Born: Butler, Indiana, October 14, 1869.
Died: Garden City, Kansas, January 23, 1937.

Mr. Scoville was born on a farm near Butler, Indiana. He spent his boyhood days helping his father on the farm and roaming through the woods and along the "crick" banks that combined to make the countryside around Butler a little strip of heaven "all to itself."

He entered Butler High School. Within a short time, however, he was forced to return to the farm, and this time, some real hard work, owing to financial reverses suffered by his father. Later he returned to high school, graduated and entered the Tri-State College at Angola, Indiana. He worked as a janitor of one of the buildings in order to pay his way through the institution. He completed the scientific course of this college, graduating in 1892, receiving the B.S. degree. Mr. Scoville entered Hiram College at Hiram, Ohio, in 1895 and took the "Clerical Ministerial Course," graduating in 1897 with an A.B. degree and again in 1898 with an A.M. degree.

After having spent several years in evangelistic work he went to Chicago and organized the Metropolitan church, beginning with 107 members. A few years later there were 600 members and a Sunday school of 500. He was identified with this church for five years. Then he decided to again enter the evangelistic work, starting with himself and a singer. Today his company numbers fourteen persons. He never has severed his connection with the Chicago church, however.

Mr. Scoville has made two foreign trips, one in 1900, and in 1912 he made a World Tour of Evangelism, taking his evangelistic company of six special workers. He held meetings in the Christian churches of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide, Australia, in 1912, with many converts. All the Churches of Christ in these cities united in the great central meeting.

Mr. Scoville has conducted campaigns in many of the largest cities of the country in the last eighteen years, including New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, Akron, Youngstown, Indianapolis, Evansville, South Bend, Logansport, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Springfield, Spokane, Tacoma, Portland, Pasadena, Long Beach, Little Rock, Dallas, Houston, Beaumont, Topeka, Wichita, Pueblo, Emporia, Hutchinson, Anderson, Jefferson City, Oklahoma City, Des Moines, Jacksonville, Florida, etc.

Mr. Scoville organized and carried with him the largest evangelistic company ever carried by an evangelist of the Christian church and he has had the largest ingathering that any evangelist has ever had in the Churches of Christ in America.

Uniqueness is not necessarily opposed to universality. Indeed no one can be even general in characteristics without he has first of all a distinct individuality. Paul was unique--was unlike both Jew and Gentile, and he could be either--was either when it was necessary.

The preaching of Mr. Scoville is certainly unique, but for this very reason it suits the crowd. The circle of his power may not include all the critics, but thousands come within its influence who would never be touched by a preaching which moves along the usual course. The stereotyped style of preaching is doubtless somewhat worn out with the masses and it requires a Scoville, or a Billy Sunday, to gain the attention of the passing throng. But these very people must be saved if the world is ever converted to Christ.

Whereas Mr. Scoville's preaching is fearless and he makes no effort to dodge anything in the Bible, yet I do not attempt to describe his preaching. No one can do this. He occupies a field by himself, and whether his methods are the best or not, it is probable that he could not successfully work on the old lines even if he were to try to do so. That he moves whole communities where others have failed is at least a proof that he has a place to fill. Let us then be thankful for these unique evangelists, as long as they do not require the rest of us to adopt their methods.

The Disciples have had much of their phenomenal growth by encouraging evangelistic fervor. Some of the latter day methods are different from those used by such men as Walter Scott, John T. Johnson, T. M. Allen, and others who might be named among the pioneer evangelists. But perhaps the time has come when we may change our methods somewhat if we do not thereby destroy our principles.