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Charles E. Cowman

Charles Elmer Cowman (1868 - 1924). American missionary and co-founder of the Oriental Missionary Society (now One Mission Society), born in Toulon, Illinois. Raised Methodist, he worked as a telegraph operator from age 15, rising to a high-paying role in Chicago by 19. Converted in 1894 after hearing A.B. Simpson at Moody Church, he married childhood friend Lettie Burd in 1889. In 1901, they moved to Japan, co-founding the society with Juji Nakada and Ernest Kilbourne, establishing Bible training institutes in Tokyo by 1903. Cowman led the Great Village Campaign (1913-1918), distributing Gospels to 10 million Japanese homes across 161,000 square miles. Known for holiness preaching and organizational zeal, he authored no books but inspired Streams in the Desert by Lettie. They had no children. Health issues forced his return to Los Angeles in 1917, where he continued guiding the mission. His work sparked revivals and trained thousands of native evangelists.
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Charles E. Cowman preaches on the comforting truth that God, as our heavenly Father, knows and understands all things, even when we are faced with challenges and questions that seem unfair or difficult to comprehend. Through the story of a little girl's profound response to a tough question, he emphasizes the importance of trusting in God's sovereignty and believing that He works all things for our good. Cowman encourages the congregation to have unwavering faith in God as their Father, knowing that He sees what we cannot see and that there is a divine purpose behind every trial we face.
The Father's Hand
"Your heavenly Father knoweth" (Matt. 6:32). A visitor at a school for the deaf and dumb was writing questions on the blackboard for the children. By and by he wrote this sentence: "Why has God made me to hear and speak, and made you deaf and dumb?" The awful sentence fell upon the little ones like a fierce blow in the face. They sat palsied before that dreadful "Why?" And then a little girl arose. Her lip was trembling. Her eyes were swimming with tears. Straight to the board she walked, and, picking up the crayon, wrote with firm hand these precious words: "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight!" What a reply! It reaches up and lays hold of an eternal truth upon which the maturest believer as well as the youngest child of God may alike securely rest--the truth that God is your Father. Do you mean that? Do you really and fully believe that? When you do, then your dove of faith will no longer wander in weary unrest, but will settle down forever in its eternal resting place of peace. "Your Father!" I can still believe that a day comes for all of us, however far off it may be, when we shall understand; when these tragedies, that now blacken and darken the very air of heaven for us, will sink into their places in a scheme so august, so magnificent, so joyful, that we shall laugh for wonder and delight. --Arthur Christopher Bacon No chance hath brought this ill to me; 'Tis God's own hand, so let it be, He seeth what I cannot see. There is a need-be for each pain, And He one day will make it plain That earthly loss is heavenly gain. Like as a piece of tapestry Viewed from the back appears to be Naught but threads tangled hopelessly; But in the front a picture f air Rewards the worker for his care, Proving his skill and patience rare. Thou art the Workman, I the frame. Lord, for the glory of Thy Name, Perfect Thine image on the same. --Selected
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Charles Elmer Cowman (1868 - 1924). American missionary and co-founder of the Oriental Missionary Society (now One Mission Society), born in Toulon, Illinois. Raised Methodist, he worked as a telegraph operator from age 15, rising to a high-paying role in Chicago by 19. Converted in 1894 after hearing A.B. Simpson at Moody Church, he married childhood friend Lettie Burd in 1889. In 1901, they moved to Japan, co-founding the society with Juji Nakada and Ernest Kilbourne, establishing Bible training institutes in Tokyo by 1903. Cowman led the Great Village Campaign (1913-1918), distributing Gospels to 10 million Japanese homes across 161,000 square miles. Known for holiness preaching and organizational zeal, he authored no books but inspired Streams in the Desert by Lettie. They had no children. Health issues forced his return to Los Angeles in 1917, where he continued guiding the mission. His work sparked revivals and trained thousands of native evangelists.