"Acres of Diamonds"
New believers often underestimate the influence they have in shaping the lives of those around them. We do not need to be a Billy Graham or a Dr. Dobson to impact lives, as God, more times then not, will use ordinary people to accomplish extra ordinary deeds.
In 1886, Russell Conwell, a former atheist turned minister, wanted to expand his small church with a new Sunday school building; however, the church lacked the necessary funds. One particular day, Conwell was handed a small paper bag, which he found to contain fifty-seven cents. He was told it was the life savings of a small girl who requested the money be given to his church to help fund the new school. The little girl's donation was her last wish before dying from a sudden illness.
Inspired by her gift of generosity, Conwell stood before his congregation and delivered the good news, he received the first donation for the new Sunday school, fifty-seven cents! He took the 57 cents, exchanged it for pennies and sold each separately to raise money for the building. From the sale, he received 250 dollars,and 54 of the 57 pennies were returned back to him. He then took the 250 dollars, exchanged it again for pennies and sold them individually. In the end, the church raised enough money to convert the house next door into a Sunday school.
It was not long afterwards that the small church began to grow at a stellar pace. Lines formed long before the church was open for service, and sometimes tickets were handed out weeks in advance for seating. Eventually, the congregation decided they needed to expand, however, money was tight and the church had a large mortgage.
Conwell went to see a nearby landowner who had property for sale. “How much do want for the land?” The man replied, thirty-thousand dollars. Conwell said, "he only had 54 cents, but his church believes someday, they will own the land." A few days later the landowner approached him and said he was willing to sell the land to the church. He would even discount the price by $5,000, and finance the loan at 5% with the 54 cents as the down payment. An agreement was made and the new church was built. Once again, the 54 cents was returned as a gift.
Even with the addition of the new facility, the church soon found itself needing to expand. In 1888, the church received a charter to open up a small college consisting of two buildings. By this time, Conwell began a speaking tour to raise enough money for the projects.
For years Conwell traveled the country speaking at public events. His favorite story was called “Acres of Diamonds.” Conwell first heard the story in 1870 while in the Middle East. His Arab guide told him how a young man named of Ali Hafed, sold his farm to search for diamonds to obtain great wealth. Hafed searched for years, but eventually ran out of money and eventually killed himself. Shortly after Hafed's death, diamonds were discovered on the very farm he sold. In fact, so many diamonds were discovered that Hafed's former farm was transformed into a diamond mine. The Golconda mines in South Central India turned out to be one of the largest producers of diamonds in the world.
The moral of this story is we spend our entire lives searching in all the wrong places. In reality, the very thing we are looking for may be right in front of us. Conwell repeated "Acres of Diamonds" over 6,000 times during his tours. In all, he raised over 8 million dollars for his church, Sunday school, and attached college.
Today, you may not recognize the name Russell Conwell, but most of us have heard of his legacy. Inspired by 57 cents and the last wishes of a dying child, Conwell laid the foundation for Temple University, along with its international campuses and extensions in Italy, Japan, Great Britain, China, Korea, Greece, and Israel.
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