On June II the Bible department of Southern Missionary College, through its Field School of Evangelism, began a series of evangelistic meetings in the city of Asheville, North Carolina. The name of the campaign was "Asheville's Crusade for Christ and Better Living." From the very beginning it was announced in the newspapers and on the handbills as being conducted by the Seventh-day Adventist churches, schools, and sanitariums in the area of Asheville. The meeting began with a strong evangelistic spearhead in the beautiful city auditorium. After three nights the interest was transferred to the centrally located David Millard High School auditorium.
In the sixth week of the effort it became necessary to move into the Adventist church in Asheville. This move was considered by many as being an unfortunate event to come into the meetings just at the time when the interest was at its largest. Without a doubt it did cause some loss of interest, but surely the Lord was with us.
Before the transfer was made to the church the dark cloud of poliomyelitis was hovering over the city. The plague soon fell upon the city in epidemic proportions, and all public gatherings were closed. But already the people who were most interested had attended a few services at the church and were enjoying the meetings there. After an enforced vacation of almost two weeks the doors of the church were opened again, and the adults began attending. During the last four weeks of the campaign the attendance was large, filling the church auditorium and an overflow room to capacity at almost every meeting.
Twelve students from the theological department of Southern Missionary College took classwork in the field school during the summer. At the end of twelve weeks, before the students left Asheville, the first fruits of the effort were gathered in, resulting in twenty souls for the kingdom. Already four of the new converts have become members of the student body at Southern Missionary College, and are preparing to become workers in God's great remnant movement.
Weekly Program of the School
The students who took part in the Field School of Evangelism found the twelve weeks of its duration packed full of many good things. There were regular college classes six mornings each week. Twelve hours of college class-work were given, consisting of evangelistic and church music (two hours), conducting (one hour), taught by Prof. H. A. Miller ; health evangelism (three hours), taught by Dr. Wayne McFarland; public evangelism (four hours), and pastoral methods (two hours), taught by E. C. Banks. The afternoons were spent in study and doing personal work among the interested people. In the evenings there were the public meetings, Bible studies, and cottage meetings.
Monday afternoons and evenings were given over to recreation. It was the plan on these occasions for the entire group to go together to some quiet place in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains that surround Asheville. Among the pleasures that will long be remembered were mountain hiking, swimming, cooking and eating the evening meal out of doors, and stories and songs around the campfire as the night came on.
Out of the group of students attending the field school Professor Miller organized a mixed chorus, a male chorus, a ladies' trio, a male quartet, and duets. Every number of special music was carefully prepared and beautifully rendered. There were happy moments of expectation when Professor Miller would step forward, perhaps in the appeal of some sermon, and sing an appropriate new song that he had just written under the inspiration of the meetings, or teach the congregation a new chorus that had just sprung from his singing heart. The evangelistic musical programs were deeply spiritual and greatly appreciated by the audience. Surely the Holy Spirit worked through the music in this series of meetings to draw souls to Christ.
At the time of the baptism each young man who had candidates ready for church membership made a brief statement as he presented a candidate to the evangelist, and in turn the evangelist recommended the group of candidates to the pastor of the church for baptism. The name of each candidate had already been examined and recommended by the church board. The pastor then spoke words of commendation to those who were presented for church membership. After a sincere declaration of acceptance of the beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church they were baptized by the pastor, H. R. Thurber.
September 4, the last Sabbath the students were in Asheville, was a day that made a deep spiritual impression upon all who attended the services. At the morning service there was a fellowship meeting, at which time the hand of welcome was extended to all those who had accepted the message during the summer campaign. The pastor, the members of the church board, and the evangelistic group extended the hand of fellowship first. Then all the church members came forward and welcomed the new ones. There were many tears of joy as loved ones embraced loved ones and as friends greeted friends. In the late afternoon an hour and a half before sunset the entire group of church members and students came together again for a special communion service. The Spirit of God came very near to each one in this service. At the close of the Sabbath all went forth to face a new week feeling that surely they had been riding upon the high places of the earth, and feeding upon the heritage of Jacob during the hours of that Sabbath day.
The influence of the Field School of Evangelism is already being felt at Southern Missionary. College. The students who attended the school have many impressive experiences to tell, and are filled with new enthusiasm to continue their work in saving souls during the school year.
Planning for the Campaign
The Asheville Field School of Evangelism was the first to be conducted by an Adventist college in the United States, where students were given credit and taken out into the field to do actual evangelistic work while studying their courses in evangelistic methods. Since it was the first attempt of this kind, there were, of necessity, many months of planning before the program actually started. The teaching staff had to be arranged, the curriculum decided upon, and student problems solved. Approval had to be secured by the college board and union committee, and then it was necessary to find a conference that had faith enough in the program to open its pocketbook and finance the new adventure. This the Carolina Conference did in good faith, and the Lord has rewarded that faith.
After the official and financial arrangements were all settled, it was then necessary to make several trips over to Asheville to plan with the pastor, the local church, and the city officials. Living quarters for thirty-three people had to be secured at rates that students could afford to pay, and arrangements for classroom space had to be worked out. Most of this was provided by good friends at the Pisgah Institute nearby. Professor E. C. Waller and his corps of workers at the school and sanitarium did all they could to make it possible for the students to live and carry on their work with Pisgah as the base. Food and rooms were provided very economically. Altogether the arrangement proved very satisfactory, and was in full harmony with the Spirit of prophecy statements regarding workers living in the country, and from such outposts going into the cities to do their missionary work. (See Evangelism, pp. 76-78.)
The Carolina Conference appropriated $2,500 for the campaign. One thousand dollars of the amount was retained at the conference office to pay the salary, traveling, and living expenses of the evangelist during the summer. The remaining $1,500 was turned -over to Elder Thurber, who, at the request of the evangelist, was appointed campaign treasurer. One thousand dollars of this amount was allocated to help in the local transportation expense of the students in connection with the personal work of the effort. The remaining $500 was used in paying rent on the auditorium, and getting the program started. The offering during the effort amounted to $1,555, and this was also used in the expense of the campaign.
At the end of twelve weeks there was $139.74 left in the treasury to be used by Pastor Thurber as he continued the meetings. He has an intern associated with him and Mrs. W: H. Anderson, experienced Bible instructor from Africa. They have a large interest to follow up, and it is expected that many more new members will be added to the church as a result of the work that was started during the summer in this field school.
Plans for the Future
Although it is far too early yet to ascertain the full results of the field school, it is felt by those who are in official capacity that the experiment has proved itself to be successful enough to be encouraged and planned for as a definite and permanent part of the program at Southern Missionary College: Where the program has been weak, it will be made stronger. Better plans will be made for future campaigns, and a much larger work will be done.
It is a plan that can expect heaven's approval, for it is surely following the divine blueprint. "There should be companies organized, and educated most thoroughly to work as nurses, as evangelists, as ministers, as canvassers, as gospel students, to perfect a character after the divine similitude."—Testimonies, vol. 9, pp. 171, 172. We had all these types of workers connected with the effort this summer, plus the support of good Christian doctors. Besides the help of Dr. McFarland, of Washington, we also received help from Dr. Westcott, of the Florida Sanitarium. Several doctors from the Mountain Sanitarium plan to help in the medical phase of the work as it continues.
Each summer not less than twelve hours of college work will be offered in the field school, and it is the plan to conduct the school in a different conference of the Southern Union each year.
