Since 1930 we have been plunging deeper and deeper into the financial depression that is upon all the world. Unemployment has increased from year to year. The earning power of our own people has fallen steadily, resulting in a, rapidly diminishing tithe income to the cause and a very heavy falling off in mission offerings. As a result our conferences in the North American Division have been forced to make heavy curtailments.
The number of workers has been reduced in many conferences. In some cases 50 percent of the working staff of the conference have been laid off during the past three years, and in a few cases the number of workers has been reduced 75 per cent.
The General Conference appropriations to our world work have been reduced heavily. In these three years five cuts have been made in our Class I or base appropriations, to say nothing of Classes II, III, and IV—requests which were not taken into consideration by the budget committee, but which had been appropriated to in years past. The cuts made in our base appropriations have been as follows: 6 percent in the autumn of 1930, 10 percent in the fall of 1931, an additional cut of 8 percent in the spring of 1932, another 6 percent in the autumn of 1932, and now another 10 percent in this spring meeting.
The year 1929 was the peak year in our denominational income, and consequently in our appropriations to the world work. In that year the General Conference had the full amount of reserve funds authorized by the Constitution, together with a fair operating fund. These funds constitute the working capital of the General Conference.
During this period of depression, while the appropriations to our world work have been cut as indicated from year to year, it will be well for our workers to know that these cuts have not nearly measured with the shrinkage of our mission fund income. Therefore our working capital has been heavily drawn upon each time a cut in appropriations was made in order to avoid making the cut much heavier. To state it in other words: The General Conference working-ca-pital was 'made to share with our world fields the heavy reductions necessary to meet the very heavy reductions in income. This has been done to the degree that our working capital has been reduced to approximately 50 per cent of what it was at the beginning of the depression.
Paralleling this falling off in our denominational income, and the consequent reduction in the working staff at home and abroad which must follow, due to the reduction in our appropriations, there have come to our workers everywhere who are still employed several cuts in wage, totaling 30 per cent, and in some cases as much as 35 to 40 per cent.
No one is able to forecast the future for even a day. Have we reached the limit of the downward curve of the indicator in this depression'?
Who can tell? Today, as I write these lines, the daily press is carrying the notice to the world that the American dollar is off the gold standard. What will this latest development in the financial crisis mean to North America? What will it mean to the world situation? What will it mean to our world work?
Without attempting to enumerate or even refer to the many other alarming and perplexing world conditions, trends, and movements that are seen on every hand, we must recognize that we are facing an hour such as we have never faced before. Truly we are in troublous times. Indeed, we are in a time of adversity. But, meeting the situation in the face of depression, shrinking budgets, wage cuts, and other alarming world conditions, we hear no other command, no other voice, but that of our great Commander, saying, "Go forward! Advance! Advance strongly!" "Press the battle to the gates," is the order.
It was in the depression year of 1931 that 34,859 were baptized into this message, the largest number in our history in any given year. The reports for the North American Division for 1932 show a gain in baptisms over 1931 of 307. Not all the reports from our foreign divisions for 1932 are yet in hand, but of three divisions whose reports have reached us each shows a good gain over 1931 in the number baptized. We feel confident that when all reports are in, 1932 will be found to be well above 1931 in the number baptized.
Brethren, it is being wonderfully demonstrated that the winning of souls to Christ and this message is not dependent entirely on the American dollar, the British pound, the German mark, or the coin of any other earthly realm. We would not, however, be understood as depreciating the value or necessity of money in carrying forward the work of the advent message in the earth. There is very great and pressing need of funds. But we do wish to emphasize the outstanding fact that God is in these times of adversity, discovering to His remnant people heavenly resources beyond anything yet drawn upon, beyond anything yet realized or recognized. He is leading many to the adoption of plans and methods of working that are divine in their origin. They are heaven born. More and more we are being thrown back upon the power and ministry of the Holy Ghost in soul winning.
Our ministers, evangelists, missionaries, and our lay preachers are being led by the Holy Spirit to see and believe that it is possible to conduct successful public efforts without the expenditure of large sums of conference funds. Many of our workers are discovering that they can make public efforts entirely self-supporting so far as rent, light, advertising, etc., are concerned. They are finding more and more the simple, plain, economical method, and are discovering it to be just as effective in soul-winning results.
"Man's extremity is God's opportunity." When dollars flee, God leads the man of faith, vision, and courage to go forward discovering new plans, methods, and ways of reaching souls and winning them for God. And this we must do. The word of the Lord to the workers of this cause is:
"Let me tell you that the Lord will work in this last work in a manner very much out of the common order of things, and in a way that will be contrary to any human planning. . . God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness."—"Testimonies to Ministers," p. 300.
In some of our mission fields mighty things are being done, and wonderful results are following. As the result of the tearing to pieces of a Bible and the scattering of its leaves on the waters of the Maues River in the great Amazon region by an infuriated priest, because the Book had been presented to the chief of an Indian village by our missionary, there is a great awakening all along the river, and four hundred souls are now rejoicing in the light.
While waiting for a train in the railway station in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Brother Ennis Moore, the superintendent of that field, was opening his morning mail. He read us one of the letters, telling of a new company of thirty adult believers not heard of before, away on the frontier of Sao Paulo and Matto Grosso.
An Indian colporteur of the Lake Titicaca fields, pressing his way onward over a range of the lofty Andes, through snow nearly waist-deep, entered a valley heretofore untouched by a representative of this message. And in a short time he had won to Christ and this message eighty adults, and had organized them into Sabbath schools.
Brother Schaeffier, of the Sutsique Mission, tells the story of the crash of an airplane about four hours' distance from his mission in the dense jungles of eastern Peru, the rescue of the pilot and his two passengers by the Indians of the mission, and as a result of this experience the,making of a large landing field in the heart of the jungles, which is used regularly by the government air service. Free transportation is given Brother Schaeffier whenever he wishes to go from or return to the mission. It is a wonderful story of divine providence. Read the full story in the Review.
Frequently the pilots invite Brother Schaeffier to fly. He always embraces these opportunities to fly in different directions over the jungles, sometimes at long distances from the mission. The attention of the Indians of the region is attracted to the plane flying low over the tree tops, and many times they are greatly frightened. Returning to the mission, Brother Schaeffier will send a company of Christian Indians several days' journey through the jungles to visit the villages over which he has flown. Upon their arrival they explain that the terrible creature that frightened them so a few days before was not a great and terrible bird, but it was their missionary. Then they invite them to come to the mission to see their pastor and hear him tell about the true God of heaven. Brother Schaeffier tells us that there are more than forty Indians now at the mission who have come from remote sections, reached by this very unique method. Several of them are in the baptismal class.
These are but a few of the many, many experiences coming to us from our mission fields which clearly indicate that God is indeed working "in a manner very much out of the common order of things" and that we are in the day of a rich harvest of souls.
Every condition about us indicates that this is the hour of opportunity for the advent message. Every agency at our command, every facility that we possess, every talent that is among us, every energy, every resource that is ours, should be brought into service now in the most effective way possible for the speedy accomplishment of the task before the church of God.
In spite of depression and shrinking budgets, in spite of a reduced staff of workers and greatly reduced expense allowances, we must advance—and we can advance. Under God, this year can be made the greatest in the history of our work in the number of souls won for the kingdom. This we believe is God's program for the year 1933.
"What!" you may say, "more souls, greater fruitage, with a much smaller working staff and greatly reduced budgets?" Surely, and why not? Is God's 'art" shortened that He cannot save? Is He limited by many or by few? Shall the baptism of His power in this the time of the latter rain be limited by a shortage of funds? Nay, verily! We are to advance in the face of all adversity. Calebs are the men needed at this time. Gideon bands that know how to give the Gideon shout, and who are willing to make the charge, equipped with only an earthen pitcher and a tallow candle, will indeed be victorious.
The staff and line officers of Israel's army today are the readers of the Ministry. Brethren, shall we not lead forward the forces of our Captain, making advancement in the face of adversity?
Washington, D. C.
