Person who avail themselves of the opportunity of attending midweek services, as well as the' Sunday night meetings, are the best prospects we have in public evangelism. They are generally longing for spiritual food. It is, therefore, the happy privilege of the evangelist to feed these with the strong meat of the Word at these important midweek seasons.
The choice of the particular day, preferably Wednesday or possibly Thursday, must of necessity be governed by local conditions. If a spring-summer campaign is being held, an evening meeting commencing at seven or seven-thirty is the obvious course to follow. Relative to the campaign itself, it is advantageous to launch the midweek series as early as possible, beginning about the fourth or fifth week of the campaign.
The overwhelming majority of people who attend our meetings have had little or no contact with genuine Bible study—the exposition of holy prophetic writ, Bible doctrines, or general Bible exegesis-=by the method of treating the Bible as its own interpreter, and comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Therefore, the immediate objectives of these meetings are (I) to increase the confidence of the people in our methods of Bible presentation ; and (2) to encourage them to become more Bible biased and Advent-minded. A solid foundation of faith in the Bible as the Word of God is thus established, which facilitates the reception of the Sabbath truth, generally presented in the eighth or ninth week of the campaign with other testing phases of the Advent message.
In advertising these midweek services one should emphasize that these meetings are not a mere side issue but a vital necessity in comprehending deeper spiritual things.
Subjects to Present.—The opening service could advantageously be a lantern lecture on some subject akin to "How We Got Our Bible." Presenting a gripping theme on the previous Sunday, closing at the point of most intense interest, with the promise to conclude the subject at the opening midweek service, has proved its value in attracting a good initial attendance.
This may be followed by a series of talks on the book of Revelation—an attraction at the opening of a campaign. In the Spirit of prophecy we are counseled to study the book of Daniel together with the Revelation. In Daniel and the Revelation we have all our doctrines, and these we can emphasize afresh as we take up this study. These prophetic lectures would normally cover a period of eighteen to twenty weeks and may be delivered in chapter sequence, but preferably as successive lines of prophecy studied in outline, with emphasis upon essential detail.
By way of change, a number of selected subjects on various topics could then be presented, for a space of about twelve weeks. These should be chosen to accommodate the growing needs of the people, discovered by personal visitation or, to suit the developing subject scheme of the campaign; that is, objections on the state of the dead—"Rich Man and Lazarus," "Thief on the Cross," "Spirits in Prison," "Absent From the Body, Present With the Lord." "Depart to beWith Christ," etc.
A return to book study is then found profitable, in order to promote and deepen personal piety. Such books as Romans, enunciating the cardinal truth of righteousness by faith, or Hebrews, defining the priesthood of Jesus Christ, may be selected for use.
Theme study may follow on such topics as the multiple aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit, the sanctuary in type and antitype, or the development of the three angels' messages. The range of subjects covered appeals to a variety of spiritual tastes and should convene over the full scope of an evangelistic year.
