To win souls should be the chief business of every conference and every worker. For this purpose our conferences have been organized, and to this end all their resources should be dedicated and employed. If we lose sight of this most important fact and neglect our basic work, then all our efforts will have the element of sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. So in planning our work in the Central California Conference for 1933, we are keeping before us the recommendation passed at the last Autumn Council, "That during 1933 the movement for larger evangelism be pressed forward with all possible energy and determination."
To give momentum to this movement from the very beginning of the year, we are holding meetings for district church officers and workers during the month of January, and the leading topic throughout these meetings will be, How to make the year 1933 the most fruitful in soul saving. We believe the time has fully come when all our forces should be organized for a greater work in winning people to Christ, and this we hope to be able to do with the help of God and the co-operation of our workers and churches. Unquestionably we are living in the time foreseen by the servant of God when there should be a great harvest of souls, not only by ministers, but also by the laity.
Several workers in our conference are now carrying on evangelistic efforts throughout the entire year, and the Lord is blessing them. These efforts we are trying to make as nearly self-supporting as possible, with the exception, of course, of the salaries of those in charge of the meetings. We have not fully succeeded in this, but we are working toward that end and see encouraging progress. Some of our evangelists have groups of self-supporting workers in their companies, and they are rendering good and efficient service. Some of these are supporting themselves by canvassing for our books, some by nursing or selling health foods, and others are working along other lines. One of our paid workers has had a company of this class of workers with him for over a year, and has raised up a church; another worker is now conducting his second tabernacle effort with the help of such workers, and thus far only good reports have reached us.
Two tabernacle efforts are being held at present. One of these tabernacles has twice been moved by the conference truck with very little expense, and is now being used in the third effort. With the aid of the church members it took the workers connected with the effort just seven hours to take the tabernacle down preparatory to moving, the last time it was moved. The cost for material and the building of these tabernacles was approximately $600 each, and they seat from 1,000 to 1,200 people. These efforts are operated on the budget plan.
In studying the vital question of greater evangelism for 1933, our conference committee felt that it would be a good plan to extend to all our workers, such as district leaders and pastors, the privilege of holding one or more efforts during the year; and the months of February, March, and April were suggested for one of these efforts. The meetings can be held in our own churches, in halls, vacant store buildings, or in other places. Some of our pastors are holding Sunday night meetings in our own churches the year round, and the Lord is giving them souls. But all our ministers will be glad for assurance of an opportunity to conduct perhaps two efforts each year. We believe they can be conducted with but little expense to the conference.
In addition to these meetings by conference workers, we are planning to organize our church membership for an intensive effort during the same months in behalf of their neighbors. Definite territory is to be assigned to each church member who is willing to work for souls, with a view of covering the territory systematically with our literature during these three months, so that when this time is up the people will have had the main points of the message presented to them. Then we have in mind to suggest to our people that they canvass the people whom they have been visiting in their respective territories with one of our message-filled books. This can be done at the end of the three months, and the interested people will be followed up. Then new territory will be assigned our members to be worked in the same way, and we shall endeavor to keep up this program throughout the year. Our young people are also enlisted in this missionary work.
We believe that by launching a definite program of this nature at the beginning of the year in which conference workers and lay members, old and young, shall have part, the Lord will add His blessing and we shall see gratifying results.
San Jose, Calif.
