The pastor of a district has a blessed work. He comes close to the people in their homes. It is his privilege to share in the joys and sorrows of his members, to comfort the brokenhearted, to pray for the sick and discouraged, to reclaim the backslider, to guide the inexperienced feet of the young, and to speak last words of comfort and hope to the bereaved.
The first responsibility of the district pastor is the shepherding of his flock. In addition to having a complete directory of members, he should know each sheep by name, being always on the alert, when feet begin to lag and stray from the path of safety. When he looks over his congregation he should know who the missing members are, be quick to visit the sick, and catch the first signs of slackening interest. He should visit all members in their homes, acquainting himself with their conditions and needs, rallying them to faithfulness in church attendance and in Christian service, and coming close to the lambs of the flock. There is no substitute for heart-to-heart personal work.
Oft-times the visit will be doubly blessed if the worker's wife, with her ability to come close to the mother and the daughters, is present. This is also a safeguard against the pitfalls that have wrecked the career of many a worker.
Fresh from such contacts, the worker, will be able to bring forth from the storehouse of the Word that which will be meat in due season to his members. Many times texts and sermon outlines are flashed upon the minister's mind as he thinks upon the specific needs of members of his flock. But we must not permit ourselves to be bogged down by the care of the members of the church. Rather we must seek to develop our members into a well-organized, trained army of workers, united in the great objective of winning souls and hastening the preparation for the coming of the Lord.
Everlastingly we must keep at the soul-winning program. Not many of us will ever be super-evangelists. But we can hold modest efforts in every section of our district, steadily building the membership and making these efforts a training school for our members. The great bulk of the membership of this denomination has come in through modest efforts and personal work..
In many places it is difficult to secure a substantial attendance at public efforts, owing in part to the ultraconservatism of the religious element, and in part to the prejudice and indifference of the masses. If people do not come to our meetings, we must seek them out in their homes. And here is where the distribution of our truth-filled literature, together with laymen Bible studies and cottage meetings, comes in. This work will never be finished by the efforts of the ministers singlehanded. There is a wealth of ability in our churches, and the district pastor must be keen to harness this latent talent and to set our people on fire for God.
We are finding the projector with the films prepared by the Mayse Studio in San Diego a great boon to our lay workers. One of our churches has ordered six projectors, and we are building up a library of films. Individual members are glad to pay for one or more films. They go out and work in teams. The children do not want to miss the pictures, and the circle of neighbors grows.
The minister will need to train his members in methods and help them get their first opening. Here is where the systematic giving out of a few selected numbers of Present Truth or Good News serves as an entering wedge. We have found colporteur customers to be good prospects, especially where this literature service is offered as a premium with the book. An alternative offered by the missionary society is a correspondence course in Bible, with a schedule of references * in the book purchased to use in connection with each correspondence lesson. If the lessons are corrected by an experienced teacher who takes the time to write personal letters, this is greatly appreciated.
Radio Useful in Gaining Prestige
We were laboring in a section which was settled two hundred years ago by Lutherans, Dutch Reformed, and Moravians, many of whom still speak the so-called Pennsylvania Dutch, and found it very difficult to get a large attendance at our public efforts. That had been the experience of every worker preceding us. We therefore included in our methods of reaching these people the use of the radio once a week. Realizing that thousands of people were forming their opinion of Seventh-day Adventists by our presentation of the message, we exercised extreme care in the preparation of each broadcast. We were introduced as Seventh-day Adventists, and we tried to present the message in all its beauty and harmony.
Prejudice began to break down, interest began to spring up far and wide, and people came forward from remote sections to ask for baptism. In the providence of God we gained local prestige for the message. Our radio station adequately covered our district, and our own people were greatly blessed as they heard the grand old advent message ringing out clearly over the air in the midst of the babel of false teaching. The radio is a particular blessing to those of our people who are shut-ins, or who are isolated.
We have found the radio helpful in promoting Ingathering. One day a Jewish secretary stopped us on the street, and said, "Pardon me, gentlemen. I heard your explanation to my employer. I am a liberal Jewess. I listen to your broadcast regularly. Would you accept an offering of five dollars for your wonderful work?"
It is very important that the pastor should keep in close touch with every church and every interest in his district, following through with the personal appeal that brings souls to the great decision, and seeing to it that every department of each church is functioning strongly. He should have a regular schedule for Sabbath services around the district, and keep in close touch with every Sabbath school, Missionary Volunteer Society, and home missionary program.
I make it a rule to meet with each church on alternate Sabbaths, taking two churches each Sabbath. Where a church does not have strong speakers, we frequently supply speakers from the other churches. Our object is to make every service so interesting and helpful that attendance and interest will grow. This calls for many quiet suggestions behind the scenes to the leaders, not in a critical way, but along with appreciation of the fine things they are doing.
I am coming more and more to value the fine influence of the Sabbath school, the church school, and the Missionary Volunteer Society in actual soul winning. Careful attention to every phase of the work in these departments pays rich dividends. It goes without saying that the district pastor should be present to counsel with the nominating committees in selecting those who carry the responsibility of leadership—not to dictate, but to join in prayerful counsel, and to see that strong, consecrated leadership is provided, and new members properly broken into the harness, with a wide spread of responsibility that ties everybody up to the program.
It should never be forgotten that the world work is pyramiding on the shoulders of the district pastor. The General Conference, with its vision of the world field, maps out a program, which is designed to carry this glorious message of our soon-coming Lord to every dark corner of the world. Our loyal union conference leaders pass these plans on to the local conferences. The local conference leaders in turn pass them on to the district pastor. With the strong support of the men "higher up, he is the man who has the responsibility of putting the program across in the local churches. If he fails, the work suffers. Thank God, he does not fail.
If ever a people did exploits in the name of the Lord, it is the loyal body of Seventh-day Adventists whose support of the work at home and throughout the world is the marvel of all Christian bodies. But these great achievements do not merely happen. They are the result of consecrated effort, of leadership and organization, of loyal co-operation under the blessing of the Spirit of God.
Take the Sabbath school, for example. I well remember when the Sabbath schools raised the means to provide the ship Pitcairn to work in the island field of the South Pacific. From that small beginning we have watched it grow till close to two million dollars are contributed annually by our Sabbath schools from week to week.
The wise district pastor will see to it that, with the background of a deeply spiritual work in his Sabbath schools, there is an enthusiastic promotion of weekly giving, a stimulating thirteenth Sabbath program, and a strong and growing Investment program. Every effort will be made to enlist each member of the church in the Sabbath school. In this way every member will get the blessings that come from the study of the Word, and every member will be unitedly behind the denominational program. This work will be carried on by capable laymen, but it is for the district pastor to see that the leaders catch the vision, and that there is an effective follow-through.
Likewise the district leader will be right back of his home missionary officers and church leaders, mapping out the strategy of laymen's soul-winning endeavor, conducting training classes, and cheering his forces on. Even the Ingathering campaign, with prayer and organization and high enthusiasm, can be turned into a "blitzkrieg," so far as quick raising of the goal is concerned. And it should not be forgotten that this provides many openings for the winning of souls, as our people visit millions of homes in a few days with our presentation of the miracle-working power of God in this prophetic movement.
In our district this year we are trying to enlist every young person in the M.V. Societies, and help the young people's leaders to put on such a varied and attractive program that we can hold them to this cause. It is the pastor's privilege at the opportune moment to definitely lead these young people one by one to Christ. Supplementing the spiritual features of the work, he endeavors to provide for proper recreation and association, including district get-togethers, with no age limit.
Taking the Campaigns in Stride
Just to see that the district pastor does not get rusty, he will from time to time receive reminders of the Review campaign, the Watchman campaign, the Signs campaign, the Liberty campaign, the Midsummer Offering, the Missions Extension, the Annual Offering, the elementary school offering, the Voice of Prophecy offering, and what shall I say more? Are they not all written in the Pacific Press memo book, and in the Christian Home Calendar, which the district superintendent should keep in plain sight and plan accordingly?
After all, we live one day at a time, and we take these campaigns and offerings in stride as they come, one at a time. The important thing is that we as district leaders sense the importance of every one of these campaigns and offerings, and carefully plan for effective handling of the same, with due regard to the high priority of some, and with the least infringement on the Sabbath service with appeals for money. Some can be taken care of in the interim missionary service. Special offerings listed can be taken up after a strong spiritual sermon. When our people's hearts are thrilled by the message and warmed by the Holy Spirit, they will joyfully respond to proper appeals for funds without our resorting to methods which belittle the sacredness of the pulpit. What the church of God needs today is Pentecostal power in the pulpit, which follows Pentecostal consecration and unity. This in turn will be followed by Pentecostal giving, as men and women, impressed by the Spirit of God, sell their houses and lands and place them on the altar.
The work of the district pastor is carried on in a spirit of self-sacrificing devotion, without fanfare or blare of trumpets. But he is building for eternity. To him will be said, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
*See page 7 for references and text of certificate issued.
