In the Pacific Union Conference an interesting experiment in radio evangelism has been in operation throughout the year 1937. H. M. S. Richards has been conducting a State-wide broadcast over a ten-station hook-up, blanketing the entire State of California with the message. This program has been carried forward under the caption, "The Voice of Prophecy."
About three months ago we decided to put on a Voice of Prophecy evangelistic campaign in Lodi, a city of ten thousand, in the northern part of the State. We made one announcement over the air prior to opening the effort. In addition to this, announcements were made in the two Seventh-day Adventist churches in the city and in the local papers.
Remarkable results have followed. The first night one thousand people were present, and since then the attendance has averaged that many or more. We have always had around seven hundred people present, and at times, eighteen hundred have crowded into our tabernacle which was built to seat only thirteen hundred. The meeting has now. been in progress eleven weeks, and the crowds are not diminishing at all, even though the testing truths have been presented. Already one hundred sixty-six have been baptized, and there are a considerable number in the baptismal class in addition.
Lodi has been stirred by this great effort. It has been the biggest thing in town. Our English and German churches are overcrowded, and still the interest grows. The present problem is how to bring the effort to a proper conclusion. The weather is cold at night, but our four drum heaters keep the pavilion warm. One night recently, it rained heavily from seven to nine o'clock, but even this did not keep the people away. The tent was full.
Factors in Successful Campaign
It is the settled conviction of the workers that the Voice of Prophecy radio program which has been in the field for a long period has really created the favorable background for this remarkably successful effort. Radio Evangelist Richards has been supported by local pastors and others. The King's Heralds, our radio male quartet, are associated with him in this work. The music instructor at Lodi Academy has ably led the congregational music. Altogether, the meetings have been most interesting, filled with life and inspiration.
In all the advertising for this effort, only the name, The Voice of Prophecy, has been used. The name H. M. S. Richards has never appeared. Even the newspaper used the expression, "And the Voice said"—not giving the name of the evangelist. These methods have kept the effort distinctly associated with the radio organization known as the Voice of Prophecy, and we believe it has lent influence and dignity to the work. Our radio program is recognized as the finest and most dignified religious program on the Pacific Coast. The book sales during the effort have amounted to nearly a thousand dollars, and the offerings to about fifteen hundred, exceeding all the expenses (apart from salaries) by one hundred dollars.
The union conference committee has decided to continue the radio organization during 1938, planning to carry on in each of the other three California Conferences an evangelstic effort similar to the one held at Lodi. The local conferences are very happy to unite with the union conference in financing the organization. There is no question but that our radio activity throughout the State of California has marked influence in cultivating the field for such endeavor. It has allayed prejudice, and is unquestionably molding public sentiment in a way favorable to our cause.
California Governor's Participation
Elder Richards decided to invite Governor Merriam to appear on our platform in Lodi and make a big feature of the occasion. Through the influence of our local pastor, together with a prominent businessman of Lodi, the governor was approached on the question, and was asked to appear on the night of October 25. It appeared that the governor had an important appointment fixed well in advance for that particular night. But when he heard that the invitation was from the Voice of Prophecy and the Seventh-day Adventists, he canceled the other appointment and announced his intention of being present, stating at the same time that he was an interested listener to the Voice of Prophecy programs on the air.
This plan caused a near sensation in business and political circles of Lodi, for other attempts to have the governor of the State appear in the city had failed. This was to be his first public appearance there. By invitation, civil, official, business, and political groups as well as other religious organizations joined heartily in planning for the visit. A banquet was tendered in which these many interests were represented. The city blocked off the street on which the tabernacle faced, and permitted the erection of another great pavilion straddling the pavement, so that the seating provided for thirty-four hundred people. This, however, proved wholly inadequate, as the audience numbered between four and five thousand. Elder Richards spoke briefly on religious liberty, and the governor followed with an address.
The gathering was a distinct success, and as a publicity factor its value was tremendous. A few days later, the governor sent for a supply of radio logs for his office, and he has written Brother Brown that if he can serve similarly on any future occasions, he will be delighted. He declared the audience at our pavilion in Lodi to be the most attentive large audience he had ever addressed. We have been informed since, that he reported the meeting to his staff somewhat in these terms:
"Now, men, I was down at Lodi Monday night and met with an organization called 'The Voice of Prophecy.' It was a Seventh-day Adventist conference. This man Richards who is speaking as the Voice of Prophecy is on the air every Friday night, and I wish you would tune in on KFRC and hear him. I know you don't have much religion, but you might get some if you would listen to the Voice of Prophecy, and you really need it. They have four Texas fellows down there who sing, and they surely gave us some good songs. They are the best four I have ever heard. You will enjoy them, and so I ask you to tune in Friday night at eight-thirty and hear the Voice of Prophecy."
We earnestly pray that God will use this State-wide broadcast and the evangelistic efforts associated with it to the salvation of hundreds of souls during the new year.
