The work of the evangelist requires a completely well-balanced and coordinated program in order to assure him of success. Not one detail can safely be overlooked. It is the attention given to the details of the entire program that promises success.
One cannot overemphasize the necessity of giving most careful thought to the full use of message-filled, attractive, approved literature. All too frequently this important function of the evangelistic program is given careless attention.
Possibly the evangelist considers that mimeographed reproductions of his own sermons are sufficient to care for the literature needs. There is a constant tendency for the evangelist to be tempted to produce his own literature, or at least to give his material the prominent place during the campaign. Experience has shown this to be a time-consuming procedure. Time which should be spent in the homes of the people, in work for their souls, is taken instead for the production of the evangelist's sermons. Oftentimes these are poorly mimeographed, and are not representative of our lofty mission. Furthermore, because the evangelist does not have sufficient time to do the necessary editorial work, even if he had the training to do so, errors' of various types are frequently sent forth to the public. Thus, to the intelligent, discerning person the entire cause is given an unfortunate stamp.
When an evangelist or worker produces his own material, he should follow the recommendation of the General Conference Committee of December 15, 1941. Namely, it is recommended "that before issuance, all mimeographed and printed sermons be first approved by the leadership of the local conference in which one is laboring, as a safeguarding, protective measure." This is not an arbitrary, prohibitive restriction, but truly a sensible safeguard for the great body of our evangelists. By using our attractive, carefully prepared, well-edited, economical tracts, booklets, and leaflets, the evangelist has a tremendous assistant for his work! Think of the advantage we have today over the early pioneers and forebears of our movement! By resisting the allure of getting his own material into print at the expense of one of the most vital evangelistic functions, the modern Adventist evangelist who uses the wealth of available literature can be far ahead in his field.
"You should go forth with your hands filled with proper reading matter, and your heart filled with the love of God. . . .
"The discourses presenting the reasons of our faith should be published in little leaflets, and circulated as widely as possible. . . .
"In enlightening and confirming souls in the truth, the publications will do a far greater work than can be accomplished by the ministry of the Word alone." —Evangelism, pp. 159-161.
In the days when the message was young and facilities meager, the responsibility for producing printed material lay heavily upon the individual worker. Today, in the providence of God, we have sharper tools in formidable array that will aid the present-day evangelist.
The use of an attractive book display, and careful promotion of the sales of Bibles, books, and pamphlets during an evangelistic campaign can bring in sufficient profits to cover the cost of the thousands of tracts distributed free to the public during the course of the meeting. We have done this repeatedly in our work. In one campaign the proceeds of our evangelistic bookstand exceeded the sales of the Book and Bible House at the annual camp meeting. These profits greatly assisted the evangelistic budget and made it possible to scatter widely the free literature of Present Truth, the Prediction Series, Good News, 'Bible Truth Series, and others. In doing this the evangelist had the complete assurance of well-edited, beautifully printed, carefully checked literature to support him, as well as affording him and his workers time and opportunity to give full attention to the important personal work so often neglected during a campaign.
