D. Watson $800
salary in addition to the Parsonage which
he has rent free worth about $200 ---
A few weeks since we gave the minister
a donation amounting to $170. -- we are
all right in temporal matters, but
very many of us
in spiritual things ^ we are dead.
I have had a great desire for several
years to see a union protracted effort
made in this place. I believe it would
result in great good. The Presbyterian
church in this place and the Baptist
church are on the most friendly terms.
When either happen to be without preaching
the whole church almost in a body
worship with the church who have
preaching and visa versa -- So that there
[page 3]
is the very best feeling existing between
the two churches. They have also a
very fine House of worship & a good
strong church -- But like ourselves are
spiritually dead. Each of our
churches have been holding prayer
meetings every night since the first
Monday in this month, in our churches
seperately. The membership in each
church are considerably revived and
a few souls are enquiring the way
of salvation. Now it has been
impressed upon my mind & I hope
by the Spirit of God, that if the
labors of our good brother Finney
could be obtained to labor with the
two churches for a few weeks, preaching
alternately in the Baptist & Presbyterian
house & have the co-operation of both
churches to pray, & exhort, & visit, and
labor, that great good might be
accomplished to poor dying sinners by
the blessing of almighty God.---
[page 4]
I have not said a word to any member
of either church on the subject, nor does
any any [sic] one know that I have written
to you, nor will they know untill I
get your answer. I did not know
what might be the state of your
health, or what your engagements, or whether
or not you had given up all protracted
efforts - but I do believe in my heart my
dear brother if you are so situated that
you can come & enter upon such
a work that God will bless your
labor of love by permitting you to see
many converts turning to the Lord.
If you can & will come I feel
very sure that I can get both
churches to unite in extending an
invitation to you - and before you
come I should think it best to draw
up in writing an agreement to be
signed by the two Pastors & Elders & Deacons
#
[page 5]
# that no door should be opened
in either church to receive members
untill you concluded your meeting,
and there should nothing be said by
members of either church on the subject
of membership or ordinances &c untill
the close of the meeting.
I am very desirous to engage in just
such a meeting as this, where every
appearance of sectarianism shall be
kept out of view & out of the way of
the unGodly.
I hope my dear brother that
God by his spirit may direct you,
& influence you to feel it to be
your duty to come & to come soon.
The meetings for prayer will continue
I think this week & next so that you
will find Christians ready to work.
Last week in our church was a
week of confession & renunciation of sin
[page 6]
and a number of our members are
awake & fully on the Lords side &
need to engage in any way for the
furtherance of Gods cause.
Our town contains about 3000 inhabitants
is a lovely manufacturing place ----
on the Cincinnati & Dayton R. Road
37 miles from the former & 23 from
the latter. Your congregation will
be large every night & day -(if you
hold day meetings) The only trouble will
be to get the people seated.
Our people are liberal & will
not fail to remunerate you for
your labor - we believe the laborer
is worthy of proper compensation -
If you can come, you will
please write me immediately & let
me know in confidence your view &
feelings & then I will say to our,
& the Presbyterian church that I
believe your services can be had
if they invite you. They shall not
[page 7]
know what you have said to me
confidentially. Yet I would not
propose the matter to them unless I
had assurances that you would come
if invited by the two churches --
Please write me just how soon you
can come, & give me directions how
to arrange matters between the two
churches so as to avoid any unpleasant
feelings with regard to members &c &c &c.
Excuse this long & hasty epistle.
I hope & pray that we will not long
be strangers to each other but that we
shall soon see each other face to face.
I have long had a desire to hear
you preach & trust that I
may soon have that desire gratified.
It is only a short ride from
Oberlin here via Sandusky & Dayton Road
Direct to Middleton Butler Cty Ohio.
Very truly your
brother in Christ
F. J. Tytus
Finney's reply was as follows:
Oberlin 16th Jan. 1863.
Rev. F. J. Tytus.
My Dear Brother.
Yours of the 14th inst is to day
recd My soul is full of desire to comply
with your request, but my health
will not allow me to undertake such
am amount of labor at present.
I love to hold union meetings &
the work to which you wish the Pastors
& churches to invite me is just such
as my soul delights in. I have been
sick for about two years, quite
seriously so for much of that period.
My health was so far restored twice
during this time that I commenced
preaching, but soon brought on a relapse.
I am now preaching again, & am proceeding
more cautiously than before. I do not
think I could preach enough to meet
your wants, at present, without breaking
down. My strength is improving & I hope
[page 2]
by the blessing of God to be able
to go forth & labor as an evangelist
again by another winter. The most
that I have preached of late is three
a on
times a week. This was ^ trial ^ my
strength. To meet your wants I should
need to preach 6 times per week &
attend enquiry & prayer meetings.
This I dare not at present undertake.
To decline accepting such invitations
causes me to grieve in spirit, but
I must submit. Never were such efforts
as you contemplate more needed
than now. O for strength to go
forward.
20th Jan. I had written the above when
my Dear Wife came in to my study, & on
my reading it to her, she felt so much
for your people that she suggested that
I should defer writing for a few days
& see if my health did not appear to
be such, that I could venture an
answer in the affirmative. She accompanies
[page 3]
me & holds meetings with the females
& gets them into the work. Her meetings
often become large, & one of the most
important instrumentalities in the
promotion of a revival. She longs so
much to be in the work that she would
risk a good deal, but upon the
so
whole it is too ^ evident that at present
I could not endure the requisite labor,
that I must decline giving you an
affirmative answer.
God bless you My Dr. Brother
C. G. Finney.