Emmanuel Missionary College is ideally located with respect to opportunity for clinical field activity. Twenty-eight well-established churches lie in near proximity to the college. For many years the young men in training have visited these congregations on the Sabbath, participating in their organizational functions and holding evangelistic meetings. Opportunity is thus granted the upper division ministerial students of preaching to, and working with, moderate-size churches with every typical problem. Many of the young men speak as often as twice a month. Members of the Bible department faculty accompany the students, and stimulate improvement through helpful criticism and kindly counsel.
E. R. THIELE writes that this program has been productive of satisfying results this year. These churches provide lay assistance and places of meeting for many student efforts. Several are nearing completion now—Bangor, Buchanan, Baroda, and Benton Harbor, Michigan. The meetings are being conducted in the local church buildings, and are well supported by the members of the church. At Bangor successful meetings are being conducted by three brothers, who preach in turns on Sunday nights. The attendance has been on the increase. In Buchanan the average attendance has been eighty people, with offerings amounting to $143.59 for thirteen weeks. The meetings in Benton Harbor have been most encouraging. Not only is the auditorium filled to capacity, but loud-speakers relay the service to the basement and auxiliary auditorium.
EDWARD HEPPENSTALL sends encouraging word from La Sierra, California. He writes that "Thomas Blincoe and the evangelism class are conducting an effort at the town of Elsinore, some thirty miles from here, in the women's clubhouse. The town has seen nothing like this for years ; neither has the college here. The attendance is around two hundred at every meeting, practically all non-Adventists. These are conducted on Friday and Sunday evenings. The boys do most of the speaking, although T. H. Blincoe presented the Sabbath.
"From one Presbyterian church seventeen of of their members come to our meetings. They are so stirred up over the Sabbath that a stormy session with their own pastor is in the -offing. It is no exaggeration to say that the whole town is talking about the meetings, and the Lord has blessed in a most remarkable way. If this is the way efforts are going to continue, then we cannot ask for anything better at all. The musical support has been excellent, and the whole effort has been a masterpiece of organization. Brother Blincoe has -done a marvelous job, and given a dynamic spiritual leadership. Already several have taken -their stand for the truth.
"The rest of the field work is preaching in The various churches by the boys of the homiletics class. We have a group of ministerial students second to none, who are offering spiritual leadership that is counting around here, and will grow when they get out in the field.
"Monthly departmental meetings with the ministerial students give us the opportunity to bring in speakers from the field. In this way we give the boys real practical help. We have about 160 students taking theology. We have just lined up a two-year Bible instructor's course that will be attractive to those interested in this field."
N. WENSELL writes from River Plate College in South America : "Our college is located in the country, away from the big cities. There are in our neighborhood six churches and some groups of brethren and believers. During the school year these churches and groups are visited regularly once a month on Sabbath by our students. The students take charge of the preaching hour, and do their part in Sabbath school and young people's meeting.
"Besides this they have the responsibility of other meetings in the college. They have charge of Friday evening worship at the beginning of the Sabbath, which is held for all students together in the chapel, also of the church prayer meeting on Tuesday evening. They often give talks to the patients in our sister institution, Sanatorio Adventista del Plata. In my presence the more advanced students of the ministerial course give the studies to the baptismal class.
"We have a missionary outing once a month to sell El Atalaya to near-by cities. A large number of students participate in these all-day outings, and when they return the whole truckload are singing and overjoyed with the experiences of the day. Thus the students get a practical, continuous experience in personal work for non-Adventists."
G. H. MINCHIN, newly appointed dean of theology at Atlantic Union College, summarizes the practical work of this year by stating: "Early in the winter T. G. Bunch, pastor of the South Lancaster church, conducted a series of Sunday night meetings in the largest hall in Clinton. This was partially for the purpose of giving our ministerial students an opportunity to participate.
"About twenty were organized into bands, each with a student leader. They handled the greater part of the advertising and preparations for the meetings. They were thoroughly briefed by Elder Bunch for this work. Then when the meetings actually began they acted as ushers, and also took active part in the platform work. Junior theological students observed, and all took part in some of the follow-up work. In a sense this was not an evangelistic effort, but rather an attempt to help break down prejudice in our neighboring town. I believe it was a real success from that viewpoint. In other words, this was our main laboratory this past year.
"This year individual students have not been attempting meetings on their own account in near-by towns, as has often been done previously. As a matter of fact, we have tried this year to stress the place of personal work for our young men. Here again we are working closely with the local church in the effort to bring back church members who have left or grown cold. A very interesting work is being promoted in the town of Harvard, a few miles from here. A personal visitation campaign is under way there now. For instance, last Sabbath afternoon twenty-five young men went out with free literature, not merely to leave it at the door, but to gain entrance wherever possible. Some encouraging results are in sight, and openings for Bible studies are coming in.
"Another avenue for personal work is being exploited by our ministerial students through the various bands of the young people's society. We have worked out a plan with the leader of the society so that the members of the evangelism classes in the college have the opportunity for leadership there, and receive credit toward their college classes in evangelism or field work.
"During the year five of the young men have acted as elders of churches, and one has been the student assistant to Elder Bunch. These men assume real responsibility. They are elected to the office by the churches concerned, and have without exception done excellent work, thus justifying their appointments. They enter into all the church activities and problems."
In the next issue we plan to publish a pictured story of the new evangelism laboratory at Union College, described in detail by Leslie G. Hardinge, evangelism instructor.
