ONE OF THE YOUNG women who was signally led of the Lord to the Homes was Kathryn Roth. Faithfully she had shared in the performance of the various secular duties necessary for their operation—cooking, cleaning, canning, and general housework. An unusually timid person, Kathryn had not engaged in the various opportunities afforded for spiritual service, but had become content to serve the Lord in secular ways.
In this respect, however, Kathryn was not alone, but others in the Homes, more bold by nature, had also slipped into such an attitude. To do so was very easy, in view of the fact that these young people were constantly in the presence of so many older, more capable, and experienced ministers, resident and visiting. Against such attitudes Mrs. R. was militantly opposed, and periodically the Lord used her to wage a real warfare against them. Her teaching regarding this issue is well expressed in the following letter written to Kathryn (August 21, 1917) while she was at home in Milwaukee for a brief visit:
“Those now living in the Homes ought to be fulfilling their experience more for service. The Lord has called the people to perceive that they themselves weaken their own experience and hold back their blessing and that of others by not being as eager and thorough and faithful in their spiritual service toward others, and between themselves and God, as nearly all think should be done in their secular duties.
“All Christians that advance in their experience to a certain point must begin to use the blessings already acquired, giving out to others in such ways as witnessing and in simple spiritual services, or they will begin to lag back and lose ground.
“The Lord suggested I write this and ask you, if you return, to see that you are not now a beginner in this work, but have had, one might say, the apprenticeship of your first stay in the Homes. Therefore, in coming, realize you are to be a blessing as well as to get a blessing, and let Him have His way in you. Do not see yourself so small, or so little useful in spiritual matters, that God removes your responsibilities and just lets the ministry stand for the spiritual burdens of the work, you feeling you fill your place by the housework. Let your heart accept His call.
“One gets to a stagnation place, unless one takes the advantages of the preparation already begun, and works in the spiritual lines as faithfully almost as in the other, knowing that all your work is for Jesus, but that the fact you are in secular work ought not to rob you of the other privileges of service, so that you neglect your own development and also let the people you are with lose the service appointed you.
“Not that the Lord calls for ministerial work yet. Rather to do in spiritual lines what you can do now. Do we need testimonies? Do we need people who are faithful or interested? Do you need attendance at Bible class, etc.? Being as faithful and responsible for these and like services, as you are for the housework, is what is needed by one in your present state of grace.
“Certain ones, when first in this work, get large lights and feel they are greatly blessed. After this they seem to lapse a little. The real cause of this is usually not the loss of the blessing received, but the failure to use it to others at the time it is full, and God is leading out to service. The check one puts upon the Spirit by disobedience to this call sets the person back spiritually.
“Now that is a fault in this work at this time. The laity permits the ministers to call them and induce them. They therefore lose leadings of the Spirit and do not do their spiritual work as volunteers for Him, but are just moved as someone else shows them, and that makes them get weak in grace.
“Will you not be one who says, ‘I am now more advanced than I was at first, and there are many places I can help in spiritual things;’ and not be one that, because you are not yet appointed to preach or teach, feel yourself unable to take up the experiences of service you could fulfill on.
“The Lord cannot make a minister of one who begins at the top of the ladder and preaches first, and we all have to begin at the bottom and acquire experience, doing the first simple work such as voluntary testimony and simple spiritual service without fear or backwardness.
“The call to the ministry is not only for the inward, given life; it is also for service for souls. You can find many little places of such sweet service in this work if you have a more clear view of the real need this work has of you in spiritual things....
“We have had special meetings lately to make this call to this work, and also to take up another difficulty, which the Lord says is the other weak spot of the work. That is, the work falls into a habit of letting those in wisdom and in charge of meetings give too much guidance or instruction, the people carelessly letting themselves be reminded of what, if they did not have this help, they could find out and remember for themselves. The meetings stirred up the people in faith and interest, and we have had a very blessed time.
“I trust you will realize none of the above is written because the Lord has any fault to find with you. No, indeed, very much the other way. Your advancement has been very good. But you are now where the Lord can make the call to you, as to the others who are really in earnest. As you can see a field at your home and feel you may be really needed in it, it stirs you up for spiritual service. That is the way you should be if you decide to return here, lest doing so should weaken you, by taking you away from your service. If you take this letter as from the Lord, then your return will strengthen you to do what you are equipped for, as your faith will say, ‘If God really calls me out in this line, I am able.’...
“I tried to write this just as your letter came, and suppose you wonder at my delay, but I didn’t get it off, so the Lord had me finish these thoughts, so you might have the chance to have faith along with the rest of the people, that you are called to make the coming months better than the last ones even if the last were very good.”
When Kathryn returned to the Homes, she earnestly endeavored to fulfill in her “spiritual service” and thereby received a preparation for her ministry on the foreign field. At this time, however, no one had the faintest idea of the call of God in her soul, for she had told no one, and no one would ever have dreamed of the life of intense activity and public service that this retiring handmaiden of the Lord would perform in His whitened harvest field in the days to come.
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Martha Wing Robinson (1874 - 1936)
Martha held meetings which touched people to return to the work of the service of God. The Robinsons opened a "Faith Home" where people would come for teaching and prayer. Like George Muller they depended on God to provide what was needed for expenses. Thousands came through her home and healings were a regular occurrence. Her husband died in April of 1916, but Martha continued in her ministry. She had a very sharp gift of discernment and regularly told people the secrets of their hearts. She often had directive prophetic words for those under her care. Many young people came to the home for training and went into the mission fields and evangelistic endeavours.Martha Wing Robinson died June 26, 1936. Shortly before she died she stated her life's message "Nothing matters but Christ Jesus." Her whole life was spent in the service of God and for the Glory of His Son Jesus. She had seen many healed, saved, delivered, empowered and sent out. She was truly a mother in Israel. In 1962 Gordon P. Gardiner wrote a book about her life called "Radiant Glory" because that is how she lived her life.