THINK ABOUT IT 1-30-25
The Soul Winning Work of John Vassar
I have often spoken about being encouraged as a young preacher by reading about people who had been greatly used of God. One of those men was Uncle John Vassar. Here is a short account of his dedication to God’s work as told by Billy Sunday:
John Vassar was one of the greatest personal workers of the nineteenth century. He never preached a sermon but that he did personal work. He was a wonder. One time he was going to help a preacher in a town. This preacher met Vassar at the Depot. Walking down to the hotel they went past a blacksmith shop. He said to Vassar, “There’s a blacksmith in there. He’s got a great drag with his crowd but he never comes to church. If we could only win him, then he would win scores in his class.” Vassar asked, “Have you talked to him?” “Oh, we are afraid. He will cuss any preacher who comes near him.” He said, “Wait a minute until I take my turn.” Vassar went in. The man was shoeing a mule—that isn’t a good time to talk religion to a man, take it from me! But Vassar had good sense and waited until the fellow was through and had disarmed his prejudice. In fifteen minutes he had him on his knees weeping like a child.
He went up to the hotel where he was to be entertained. He registered, then strolled around, looking for somebody to speak to. He went into a little reception room and there sat a finely dressed lady. He walked up to her and said, “Lady, are you a Christian?” She said, “Yes, I am.” “I beg your pardon,” he said, “I didn’t mean that kind. I mean, have you been born again?”
“Oh,” she said, “we’ve gotten over that here in Boston.” “Well,” he said, “lady, you’ve gotten over Jesus Christ in Boston, too. You’ve gotten over God.” He talked with her until her prejudice was disarmed and tears trickled down her cheeks; then he said, “May I pray for you?” She said, “I wish you would. God knows I need it, although I’m a member of the church.”
He prayed. She wept and he slipped out. Her husband came in and noticed that her eyes were red. He said, “Has anybody insulted you?” She said, “The queerest little man was here a little while ago and he talked so nice to me about Jesus.” He said, “If I had been here I would have told him to go along and mind his business.” She said, “I wish you had been here. You would have thought he was minding his business. His business was a mission for his King, to bring people to Jesus Christ.”
Vassar distributed tracts in the army. He worked with the American Bible Society. When the chaplain died, they wanted Vassar to take the place of the chaplain. He wasn’t ordained and the government law does not allow anybody to be a chaplain who hasn’t been ordained. He came up to Poughkeepsie and they were examining him. One fellow with cinders all over his back, said, “Mr. Vassar, your duty now is to distribute tracts. Your salary is three hundred dollars a year, and you wish to be ordained?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Does that mean an increase of salary?”
“Yes, sir, fifteen hundred dollars a year.”
Then he said, “The increase of salary has allured you and brought you here for us to ordain.”
Vassar said, “Stop where you are! I don’t want it; I won’t take it if you give it to me,” and he wouldn’t. He went back to distributing tracts for three hundred dollars a year, to do something for Jesus Christ. He was a wonder. God did marvelous things through him.
THINK ABOUT IT!
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
Humble, TX. 77346
