The Implications of a World Movement
By WALTER R. BEACH, President of the Southern European Division
It may seem superfluous to reaffirm the world character of the Advent Movement. Through the years this has come to be accepted as unchallenged truth. Every Seventh- day Adventist understands that the everlasting gospel is to be preached to every kindred, tongue, and people. A contrary opinion would be considered nothing short of heresy. Certainly our church is world-minded. I could adduce a score of major evidences to substantiate the claim. There can be no question that we believe in the universal character of our movement, and that our actions have gone a long way to carry out the gospel commission.
Sometimes I am led to wonder, however, whether our world view of this movement is not a restricted one. Do we act in full harmony with what we accept as the divine program? This question etched itself sharply into my thinking a short time ago as I sat in a high government official's office in one of Europe's capitals. The official leafed through a voluminous folder containing documents regarding Adventists' beliefs and activities. Various agencies had been employed to gather these documents. As I watched, letterheads, evangelistic publicity, newspaper clippings, denominational journals and much else passed under the scrutinizing eye of this man, who, I believe, was making an honest effort to get a correct picture of the Advent Movement. I shall never know all that was in that folder, but I do know that there were several things that should not have been there, and which gave a distorted, prejudiced picture of the universality of God's last message to all peoples.
This experience made an impression upon my mind, and set me to thinking. I have come to realize that we still have much to learn, and particularly to practice, regarding the world scope and purpose of our church. I am convinced that very often committees operate too much within the restricted circle of their immediate responsibilities. They think of .the church or the conference or the institution or even the country for which they are responsible in their planning, but they fail to embrace the wider implications - of their decisions. I fear that our evangelists often issue unwise advertising, and speak with insufficient caution on subjects that not only reveal immature thinking and lack of information but mark our activity as local, provincial, or at the most national. I feel very earnestly that we must lift our sights and aim farther. Every word we speak or write, every plan we make, every decision we take, should take into account the impact and the possible consequences elsewhere. The world is indeed the field.
I have been astonished to find how much emphasis the Spirit of prophecy places on the viewpoint I am expressing. The instruction given is too voluminous to incorporate in this article. I would like to counsel every worker in the cause to make a study of the question for himself. I would recommend the pertinent instruction in Counsels to Writers and Editors, and there are also a number of illuminating pages in Evangelism. This study is worth white, for as the Advent Movement reaches out into many lands we must adjust our thinking and our methods to a truly world viewpoint.
I fear that, in yet another sense, we hardly measure up to the requirements of a world movement. I even wonder whether we are not slipping back from what was once a brighter ideal. I am alluding to the missionary principle of sharing with fields, more needy than ours, the means and the men God has placed so ' abundantly at the disposal of our home bases.
We clearly recognize the needs of the home fields. We are well aware of the fact that they have often deprived themselves of working facilities needed to ensure strength and stability to an expanding denomination. I am thinking of North American organizations, some European Conferences, and other fields. In writing this I am not thinking so much of the amounts of money we are giving or of the number of men we are sending out. I would leave aside the percentage of funds retained for local enterprises. I think these aspects are secondary. What I would stress is the divine principle of unselfish consideration for the greater needs of others. This principle applies locally as well as generally. There always are weaker churches, weaker evangelistic areas, weaker conferences, and weaker lands. Some have been less favored than others. I have noticed that even our mission organizations can always find another field, near or afar, more needy than they. The point is that we must find these fields. The missionary principle requires it. And we must be ready to share our men and means with them.
I mention this because I have discerned tendencies that are disquieting. I visit churches that seem now to talk much more than they used to about local needs and less about the requirements of fields afar. One church leader said that he thought his field should "have its turn now." This may be true, but let us not allow ourselves to become hypnotized by needs close at hand. We must ever think of others, and give until it hurts in behalf of the less-favored areas. The triumph of the Advent cause, the implementing of its universal program, is at this price. If we limit our vision, we shall dry up the main springs of progress. We shall settle down into selfish complacency, and fail to measure up to the unalterable standards of a world movement.
This message is for the readers of THE MINISTRY—the leaders in church and evangelistic activity. I would write especially for the younger workers who are coming out of our colleges with the marvelous training that we are now able to give Advent youth. I would have them catch a glimpse of the requirements and, the implications of a world movement. They must recognize that every word, every dis course, every activity, is to fit harmoniously into the complicated setting of a. world structure. In so doing they will take their places unabashed among the true servants of God's cause, and will contribute fully to its speedy triumph.
Ordained Nationals in Far East
By V. T. ARMSTRONG, President of the Far Eastern Division
For years after the opening of the work in an Oriental lands the number of men ordained to the gospel ministry was few. This, of course, is true in any field, for it is only after some years of training and proving that responsible committees can recommend the ordination of men to this sacred calling. It is a question of growth, training, and length of experience.
The years have brought this development, and in all the fields of the Orient men of ability have been qualified by training, experience, and successful labor to take their place as leaders, and be set apart by ordination for this sacred work. The Lord is raising up His wit nesses in all lands of earth, and it is most encouraging evidence of the power of God in this movement to know that today the number of ordained ministers is rapidly increasing in these mission lands.
On the last Sabbath of the Philippine Union biennial conference fifteen Filipino workers were ordained to the ministry. This is the largest number ever ordained at one meeting in the history of the work in the Far Eastern Division.
In the statistical report of 1940 the number of ordained ministers in this division, excluding foreign missionaries, was listed as 74. This number was decreased during the war years to 54. Since the war the number has again increased, and 85 was the reported number at the beginning of 1949. Reports received for eight months in 1949 give an additional 25 ordinations, making the total to date no. Surely it is a cause of rejoicing to see such a large number of consecrated, trained workers giving their lives to the preaching of the Word.
It is also gratifying to see how many young men are now in our training schools, enrolled in the theological course and preparing for the ministry as God may will. A number of young women are also taking the Bible instructors' course. Surely there is great need of workers in this branch of service.
The needs in the field are great, for the harvest is white. May we continually pray for more laborers to join in the expanding work.
The Unusual Is Happening
By A. E. RAWSON
Truly the Lord is revealing His workers in new India in a marvelous way, as is strikingly demonstrated by the following experience. At the end of a day's Ingathering work in Surat, C. A. W. Ritchie attended an illustrated talk given by Dr. N. A. Buxton, of the Surat Mission Hospital, in an Orthodox Hindo Ashram [spiritual retreat] of much renown. In such places the teaching of Christianity is usually forbidden, since these theological schools are given over to the revival of the teachings of ancient Hinduism. Imagine Pastor Ritchie's surprise, when Dr. Buxton had ended his talk, to see the leader with a group of the most advanced students come forward and make the following request: "Please bring some more pictures of Christ and His ministry when you come again, and kindly bring us a Bible so that we may all have it read to us every day."
Such an experience in such a setting is certainly a new thing in a new day in India.
Chapel Building in Mission Lands
By ROBERT H. PIERSON, President of the Caribbean Union Mission
Many new Adventist companies need a little • financial encouragement to help them launch out on a church-building program. To supply this encouragement, and to get our companies out of some of the old shacks and "booths" in which they were worshiping, our British West Indies Union committee approved a "church commencement program."
This program included help from both the union and the local missions. When the local group had procured a suitable plot of land and had collected some of the necessary materials, such as rocks, sand, and timber, the mission organizations stepped in to supply sufficient funds to enable the church to hold a "stone-laying" service. In supplying these funds the union gave approximately one sixth, the local mission one third, and the local church the balance in cash or kind.
"Stone-laying" services as held in the West Indies are gala occasions and prove to be a real boon in supplying needed funds to erect the walls of the building. Usually these services are held when the foundations have been completed, but some companies prefer to wait until the shell of the building is up. The time of the service is largely dependent upon the immediate need for funds.
When the foundations are laid space is left for as many stones as there are persons or organizations that can be persuaded to "lay them," at rates ranging from two to twenty- five dollars, according to the size of the individual pocketbook. These stones are usually about ten by fifteen inches and two inches thick, and are made from concrete or some soft stone. The name of the person laying the stone is cut into it, and it is held in readiness until the big day arrives.
On the day of the "stone-laying" service a carefully planned program is carried out. In the West Indies sister churches love to provide special items, such as choir numbers, recitations, or other features. Such features help to create a feeling of good fellowship among the churches of the district, and swell the attendance. The program always includes an appropriate sermon, usually presented by one of the local mission or union workers. This provides an excellent opportunity to let the public know of the worldwide scope of our denominational work. On one such occasion the leading man of the parish was so impressed with the work being done that he raised his offering from forty dollars to one thousand dollars. This do nation enabled us to complete the roof of the neat little church under construction.
After the program has been finished, all the congregation proceeds to the place where the stones are to be "laid." Usually the most important cornerstone is laid first by a prominent person of the community or the mission or union president. Then the congregation goes from one stone to another all the way around the building, each "laying" the stone with his or her name inscribed on it.
Each donor says a few words, usually laying the stone "in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost," or to "the honor and glory of God," or with some equally appropriate phraseology. After they have laid the stone in place (usually it is not cemented at this time) they hand in their contribution to the person in charge. In addition to these donations, a general offering is also taken. When all the stones have thus been laid a closing hymn is sung, and the service is brought to a close with the benediction. These services usually net anywhere from one to six hundred dollars, according to the size of the church and the zeal manifest in promoting the program.
The dedication service is an outstanding ceremony in the West Indian churches that follows the program of having a "door- and window-opening" ceremony. Because of the peculiar nature of the program our church dedications are held on days other than Sab bath—usually Sunday afternoons, so they will not conflict with services in "first-day" churches. We want all their members to at tend too, and to help us financially by "opening" doors and windows.
Just where the plan of "opening" doors and windows on the day of dedication originated I do not know, but it is a good one. Everyone thoroughly enjoys it, and it has brought thousands of dollars into the coffers of the church to help make our buildings more attractive and representative. Here is how it operates:
When the crowd gathers they find themselves locked outside—the doors and windows all closed. At the appointed hour the pastor of the church, the mission director, or the one designated to preside as master of ceremonies calls the meeting to order around the front door. After a few words of welcome, a short prayer, and perhaps a song, the one in charge explains the order and the nature of the service. He then introduces the person who has previously agreed to "open" the front door. Usually this is a prominent person in the community or one of the local mission officers.
After a few appropriate remarks this person unlocks the door and declares the church open. The first to pass in are those who have previously agreed to "open" other doors and the windows. They go in and take their assigned places, and the crowd follows. Then the other doors and windows are opened, usually "to the honor and glory of God," or "in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost," or with the use of some equally appropriate phrases. Then the usual order of dedication service recommended in the Church Manual is followed.
The financial benefit of the "door- and window-opening" service becomes apparent when I tell you that each one taking part pays anywhere from two dollars to twenty-five dollars for the privilege. The amount depends upon the prominence of the door or window and the financial circumstances of the individual. Many times a sister church will "open" a door or a window to help out, and this creates a good feeling of cooperation among the churches.
The funds thus realized, in addition to the offering taken, are used for interior furnishings, an organ, landscaping of the grounds, hymnbooks, or any other local need. It is not uncommon for a little country church to receive well over a hundred dollars to be used in this way.
Perhaps others would like to try some • of these methods of raising funds for church building. It is worth a trial.
More about the Tokyo Effort
By B. P. HOFFMAN, Professor of Bible, Theological Seminary
The May issue of MINISTRY carried an article on evangelism in postwar Japan by Paul H. Eldridge, president of the North Japan Mission, in which he referred briefly to the evangelistic effort held in the city of Tokyo during the closing weeks of 1948. In this effort I joined with him and F. R. Millard, president of the Japan Union Mission, in the heavy responsibility of preaching the Word to men and women who for the most part had had no previous contact with Christianity.
It has been suggested that more details be told with the thought that lessons from the experience might prove of value in similar efforts elsewhere. It will be recognized at once that in this case there had been evidence of a remarkable working of Providence and the operation of the Holy Spirit, by which the attitude of an entire nation toward the Christian message has been reversed, and a preparation made in the hearts of the people that is of more importance than all the planning, timing, staging, and publicity that man can effect.
In the first place, none of the workers en gaged in the effort had had any specialized training for large-scale evangelism as it is carried on by city evangelists in America. There was, furthermore, not one worker who was free to devote his entire time and energy to this effort. No preliminary visitation of the people of the city had been done, and no literature was circulated in preparation for it. The only direct personal contacts made were in the form of invitations and announcements sent to several hundreds of persons who were already enrolled in the Bible correspondence course. Aside from this the advertising was limited to posters, handbills, and small ads in the newspapers; but in none of these was there announced anything sensational by way of topics. Only such subjects as "Christianity and Japan," "The Word of God in Japan," "The Kingdom of God," and strictly Biblical topics were used, with no featuring of atomic bombs or scare lines, no predictions or denunciations of what any nation or nations might be doing now or in the future.
Add to this the fact that the time for the meetings was the beginning of the cold and wet of winter, and just prior to the New Year's season, which is the most busy time in the Orient; also that the location was in a badly bombed and burned-out section of the city with torn-up and poorly lighted streets; and that the place of meeting was a partially restored assembly hall on the fifth floor of a burned-out concrete shell of a school building with no heat and much draftiness. This all totaled up to what would hardly be considered a propitious outlook for gaining a hearing for the preaching of the gospel.
Earnest and united prayer had been offered by the members of our church on the outskirts of the city, and it was very gratifying on the opening night to be able to welcome and address more than eleven hundred people who climbed the five flights of stairs, and sat attentively in the cold through two hours of singing and preaching. For twenty nights (four nights a week), and counting the rainy nights, the attendance averaged 790, many of these attending regularly throughout the series. The services were begun at six o'clock, so that the people could come directly from their work and not need to go home and come out again in the evening. Because of Tokyo's serious housing shortage resulting from bombing and fire, many who attended lived far out of town, some riding the trains as long as two hours to return home after the meetings.
Tables were placed at the exits where some of our young people offered Bibles and other truth-filled literature for sale. Without any sales promotion from the platform, a total of more than one hundred thousand yen worth of reading matter was purchased. Nearly two thousand new enrollees for the Bible course were secured. About five hundred Bibles and Bible portions and over five hundred hymn- books had been acquired personally, and before the close of the series it seemed that at least half the listeners were bringing their Bibles and trying to follow the reading of the Scriptures used in the sermons. Most of them had never had Bibles before, or any previous experience with Christianity. To afford more opportunity for meeting with and giving special help to those most interested, a period for questions and answers was arranged, beginning an hour before the public meeting. This was well at tended, and many serious questions each night led to the further clarification of related problems of doctrine and Christian living.
One night during the series a larger hall in a more easily accessible part of the city was se cured; and though the seating capacity there was said to be 2,500, by actual count 3,100 people attended, and there was a sense of deep and earnest response to the direct preaching of the gospel message. More than three fourths of those present indicated, by rising, a desire to follow on to know more of God's message for them. On December 27, the last night of the series, some eight hundred eager seekers after truth were in attendance.
It seemed a most flagrant violation of all true principles of evangelism to stop an effort with such an interest. When the last exhortations had been given, the last hymn sung, and the benediction pronounced, the people lingered, loath to leave. But since we were unable to secure any kind of place in which such meetings could be continued through the coldest part of winter just ahead, all we could do was to tell them of our church twelve or thirteen miles away, out at Ogikubo, and invite them to the services there. A sufficient number made the crowded train trip to the weekly Sabbath services to make it necessary to hold two Sabbath schools and two preaching services each Sab bath in order to accommodate those who came. More than sixty were immediately enrolled in baptismal classes that met in the church on the different nights of the week. Several groups of these have been baptized and united to the church.
If some even fairly comfortable meeting place could have been provided, and if some experienced soul winner had been available for follow-up work in the heart of this great city, there is no reason to doubt that a new congregation of four or five hundred believers could have been raised up within a few months.
Shorter efforts held in other cities yielded evidence for believing that a similar hunger for the Word of life is quite general throughout this island kingdom, in which formerly the work has seemed difficult and the progress slow. Surely this is a clear instance of what the messenger of the Lord was shown might be expected when the great Master Worker "by His providence . . . prepares the way for His work to be accomplished....
"If His people are watching the indications of His providence, and stand ready to co-operate with Him, they will see a great work accomplished. Their efforts, rightly directed, will produce a hundred-fold greater results than can be accomplished with the same means and facilities in another channel where God is not so manifestly working."—Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 24.
We are praying earnestly that His providence may keep these doors open a little while longer, that He will watch over those whose interests have been awakened, and that He will enable His people to hasten to take full advantage of this present favorable opportunity before it is too late, to garner in many more of Tokyo's millions and of the other tens of millions in Japan who wait for the good tidings of salvation and of His kingdom.
Youth Evangelism in Africa
By EDWARD A. TRUMPER, Bible Teacher, Solusi Training School
The South African Union Conference is making great forward strides in the field of evangelism of the youth, both for those of the denomination and for those not yet of our faith, by our Adventist youth wherever they may be found.
For some time we, in the mission fields to the north, have been hearing what has been done in the South African Union, and we have been interested in how it was being accomplished. During my coastal furlough I had the privilege of spending some of my time in 'association with the youth work of the union, and gaining- an insight into their activities.
The work for youth receives an annual impetus from the youth camps that are conducted in the various fields and conferences of the South African Union. These camps have been of short duration heretofore. It was a real pleasure to me recently to attend the first ten-day senior youth's camp ever to be held for the youth of the Natal-Transvaal Conference, which takes in Natal, the Transvaal, and the Orange Free State.
This camp was set up on a plan differing somewhat from what I had seen before. It seems to me as though our youth work in general might benefit by adjusting to some of the items of emphasis stressed in this camp.
P. H. Coetzee, Missionary Volunteer secretary of the South African Union Conference, was the chief organizer and the director of the camp. Elder Coetzee has long been active in work for the youth of South Africa, and has recently returned from advanced training in America, where he especially studied our youth work; and he has been very successful in gleaning, incorporating, and adapting in such a way as to develop a successfully aggressive program of youth work here.
Added to competent direction, the leadership personnel of the camp was certainly "handpicked." It was a case of making every effort to get the best, and of accepting nothing less than the best as workers for this camp. The counselors and instructors were selected from denominational leaders, including representatives from the departments of the conference, a representative of the Voice of Prophecy in Cape Town, available on-coastal-furlough missionaries with past experience in youth work, strong Adventist principals and teachers employed both in our denominational and in government schools, and outstanding lay workers from the various churches. Each one of these was selected for ability in the specialized work he was to do at the camp, but especially for his high spiritual qualifications. It was this leader ship foundation upon which the successful work of the camp was founded.
One feature I had never seen in a youth's camp before was a camp pastor or chaplain who had no responsibility but to preach and counsel. This worked very well indeed, and certainly paid dividends in souls won. The director, the counselors, and the instructors did their full part of the spiritual work in an excellent manner, and the addition of the pastor made it possible to coordinate the work of all into good dividends spiritually.
If any program is to be successful, definite organization is needed. A counselors' meeting was held every evening, and the results were seen in the program the following day. It was really more like the workers' meetings we hold in connection with our large efforts than the counselors' meetings one sometimes sees at a youth's camp.
The spiritual work was so definitely of first interest that other items naturally took subordinate places, and a spiritual atmosphere pervaded them. There was no lessening of the enjoyment or the accomplishments of the camp, but rather an accentuation of them, because the spiritual tone made them more meaningful.
The result of this carefully planned program was success along every line of camp activity, together with a 100 per cent decision for the Lord before the camp closed. Some of the decisions were from backsliders and some from those who had never been Seventh-day Adventists. In most cases the decision was the result not of the final call but of the individual counseling by all the leaders throughout the days of the camp. Those who took their stand for the first time when the call was made were carefully examined to see whether the response was genuine, and it was felt that in every case the stand was completely sincere.
Certainly these camps, conducted as they are, are saving many of our youth for the kingdom of God, as well as being evangelistic for those who may be in attendance who have not been members of our faith before, and the saving of our own young people is certainly evangelism in the highest sense. May we have more camps like this!
Probably the next most important item in the work being done in South Africa is the "Share Your Faith" program. Our South African youth everywhere are learning to work for the souls of those around them, and once on fire, they are doing things definitely indicative of the Holy Spirit's working through them.
This "Share Your Faith" program was given impetus by an effort properly arranged and advertised on one of the evenings of the camp. Well over a hundred non-Adventists were in attendance, and our youth had the thrill of holding such a service, as well as instruction under competent leadership as to how to hold it. They had actually seen the evangelistic "Share Your Faith" program in successful operation, and had been a part of it themselves.
In addition to the camps and the "Share Your Faith" work being done, I know of at least three youth's congresses scheduled to be held in the near future: one is for European youth, to be held near Johannesburg; one is to be held in Cape Town, for the Cape Field, which _cares for the Cape colored and Indian work in South Africa; and one is to be at Helderberg College, from which we get our strong colonial workers. Others will undoubtedly be held as they are arranged, and all are designed to be fully as evangelistic as was the Senior camp I attended, and to give real stimulation to the soul-saving ambitions of our South African youth.
There is also in preparation a tour of our churches by the Helderberg College choir. This is with the intention not only of interesting more of our youth for definite training in the work of soul saving, which is available at Helderberg College, but to show our youth everywhere what can be done by Adventist youth if they will just put on the whole armor and go to work.
