The arresting message of the following quotation taken from the "Testimonies" is worthy of most careful thought on the part of every one engaged in soul-winning effort.
"Our ministers would feel sadly aggrieved if they were not promptly paid for their labor ; but will they consider that there must be meat in the treasure-house of God wherewith to sustain the laborers? If they fail to do their whole duty in educating the people to be faithful in paying to God His own, there will be a shortage of means in the treasury to carry forward the Lord's work. The overseer of the flock of God should faithfully discharge his duty. If he takes the position that because this is not pleasant to him, he will leave it for some one else to do, he is not a faithful worker."—Vol. IX, p. 250.
It should be the aim of the evangelist to have every convert paying tithe before baptism. Each should be led step by step to accept the Lord's greatest challenge, "Prove Me now herewith," and thus receive all the promised blessings. It is very essential that the new believer know with certainty the full instruction from God's word concerning the tithe, if he is to be faithful in this important matter.
Thorough indoctrination should be followed immediately by the practice of this truth of the message. Preachers should expect this evidence of conversion to the truth before baptism. It is a good evidence of conversion, for the last part of a man to be converted is usually his pocketbook.
I have always believed in presenting the tithing truth early in an effort. We find that the people are just as faithful when they hear about the tithe early in the course of an effort, as when they hear of it later. A few years ago I conducted an effort in an unentered part of the city of London. With the Lord's blessing, we organized a goodly number of converts into a new church. But before a single soul was baptized, these new members had paid over one thousand dollars in tithe into the conference treasury.
We had a similar experience in our recent effort in Vancouver, Canada. We immersed sixty-one converts at one baptism, but prior to this happy event they had paid in approximately one thousand dollars in tithes. From these and like experiences in other efforts, I am very definitely convinced that hundreds and thousands of dollars are being lost to the cause of God every year because the tithing truth is not presented earlier in our evangelistic campaigns.
We have followed the custom of presenting the tithe three or four times, from different angles, before baptism. After the first presentation we distribute a specially prepared tithe envelope as the people leave the meeting.
Then we give a study to the people in their homes the following week. Each worker carries tithe envelopes, and at the close of the study shows one of the envelopes. The prospective convert will often ask if he may have this envelope for his own use.
At the beginning, we do not use the standard tithe-and-offerings envelope in general use in our churches. At this stage of the effort such terms as "Ingathering," "Big Week," "Thirteenth Sabbath," and "Week of Sacrifice," as listed thereon, are unintelligible to new people. I feel that it would be premature and unwise to confuse the issue by using the regular envelope at this stage.
We have found it profitable to use an envelope three by five inches in size, worded the same as the sample appearing here. After the first presentation of the subject, a goodly supply of such envelopes should always be in sight at the meeting place, on the bookstalls, or in a suitable rack.
It is well to explain to new people exactly how tithes are paid, and what they are used for. Tell them when to pay, how much to pay, and how to pay. Inform them that a receipt will be issued from the treasurer for all tithe paid in. After a few weeks the evangelist should go to the treasurer or worker who keeps account of the tithe paid by new converts, get the names, and personally visit those who have paid tithe, commending them for being faithful. In a tactful way he should contact those who have not paid, seek to clear up individual difficulties and problems, and try to encourage them.
One great stimulus to tithe paying is to have a meeting where, after a strong presentation of the tithe question, a number of people are asked to relate outstanding experiences of blessing through this practice. New tithe payers should be encouraged to pay tithe frequently. Permitting new converts to wait until the end of the month or quarter before returning the Lord's portion is a frequent source of great loss to the treasury. Tithe receipts should be issued promptly by the church treasurer.
Let us not be deceived by reasoning that certain people are too poor to pay tithe. Surely the poorer they are, the more they need God's help and blessing with their finances. Someone has made the observation: "The poor should be the first to be encouraged and urged to pay tithe. The preacher who does not believe this will be weak in his approach to the subject and never attain the results God _ desires. If he is afraid that this doctrine will drive the people from the church, be will be weak and apologetic in his presentation. What a catastrophe for any worker to feel that God cannot bless the giving of any part of His glorious truth. The lifting up of Christ in the wonderful teaching of tithe paying can only do as His word says, 'draw all men' unto Him."
Let us put aside all cowardly fear of giving offense. With holy boldness let us teach the people the word of God relative to the great truth of Christian stewardship. Let us introduce this fundamental gospel subject much earlier in our efforts than we have been doing, and we shall find that it will pay in every way.
