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An Autobiography by Sam Doherty

2. A
WORTH
LIFE WORTH
LIVING
Dr SAM DOHERTY, BA, EdD
Published by
Child Evangelism Fellowship - Specialized Book Ministry
Assisting Children’s Evangelists Worldwide
P O Box 308, Lisburn, BT28 2YS, Northern Ireland, UK
© March 2010 All Rights Reserved

3. This book is available free of charge
It is my prayer that it will be a blessing to you.
Should you wish to make a donation to help the ongoing
work of the CEF Specialized Book Ministry that would be
much appreciated.
Donations can be sent by cheque payable to
“CEF Specialized Book Ministry” to
P.O. Box 308, Lisburn BT28 2YS
N Ireland, UK
Those living in USA can send to:
CEF SBM account #0762-000
CEF Inc. P.O. Box 348, Warrenton, MO 63383-0348
Or by internet: www.CEFBookMinistry.com/donations

4. Table of Contents
Introduction ………………………………….....………………..…………7
Chapter 1: Childhood Days…….………………….………………..…...9
Chapter 2: Teenage Years ……………………………………………...13
Chapter 3: Early Stirrings ………………………….………………...…16
Chapter 4: University, Love And Marriage ………………...……….18
Chapter 5: God Intervenes In Two Lives……………..…….…………20
Chapter 6: Teaching And Ministry in School……………..………....25
Chapter 7: God’s Call To Reach Children………………………...……30
Chapter 8: The Early Exciting Days Of CEF In Ireland……...….. 34
Chapter 9: The Growth Of CEF In Ireland………….…………….…44
Chapter 10: Two Critical And Life Changing Years………………..54
Chapter 11: The Big Step………………..………………………….……61
Chapter 12: Another Big Step……………………………………..……64
Chapter 13: Links Across The Atlantic………………………..…….…72
Chapter 14: When Irish Eyes Are Smiling…………………..…….….74

5. Chapter 15: Humour In Ireland ……..………………………………..…80
Chapter 16: First Steps In Europe……………………………..…….…83
Chapter 17: The Big Move………………..……….……………………..90
Chapter 18: Early Travels……………………….………….………...…93
Chapter 19: The Church Room In The Mountains……………..…95
Chapter 20: Twenty Six Busy Missionaries……………….………106
Chapter 21: Humour in Kilchzimmer………………………………113
Chapter 22: Building European CEF………………….…………….. 116
Chapter 23: The Reasons For Growth……………….…………..…121
Chapter 24: Behind The Iron Curtain……………………….……...130
Chapter 25: Pioneering in Poland…………………………………..…139
Chapter 26: Adventures (And Some Humour) In The East…149
Chapter 27: European Outreach……………….………………………162
Chapter 28: In Journeyings Often……………….……………………..166
Chapter 29: A Chapter is Closed………………….………………...…170
Chapter 30: A New Chapter……………………….………….…...…..177
Chapter 31: The Ministry Grows………………….………………..…186

6. Chapter 32: Some Reflections …………………….……………….…199
Chapter 33: My Credo ………………………………..…....…....………203
Chapter 34: God’s Solution To Our Problems……………………..208
Chapter 35: God Answers Prayer ….………………….…...…….……213
Chapter 36: Influences In My life…………………….………………. 216
Chapter 37: Helpers to Me and My Ministry…………………........223
Chapter 38: My New Hobby…………….…………………… ……… 230
Chapter 39: Laugh With Me…………….………………………..……240
Chapter 40: My Favourite Message……………………………...……247
Chapter 41: And Finally ……………………………..…………………255
Appendix ………………………………………….........………….…………267
Centre Pages – Photo Album

7. I dedicate this book to
my four grandchildren
Matthew, Sarah, Daniel and Beth

8. INTRODUCTION
Until 1993 I was involved in a teaching and preaching ministry for 43
years with Child Evangelism Fellowship (14 years in my native Ireland
and 29 in Europe). Then God led me to write and publish training
manuals and visualized doctrinal lessons for children’s workers to
help them teach Biblical truths to children. During the 17 years since
then these materials have been distributed free of charge or at very
low cost in over 50 languages to thousands of children’s workers
around the world.
Recently several people asked me to write an account of God’s
dealings in my life and after praying about it I felt it was the right
thing to do. I have written this book for three reasons:
Firstly, as a testimony to God’s Grace in my life and ministry. I can
say with the hymn writer …
“Saved by grace alone
This is all my plea
Jesus died for all mankind
And Jesus died for me”
I don’t know why God saved me and called me into His service,
because I had no interest in Him and no Gospel background. But
in due time He spoke to me and I responded to His voice. That was
the beginning of a life worth living.
Secondly, to fill in gaps concerning my life and my ministry with
CEF which were not covered in my other books which had few
details of my personal life and ministry.
Thirdly, this book is for my grandchildren – Matthew, Sarah,
Daniel and Beth, who are very special to me. They have played a
vital and important part in my life and I would like them to be
able to read in detail about my life and ministry. I dedicate this
book to them with the prayer that, as I have, so they too will
always experience the Grace of God in their lives.
7

9. I would like to underline four facts concerning this book:
I never kept diaries, so much of what I write is from memory or
based on excerpts from prayer letters. I trust that my memory has
been reasonably clear and correct!
If you have read my other books, especially “Fifty Years and Still
Learning”(which looks at my ministry from a different viewpoint),
you will find several items there which are repeated in this book.
I have written this book from my heart, recording what God has
done in my life and work. It is more of a diary than a continuous
narrative. I thank you for reading it and I trust God will make it a
blessing to you.
I have felt very hesitant about writing so much about myself and
”my ministry”. But I suppose that this cannot be avoided in an
autobiography! I want, however, to emphasize and make it
absolutely clear that my over-riding purpose and goal in writing
this book is to glorify God and what HE HAS DONE. This is a story
of how a very extraordinary and very powerful God can work in
the life and ministry of a very ordinary and very weak human
being.
TO HIM BE ALL THE GLORY!
Lastly I would like to thank several members of the Specialized Book
Ministry staff who have been of great help in the writing and
publication of this book. Isobel Metcalfe my secretary for many years
did the original typing of the manuscript. Irene Campbell worked on
editing and making corrections. Many suggestions were made by
Kenneth Martin and Terry Flannigan. Terry also did all the final
preparation for printing. My thanks and appreciation goes to all of
them.
8

10. Chapter 1:
CHILDHOOD DAYS
I was born in 1927. Those were pre-war years and it was a
wonderful time to grow up. Unlike many children today, who are
stressed and pressurized, I had a very happy, contented childhood.
My Memories
I remember the gas-lit streets on the Lisburn Road in Belfast
and the lamplighter who lived several doors from us. He went
out each evening with his long pole to turn on the gas-lights on
top of tall green lamp posts. His pole was like a magic wand as
he put it through each aperture and turned on the gas supply.
This ignited the mantle which dispelled the darkness in the
street below. The girls would tie ropes onto these lamp-posts
and swing around them. The boys used them as goal posts for
their football matches played with a tennis ball!
I remember the farmer with the horse and cart who traversed
our streets selling milk. We brought out our container and he
filled it from a large churn on the back of the cart. Nobody had
ever heard of pasteurization!
I remember the bread-man who sold bread from his horse and
cart and the fish monger who sold herrings every Friday. There
were no supermarkets in those days and refrigerators were
unknown in working class houses. Our mothers had to visit the
shops every morning to buy daily food.
I remember the shop in our street. Every street had a “corner
shop” where we could buy almost anything – humbugs,
gobstoppers, rhubarb rock, Highland toffee, raspberry ruffles,
liquorice pipes and boot laces, macaroon bars, double sixes and
lucky bags. The 21st century child knows nothing of these
confectionary delights!
I remember the fun we had as boys. We played on the street for
hours and hours, only coming home to eat and sleep. Under
compulsion we did our homework! There was no television or
computer games, but we did have a radio. Every evening at 6.45
9

11. Dick Barton had exciting adventures, and once a week we would
listen to a variety programme like Hi Gang or Hancock’s Half
Hour.
We played endless games in the street. These were really rough
- like ‘Dunty Bar the Door’, where we tried to stop each other
hopping on one leg from one side of the street to the other side.
We played imaginary adventures as cowboys and indians or
foreign legionnaires. We enjoyed quiet, but exciting,
competitive games like “cheezers”, where each one had a
chestnut with which we tried to smash someone else’s chestnut.
We played “blowsy”, where we blew cigarette cards onto
window sills to win more cigarette cards. (The cards were
enclosed in packs of cigarettes). But our favourite game was
marbles. We played in all kinds of weather until it became dark;
then the loud voices of our mothers called us home for bed.
I remember the books I read. Every week I bought boy’s
magazines – the Hotspur, the Wizard, the Rover - and read them
from cover to cover. Once a week I walked 2 miles to the
nearest public library and borrowed several books - all the “Just
William” and “Biggles” books. Later in mid-teens I “graduated”
to Charles Dickens, W.M. Thackeray and Thomas Carlyle’s
“French Revolution”. I was fascinated by books and they created
in me a love for reading which was to play a big part in my life.
I remember Saturday mornings. These were the highlight of the
week when I and hundreds of other children went to the
Majestic Cinema for the morning matinee. For 2 hours we were
transported into the world of Flash Gordon, Cowboys & Indians
and the French Foreign Legion. We cheered the “good ones”,
booed the “bad ones”, then shouted and whistled when there
was anything resembling a love scene. There were many serial
films which ended each week at an exciting moment, so it was
difficult to wait until the next week to find out what happened
next!
My Home
I was born and grew up in 38 Lisburn Avenue, a terrace house in a
working class street in Belfast, Northern Ireland. There were 60
houses in the street with small front gardens and larger ones in the
10

12. rear. One family owned a car and we regarded them with awe! I
had many friends, or chums as we called ourselves, and years later
some of them became Christians and co-workers in CEF. Joe
Kennedy who lived in our street has worked for years with CEF in
the Republic of Ireland. Violet Rainey lived opposite us and later
worked full-time with CEF in South Belfast.
There were four rooms in our house – 2 downstairs and 2 upstairs,
plus a little washroom at the back which was converted to a
bathroom. A small glass-roofed room was built onto the back and
used as a kitchen. We had an outside toilet. The downstairs rooms
were heated by coal fires and the house was lit up by gas lamps.
“The front room” downstairs was known as “the parlour”. It was
carpeted and had a beautiful chesterfield suite, but was only used
on Sundays for guests, or special occasions when the church
minister visited, or the insurance man came for his weekly
payment.
My Family
There were six in our family. My father was a sergeant in the police
force which patrolled the harbour area of Belfast. Like many men
from Northern Ireland, he served in the 1st World War, was
wounded in battle and spent the last 9 months as a prisoner of war.
He was a quiet, honest man who taught his children to be truthful.
One word of rebuke from my father was enough to correct us. He
loved his garden and was famous for his roses, dahlias and
chrysanthemums. He covered the chrysanthemums with plastic to
prevent them being blighted by the smoke from the steam trains
which daily passed the end of our street. On his day off work he
relaxed by cooking fish and chips for our evening meal, followed by
tasty currant squares.
My mother was the opposite of my father. She talked a lot, was
easily excited and not averse to giving us a smack if we needed it.
She was a great cook and made wonderful vegetable broth, Irish
stew, tasty potted herrings and tripe. Every Friday we had champ
for lunch (mashed potatoes with lots of scallions and big knobs of
butter). She was active in her church and in all kinds of social work.
Everybody knew her, and she knew everybody.
11

13. My father’s full name was Samuel Abernethy Doherty and my
mother’s name was Mary Ann Doherty. We would often joke about
their initials – SAD and MAD!
Ruth was the firstborn; I was next; then Audrey. When they grew
up both girls married men from Scotland - Tom and Ian. Johnston
was the youngest boy and eventually he and his wife Pat emigrated
to USA and became American citizens.
We had only 2 bedrooms, one of which was occupied by our
parents. It was fortunate that my father’s parents lived next door
because Ruth slept in their house and the rest of us slept in the
second bedroom.
Although we were not wealthy yet we were a happy, contented
family and had everything we needed. I owe a lot to my parents
and wish I had expressed my love and appreciation to them more
often when they were alive.
I loved to visit my grandmother next door. She made beautiful
potato bread and when spread with butter it was delicious. Every
Christmas she roasted a goose in front of the coal fire. It was
attached by a rope to the mantelpiece and rotated slowly for hours
over the flames with a pan below catching the juice. The smell was
wonderful!
My grandmother, Elizabeth Doherty, was a beautifully dressed,
quietly spoken lady with a loving personality. She was a devoted
Christian. I remember her softly singing the words of that beautiful
hymn “Shall we Gather at the River”, and I’m sure she often prayed
for me. I had a special relationship with her and we spent much
time together.
My grandfather, Johnston Gill Doherty, was a cobbler or shoe maker
by trade, and later a caretaker at an industrial complex. He was a
loyal Protestant and Orangeman who displayed a big Union Jack
flag outside his house during July when the Orangemen marched
yearly on the 12th day to demonstrate their loyalty to the British
Crown. Every evening at 10 pm, before going to bed, he would wind
up the clock on the sideboard and say “Six o’clock comes early in the
morning”
In the 1890’s my grandmother at the age of 18 sailed in a wooden
vessel to the USA. She was going to look after the children of a
doctor who was settling in America. My grandmother loved
12

14. America and being engaged to my grandfather in Ireland she wrote
a letter inviting him to join her so they could be married there and
settle down. My grandfather declined to go and asked my
grandmother to return to Ireland, which she did.
My other grandfather, John Napier - my mother’s father - came from
a family where all eight brothers worked as blacksmiths. My
grandfather worked as a blacksmith for the Windsor Bakery. In
those days bread was delivered by horse-drawn “bread vans”. His
job was to shoe all these horses. I loved to visit his smithy and
operate the bellows until the coal became ‘white hot’. It was
fascinating to a young boy.
My First School
At the age of five I entered Fane Street Primary school, about 1½
miles from home. There was no transport so I, with other children,
walked to school in all kinds of weather. I remember some of my
teachers - Dozy Graham and Da Daley. In those days the cane was
in frequent use!
Yes, childhood years were certainly happy years. We were without
a care in the world, but what was going to happen during my
teenage years – in school and elsewhere? Would those years be
equally happy?
Chapter 2:
TEENAGE YEARS
In September 1939 the United Kingdom declared war on Germany
– known as World War II. I was 12 years old. So most of my teen
years were spent during wartime.
A World at War
These wartime years were different from the preceding years -
There were no street lights and all the house windows had to be
blacked out because of the danger of air raids.
13

15. Food was scarce so we had ration books. We were only allowed
a certain amount of all the basic products each week.
Sweets were rationed, which was a serious problem for
teenagers like me.
However despite wartime restrictions these were also happy and
contented years.
My mother and we children were evacuated for the first months of
the war to the countryside and for a while I enjoyed being a country
boy. Later in the year we returned home and the fearful air raids
eventually came. Belfast was a major manufacturing city with a
large dockyard for ship building. There was also a large aircraft
factory and many industrial sites. The most serious air raid was on
Easter Tuesday night in 1942 when hundreds of German planes
unloaded their bombs on our city. It was a frightening experience.
We huddled together in a make-shift air-raid shelter as we listened
to the explosions. That night over 1000 people were killed in
Belfast, including a boy I knew in our school.
My father was on police duty at the harbor where the bombs were
falling and when dawn came he did not come home at his usual
time. Eventually he arrived back worn out and completely covered
with dust.
Grammar School
Primary school days were ending and a decision had to be made
about my next step. The educational system in those days was
different from today. Further education in grammar or high schools
was for wealthy families who paid for their children’s education.
Children from working class families like ours left primary school at
14 and got a job.
Belfast City Council awarded a very limited number of scholarships
to enable working class children who were successful in an
examination to attend a grammar school, free of charge, for 6 years.
I was the only child in our primary school to get such a scholarship
and entered the Royal Belfast Academical Institution (the best
grammar school at that time in Northern Ireland) in September
1940. I have great memories of those years at ‘Inst’ – as our school
was affectionately called.
14

16. One year was spent “in exile”. Because of the danger of air-raids,
part of the ‘Inst’ student body was evacuated during the War to the
town of Dungannon, 40 miles from Belfast. We were sent to a
boarding school and I shared a dormitory with 9 boys. It was quite
an experience!
The form in our school was divided into 6 classes labelled A, B, C, D,
E and F. The boys from working class families were segregated
throughout the six years which followed from the 5 classes of
children from wealthier families and labelled the “B class”. But,
despite our ranking, we were the best class in school work, in
examinations and on the sports field and I did well as a student
during those years.
Sport and Relaxation
I played Rugby football, the main sport at ‘Inst’ and in my 5th year
became a member of the 1st Fifteen – the No.1 team. I was
honoured to be on that team and it was one of the best teams ‘Inst’
ever had. I played in the N. Ireland School’s Cup Final before 15,000
people, when we won the Cup on St Patrick’s Day 1945. Fifty years
later all the survivors of that team got together to reminisce!
Only 3 of that team, including myself, remained to form the basis of
the next year’s team during my last year at ‘Inst’. I was the vice
captain and with new recruits and lack of experience, we were
regarded as having no chance in the Schools’ Cup that year. But we
won the Schools Cup again before another packed crowd in 1946.
I was also selected for the N. Ireland School’s team for their annual
match against the School’s team from the Republic of Ireland.
I always enjoyed listening to Dixieland jazz and even considered
learning to play the clarinet so that I could join or form a jazz band,
but this never materialized.
Ballroom dancing was one of my pastimes during my later teenage
years and I attended classes and passed examinations to get a
bronze medal. I even dated the secretary of the Principal of ‘Inst’
and went with her to a number of dances!
My time at “Inst” ended in June 1946 and at the age of 19 I had to
decide my next step.
15

17. Chapter 3:
EARLY STIRRINGS
Northern Ireland is an unusual country in many ways. People
around the world read about “The Troubles” - the fighting, murders,
explosions and many faces of terrorism during the 60s, 70s and 80s
which portrayed a sad picture of our land.
But there is another side to our country. Northern Ireland is one of
the most religious countries in the world with over half of the
population Protestant and less than half Roman Catholic. In both
communities many people attend church.
The Protestant community is sub-divided into several denomi-
nations, the two largest being the Church of Ireland (Episcopal
Church) and the Presbyterian Church. Smaller denominations
include Methodists, Baptists, Christian Brethren and Pentecostals.
But there is a deeper twofold division in the Protestant community.
On the one hand there are evangelicals who believe in salvation
through personal faith in Jesus Christ and it is a cause for
thankfulness that there are many of them in our little country.
On the other hand there are liberals who believe in good works,
church attendance, infant baptism and confirmation as a means of
salvation. They also believe that living a good life in accordance
with the Sermon on the Mount will make them Christians and give
them eternal life.
My Church
My family attended the Church of Ireland. My father did not go but
my mother was involved in all its activities. All 4 children were
“christened” as babies, and recognized as Christians, or “confirmed”
as teenagers. We went to church Sunday morning, Sunday school in
the afternoon, and sometimes church on Sunday evening. I spent
hours counting the pieces in the lovely stained glass windows!
I can’t remember hearing the Gospel preached in church or Sunday
school. The minister and teachers were lovely people but I never
heard that I needed to personally trust the Lord Jesus as my
Saviour. We were taught that if a person was ‘christened’ as a child,
16

18. confirmed as a teenager, attended church regularly and lived a good
life, he was a Christian.
An Early Experience
But I remember going to children’s meetings in an Evangelical
Presbyterian church near my home when I was young, where I
heard that I was a sinner, that Jesus Christ died for my sin and if I
trusted Him as my Saviour I would be saved. One night I waited
behind and told the speaker I wanted to be saved. He said I should
ask the Lord Jesus to come into my heart and life, and if I did so He
would save me. And I remember clearly doing exactly that. I was
ten years old and for weeks after believed I was a Christian. Later I
forgot about this commitment and returned to being “my old self”.
I often wondered if I was saved at that time or if it was just a
profession. I don’t know, I cannot be sure; however I do believe it
was possible that I was sincere and that I was saved, and that God
kept His hand upon me and when I was twenty-two He brought me
back to Himself and to assurance of salvation.
Windsor City Mission Hall
At the bottom of our street there was a City Mission hall and Mr.
Robert Anderson the man in charge of it was someone I avoided. He
was a faithful, hard working missionary who helped many people in
our area. When I was seventeen I was in hospital for several days
and one day Mr. Anderson came to see me. I was embarrassed
when he said he would pray for me and afterwards I was glad to see
him go.
But when I became a Christian several years later he wished me
well and invited me to the mission hall to give my testimony. I
consented and when I came to the hall one Sunday evening it was
full. Mr. Anderson had gone round the neighbourhood telling them I
would be speaking! This was certainly a new experience for me.
And later, when God called me into a ministry to children, Mr
Anderson invited me to take a children’s mission in his hall for 2
weeks. Over 200 children came every evening and a number of
them trusted Jesus Christ as their Saviour.
But that all came later. In the meantime, if anyone had asked me if I
was a Christian I would have said “I think so”. I had done all that my
17

19. church required of me. But I had no personal knowledge of Jesus
Christ, no assurance of sins forgiven and no clear belief in the truths
of the Bible. I am afraid that my teenage years were spent in
spiritual darkness – and I confess I was happy and content in that
darkness. Like many other teenagers I lived for the present, seeking
only to enjoy myself and to get what I could out of life.
But that was all soon to change.
Chapter 4:
UNIVERSITY, LOVE AND MARRIAGE
I was now almost nineteen years old and ready for the next stage of
my life.
University Days
In my final year at ‘Inst’ I decided to train to be a school teacher and
for this I needed a University degree. In those days universities
were restricted to students who could afford the fees and for me
the only means of entrance was by obtaining a scholarship. I was
fortunate in being awarded two scholarships! The first one was
through passing an examination, and the second one I received
because my father was an ex-serviceman who had served in the 1st
World War for four years. Those scholarships covered my
university fees for the next three years.
I studied Geography at Queen’s University, Belfast along with some
subsidiary subjects and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree
three years later. I still continued to play rugby. When I left ‘Inst’ I
played as No.8 back-row forward for Instonians (one of the best
rugby clubs in the country), at times against outstanding men like
the legendary Jack Kyle. But it was impossible to combine studying
and training for rugby so, reluctantly, I gave it up.
After graduating I obtained a teaching post in September 1949 at
Lurgan Technical College where I remained for four years.
18

20. Love at First Sight
One evening two friends and I were listening to Jazz records in my
home. My sister Audrey came into the room with a friend called
Sadie. Although we lived not far from each other we had never met..
We chatted and that was the beginning of a loving relationship that
resulting in marriage and a united life and love for years to come.
Sadie was almost 17 years old and worked in an office in Belfast. I
was almost 18 years old and in my last year at grammar school. It
was love at first sight and as a result we wanted to spend as much
time together as possible.
Each morning we met and traveled “downtown” together, then
separated to go to office or school. When I started university I had
so much work each evening that I studied next door in my
grandmother’s house because I had peace and quietness there. But
Sadie came and sat with my grandmother and myself most
evenings. I studied and they knitted and talked quietly. We did a lot
of hiking together in the mountains during our holidays, and
although I had little money we enjoyed every moment together.
Engagement and Marriage
Sadie was the best looking girl on the Lisburn Road and, strangely
enough, she thought I was the best looking fellow! As soon as my
studies finished at university in the early summer of 1949 we
became engaged, and I started my profession as a school teacher in
September at the Technical College, Lurgan, about 20 miles west of
Belfast. We immediately started to make plans for our marriage
which took place on March 24th 1950. Sadie was 21, I was 22 and
we were very happy.
Our first home was 6 Maureen Terrace, Bleary and about four miles
from the school where I was teaching. Our home was simple and we
traveled everywhere by bicycle. I cycled every morning to school
where I taught geography, plus economics and, believe it or not,
some religious instruction. I really enjoyed teaching and found my
new job a pleasure, although I had many lessons still to learn.
Sadie, like myself, attended the Church of Ireland but had never
heard a clear presentation of the Gospel, even though she attended
regularly all the services. I know that the lack of evangelism and
Gospel presentation was not true of every Church of Ireland church,
19

21. but it was in our case. Consequently, during the years which
preceded our marriage we had no interest in spiritual things.
But we need to retrace our steps to the latter part of 1949, just after
we were engaged to be married, when everything was going to
change. During those months something revolutionary was to
happen to both of us leading to a complete and exciting change to
our lives and future. But that is for our next chapter.
Chapter 5:
GOD INTERVENES IN TWO LIVES
Sadie had been working in an insurance office in Belfast since she
was 15 years old. During her later teens she did not enjoy good
health although she continued to work there. A girl called Ina
worked in the same office as Sadie and took a great interest in her.
Fred and Ina
Ina was a little older than Sadie. She was married and different
from the other girls in the office. She and her husband Fred lived in
a cottage outside Lisburn and sometimes invited Sadie to come and
visit her home. Ina realized Sadie was not well and invited her to
come and live with her and Fred in the countryside to see if that
would help her recover. By that time (1949) Sadie and I had become
engaged to be married, so later on they invited me to come and stay
with them also and I gratefully accepted their invitation. They had
only two bedrooms in their little house – so I slept in the living
room. I had already started my profession as a school teacher so I
travelled by bus from their home each day to Lurgan.
We knew that Fred and Ina Orr were completely different from any
people we had ever met before and we wondered with some
trepidation what was going to happen. It was the first time we had
really come into contact with people who said they were saved!
Saved from what? We didn’t know.
20

22. Fred and Ina had been Christians for years. Fred had been an
outstanding sportsman and was now in business with his father.
We discovered afterwards that their goal was to become
missionaries. And here we were in their home with no one else to
talk to or listen to except them!
My “Attacks”
Perhaps I should explain a little more about myself at this time. I
was now 22 years old, a university graduate, a school teacher and a
fairly regular church attendee. I was at that stage where I thought I
knew everything about everything! I thought I was an intellectual
and believed that, somehow, I was a Christian. I did not believe that
the Bible was completely true. That was what my minister had
taught me; and the chaplain at university had also told me that he
did not believe everything in the Bible was true. In addition I had
studied Geology at university as part of my degree and I believed
from what I had learned that it was not scientifically feasible for the
earth to have been created in six days or for everyone to be
descended from some “mythical people” such as Adam and Eve. I
was a firm believer in evolution. I was also arrogant and loved a
good argument.
So when I discovered that Fred believed the Bible was true, that he
believed the biblical story of creation and did not believe in
evolution, I rejoiced in the opportunity for a good argument. This
was my chance to “attack” him and straighten out this rather old
fashioned relic from a past age. And so I tried to start arguments
with Fred based upon my study of geology and evolution, and upon
the many mistakes and contradictions which I was sure were in the
Bible.
Fred’s Response
But Fred refused to argue. He just replied by opening his Bible and
pointing out Bible verses which, strangely enough, answered and
even refuted my argument. It was very frustrating. In his own quiet
but persuasive way he also explained the Gospel and what it meant
to be saved.
At the same time I was very impressed by the lives of Fred and Ina.
They certainly radiated happiness and joy, and did not give me any
21

23. impression of being “kill joys”. And I was also impressed by the
young people who came to visit them – especially on Saturdays.
Usually about four other young men appeared and the result was an
uproarious football match at the front of the house in which I
joined. I certainly saw in them that being a Christian did not take
away their joy – indeed it seemed to do the opposite.
Then Fred gave me a New Testament and suggested that I read it
for myself to find out what it was saying. So every morning as I
travelled to work and every evening as I returned to their house I
read this little book for myself. It was the first time I had ever read
it right through. I read it through twice and as I did so I became
more and more convinced that it was absolutely and completely
true and that what Fred had been telling us was also true.
The First Step
I remember sitting one evening on my own, thinking about the
Bible. I knew in my heart that no one, myself included, could
become a Christian if they didn’t believe the Bible to be true. In a
sense I wanted to believe it was true and yet my whole background
in church and at university told me it wasn’t. I could take you to the
very place where I was sitting at that moment because I remember
it so well. “Is the Bible true, or is it not?” I was asking myself. And
then something happened which I cannot explain, or I can only
explain it by describing it as some kind of intervention by God.
Suddenly into my head came the words, “It is the Word of God – so
it must be true.” I almost looked around to see where the words had
come from!
And that was the solution. I said to myself, “Of course, that’s it, I
don’t have to puzzle over it and try to work out the so called
mistakes and contradictions. The Bible is God’s Word and it is true.”
I had not yet become a Christian but the main problem which had
been holding me back from doing so had been taken away. From
that day until now, many years later, I have had no doubts about the
truth of the Bible as God’s Word. And, interestingly, when I later
went back to the mistakes and contradictions which I had believed
were there, I discovered that there were simple explanations for all
of them.
22

24. In the meantime Fred and Ina had been inviting us to attend church
with them, and we went along to Castlereagh Mission Hall (now
Castlereagh Baptist Church) in Belfast. We had never heard
preaching like this before. The pastor, Mr Murphy, explained the
Gospel simply and with passion; he spoke about our sin, and our
need for forgiveness, he spoke about Jesus Christ and how He had
died to take the punishment for our sin, and he spoke about how to
receive forgiveness and salvation by trusting Him personally as our
Saviour. This was all so new to us - especially when towards the end
of each Sunday evening service he encouraged and invited his
listeners to trust Jesus Christ. We were quite embarrassed – but
still, in our hearts, impressed. And we had come, more and more, to
believe that what we were hearing was true and that we needed to
do something about it. What we didn’t know was that the pastor
and the members of the church were praying specifically for the
two of us – that we would trust the Lord Jesus.
New Life
Their prayers were answered soon afterwards. Several days after
we had attended one of the services, Sadie and I were sitting
chatting in Fred’s home late one evening. We were on our own
because Fred and Ina had already retired for the night. It was
obvious that Sadie wanted to say something to me and she was
finding it difficult. At last she plucked up enough courage and she
told me that she had trusted Jesus Christ as her Saviour. Earlier
that week she and Ina had been talking together and, as a result of
their conversation, Sadie had expressed her desire to ask Jesus
Christ to be her Saviour and had trusted Him.
This was a real problem for me. I was now on my own. Three
against one! And then Sadie encouraged me to do the same. She
said, “Would you not like to trust Jesus Christ?” My response was
“Alright, I will. I have been thinking about it, but not tonight. I tell
you what I will do, we will go to church with Fred and Ina tomorrow
evening and when Mr Murphy asks those who want to trust Jesus
Christ to come to the front (as he did every Sunday evening) I will
go forward. That is a promise.”
But Sadie said, “No, Sam, don’t wait. If you really want to trust Jesus
Christ do so now. Don’t wait until tomorrow.”
23

25. I thought for a few moments and then I said, “Alright, I’ll do it.” And
I knelt down, just like a child, and asked the Lord Jesus to come into
my life and save me. And He did.
The two of us rushed up to Fred and Ina’s bedroom, knocked on the
door and went in to tell them the good news. They had both been
praying at that very moment that this would happen and they were
delighted. It was interesting that when we went to church the
following evening Mr Murphy for once did not ask those who
wanted to be saved to come forward! I was so glad that I had
trusted Jesus Christ when I did.
The Grace of God
God had intervened in our lives. He had called us onto Himself. He
had saved us and given us new and eternal life. As I look back to
that evening on November 30th 1949 I can only praise and thank
God for His grace. Why should He save me? I had had no time for
Him. I had even argued against Him and His salvation and had
ridiculed His Word. But I learned then, and I have since seen this so
much more clearly, that no one deserves salvation – and I certainly
didn’t. I was saved by the grace of God. Salvation is a gift of God’s
love and in His grace He speaks to sinners like me through His
Word and woos us, step by step, to Himself. If you are reading this
book and have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour I urge you
to do so. He died for you and took the punishment for your sin and
now, in grace, He is willing and ready to save you, forgive you and
give you new life. Don’t wait - trust Him now!
I can never thank Him and praise Him enough for that evening and
His intervention in my life.
I could hardly wait until Monday morning. I went to the school
where I taught and when it came time for my religious instruction
class I had something definite to share with my students. I told
them what had happened two nights previously and encouraged
them also to trust the Saviour. It was my first testimony – less than
two days after my conversion. That school was no longer just a
place where I worked - it was now a place of ministry.
And that was the beginning of a new life – A LIFE WORTH LIVING.
24

26. Chapter 6:
TEACHING AND MINISTERING IN SCHOOL
I always enjoyed my school teaching even though there were many
lessons I needed to learn. Telling is not teaching – I needed to learn
how to really teach, but in the course of time all I learned in the
classroom was to stand me in good stead in my future ministry.
But my classroom was now not just a place to teach geography but a
place where God had placed me so that I could be of spiritual help
to the many hundreds of young people who would pass through my
hands.
Teaching (and Evangelizing) in Lurgan Tech
In September 1949 I joined the staff at Lurgan Technical College
where I remained for the next 4 years. My main subject was
geography but I also taught some economics. I also had to teach
Religious Instruction, an obligatory subject for teachers and
students.
Some may think it is a real blessing that Religious Instruction (RI)
should be an essential part of our school system in Northern
Ireland. It would be if the teachers were Christians, but the
majority was not. I believe teaching RI often did more harm than
good because I knew teachers who were critical of spiritual things
and gave a completely wrong impression to the students.
I had only been teaching 2½ months when I became a Christian, so I
really enjoyed the RI classes because I could teach the Word of God
from my heart. I also believed in taking a clear stand before the
students and teachers. It was my conviction that I should not go to
the cinema, so when the students were required to see some film
related to their studies, I asked the Principal if I could refrain from
going and he said ‘yes’. Other students from Christian families who
did not want to go, were allowed to remain in school under my
supervision!
In the RI classes I stated my complete belief in the Bible and the
creation story, telling the students why I disagreed with the theory
of evolution. This led to many good-natured discussions with both
students and teachers who differed from me.
25

27. Soon after my conversion I started a Scripture Union meeting once
a week after school and a number of young people attended
regularly. Some weeks later a new teacher joined the staff and I saw
him reading the notice board about the Scripture Union meeting. I
introduced myself and, to my joy, discovered he was a Christian. I
invited him to help me in S.U. and he did so willingly. His name was
David McQuilken. From that moment we became the dearest of
friends and later co-workers in the work to which God would later
call us.
In March 1950 Sadie and I were married and set up home three
miles outside Lurgan. We invited David to come and live with us
until his marriage six months later.
Teaching (and Evangelizing) in Newtownards Tech
I enjoyed my teaching at Lurgan, but had an inner conviction that I
should move, though I still felt God wanted me to be a school
teacher. I replied to an advertisement for a teaching post in
Newtownards Technical College and was successful. Several
months later I began teaching there and remained for 11 years. We
could not find a house near the school, so I travelled daily by train
and bus to Newtownards.
The first day I took this long journey I wondered if I had made a
mistake and was out of God’s will! Then I did something I had never
done before, nor ever did since. I asked God for a specific sign!
While walking past the City Hall in Belfast I stopped and said, “Dear
God, I want to ask You if I have done the right thing or if I have
made a mistake. If I have done the right thing please give me a sign.
Here is the sign. The Scripture Union is meeting today in my old
school and David McQuilken is in charge. You know that for months
no one has been saved. If I have done the right thing in moving
please save someone today.”
When I arrived home that evening I went straight to David’s home
and casually asked him how the meeting had gone that day, then
waited anxiously for his answer. “Sam”, he said, “You’ll never
believe what happened, two of the students trusted Jesus Christ
today.” In my heart I thanked God for giving me the sign I asked for.
God is so gracious - He overlooked my impudence and graciously
26

28. gave me the assurance that I had made the right decision. But I
never again asked God for a sign!
On the train journey to Belfast I discovered there was a Bible class
in one of the compartments, where 9 men from different
denominations studied the Bible. I joined in, participating every
morning. As a young Christian I was spiritually hungry and greatly
enjoyed the teaching of these mature men.
There were times when someone would come into our
compartment who was not a member of the group. It was
interesting to see his face when we all produced our Bibles.
After one year of travelling God gave us a home close to my new
school and I settled into my job and ministry there. The eleven
years which followed were going to be very special because of the
many ministry opportunities I would have.
God’s Blessing in Newtownards Tech
I taught geography to all classes and also had the opportunity to
teach Religious Instruction for several hours each week. After
school on Friday afternoon I started a Scripture Union meeting
when 60-80 students attended, mostly boys between ages 13 & 17.
God blessed these meetings and a number trusted Jesus Christ. I
also began regular lunch time prayer meetings and Bible studies for
those students who were already Christians and these were also
well attended.
But still greater opportunities lay ahead. One day the principal
asked me to organize and lead R.I. for the whole school. Five other
Christian teachers and I arranged a Biblically based programme for
over 600 students. Later on he asked me if I would take the whole
school for 30 minutes of religious instruction each afternoon and
gave me freedom to teach what I wanted and how I wanted. What
an opportunity!
As a result a number of students trusted the Lord Jesus as their
Saviour and several have since gone into full-time Christian work:
David came to me after school one day and said he would like to
be a Christian. I had the great joy of leading him to the Lord.
Today he is the Rev. David McIlveen, minister of one of the
largest Free Presbyterian churches in Northern Ireland and one
of the leaders of that denomination.
27

29. Vincent came early one morning to see me before classes began
and I had the joy of leading him to the Saviour. Today Vincent
Price is the North American Director of the European Christian
Mission. He writes “Apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, no person
has impacted my life more than Sam Doherty. It was Sam who led
me to Christ as a 14-year old boy in a classroom in Northern
Ireland. He imparted to me his vision, burden and passion for
souls, and for that I will be eternally grateful. He introduced me
to the greatest blessing in the world – following Christ and
faithfully growing in Him.”
Nancy Gill trusted the Saviour in my classroom and she has
served the Lord for many years as a missionary in Indonesia.
And there were many others.
I also had the privilege to help a number of the students who were
already Christians to find their feet spiritually and a number of
these like John Keefe, David Coe and Malcolm Hill have been in full-
time Christian ministry for many years.
“Out of the blue” I received recently a letter from one of my
students who wrote as follows: “I have just recently retired. Now
that I have got off the merry-go-round of working, eating, sleeping,
planning, shopping etc. I have the chance to sit and think and
remember things in my childhood. One of my earliest memories was
of a big man who came to where we lived in the summer evenings and
set up a board and easel on the grass. Before long a group of children
gathered and he began to tell stories from the Bible illustrating them
with felt figures which he stuck on the board. Incidentally, when I
reached the age of twelve, I was transferred to the Ards Technical
College and “Big Sam” took us for geography. That was over 50 years
ago and I thought I would write this note to thank you for your help
and guidance when I was growing up. Better late than never.
Warmest regards, Raymond.”
These eleven years were blessed years and I was in many ways sad
when they drew to a close. But God had another step for us to take
and to do so I had to leave Newtownards Tech and the teaching
profession.
The day I left the school was very special. The whole school
assembled in the gymnasium for my farewell. I was given a special
gift and one last opportunity to give my testimony and deliver a
28

30. brief Gospel message. I praise God for those years and for all that
He did when I was there.
Humour in School
Teaching also had its lighter moments:
I was supervising an exam in Newtownards for one of the
English teachers. Sitting for 3 hours can be quite boring so I
decided to complete one of the exam papers myself. I wrote a
name at the top “Ivor Clue”, then answered all the questions
giving the wrong answers! I thought the teacher would see it as
a joke and enjoy my answers. The next day I was supervising
the same class when the door burst open and this teacher, who
was a rather flamboyant person, rushed in, marched to the front
of the classroom and said loudly, “Would Ivor Clue please stand
up.” Of course no-one moved. He repeated his demand several
times with no response. Then he stomped out.
After the exam I went to see him, put my arm around his
shoulder and said, “John I am Ivor Clue.” He looked at me for a
moment and then, to my relief, burst out laughing!
The principal in Lurgan had what we might call “a bee in the
bonnet”. He loved to set off the fire alarm from time to time.
When that happened all teachers and students where required
to leave the school and line up on the pavement of the street
outside. We teachers dreaded to hear it – because it upset our
teaching programme so much. One day the fire alarm went off
yet again and we dutifully lined up outside. Then the principal
walked alongside the pavement inspecting us. At that moment a
boy on a bicycle came down the hill and passed so close that the
principal fell onto the road spread-eagled out before the whole
school. That was the last time we had a fire alarm!
The 14 years I spent as a school teacher were very enjoyable and
very rewarding.
But throughout all those years I was also doing something else
which took up as much time as that which I was spending at school
teaching. I really had two “jobs”. The next chapter describes my
second “job” which would prove even more important and valuable
than my work as a school teacher.
29

31. Chapter 7:
GOD’S CALL TO REACH CHILDREN
In this chapter we jump back again to the year 1949, before I had
started my work as a school teacher and before we were married. I
was then 22 years old and Sadie 21.
During the 12 month period between the autumns of 1949 and
1950 five very special experiences occurred in my life.
Teaching, Conversion and Marriage
The first three experiences I have already dealt with in previous
chapters.
First I started my profession as a school teacher in September 1949
where I taught for over 14 years.
Secondly in late November Sadie and I both trusted the Lord Jesus
as our Saviour and began our new lives with Him.
Thirdly in March 1950 we were married and set up our first home
outside Lurgan where I began teaching.
A New Church Home and Baptism
Fourthly, we decided to leave the Church of Ireland denomination
because we could not sit under the teaching of a minister who did
not believe that the Bible was true. This was confirmed to us when
one Sunday morning the minister preached on the book of Genesis.
He said the Bible contained myths and legends and could not be
accepted as factually true. He spoke to me afterwards and asked
what I thought of his sermon. When I said I believed the Bible to be
completely true he patted me on the arm and replied, “Well, you’re
alright anyway” and walked away.
We looked for a church where the Bible was really believed and the
Gospel preached. For some months we worshipped with the
Christian Brethren in the Gospel Hall near our home. The preaching
was excellent but when it came to the Breaking of Bread we were
asked to sit in the back seats along with the children. Because we
were not Brethren we could not join in this service, nor were we
were allowed to give an offering. This made us feel uneasy and we
knew this was not the place for us.
30

32. We would have been happy joining Fred and Ina Orr’s church but it
was too far away. Eventually we found a good spiritual home in
Lurgan Baptist Church, where later we were baptized and received
into membership.
Our Call to Evangelize Children
The fifth experience during that year took place in Autumn 1950 – a
change which would impact our whole future.
Fred Orr, who with his wife Ina were our spiritual parents and
through whom we had come to the Saviour, had always told me:
“Sam, when God saves you, He has a work for you to do and you
need to ask Him what that work is.”
He even told me this before I trusted Jesus Christ.
And so one of the very first prayers I ever prayed as a Christian was
“Dear Lord, I love You and want to serve You, please show me what
I should do.”
In my mind I could see myself working with and evangelizing
athletes and especially sturdy rugby players like myself. But God
had other plans for me and over a period of time He answered my
prayer by showing me that my ministry should be to children. To
children? Me? Impossible! How could I possibly do that? But I was
to discover that this was God’s will for me.
God had begun immediately to guide me in a number of ways:
Someone in church would speak about the need of children.
In my newspaper I would read about the problems faced by
children.
In the Bible I kept reading verses about children.
More and more I became convinced that my future ministry should
focus on children and their needs. But I was just saved and had no
theological background or knowledge. I knew very little about the
Bible and had no training. What should I do?
Our Call to Child Evangelism Fellowship
By this time Fred and Ina were at Bible school in Scotland preparing
for their future as missionaries. So I decided to write to Fred telling
him I believed God wanted me to work with children and ask him
what I should do.
31

33. The day after Fred received my letter a man called Rev. Art Nickel
came to speak at their Bible College. He was from USA and he
worked with a Mission called Child Evangelism Fellowship. He
spoke to the students about children and their needs challenging
them to reach the children with the Gospel. At lunch he was sitting
beside Fred and when he heard that he came from Ireland he told
Fred that he had been praying that someone would start the work
of Child Evangelism Fellowship in Ireland. He invited Fred to be
that someone, but Fred declined and said that he and his wife were
going to Brazil as missionaries. Then Fred said, “I have just
received this letter yesterday from a young couple who have been
recently saved and who feel God is leading them to work with
children. Why don’t you contact them?” And he did.
Several weeks later he visited our home bringing his flannelgraph,
visuals and Bible. He set up his flannelgraph in our living room,
showed some visuals, spoke about Child Evangelism Fellowship and
how they reached children through Good News Clubs and open-air
meetings.
We listened intently and knew immediately that this was the
Mission and ministry in which God wanted us to work. When he
finished speaking he was surprised when we told him we were
ready to go; then we asked him what we should do. He told us to
start a Good News Club in our home and invite the local children to
come every week for a meeting – to sing, learn Bible verses and
hear a Bible story. He gave us a flannelboard and some lessons, and
then returned to Scotland.
Our First Good News Club
We started that Good News Club in our home in Calvertstown,
outside Lurgan. I probably knew less about the Bible than the
children who came, but I learned as I went along. I knew no
choruses, so each week I went to a girl we knew who taught me one
chorus, which I then taught to the children. In my preparation for
those meetings I learned more about the Bible and singing than I
learned anywhere else. That was my first “Bible school” and God
really blessed that Good News Club.
I just followed the outlines in the lesson book Art had given me.
When it said “Do this” I did it; and when it said, “Do that”, I did it.
32

34. Then the book said “Tell the children that if any of them would like
to be saved they should wait behind and you would show them
what to do.” The book said it and I did it. Then one evening after
the meeting I saw 5 children waiting to speak to me about how to
be saved. I looked at Sadie and she looked at me. I didn’t know what
to do next for I hadn’t got to that page of the book yet!
Our First “Converts”
I sat down with the children, and as best as I knew how, showed
them how to trust the Lord Jesus. Then all of them prayed and
asked the Lord Jesus to save them. It was the first time I had ever
led anyone to the Lord, and it was a very special experience for me.
Two of those children were 6 years old and two were 7. The other
one, Jackson England, was 10. About 10 years later I went back to
that area and found they were all going on with the Lord.
Sometime after that visit I read in my newspaper of a young man
who had been killed on his motorbike in collision with a car – his
name was Jackson England - the 10-year old I led to the Lord in that
first Good News Club. I visited Jackson’s parents and after talking
and praying with them Mr England said, “Sam, there is one thing we
can hold on to; Jackson trusted the Lord Jesus in your Good News
Club and went on trusting Him, so we know where he is to-day.
Thank you for starting that Good News Club.”
As I drove away I was sad because of Jackson’s death, but happy
because he was in Heaven, and he was there because of that first
Good News Club.
That was our first Good News Club in 1950 and the first one in
Ireland. It is still going today sixty years later.
That was just the beginning of a ministry to children which was
going to occupy us for the rest of our lives!
33

35. Chapter 8:
THE EARLY EXCITING DAYS OF CEF IN IRELAND
As I taught that first Good News Club I became more and more
excited about the ministry into which God had led me, and I wanted
to do what I could to reach more children.
More Good News Clubs
As I read CEF literature I saw that my goal should be to start as
many Good News Clubs as possible so I began to look for other
places in and around Lurgan where we could start more of these
clubs.
David McQuilken was very interested in what I was doing and I
asked him if he would teach a Good News Club. When he agreed we
found a hall 2 miles from where I lived, and every week the local
children came and we taught them the Word of God. A number of
these children trusted the Lord Jesus. Then David took over the
meeting and taught it himself.
Evelyn was one of the children who faithfully attended that GNC.
She listened intently but gave no indication that she had trusted the
Lord Jesus. One evening, as David and I were leaving the children to
their homes, we asked Evelyn if she had ever trusted the Lord Jesus.
She told us she would like to but her parents, while allowing her to
come to the meetings, told her she must not trust the Lord Jesus!
We said that while she ought to obey her parents she must, first of
all, obey God, and if she really wanted to trust the Saviour she
should do so. As we stood on that country road, under a full moon,
Evelyn prayed and asked the Lord Jesus to save her.
We advised her at this stage not to tell her parents but first show by
her life that she was a new person in Christ. She took our advice and
it was great to hear the outcome. One day her parents asked the
reason for the change in her life. Nervously she said she had trusted
the Lord Jesus and He had helped her to live for Him. As a result her
parents started to attend the local Baptist church and months later
they too trusted the Saviour!
I wanted to see more Good News Clubs established, so I cycled
around looking for suitable places. Very soon there were eight in
34

36. the Lurgan area. David and I taught most of them, then found others
who were willing to teach.
A New Home in Lurgan
In 1952 we moved house to a housing estate in Lurgan and started
two Good News Clubs in our new home – one for younger children
and one for older children. There were about 30 in each group. God
blessed both clubs in a special way and children were saved.
We transformed one of our bedrooms into a permanent GNC room
with forms for the children to sit on.
I visited the parents in the estate asking if they would allow their
children to come to our GNC. Most of them agreed. But in the house
right opposite ours there were three children whose father was
hostile to the Gospel. I nervously knocked on his door. He opened
it, glared at me and asked gruffly “Well?” I told him about our GNC
and gave him an invitation for the children. He glared at me,
crumpled up the invitation, threw it on the ground and stomped
back into the house without speaking.
“Well, that’s that”, I thought to myself. “At least I tried.”
Can you imagine my surprise when the GNC opened the following
week to see these three children listening eagerly to the gospel.
And they, along with around 60 other children, continued to come
every week.
One Friday afternoon, after the senior GNC was over in our house,
there was a knock at the door. I opened it and there stood the gruff
father of the three children. He barked at me, “My children have
been coming to your meeting; you know I don’t approve of it but I
allow them to come anyway: and now they’re talking about
becoming Christians, or something. They want to talk to you about
it and I’ve told them they can.” Then he stomped away.
The children came back into our home. I had the joy of leading
them to Jesus Christ, and it was a special joy some months later to
hear that their mother, Mrs. Hopwood, had trusted the Saviour and
was attending a local evangelical church. I don’t know what
happened in Mr. Hopwood’s heart, or if he ever trusted Christ
himself, but I was so thankful that God had used our GNC, and my
visits to the homes, to lead these children and their mother to
35

37. Christ. We knew of other children from that GNC who had a
spiritual influence on their parents.
One mother told me she had trusted the Saviour and I expressed my
joy. She said God spoke to her through the choruses her little five
year old daughter had learned in our GNC and which she sang over
and over again in their home.
What a JOY to see God at work – especially in situations which seem
difficult, or even impossible.
CEF Local Directors for North Armagh
I was thrilled with what was happening and I wrote to Rev. Nickel,
the man from America who was leader of CEF in the United
Kingdom. I gave him a full report of all the work. He responded and
said he was appointing me local director of CEF for North Armagh
incorporating Lurgan, Portadown and the surrounding areas!!!
But my eyes were also on Belfast, the capital city of Northern
Ireland, with a population then of half a million. My vision was to
see the work of CEF started and established there. So I organized a
public meeting in Belfast informing the Christian public about CEF. I
invited a well known pastor to be the speaker, advertised it in the
local press and about 70 people turned up.
We had a good meeting and at the end I asked if anyone had any
suggestions about what we could do to help them reach children.
One man stood up immediately and suggested we start a teacher
training class in Belfast to help children’s workers in their ministry.
I didn’t know how to respond. I thought it was a good idea but I had
no idea who could teach such a class. I certainly couldn’t - I had no
training myself and had never attended a training class of any kind,
although I knew that the training of teachers was, or should be, an
important part of the ministry of CEF.
Before I could say anything, a lady stood up and said that if we
would organize a training class she would be glad to teach it
because she had been trained to do so. We all wholeheartedly
agreed that this would be a good idea and a great step for us to take.
I was especially glad because I myself was a young Christian and
felt my need of training and was looking forward to receiving it at
these classes.
36

38. I organized the place and the dates. The classes would be held on
Monday evenings for ten weeks. But imagine my dismay when just
a week before the classes were to start I received a letter from the
lady who had volunteered to teach them informing me that her
Mission was sending her away to another area and another
ministry and she could not now teach the classes. She was very
sorry, but not as sorry as I was! What should I do? I could not cancel
or change the classes because they had already been advertised.
There was only one possible solution. I would have to teach the
classes myself!
My First Training Class
I spent many hours reading books written by children’s workers,
making reams of notes, then producing a series of outlines to follow
when I was teaching. I still have these outlines in my possession!
The first class commenced and over 30 people attended regularly
each week. I had learned my outlines by heart so I taught the best I
knew how and tried to look and sound as if I really knew what I was
talking about. But one thing I did not allow was questions after-
wards! The classes went well and God blessed in spite of me.
Everyone listened well including myself - I learned so much
listening to myself! The first training class I ever attended was one I
taught. Perhaps that is a record.
One couple who attended that first series of training classes were to
play a major part in the development of CEF in Ireland, and even
today the Specialized Book Ministry which I had the privilege of
founding, owes so much to the continued help, encouragement and
investment of that couple - Jim and Helen Cairns.
My First Open-air Meeting for Children
Most of what I learned about CEF in those days, and what I should
do, I found in the CEF magazine which I received every month. I had
no other contact with or help from CEF in USA. One day I read in the
magazine that CEF workers (and especially local directors of whom
I was now one) were expected to go out into the open-air work and
share the Gospel with boys and girls. For me that was a step too far.
How could I do this?
37

39. Then I received a letter from Mr. Nickel to tell me that CEF in Great
Britain were holding a conference in Wales and part of that
conference would be to do open-air work with children. I thought to
myself “That’s my opportunity, I’ll go to Wales and do my first
open-air meetings with children in an area where no one knows me
and none of my acquaintances can laugh at me.” I went to the
conference with this in mind but can you imagine what happened?
It rained solidly for the four days and there was no open-air work!
It was as if God was saying to me, “I want you to start your open-air
work right there in your own area where everyone knows you.” So
that is what happened.
I chose an open space near the center of Lurgan and ventured out one
afternoon with my flannel-board, plus a canvas sheet on which the
children could sit. I was really nervous – I did not know anyone who
had done this before. What if the Principal of my school walked past
when I was conducting the meeting! I spread the canvas sheet on the
ground, set up my flannelboard and invited all the children I could see
to come. Soon over 30 children were sitting down listening to me.
They sang choruses, learned Bible verses and listened to a Bible
lesson. My nervousness disappeared and I enjoyed the thrill of
evangelizing children in the open-air! This was to be repeated many
hundreds of times in the future.
My First Children’s Mission
My first venture into the open air was followed soon afterwards by
my first children’s mission. I was invited by the Salvation Army in
Lurgan to conduct a series of evangelistic meetings for children
every evening for one week. And God blessed those meetings in a
special way. Soon after that Mr. Anderson invited me to conduct a
children’s mission for two weeks in Windsor City Mission hall and
God really blessed there with around 200 children present each
evening. Other children’s missions were to follow.
In the years which followed I would lead and conduct many more
children’s missions in towns around our province – Ballymena,
Ballymoney, Newtownards, Lurgan and Belfast.
A most interesting mission was held in a large church in Belfast. The
minister was not an evangelical, but his assistant was, and it was he
who invited me to come for a week’s mission. There were many
38

40. children in their locality and a team of workers invited them to
come and hundreds came. They were led to the church in a series of
processions. Quite a number of these children trusted the Lord
Jesus.
One evening a man came to the mission and sat in the back seat. He
was the leader of the Sunday School Association for one of the large
denominations in Northern Ireland to which this church belonged.
Previously this man and I had been invited by one of the churches of
that denomination to share in a public discussion on the evangelism
of children, and he had criticized me openly for the work I was
doing. In that discussion he said “I do not know anyone in our
country who is doing more harm to our children than this man” –
and he pointed to me! And here he was in one of my evangelistic
meetings with children!
My lesson that evening was based on the Passover story with the
main theme “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” I prayed for
God’s help to be faithful to His Word and the Gospel and, despite the
presence of this man, God really helped me. After the meeting a
number of children waited behind to be counseled for salvation –
but the man had already left.
In the next edition of the denominational magazine he wrote a very
critical article against me and my evangelistic work with children!
Actually, the assistant minister of that church, and I became close
friends and he said he would like to do open-air work with children.
Later I took him with me to a large housing estate in Ballyclare and
asked him to stand in the center of the housing estate and play his
melodeon (a musical instrument). Since this was his first time he
was embarrassed. I rounded up the children, he led them in the
singing and then I spoke to them. After that he participated in many
children’s open-air meetings.
My First 5-Day Club
Soon after that I read in the CEF magazine about 5-Day clubs. These
were open-air meetings conducted for one week on a daily basis. So
I took my flannelboard and easel over to a housing estate in a
neighbouring town, found a patch of grass, spread out my canvas
sheet and invited the children to come and listen. Every morning
during that holiday week 30 to 40 children came and listened
39

41. attentively. I presented the Gospel as clearly and as forcefully as I
could and told the children that if any of them would like to be
saved and wanted to talk to me about it I would be glad to help
them after the meeting was over. But nothing happened! And by
the end of the week I was a tired and disappointed children’s
evangelist.
Years later I was back in that same town speaking at the Sunday-
school anniversary services in a local church. One of the leaders
invited me to his home for dinner. He lived in the housing estate
where I had conducted that first 5-Day club over ten years
previously, but I didn’t say anything about it. During lunch he told
me about a young lady in the estate who had just died at the age of
18. She had suffered from leukemia for many years. I asked if she
was a Christian and he said “Yes, she was a fine Christian.” Then he
told me the interesting story of how a number of years ago
someone came to this estate every morning for five days and
conducted meetings for the children. “This little girl was sick and
couldn’t attend the meetings but she asked her mother to open the
window so she could hear what the man was saying and during the
week, as she lay in her bed she trusted the Lord Jesus as her
Saviour. Since that day she grew in the Lord and in her faith.”
“Isn’t that a wonderful story?” he asked.
“You have no idea how wonderful it is”, I replied, “I was that man
and I was so disappointed that nothing had happened that week!”
My First Holiday Bible School
My next challenge was when I read about Daily Vacation Bible
Schools or Holiday Bible Schools which were conducted in USA. I
had never heard about such schools in Ireland. They had, I believe,
never been introduced into our land. But it seemed a good and
exciting way to reach children – by bringing them together each
morning during their summer holidays for two and a half hours for
two weeks. So I decided to have our first DVBS in the dock and port
area of Belfast our capital city – at that time the toughest and most
difficult part of the city. We had a staff of 12 volunteer workers,
mostly school teachers.
Around 125 children came each morning, a number of them from
difficult backgrounds and broken homes. On the first morning I saw
40

42. two boys entering the hall where the DVBS was held. My heart
dropped because I knew they would cause problems – and they did
every morning. They were about 11 years old with short hair
(except for one long tuft at the front), and wore big boots. We would
call them "punks" today. Each morning they fought each other, and
others, and caused more trouble than the rest of the children
together. One morning as they fought I had to separate them– with
one boy under one arm and the second under my other arm, with
four feet and heavy boots flying furiously behind.
They tried to provoke the teachers in every way possible.
“See us”, they would say boastfully, “We go to the pictures (the
cinema) five nights every week”. Two mornings before the end of
the two weeks they came to me laughing loudly and making fun.
“We want to be saved”, they said, “Ha, ha, ha.”
I felt this was another way to provoke us, but I spoke with them
seriously about what salvation meant, told them that I felt they
were not serious and were not ready to trust Christ until they
understood this. I prayed with them and encouraged them to come
back and talk with me if they were really sincere.
The next morning they came back – really quiet and serious - and
told me they did want to be saved. I had the joy of leading both of
them to Christ. They came back to the DVBS each summer in the
years that followed and showed every evidence of spiritual growth.
Incidentally, several weeks after that first DVBS was over, when I
was visiting the homes of the children who had trusted the Lord, I
met those two boys. “Hello, Uncle Sam”, they cried. “See us? Do you
remember we told you that we went to the pictures five nights
every week? We are Christians now and we don’t do that anymore.
Now we just go one night each week!”
I praised the Lord for this simple, if naïve, desire to do something
which they felt would please God. It’s that desire to please God that
we want to see in the children who have trusted Christ – in what-
ever way they express it.
A Tribute
Soon after we started to work with CEF, and became local Directors
for North Armagh, I decided to do something rather unusual in an
attempt to find people who would teach Good News Clubs. I put an
41

43. advertisement in the local newspaper inviting Christians who
wanted to reach children with the Gospel to contact me! Naïve and
inexperienced as I was, I expected an avalanche of replies, but I only
received one. It was a short note, not very well written and with
spelling mistakes, but the writer said he would like to reach
children with the Gospel. I visited the writer, and if the style of his
letter was rather discouraging, he himself was, at first, even more
discouraging. He had a pronounced limp and did not speak too
clearly, but it was obvious that Jimmy Walker had a burden for
children and wanted with all his heart to evangelize them.
So I invited him to come with me and be my assistant at two of the
Good News Clubs. He came and little by little he took part in them.
He also started to go out on the streets of Lurgan with his Wordless
Book to evangelize the children.
Jimmy became a really fruitful children’s evangelist – despite his
“disabilities” and God used him to lead many boys and girls to Jesus
Christ. We have a saying in Ireland which describes him well – “His
heart was in the right place!”
For example, one day he came to one of our Good News Club with a
beautiful selection of flannelgraph backgrounds which he used in
his lesson. I was surprised because I knew he did not have much
money. And after persistent enquiry I learned that he had been
saving up for his annual holiday, but when he thought of the
children and their needs he decided to buy the flannelgraph
backgrounds instead.
Another example of this young man’s simplicity and devotion took
place sometime after he had taken over the teaching of my first
Good News club in Calvertstown. He travelled over three miles on
his bicycle each week to teach that club. One week he had influenza,
and was unable to teach, so he got out of bed, peddled his bicycle
three miles to the club, told the children he was ill and not able to
leave his bed and teach the club and then pedalled three miles back
home and returned to bed!
Jimmy is now with His Lord and has received his well deserved
“Well done, good and faithful servant.”
42

44. National Directors of Irish CEF
I was really excited by the doors that were opening and the children
who were being reached. Earlier, when all these exciting
developments were starting to bear fruit, I had written to Mr. Nickel
and told him of what was happening in my local area and also of
new opportunities and what was happening in other parts of the
country. He wrote back and appointed Sadie and myself as National
Directors of CEF for the whole of Ireland and this was to be our
ministry, as national directors of CEF work in Ireland, for the next
13 years.
But try to imagine the situation. I was 24 years old and a very young
Christian with no evangelical background. I had no Bible training,
knew comparatively little about the Bible, and had little experience
in working with children. I had no CEF training nor had I attended
any official training classes. Here we were, Sadie and I, now the
leaders of a mission for the whole of Ireland! But I knew this was
what God wanted me to do and I tried to do it as best I could. And
God blessed us both and our new ministry.
Family Update
Sadie and I lived for two years at 6 Maureen Terrace, Calvertstown,
Bleary, in one of six rented houses which were the first to be built
by Calvert Brothers. In the years that followed they became one of
the biggest building firms in the country. All the Calvert children
came to the Good News Club which we started in that house. I was
preaching recently in a church in Lurgan and one of the members
told me he was one of the Calvert children who had trusted the
Lord Jesus in the Good News Club in our home.
We moved into 17 Ardboe Drive, Lurgan in 1952 and lived there for
the next two and a half years. In August 1952 our son Stephen was
born. He is our only child, although we did lose our first child (a
boy) through a miscarriage the year before Stephen was born.
Stephen has been a great joy to us and we have always been a very
close knit family. One year after I began teaching in Newtownards
Technical College we moved to 70 Cumberland Road, Dundonald,
Belfast where we lived for 13 years.
This was a quite large semi-detached house and ideally situated. It
was close to Belfast and to the school where I taught. Later on
43

45. Stephen started at the local primary school and at the age of 12 he
commenced studies at my old grammar school – Royal Belfast
Academical Institute (R.B.A.I). But he moved with us to Switzerland
three years later and continued his education at the International
School in Geneva. When he finished his education there he returned
to Northern Ireland and graduated from Queens University with an
honours degree in history.
Later Stephen obtained got his Doctorate in history and started to
teach that subject at Victoria College, one of Northern Ireland’s best
grammar schools. He was appointed head of the history
department in that school and was very highly regarded and
esteemed both personally and as a teacher. But no one esteems him
higher than we his parents! We are very thankful for him and the
close ties we have always enjoyed together.
Chapter 9:
THE GROWTH OF CEF IN IRELAND
I was just over 24 years old. I had founded the work of CEF in
Ireland in 1950, had started 8 Good News clubs in my local North
Armagh area and been appointed Local Director. Then in 1951
Sadie and I were appointed National Directors of CEF for the whole
of Ireland! Everything had moved very quickly. This was to be our
ministry for the 13 years which followed.
Two Full-time Jobs
As National Director of Irish CEF my life was going to be
exceptionally busy for those next 13 years. And especially so, –
because I continued in my profession as a school teacher for three
reasons:
Firstly, I had a ministry in my school which was touching the
lives of many young people and I wanted to continue with that
ministry.
44

46. Secondly, the experience I was gaining all the time in my
teaching profession was a help to the teaching aspect of my CEF
work.
Thirdly my teaching salary paid all my CEF work expenses.
During those 13 years I was financially self-supporting (even
though it was extremely difficult at times to make ends meet). I
never took any money for CEF work or claimed for any
expenses involved. Any gifts I received were passed on to CEF.
I was really therefore doing two full time jobs. I was teaching 30-35
hours each week in school (plus the preparation time needed for
teaching and the travel time needed to and from school), then I was
spending at least another 35 hours in my CEF ministry. I taught
Good News Clubs and Training Classes. Sometimes I had 7, 8 or 9
meetings each week. There was really no time for much else and I
slept only a few hours each night.
At the same time I felt that the quality of my school teaching should
not suffer or deteriorate. So I endeavoured to prepare and teach as
well as I could, even though there were times when I even had to
walk while teaching, to keep myself alert and awake. At the back of
my classroom there was a wash-hand basin and as I walked past it I
would often put my wrists under the cold water tap to refresh me
and keep me alert and awake.
I could never have carried on such a ministry, nor could I have lived
such a busy life, if it had not been for the support of my wife Sadie.
God had called us both into the ministry and, while I travelled so
much and was engaged so much in CEF work, she looked after our
home as well as me. In many ways the sacrifice was greater for her
and I pay tribute to the major part she played in the ministry.
I would also like to pay tribute to our son Stephen. He is our only
child and was born three years after we were married. He has
given us much joy and pleasure ever since. We are a very happy and
united family. Both Sadie and Steve were willing to accept the
frequent absence of husband and father. But I tried to make up for
my absences and busyness when I was at home and we did enjoy
many good times together.
45

47. Thirteen Busy Years
The 13 years which followed my appointment as National Director
of Irish CEF were indeed very busy but blessed years, and the work
of CEF in Ireland really grew. Eventually it was to become the
biggest and strongest CEF in the world in proportion to the
population of the country.
Mr Nickel left the development of the work to us and seemed to
have complete trust in us and what we were doing. He only came
over twice from his Headquarters in Great Britain during the years
which followed. But I sent our reports to him. He started a
“competition” to see which part of the United Kingdom had the
fastest growing CEF work – England, Scotland, Wales or Northern
Ireland, and he awarded a special banner to the winning country.
But after Northern Ireland had won it four times in a row he
decided to stop the competition!
I continued to receive most of my help and guidance from the CEF
magazines which I received each month from CEF in USA, and
gleaned many of my ideas concerning the work from those
magazines. I had no other contact with, or help from, CEF in USA,
apart from the flannelgraph material which we received. Our
ministry became a truly indigenous one which would, throughout
the future, stand on its own feet. Looking back on those years, I
certainly appreciated the freedom we were given to develop the
work the way we wanted – although there were mistakes in plenty.
But God overruled the mistakes, blessed the work and gave us
steady and, even at times, spectacular growth.
I introduced the work of CEF to local churches and wrote to many
pastors telling them of our work, but there was little response in
those early days. But I, and others whom God was bringing into the
work, continued teaching GNC’s, children’s missions, and open-air
meetings. We also conducted a number of training classes and
conferences throughout the country.
Many Open-air Meetings
The idea of open-air meetings for children in built-up areas was
unknown in Ireland until this time. The Children’s Special Service
Mission (CSSM) had for many years held open-air meetings for
children at seaside locations, but meetings in the open-air for the
46

48. children in our cities, towns, villages and housing estates were
unknown.
We counted it a privilege to pioneer such meetings, and every
summer when I had my 2 months holiday from school teaching, I
was fully occupied with such meetings. I would choose 5 key
locations each summer, then go weekly to each one for those 8
weeks. The areas selected were some of the most populous and, in
some cases, the most difficult housing estates in the country. They
included Highfield and Mount Vernon in the city of Belfast, both
areas with much lawlessness and crime. In addition to Belfast I
conducted open-air meetings in different parts of Northern Ireland
- towns like Holywood, Newtownards, Moygashel, Dungannon and
Bangor.
All these meetings were well attended. In those days children had
fewer alternative attractions and enjoyed coming to our meetings.
The average attendance was between 100 and 120, but in the
Highfield Housing Estate we had over 300 children each week.
We had many adventures and wonderful experiences:
Highfield was the most difficult location. Tommy (my co-worker)
and I went there once each week throughout each summer. At first
no one knew us. We invited the children to come and hundreds
came. This was completely new for them. They had never attended
meetings like this. They didn’t understand that they were
supposed to be quiet and it was weeks before we could get a
reasonable amount of silence. When one of us was speaking the
other one patrolled and circled the outside of the group – ready to
sit with, or to remove, anyone who was causing trouble. But God
blessed these meetings and a number of children trusted Jesus
Christ as their Saviour.
A Baptist church was started in the area as the result of the
meetings and they developed a good Sunday school.
One of the girls who attended those meetings trusted Jesus
Christ as her Saviour and when she grew up she and her
husband became full-time workers with CEF for that whole
area.
The meetings in Holywood attracted over 150 children each week.
Most of the children listened well. However two boys were a real
problem and each week they did all they could to upset the
47

49. meeting (and me). I then hit on an interesting strategy. After one
of the meetings I called the 2 boys over to me and told them I
needed their help. I explained that there were children in the
meeting who were causing trouble (without of course naming
them!) and that I wanted to appoint them to be my assistants and
help me deal with anyone who was a problem.
“Would you help me?” I asked them.
“We would love to”, they replied, standing with their chests puffed
out and their shoulders back.
The next week they appeared, each with a big stick in his hand.
“We will make sure no one upsets you, Uncle Sam,” they shouted,
waving their sticks!
I thought it better to discreetly put their sticks to the one side.
“Boys you don’t need these,” I said.
And for the rest of the summer we had no problem.
The meetings in Bangor were well attended – over 100 children
each week. I went there every summer for several years to a large
housing estate called the White City. Then some of the local people
asked if they could start a Sunday School as a follow-up to the
open-air meetings and I agreed. That Sunday School later be-
came a Baptist church – one of the largest in Northern Ireland.
David McFarland attended my open-air meetings as a child every
week in Moygashel, near Dungannon. He had already trusted the
Lord Jesus as his Saviour and later became the full-time CEF
worker for that area. Later on he became a Baptist pastor.
I went to one housing estate in Dungannon to conduct open-airs
and had a most unusual experience. About 50 children assembled
ready for the meeting to begin. I started to teach some Gospel
songs and then out of the side of my eye I saw a number of adults
approaching the meeting. They said nothing but in 2 minutes they
took all the children away and I was alone. I didn’t know I was in
a Roman Catholic area, and they did not appreciate my presence!
Well, you cannot win them all!
One of the most exciting series of open-air meetings I had was in
the Ards Peninsula. I had no transport at the time, so once a week
a friend took me on the pillion of his motor cycle on a tour of that
area. One day each week we went to a series of towns – Grey-
abbey, Portavogie, Cloughey and Donaghadee, and had open-air
48

50. meetings for children. God really blessed those meetings. One of
the most regular attenders at one of the venues was a rather non-
descript dog. As soon as we arrived he came to where we were, lay
down, and then slept right through the meeting. One day another
dog arrived and objected to his presence, so the result was a noisy
fight and I had to separate the two of them!
As I was writing this book I received letters from two senior
citizens concerning those early open-air meetings. One wrote, “I
have often thought of you and give thanks for your coming into my life
over 50 years ago. You used to come to the “green” in front of my
house and taught Bible stories to those who would listen. I was glad
to listen and really enjoyed singing the choruses you led week by week.
I remember, in particular, that you had a tiny book and the pages had
different colours – black was our sin, red the blood Jesus shed for us on
the cross, white was how my heart would be if I received Jesus and
gold represented the streets in heaven. Boy did I ever want to walk
those streets of gold and be free from all my sin. So I followed what
you said ‘Come into my heart Lord Jesus, come in today, come in to
stay, come into my heart Lord Jesus.’ I have often told others about
you coming and how it changed my life. Again I want to thank you for
your commitment, for your enthusiasm, and the love you showed to all
us children, and I want you to know that if I was the only lost sheep
then I am no longer lost but safe in the arms of our Almighty God.
With love, Frances.”
Sharing the Vision
But, while I was personally very busy conducting open-air meetings
in the summer, and Good News Clubs and children’s missions in the
winter, I knew I could not do everything myself. So one of my first
goals was to “share the vision” and recruit others with the same
burden that I had to reach children. And it pleased God to call many
volunteer workers into the different ministries of CEF and as a
result the work continued to grow and expand.
Steps Taken to Bring Growth
There were a number of definite steps I took to establish the work
all over the country:
49

51. I felt we needed a national CEF office where we could display and
sell the CEF materials we received from USA. We started by
sharing one room with the Deaf Christian Fellowship, but it was
not an ideal situation. We then rented one little attic room and
used it for some time, but the roof leaked and we had to store the
materials in suitcases and only take them out when visitors came.
At last we found an office in downtown Belfast with two dry
rooms and this was our national office for a number of years.
Sadie started to work in the office each day and this was a great
step forward for the ministry.
Later we moved to larger and better premises in central Belfast
(Upper Church Lane and then Victoria Street).
I formed a national committee each of the members of which was
engaged directly in the work. I greatly appreciated their advice,
guidance and direction.
During the writing of this book I found our financial statement for
one of those early years, which showed the total income for that
year to be £73 (120 dollars) including sale of literature! The
expenditure was the same. I also saw a prayer letter written
several years later with a statement that we needed 20 pounds
(35 dollars) each week to run CEF of Ireland. We didn’t need any
more income than this at the beginning because our workers were
all volunteers and supported themselves completely!
Mr. Herbie Greer was our first secretary/treasurer and, despite
severe health problems, faithfully looked after all our
correspondence and accounts until he went to be with the Lord
several years later.
I divided Northern Ireland into eleven areas and formed a
committee in each area with a local director. All the directors
were voluntary workers. We all had jobs from which we financed
our ministry. This concept of key volunteer workers proved a great
help and blessing during those 13 years. They were following the
same principle and practice as I was –but not working as many
hours in the week as I was.
We were a laymen’s organisation - simple ordinary people with no
Bible school training or CEF Institute training. Indeed it was we
ourselves who trained and helped each other. But God really
50