A few months ago I had the privilege of traveling through the mountains of northern Italy near the Swiss border where, during the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, many Waldenses were martyred for their faith. We stopped at a place called Torre PeBice, about thirty miles from Turin, where in the heart of the mountains is a large cave. It has a very narrow entrance and at one part only one person at a time can crawl through into the cave. This place was used by the Waldenses as a church. They believed God had provided this refuge for His persecuted people. Sometimes hundreds of these people would hide in this cave from intolerant, authoritarian religious persecutors. It is said that the enemy sometimes burned leaves and straw in front of the small entrance to the cave in order to fill the place with smoke and so force the people out, and in this way many were martyred.
There in that sacred old cave, G. Cupertino, ministerial secretary of the Southern European Division, and the writer offered a prayer of thanksgiving for freedom to worship as our conscience dictates, and again gave ourselves in complete surrender to the Lord and His work. We pleaded for inner spiritual strength to be immovable in faith whatever hardships, perplexities, and persecutions might come to us. Yes, we asked to be as faithful to our commitments as ministers of the gospel as were the Waldenses.
In a little town nearby we visited the Waldensian museum. There were exhibited the dresses, the Bibles, and even the arms with which they defended their faith. The Waldenses had a great protector in the English general John Charles Beckwith. A statement that he made to them at one time is painted on the wall of one of the rooms in the museum. It is an eternal truth and says:
VOI SARETTE MISSIONARI O NON SARETTE NULLA (Ye are missionaries or ye shall be nothing.)
How true this is! As long as the Waldenses were missionary-minded they were strong in their Christian beliefs. But now, sad to say, the spirit of the Waldensians is dying out in the churches in that historic part of Italy. It is said that only about ten per cent of the members still profess their faith openly. The church services are very poorly attended, and the popular authoritarian church is encircling the area and building churches in that part of the country that was once predominantly Waldensian. Why? Because the descendants of the original Waldenses lost their missionary zeal. Their forefathers would rather die than deny the faith of their Lord. But their descendants, in this present time of liberty and prosperity, are indifferent to the legacy of their ancestors. What a contrast!
As I pondered the sad spiritual condition of the twentieth-century Waldenses, and their religious indifference in now allowing their former persecutors subtly to entrench their own faith among them, it made me wonder and question as to what had become of their former zeal. Then I thought of the Advent Movement. Allowing for the weaknesses of humanity, we still humbly believe that the "faith which was once delivered unto the saints" has been kept pure and undefiled up to the present generation. The gospel is now preached on a greater and more far-reaching scale than ever before. How wonderfully encouraged I felt as I remembered also the prophetic promises of the book of Revelation that the Advent Movement is going to triumph on the sea of glass, and that there will be a missionary-minded and soul-winning movement to the end of time.
As workers for God we must constantly watch that this precious trust of giving the gospel to the world is not absorbed by the spirit of just settling down to administer the churches and institutions God has given to us. In the necessary multiple activities of the church we must always remember that the basic reason for the very existence of the church is to preach the message for these times in all the world.
Our Commission
We have the unerring commission in Mark 16:15 that says: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." This means a widespread, global dissemination of the gospel through the means of public and personal witnessing. It is so thrilling and reassuring to observe that the leadership of our whole denominational program is evangelistic-minded. We would hesitate to say that because of the apathy of the modern public toward religion in general, and because people have turned their absorbing interest into channels of pleasure, evangelistic work is now passé. That is an utterance of the great adversary of truth.
Recently, lay members in different countries have approached me and said that in view of disturbing times in this atomic age the church ought to be more evangelistic-minded than it is; that our ministers, by precept and example, should dedicate more of their time to public and personal soul winning and thus warn the multitudes in cities, towns, and villages of their impending doom. As I listened to these faithful and fervent lay members I sensed that there was a deep desire in their hearts that the church would be more fervent in sounding the "loud cry." They want the ministry to enroll, train, and lead the lay members by their practical and untiring example in soul-winning campaigns. They long to see more large and small public efforts held. They want to witness more house-to-house work and see more Spirit-filled literature being sold and given away. The servant of the Lord spoke to that point in the following message:
Evangelistic work, opening the Scriptures to others, warning men and women of what is coming upon the world, is to occupy more and still more of the time of God's servants.—Evangelism, p. 17.
There is scarcely a tithe of the compassion that there should be for souls unsaved. There are so many to be warned, and yet how few sympathize with God sufficiently to be anything or nothing if only they can see souls won to Christ!—Ibid., p. 628.
Yes, winning souls for Christ is the very life and strength of the church. It is the element of survival, and it will result in the victory shout on the sea of glass.
Evangelism in These Modern Times
Up to half a century ago many people were religious, or at least were interested in religion. But after the tragedies of two world wars we find ouselves in a different world. In many countries millions of people hold membership in Christian churches, but are very apathetic to true religious practices. It is stated that in many lands only about 10 per cent of the church members go to church. However, in some countries today we find that the church membership is increasing. What is the reason for this? In many cases, mainly for expediency. It is recognized that to be in good social and political standing one has to be a member of a church.
This means that evangelism must adapt itself to the mind of the modern man. When intrOducing the message in our public meetings we can no longer use the methods we were using when people were still interested in, and practicing, religion. We are living in a time when multitudes are indifferent to religion, and millions of others scorn the churches because they think they cannot harmonize science and the Bible.
Conditions for Present-Day Successful Evangelism
A converted man or woman cannot refrain from testifying to others of his Saviour. In order to be efficient in soul winning, a minister must first experience the joy of salvation in his own life, and then the desire to testify for Christ will be an automatic reaction. A preacher aglow with the joy of his intimate relationship with his Saviour will bring more people to a decision than the best methods and the most adequate equipment. Pastors and leaders ought to pray, preach, and work with the aim of bringing church members also to this glorious experience of oneness with Christ. When this is achieved there will be no need to urge them to witness among their neighbors and to invite their friends to our evangelistic meetings. Ellen G. White says in Ministry of Healing, page 398:
The highest of all sciences is the science of soul saving. The greatest work to which human beings can aspire is the work of winning men from sin to holiness. For the accomplishment of this work, a broad foundation must be laid. A comprehensive education is needed.
Soul saving is just as much a science as are medicine, law, and engineering. It means that earnest thought must be given to the methods of winning modern men to the saving truth. We are also told that "The mind must be active to invent the best ways and means of reaching the people next us."—Evangelism, p. 443.
In general, the man of today is not particularly interested in evangelism as such. But as the result of his indifference toward God, he suffers from fear and anxiety. Therefore he will listen to someone who can help him solve his anxiety, insecurity, guilt complexes, et cetera. Here is some eloquent counsel on this point:
In order to lead souls to Jesus there must be a knowledge of human nature and a study of the human mind. Much careful thought and fervent prayer are required to know how to approach men and women upon the great subject of truth.—Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 67.
These considerations bring us to further counsel from the servant of the Lord:
Let us not forget that different methods are to be employed to save different ones.
You have a hard field to handle, but the gospel is the power of God. The classes of people you meet with decide for you the way in which the work should be handled.—Evangelism, p. 106.
Some of the methods used in this work will be different from the methods used in the work in the past; but let no one, because of this, block the way by criticism.—Ibid., p. 105.
In future articles we will consider the practical planning and development of an evangelistic crusade in this atomic age.
