During the first four years of my ministry, while I was working in country schoolhouses and in small towns, the Lord helped me to raise up a number of companies, and to build three new churches and buy another. After working for ten or twelve years in the large cities, I often heard it said that a large crowd could be gathered in a city, where the people did not know that Seventh-day Adventists were in charge; but if anyone would go to a small town, start meetings in a Seventh-day Adventist church, and advertise as a Seventh-day Adventist evangelist, there would be no audience, for "the people will not come where the message is being preached." To this I have often said, "Well, they used to come out," only to be met with the statement, "Things have changed since the days when you worked in small towns."
A little over a year ago I was erecting a tabernacle in Portland, Oregon, for my fifth series of meetings in that city. At this time I went to Elder I. G. Woodman, and asked him to let me go to some small place to see if things had changed so much. I told him I thought that the people were just as eager to hear as ever, and I should like to hold a two weeks' meeting in a small place where there were a number of other churches. Elder Woodman suggested that I try Newberg, a town of 3,000 population, with twenty-one active denominations and nineteen church buildings.
Accordingly I advertised through the little town paper, and had 500 handbills printed, making it plain that I was a Seventh-day Adventist evangelist, and that the meetings would be held in the Adventist church. Every seat was taken the first Sunday night, and almost every seat during the week. The second Sunday night we borrowed chairs from all the homes near the church, and many people were turned away. The third Sunday night about 500 persons were present, and many could not get in. The people stood wherever there was room, and overflowed into the basement, where, though they could not see the speaker, they stood and listened for an hour. We had to hold meetings for six weeks instead of two, as the people insisted that the Sabbath and law questions be taken up. Thirty-three were baptized.
Last July we started a series of meetings in our church in Centralia, right at the time when people like to be driving. We had an overflow for some time Sunday nights. All the churches worked against us, but more than fifty were baptized. Now we are in Olympia, another little place, but we have over a thousand out to hear the message on Sunday nights, or about one out of every eleven of the population.
All these meetings have been held with very little help and expense. Our churches cost nothing. We did have a Bible worker the last three months at Centralia, and the help of the pastor of the church. In Olympia we had the help of Brother Bentz, but no Bible worker. We often receive as many as 130 names a week, and these are all visited.
Surely the time has fully come for every minister, no matter where he is stationed, to start holding meetings in available churches, schoolhouses, halls, tents, or homes. The world is ready for the message. Why not forget about the need of a large corps of workers, a good leader for the singing, and three or four Bible workers? Launch out with what you have, and God will send the people, and members will be added to the church.
Olympia, Wash.
