October- December,2007
He wanted to be a preacher. He would imagine himself on the platform, in one of those big tents that were used at camp meetings back in the 1800s, in front of a large crowd of eager listeners. The people would be so intent on the message that even the children wouldn’t think of the fact that they were sitting on those hard, wooden benches. He anticipated looking over that sea of earnest faces, with his well-worn, well-marked Bible is one hand, and the aid of his charts detailing the relevance of the image, the lion, bear, leopard, and the dreadful beast, the little horn with a face, the long numbers, the kingdoms, and other mysteries of Bible prophecy. He wanted to preach! He wanted to spread the three angels’ messages! This truth was too urgent to remain silent about—it was burning in his bones.
George Albert King was from Ontario, Canada. He was a young man, born in 1847, that had come to Battle Creek, Michigan, with this desire to spread the message blazing in his heart. He hoped that here he would have an opportunity to realize his dream. And so he made the trip.
A man that carried a burden for the salvation of souls on his shoulders, Elder James White was happy to meet George and was eager to see him use his talents in spreading the message of the second advent. Just one problem: George hadn’t had the opportunity to acquire much formal education and he had a stumbling speech impediment that made it difficult to clearly understand what he tried to say. He could scarcely express himself intelligently, much less hold the attention of large groups of people. Especially when he got up in front of people, he would stumble and forget what he was going to say. Convinced that George had no gift for preaching, but not wanting to see his desire to work for the Lord wasted, James went to talk with Brother Godsmark.
“Uncle Richard” Godsmark was a very devoted man, a farmer near Battle Creek. In response to James’ request, he agreed to let George work for room and board until the summer, when he might be assigned as an assistant with a tent company. Here he could ascertain if George had any “preach” in him. The Godsmark family desired their home to be a place where George could be prepared for the world he would face when he stepped into his new calling, and they took upon themselves to encourage him in his undertaking for the Lord.
George spent a lot of time on his knees in prayer, seeking God’s guidance for his future. The candle burned long and bright as George exhausted hours pouring over the Bible, the prophetic charts, and Uriah Smith’s books, Thoughts on Daniel and Thoughts on Revelation. He spent his spare moments preaching to empty chairs in the big parlor at the Godsmark home. He practiced how he would hold his Bible in one hand, pace the platform as he spoke, point to the charts, and expound on the seemingly complicated Bible prophecies, causing the pieces to come together clearly. The sermons would ring with stirring appeals that would surely affect reform in the heart of the people he so desperately wanted to help prepare for Jesus’ soon coming. He so wanted to be used by God!
Finally the Sabbath came when George was to have his first trial sermon. He hung up his prophetic charts and arranged a makeshift pulpit. In anticipation, friends, neighbors, and church members crowded into the parlor of the Godsmark home. They sat quietly as George King began to speak. . . .
It was a total disaster!
At the close of the meeting, Mrs. Godsmark spoke up. She did agree with George that he had been called to do the work of the Lord, and she tactfully suggested that perhaps he should try a less conventional way of preaching—become a fireside preacher—going from house to house, opening the Bible to the people, and selling and distributing SDA tracts and booklets from house to house.
The Godsmark family agreed to finance his initial supply of literature and support him in this new work.
George was encouraged! He had thought before that in order to work for God he needed to be a preacher, but with this suggestion, he understood that we are often called to different kinds of preaching. God needs workers in all the different avenues of outreach.
So he headed out!
The first week he sold only 62 cents worth of tracts, but he loved the work! Realizing that in this world nothing comes for free, he understood that by selling his literature, not only was he enabled to purchase more to continue his work, but people would be more likely to read and appreciate the material. Soon he became a successful salesman of tracts and subscriptions to Good Health & Signs of the Times.
But the man that wanted to preach was not satisfied with selling only a health book! He wanted the entire three angels’ messages to go to the people. In the fall of 1880, he began to lobby with the church leaders. He suggested that Uriah Smith’s two books, Thoughts on Daniel and Thoughts on Revelation, be combined into one book. He was sure that if they gave it detailed illustrations of the beasts and symbols it spoke of, it would sell! Colporteur that he was, he finally convinced the publishing house managers to bind up a limited number to see what he could do.
After selling 50 copies door to door, when the new edition of the book arrived, George rushed off to the Battle Creek Broom Factory where he was temporarily employed. He wanted to show his fellow employees to whom he had been excitedly ranting about this new project for some time! In 4 days he took orders for 25 copies!
This was just the beginning. Soon others were selling this book as well! George was not content to work from door to door himself. He proved not only to be an excellent salesman, but a recruiter as well!
Soon students were canvassing to pay for their education. Colporteurs were swarming in with increasing numbers. By 1886, 400 canvassers were reported in the field.
Over the next 25 years, until his death in 1906, George King sold thousands of dollars worth of denominational literature, beside what was sold by the many that had come into the work through his efforts, and reached many souls in the United States of America and Canada—souls who would never otherwise have been reached.
Thus began the modern work of literature evangelism by a man who was stumbling in speech and unable to fulfill his original dream of becoming a preacher. Instead, he became the first modern colporteur, the first to sell a copy of Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, and a man to begin a work that has reached thousands of souls until this time.
Is the message burning in your bones like it was in George’s? Do you have this desire eating at you that you don’t know where to place yourself? You may find that your calling is something different, and yet remarkably just as important, as the one of which you had dreamed. The Colporteur Ministry, pages 7, 8 says, “If there is one work more important than another, it is that of getting our publications before the public, thus leading them to search the Scriptures. . . . By the canvassing work the truth is presented to thousands who otherwise would never hear it.”
“The angels of heaven are waiting for human instrumentalities to enter the places where witness has not yet been borne to present truth.” —Evangelism, p. 60.
“God will soon do great things for us if we lie humble and believing at His feet. . . . More than one thousand will soon be converted in one day, most of whom will trace their first convictions to the reading of our publications.”—The Review and Herald, November 10, 1885. Do you want to be part of this?
When God calls, as He called George King, you have no clue what may be the results of answering that call. The Desire of Ages, pages 250, 251 says, “There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God.” The only safe answer to give is the same that Isaiah, Moses (a man who couldn’t preach also), Abraham, Joseph, Ellen White, George King, and other individuals—normal people like you and me, people with a burden for the cause of God—gave: “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8). Will that be your answer?