Lyman C. Pettit
[29] At the 1887 Conference there was a report that "A gracious revival influence has pervaded the district, and a majority of charges have gathered a precious harvest of souls".
[36][37] During his pastorate at Chestertown, there was a "most notable revival", where "about one hundred and fifty have been converted during the year, every part of the charge sharing in the gracious work.
Henry Wright as the pastor of the St. James' Methodist Episcopal Church,[42] located at the corner of McElwain Avenue and Walnut Street, Cohoes, New York.
According to a report published the next day in The New York Times: The congregation of St. James' Methodist Church waited until noon Sunday for the pastor, the young and eloquent Rev.
Lovemoney established the independent West Side Mission in a storeroom at 92 Woodlawn Avenue, Saratoga Springs with no financial backing.,[49] with Pettit becoming the superintendent.
[51] In January 1896 Pettit organized from this work the Mission Circle, with a membership of sixty who were "banded together for the conversion of sinners and the spread of scriptural holiness.
"[70] Hiram F. Reynolds, one of the founders of the APCA, was influential in convincing the delegates at the 4th annual meeting of the APCA in April 1899 to create a Committee on Education to "consider the matter of Pentecostal schools; to outline courses of study for training preachers, missionaries, and evangelists; and to deal with such other interests as might come before them.
"[71] At the same meeting, the APCA elected a standing committee on education with Pettit as chairman and Reynolds chosen to be the financial secretary.
[73] Pettit was chosen to be first president of the new Pentecostal Collegiate Institute and Bible Training School,[73] however he received no salary and relied on continuing to pastor the Grace church for his support.
[26] By the summer of 1900, Pettit had recruited a faculty and the APCA's official periodical, the Beulah Christian announced that the Pentecostal Collegiate Institute would begin operation in September 1900.
William H. Albrecht (born June 1856 in New York),[74] a former Methodist clergyman from the New York Conference, who had recently joined the APCA,[72] chosen to be principal, and five other teaching staff, and 51 students[75] For the first year, PCI was based in the rented Garden View House, a disused resort hotel.
[72] From its inception, there was a commitment to a balanced educational preparation for ministry, however "tremendous pressure was applied throughout the year to bring every student into a profession of saving and sanctifying grace.
[77] At the 6th annual meeting of the APCA held in April 1901, the standing Education Committee recommended that "a building be erected for the Pentecostal College at a cost not to exceed $20,000, provided that $10,000 in good subscriptions could be secured.
Charles H. BeVier (born 5 September 1858; died about 1905), then pastor of the John Wesley Pentecostal Church in Brooklyn, New York.
[85] At the 7th annual meeting of the APCA held in April 1902, Pettit reported that "the number of faculty members had increased to fourteen and the enrollment had nearly doubled.
[82] They also decided to sell the property of the school "as soon as sale could be effected advantageously",[86] and relocate to a new site at North Scituate, Rhode Island.
[87] According to official Nazarene historian Timothy L. Smith: Pettit's zeal outran the limits of financial wisdom, and his personal life fell far short of the heights which he proclaimed in his sermon oratory.
These facts did not become clear, however, until May 1902, when H. Brown visited Saratoga to investigate rumors of fanaticism and questionable moral conduct on the part of the leaders of the school.
When the APCA refused to accept responsibility for some of the Saratoga debts, Hoople resigned as superintendent of home missions.
[98] On Sunday 23 July 1911, the congregation voted to affiliate with the Disciples of Christ, becoming the Borough Park Christian Church, with Rev.
[101] Pettit and Minnie; his son, Lyman H. Pettit (and his wife, Clara Gertrude Hodge (born about 1891 in Pennsylvania), and their two children) who by 1917 was a salesman for the Remington Typewriter Company and a ministerial student at the Bloomfield Theological Seminary in Bloomfield, New Jersey; lived at 961 Greene Avenue, Brooklyn.
[102] On 20 February 1919 Pettit was installed as the pastor of the West Presbyterian Church[103] at the corner of Littleton Street[104] and Eleventh Avenue in Newark, New Jersey.
[105] Pettit and his wife, Minnie, lived nearby at 59 Littleton Avenue,[106] with their son, Lyman H. Pettit, who was a salesman for a rubber company, and his wife, Clara, and their children: Lincoln H. (born February 12, 1911, in New York), Virginia M. (born 1913 in New York); and Lucille A.
[109] Despite the largeness of the congregation, Pettit resigned in 1925 due to Minnie's health, and because her doctor recommended the clearer country air.
On 9 January 1927 Pettit was elected pastor of the People's Presbyterian Church at 42 Laurel Avenue, Bridgeport, Connecticut,[115] in controversial circumstances.
Clifford L. Le Duc (born about 1891), then pastor of the Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a candidate they perceived to be a modernist, winning with a vote of 73 to 48.
[120] In March 1931 Pettit conducted evangelistic services in nearby Clarence, New York in the northeast part of Erie County.
[121] On 13 August 1931 the Amherst Bee reported that Pettit had accepted the call to pastor the Calvary Presbyterian Church (founded 1878)[122] at 232 South Street, Lockport, New York.
