George King wanted to preach! He felt he had been called of God to do that work. But whenever he got in front of a group of people, he stuttered and stammered and forgot what he was going to say.Young Otho Godsmark listened to George King, who felt he had been called to preach, as he practiced in the Godsmark barn. Otho attended George’s first public attempt to preach right in the Godsmark living room, with all the neighbors in attendance. Poor George! Before he began, his notes fell off the desk and got all mixed up. The chart he tried to unfold tore! It was a catastrophe. George King would never make a preacher.
Mrs Godsmark, Otho’s mother, said he should be a fireside preacher, going from door to door, giving out tracts and talking to the people quietly in their homes about the coming of the Lord.
After his first week going from door to door he came back to the church where the Godsmarks attended, and George was so excited that he took the whole Sabbath School and church service time to tell the people what the Lord had accomplished for him. You’ll want to read the story right to the very end, as seen through the eyes of young Otho Godsmark. King had a vision. Many people could go from door to door. And so began the work of spreading the story of Jesus by people who have become known as literature evangelists.
It all started about 100 years ago, and today thousands upon thousands of men, women, boys, and girls throughout the world are spreading the gospel by taking truth-filled books and magazines from door to door.