Staggering in its complexity and its proportions is the great city problem.
Yet our vast commission is very clear, and our Herculean task constitutes a beckoning challenge to intensive study and exchange of conviction and experience. Here are the frank expressions of seven experienced evangelists to begin with. Additional suggestions from the field would be welcomed for later discussions.
L. E. F.
Facing the Facts
By L.K. Dickson
No one can mingle with the business and professional men in our large cities without being profoundly stirred by the fact that we are doing little or nothing to reach the hearts of these fine people. I do not mean that this class of individuals do not enter into our plans for evangelistic work, but up to the present time our best efforts to penetrate the circumstances which surround their busy lives seem to fail of reaching the mark. As I visit these men personally, and find them so friendly and magnanimous, the greater the burden I feel to seek the Lord for wisdom to solve the mighty problem which we face in the finishing of the work in the great cities of the East. My mind has been greatly stirred over this question for a long time, and although I may not view the situation from every angle, I am glad to offer the following suggestions as conclusions which have thus far been reached through my study of the need:
1. First and foremost, our great lack is spirituality. We depend too much upon paraphernalia to draw and hold men, instead of depending upon the power of the Holy Spirit to accompany the preaching and melt and grip the hearts of men. Far too often, our method is to harangue instead of preach; to debate instead of persuade.
2. It is apparent that the environment and thought of the people in our cities today is of such an intense character as to cause our gentle gestures aimed to arouse them to the investigation of truth, to be unobserved or to have no meaning. The message of truth must be given due publicity. The masses cannot be reached by backstreet methods. They must come face to face with the truth for this hour on the great highways of their activity and thought. But in the midst of such surroundings, the eternal truth must be made to stand forth clear and Wain, clothed with a distinguishing dignity, which will attract and impress the mind.
3. There is need of more definite and more effective measures for reaching the masses through that most direct of all mediums, the daily newspaper. As I view the matter, we have not as yet touched the possibilities in this field. As one boards the subway or the " L " in any metropolis, and looks down through the cars with every occupant intensely scanning the printed columns of the daily news, he cannot but be impressed with the fact that the newspaper is occupying more attention today than any other one mode of communication. In connection with the necessary expense involved in large city efforts, it is a question in my mind whether or not the proper proportion of this expense is applied in the newspaper field. It requires tact and wisdom to gain access to the newspapers, and also to make the most effective use of the space secured.
4. In all the large cities, suitable memorials, in the form of church edifices, should be established. The masses need to be impressed by the established solidity of the message of truth which they hear, and this impression is lacking when the proper atmosphere does not surround our church homes. A casual study of the way in which the Lord established His people in days of old leads to the realization that there is nothing too good to accompany the giving of this great message.
5. A most potent factor in reaching the hearts of individuals in the cities, as everywhere else, is whole-hearted friendship, backed by prayerful interest. These, men and women whom we long to reach, will respond to the touch of a life sanctified and filled with the Spirit of Christ. Herein is our sad lack,— the, lack of Spirit-filled, consecrated men and women in the church, who have an intense burden ,for, souls. If all our lay members could be brought to realize the great throb of burdened hearts hidden behind the stern exterior of business and professional life, and would faithfully and wisely improve every opportunity to speak a word in season to the weary and distressed with whom they come in contact in the daily affairs of life, great would be the result. This is a vital need which should be kept before our laity continually. It must be presented in the demonstration and power of the Holy Spirit operating through the leadership, and the response must be in answer to the Spirit's call to the individual heart. When this flame of divine power is kindled throughout our church membership, there will daily be thousands of personal contacts as witness to the power of the living Christ and His message of love. This silent, widespread, personal seed sowing by a Spirit-filled laity, will prove a mighty undercurrent in the ever-rising tide of city evangelism.
In the conclusions specified, it is not in any way designed to overlook anything that we are now doing, or to in any degree belittle the successful plans that have so long been functioning in the building up of God's cause in the earth. My purpose is simply to point to the weak points in our attack of the problem of city evangelism as it faces us today. As God's people become filled to overflowing with His gracious and all-wise Spirit, the way of advance for rapid conquest will be made plain; and with all God's biddings there comes the enabling. Only let us be strong and of good courage, for if God be with us, we are well able to go up and possess the cities for the proclamation of truth.
New York, N. Y.
The Triple Aspect
By A.G. Wearner
The pastor of a city church deals with a threefold problem in his endeavor to promote aggressive evangelism,— first, to maintain a live spiritual growth in his own experience and in the individual experience of the members of his church; second, to study and apply successful methods for local expansion, such as suitable location for evangelistic effort, securing the proper help and co-operation, maintaining dignified, attractive features in the services, and development of the interest into well-established, permanent fruitage. And the third phase is the mission problem.
The city in which the pastor is located is the Jerusalem center in his experience. It is the tarrying point, at which all the believers are to unite with one accord in seeking for the enduement with power which will render them effective witnesses in their own homes, then in the neighborhood, and thence into the wider range of territory, embracing the " uttermost parts of the earth," both as personal witnesses and by furnishing the necessary means for sending others who are able to go to the mission fields. There are many theoretical answers to this problem of the city pastor, but my conviction and experience are that in finding the personal solution to the first phase of the problem,— the spiritual life,— the solution to the other phases will become readily apparent.
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Guiding Principles and Cautions
By Stemple White
Heralds of the cross in our cities must search out from the rocky fastnesses and dens of skyscrapers, apartment houses, and slum shacks the souls for whom Jesus died. While literature will ever play an important part in the gospel ultimatum, it still remains a fact that " it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believed." Hence the Master said, " Go ye into all the world, and preach." But let it ever be borne in mind that genuine preaching is the teaching of the word of God, rather than oratory, calisthenic gesticulation, or amusing theatrical performance.
In every city there are local conditions to be reckoned with. The place in which to conduct the meetings must first be considered, and whether it be church, hall, tabernacle, tent, auditorium, or cottage, the main thing is that the evangelist shall be equipped with the power from on high, and preach the word with boldness combined with the persuasion of that divine love which constrains. We must never " despise the day of small things " in temporal equipment, but never rest satisfied with " small things " in spiritual results. Advertersing is a .matter of great importance, but in this there must be due caution against plunging into heavy debt on the one hand, or adopting a penurious, stingy policy on the other. It is a demonstrated fact that the larger the attendance, the larger the offerings will be, and the aim should be to reap in offerings according as we sow in advertising.
A successful evangelist must have the confidence of the people, and in order to establish and maintain this confidence he must never advertise beyond his power to deliver. Great caution should be maintained at this point. Logical presentation of truth is vitally important, which involves the arrangement of subjects in a clear, connected form. The carpenter does not attempt to handle the roof of a building before the foundation is laid; and the workman for God must observe the same principle. In brief, I would state my conviction that faith in the divine assurance found in Isaiah 55:10, .11, coupled with prayer, work, and stickto-it-iveness, will bring success in city evangelism.
Dallas, Tex.
A Septet of Essentials
By H.S. Lindsay
1. Secure the best auditorium, or the best location for tent or tabernacle, that can be found. If figured in dollars and cents only, the cost of the very best auditorium is small compared with the final results; but the item of chief consideration is the larger range for the proclamation of the message and the increased number of souls who accept the truth.
2. Advertise through newspapers and circulars. The newspaper affords the widest publicity, but the printed circular makes an individual appeal which is highly important. Cover the territory with circulars a week before the opening of the meetings. Prepare the newspaper article in " Reader's Style " as a paid advertisement, and let it stand in the paper for two days preceding the opening of the campaign. Such an article should not only acquaint the people with the ifact that meetings are to be held, but present the subjects in such a manner as to create Interest which will lead to attendance.
3. Preach with solemn enthusiasm. Tame sermons delivered in a conversational tone, will not meet the needs of the dying world. In a forceful, solemn way, urge the people to accept the light which will mean their salvation, and warn them that to reject the light will surely mean their destruction.
4. Present the Sabbath truth early in the series. Usually Sunday night is the best night in the week for beginning a city effort. And I believe that, as a general rule, there is no better opening subject than that of the second coming of Christ. For the first week, the sermon each night may well relate to the second coming of Christ, and the great prophecies and signs of the imminence of that great event. This will lay a good foundation for everything to follow. I usually present the Sabbath question toward the close of the second week, which would be about the tenth sermon. I consider this a good plan, for the reason that many who manifest interest during the first part of a series of meetings, drop out of the attendance later on, and consequently will never hear the Sabbath presentation if that solemn and testing truth is not given until the close of a five or six weeks' campaign.
5. Each sermon a special appeal. However good the sermon may be, it will fail in its true purpose if it does not lead souls to see Christ as Saviour and Redeemer, and extend a personal appeal to accept Him as ruler and Lord of the life. Never fail to give opportunity for making definite decision in response to the message given.
6. Secure an attendance registry. Cards and pencils may be given to the people entering the auditorium each night, and during the opening exercises of the service the request be made that all who desire literature on the subject to be presented, write their name and address on the card and hand to the usher. The result will be that many names are duplicated from night to night, and many new names appear regularly, and thus a growing list of interested people develops. These cards should be carefully filed in order, all duplicates being eliminated, and personal visits by the Bible worker arranged for as soon as possible. It is a good plan to keep the people reading during the campaign by distributing Present Truth at the close of each service.
7. The list of reserve subjects. It is well to hold in reserve some attractive subjects to be presented after the Sabbath question has been presented, in case the attendance should decrease about that time. The following subjects have served to good purpose in re-establishing interest and bringing up the attendance: " Where are the dead — in heaven, hell, purgatory, or the grave?" " What is the soul and the spirit? " " When do we receive our reward,— at death or at the resurrection? " " What and where is hell? " " Are the wicked now burning in literal fire? Will they burn throughout eternity?"
Baltimore, Md.
Golden Sunday Nights
By C. S. Prout
The Sunday night service has proved to be one of the most helpful channels through which a city pastor and his constituency can throw out the life line into a perishing world. People are accustomed to going somewhere on Sunday night, and why should we not on that evening open wide the doors of our churches and invite the people to hear the most wonderful, the most thrilling, and the most vital message from the word of God? It is the working church that is the growing church, and the wise pastor will seek every appropriate avenue for leading the membership into service along the line of evangelistic endeavor. There are hundreds of our churches where it may not be possible to arrange for an intensive series of daily evangelistic meetings, as might seem most desirable, but in which the pastor's Sunday night services would send a beacon light of truth into the community, and with every church member doing his part, many souls would be rescued from the darkness of error and established within the fold of the remnant church. After witnessing the excellent results of Sunday night evangelistic services, it seems inconceivable that any wide-awake pastor will allow this opportunity to slip by. Why should not every Seventh-day Adventist church in the land be astir on Sunday nights with a well-advertised and well-planned-for service, backed up and supported by the enthusiastic co-operation of every church member?
Philadelphia, Pa.
The District Method
By H. A. Lukens
The method of conducting city evangelism as employed some years ago was to secure a large hall in the center of the city, and through extensive advertising in the daily press bring the people in from an area of some six hundred square miles. Two objections to this method became apparent: First, the heavy expense involved; and second, the difficulty in successfully visiting the people scattered over such a wide area.
In more recent years the preferred method has been to secure either a hall or a tent site in a residential district, and do thorough work in the immediate neighborhood; then move to another district of the city and carry on the same intensive work. This plan has brought good results in the city of Chicago. Our membership has grown during the past five years from 1,800 to 2,800. Last summer seven tent efforts were held, and the total cost, over and above the collections, was less than $1,000. This represents a very large saving in expense, as compared with former methods, and has made possible the erection or purchase of suitable houses of worship in strategic locations.
Chicago is considered a difficult field, but when covered a few square miles at a time, it is not so hard. People are people, whether in a large city or a small town, and it is the personal touch that wins. Four square miles of a big city, segregated and worked intensively, becomes but a little city after all.
Chicago, Ill.
The Expense Feature
W.K. Smith
From the very start, the people attending the meetings should be educated to give a liberal offering toward the expense of the evangelistic campaign. Many will appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the success of the undertaking, and their spirit of liberality is sure to become contagious to a more or less extent, so that the offering part of the nightly program becomes a regular phase of the service in which all are glad to have a part. Sometimes it may be advisable to designate a certain night each week for receiving special offerings, using some significant term to make this special offering night stand out in bold relief, as compared with regular offerings. By tactfully enlisting individuals and groups of individuals to give financial support, the spiritual phase of the campaign is strengthened, for if this side of the program can be so ordered as to bring the people to give willing cooperation, we can much more easily secure that personal touch so essential in establishing them on all points of truth.
St. Louis, Mo.