Now let's looks at some more recent examples:

WILLIAM AND CATHERINE BOOTH

I am sure you have heard of William and Catherine Booth who were the founders of the Salvation Army. I have always been inspired by their work for God. Catherine Booth, although used of God to win thousands into the kingdom of God through her preaching, was first and foremost a mother. As a young person she stated, "I intend to make myself fit to be a mother and being that in every sense, I shall be ready for any destiny that God may put upon me." As she was dying, she cried these words, "Try to raise up mothers...mothers are the want of the world."

William and Catherine had eight children and they were faithful to train them for God. Every one of those eight children served God in a mighty way. We named one of our daughters, Evangeline Faith, after Evangeline Booth, one of their daughters, who was a great evangelist. Not only did they train their children, but also the intensity of their training continued into the following generations. They had 45 grandchildren and every one of them also served God with all their hearts, many on the mission field. Even their great-grandchildren continued as missionaries.

JONATHAN AND SARAH EDWARDS

Let's take a peek at the family of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards. You may remember Jonathan Edwards for his famous sermon, "Sinners in the hands of an angry God." Jonathan and Sarah had 11 children and were ardent in training their children for God. In 1900 A. Winship tracked down 1400 descendants of this family. By 1900 this godly marriage had produced...

13 college presidents

65 professors

100 lawyers and a dean of an outstanding law school

30 judges

60 doctors and a dean of a medical school

80 holders of public office including

3 United States Senators

3 Mayors of large cities

3 State governors

Vice President of the United States, and

Controller of the United States Treasury.

Members of the family wrote 135 books and edited 18 journals and periodicals.

They entered the ministry in platoons, and sent 100 missionaries overseas as well as stocking many mission boards with lay trustees. They directed banks, insurance companies, owned coalmines, iron plants and vast oil interests. Winship states, "There is scarcely any great American industry that has not had one of this family among its chief promoters."

Because of the responsibilities of Jonathan Edwards' ministry, Winship goes on to say, "Much of the capacity and talent, intensity and character of the Edwards family is due to Mrs. Sarah Edwards." The influence of one godly mother has continued down through the generations to affect the destiny of a nation! Oh how far reaching is the power of a godly mother!

In contrast to the Edwards family, 1200 of the Jukes family were tracked down. They originated with one immigrant who settled in upstate New York in 1720 and produced a tribe of "idleness, ignorance and vulgarity." Only 20 of the 1200 Jukes ever had any gainful employment and all the others were criminals or lived on state aid.