Elder Reeves in Melbourne has had his first baptism. The last time I was talking with him he mentioned eighty to one hundred preparing for this rite. Besides these he has a large interest from which he and his associate workers will be drawing for months to come. His campaign in Melbourne has been a great inspiration to the workers, and I am sure that all who have been associated with him have received a liberal education in successful methods of public evangelism.
Brother Uttley, with a well-chosen team, has moved over to Perth, the capital of Western Australia, and will be opening a metropolitan campaign there in a few weeks' time.
Elder Burnside has finished his work in Auckland, where he baptized 254 converts, and is moving to Christchurch to open up a large campaign in this city. Suburban efforts are being continued in Auckland. I believe that with these large efforts in the cities and the many smaller ones that are being planned for the suburban and rural areas 1949 should prove to be a most fruitful year.
J. B. CONLEY. [Association Secretary.]
Activities—Past, Present, Future
It is time for another summarizing report from your headquarters secretaries on their past, present, and future work.
First, as to teaching activities at the Theological Seminary : Louise C. Kleuser, R. A. Anderson, and L. E. Froom all taught in their respective fields in the recent winter quarter. G. E. Vandeman taught in the spring term, and Louise C. Kleuser and M. K. Eckenroth are to teach during the full summer quarter. L. E. Froom is also to give his regular courses in the second half of the summer quarter in the new six-weeks, two-classes-a-day plan ( July 19 to August 25), being introduced this summer especially for teachers. R. A. Anderson will teach in the autumn term, and George Vandeman in the winter quarter, when R. A. Anderson and L. E. Froom, with Dr. Frank H. Yost will be at Montevideo, Uruguay, during December and January, conducting another Seminary Field Extension School for workers of the South American Division, with coordinated courses in Bible, evangelism, and prophetic interpretation. This will be similar to the one conducted in England in 1948.
In field activities in North America, Elder Vandeman finished his work in the combined Field School of Evangelism and metropolitan evangelistic campaign at Pittsburgh (reported in the May MINISTRY), and has just completed a local church effort, with seminary student participation, at Frederick, Maryland, which had been begun by Elder Eckenroth in the autumn quarter, in conjunction with Seminary teaching in evangelism, continued by Elder Anderson in the winter quarter, and which has now been brought to its conclusion in the spring term.
Miss Kleuser has recently conducted Bible instructor institutes for the theological and Bible instructor students at Atlantic Union College, and for the regular Bible instructors of the Greater New York Conference. Another will follow in southern New England in June. These will be reported separately. Regrettably, Miss Kleuser could not respond this summer to the request of the British Union and the Finnish conferences for Bible instructor schools. South Africa had also lodged a similar request. These should be planned for later.
M. K. Eckenroth conducted a workers' meeting and spearhead effort in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in February, and recently had a spearhead church effort in Cortland, New York, in which Miss Kleuser joined. This spring L. E. Froom conducted a series of theological and church history workshops of four or five days each at Emmanuel Missionary College, Southern Missionary College, and Union College, to be reported on separately. R. A. Anderson continued the Emmanuel Missionary College appointment with an additional evangelistic workshop. He will also spend the month of July in ministerial institutes in Cuba, concluding with an evangelistic spearhead effort at Santa Clara. Elder Froom also conducted a series of special illustrated studies on the prophetic foundations of our faith in the newly located New York City Temple church, May 22-29.
George E. Vandeman has been appointed to camp meetings in the Columbia Union, and he and L. E. Froom are to assist in the Canadian youth congresses in late June and early July. This autumn M. K. Eckenroth will conduct a combined field training school and maj or evangelistic effort in Atlanta, Georgia, beginning in September. And while R. A. Anderson and L. E. Froom are in South America, Elder Vandeman and Miss Kleuser will devote their efforts to special visitation and workshops in our colleges in North America, aiding the practical theology or field training departments during the autumn and spring quarters. Brother Vandeman is expected to visit La Sierra, Pacific Union, Walla Walla, and Canadian Union colleges in the autumn, and to aid in several workers' meetings while on this tour.
This summary would not be complete without a word concerning special writing activities: R. A. Anderson is well along with his very practical book manuscript on pastoral evangelism, that should prove a real blessing to our workers. L. E. Froom has been making the final revisions on volume I of The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers and writing the first draft of volume 4, the final volume of the set. Books of this size and character call for an amount of toil and time, apart from the research, scarcely realized by those who have never engaged in such a major task. Miss Kleuser has also completed the Home Study Institute course of lessons on Advanced Bible Instructor Techniques. Work on the 1950 Ministerial Reading Course is also progressing nicely. And of course THE MINISTRY calls constantly for its full share of attention.
All this, along with other association duties, makes an intensive program, but we are happy to respond to the calls of the field to the best of our ability. The chief difficulty lies in working out an equitable distribution of effort, for there are many more calls than we can possibly respond to. Decision on all major appointments is made under counsel of a special advisory group of five officers.
