H.M.S. Richards, speaking at the Evangelistic Council in San Francisco, on the possibilities of the radio, closed his appeal by saying, "Let us work, for the night cometh when no man can broadcast." His paraphrase struck the hearts of all. Certainly it is time, high time, for us "to awake out of sleep." The time immediately ahead of us should see our greatest united and individual efforts in broadcasting the only saving message to the world, before the door of mercy is latched shut.
Often I hear ministers remark, "I just don't have time to do radio work." In other words, "I'm so busy with my two hundred sheep that I have little time for the ten thousands outside the fold." This is due to a misconception. For the benefit of those who have neglected radio work because of fear of the amount of time it takes, may I make a few simple suggestions, based upon my recent experience in Kansas City. I found that radio work simplified and unified all my problems and efforts—pastoral, district, and evangelistic. The district in which
I worked included five churches, the largest having a membership of more than seven hundred. Two public evangelistic efforts a year is certainly the minimum any pastor or district leader should conduct in these heart-awakening times. The radio work aids immeasurably in all these varied endeavors.
Perhaps the simplest way to describe the radio work is to make a survey of a sample week. After the Sunday morning broadcast from 8 :30 to 8 :45, I brought the radio mail home to open and read. This took from two to four hours, depending on the number of Bible Correspondence Course lessons. The mail, as it was opened, divided itself into three or four natural groups :
(I) The Bible Study Correspondence Course lesson answers. Each lesson was examined as it was taken out of the envelope, to be sure it was marked with name and address. Care was taken to see whether there were any special requests for literature, prayer, or other help, at the end of the lesson sheet. Any such special requests were noted on another piece of paper. The lessons were then ready to be turned over to the one who corrected them. (This may be a part-time worker or a capable lay member. A minister should not tie himself down to the detail work of correcting papers.) After one has corrected several lessons, this work goes very rapidly, the largest amount of time being taken in writing in the correct answers where questions have been missed or wrongly answered.
(2) A second pile was made of the usual radio mail requests for prayer, questions to be answered, requests for literature offered over the radio, etc. With this pile we also placed the letters that contained dollar contributions. In reply to these we mailed a Crisis book, and whatever other literature was offered over the air during the current month.
(3) A third pile comprised names of special interests which developed. These were brought up for consideration at the workers' meeting held in connection with our evangelistic meetings. Or, if the interest was out of town, it was sent to the proper worker or conference.
Sunday afternoon, after studying for the night's evangelistic meeting, the writing of next week's broadcast was cared for. That night at the meeting, before the offering was taken, the radio book-of-the-month was described (a Crisis book), and bright-colored envelopes were passed to the audience. They were invited to enclose a dollar for the current book-of-the-month.
Thus, with just a very few hours' work and very little energy, one is able to carry on a radio program with an enrollment of as many as 2,000 Bible students. The radio work is thus reduced to a simple system of follow-up work which can be carried on almost entirely by a minister's wife, a Bible worker, or a capable lay member.
