A Personal Experience in Evangelism
OSCAR B. GERHART Pastor-Evangelist, West Virginia Conference
Do not bother to read this, my brother, if you have attained the enviable reputation of a successful evangelist. You can spend your time more profitably. Or can you? On second thought, perhaps you too can find a bit of inspiration and direction from my story. Yes, come, sit down with the circle of fellow ministers for whom this is intended.
The first half of my years as a district pastor were largely spent studying to imitate the methods of our best-known evangelists, because more than anything else I longed to become a successful soul winner. I observed that my model brethren had large budgets and a corps of associate workers, and I felt somewhat depressed that my conference presidents all seemed to expect me to be my own song leader and Bible instructor, and still have good baptisms, on a |200 budget. It didn't seem just right to me. So I began taking refuge in arithmetic. When an evangelist baptized a hundred converts, I would count his staff of fellow workers and divide the number into his baptisms. I generally found that, worker for worker and dollar for dollar, I was almost as successful as he.
The reason I was not quite so successful I attributed to my cramped budget and lack of help. Then came the day! I was to have a $500 budget and a Bible instructor for my next effort. I felt that God was about to answer my prayers and make me a successful evangelist, and I thanked Him. When the exciting months were over and my special meetings had come to a close, I had baptized one, just one new convert and he married the Bible instructor and moved with her to a distant conference! Disillusioned and grieved, I went in sackcloth and ashes to carry on as a district pastor. It was then that certain familiar counsels began to shape my ministry. "The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work, and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers." Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 117. (Italics sup plied.) And why not? "Men with one talent may reach a class that those with two or five talents cannot approach." Ibid., vol. 5, p. 462. "Many will be brought to a knowledge of the truth who, but for these humble teachers, would never have been won to Christ." Ibid., vol. 7, p. 23. (Italics supplied.) So what was I to do about it? "Those who have the spiritual oversight of the church should devise ways and means by which an opportunity may be given to every member of the church to act some part in God's work." Ibid., vol. 9, p. 116. My cheeks burned as I read again: "There are many ordained ministers who have never yet exercised a shepherd's care over the flock of God. . . . Because the church members have not been properly instructed by those whom God has placed as overseers, many are slothful servants, hiding their talents in the earth and still complaining of the Lord's dealing toward them. They expect to be tended like sick children." Ibid., vol. 6, pp. 434, 435.
Feeling Our Responsibility
God had to permit a bitter disappointment to come to me before I took seriously this pastoral responsibility. Since then, the members under my care have been able to rejoice at the steady increase of new believers whom they have found and won. Rarely a month goes by that some neighborhood resident does not appear in our Sabbath services for the first time. Within weeks most of these newcomers become zealous members, and they in turn bring others. We have good reason to hope that our district membership will be doubled by the next General Conference session and at almost no cost to the conference! Every summer and fall the members are kept busy finding and creating new interests in their neighborhoods. Every winter public meetings are held in the church, and to these the members invite their interested friends. And they come.
No public advertising is needed, no interest-catching gadgets, no large outlay of funds. Our own members need no urging to attend. They are there, eagerly watching those whom they have invited as they drink in the message. No more need I envy the evangelist his success, for God grants me his joys if not his talents. Brethren, let us face the facts. The great majority of us are not impressive platform evangelists and never will be. Their methods of advertising, their ways of speaking, their assortment of interest-holding" devices, are good for them but impractical for us. David cannot fight well in Saul's armor. Nor need we feel any sense of inferiority that this is true. Do we not believe the Scripture when it says, "He gave some, . . . evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers" (Eph. 4:11)? Are all evangelists? Or are all pastors and teachers? Then let us thank God, if He has fitted us to be pastors and teachers, or pastor-evangelists, for to us is given a large share in the privilege of hastening our Lord's return. We can and must train His great body of members for evangelism. When we have set our churches to the same work given our public evangelists, the work will be done quickly. God speed the day!
Small-Town Evangelism
TRACY S. HILL Pastor-Evangelist, Northern New England Conference
If only I had some music, a Bible instructor, a larger budget . . ." Many of us have wasted much valuable time in such wishful thinking. We read in THE MINISTRY of the exploits of our brethren. We are glad that the spirit of evangelism is not dead, that God is continuing to bless wherever large gatherings take place. We ourselves have a half-dozen churches with several schools, perhaps, and a budget that never goes round. Worst of all, we are alone in our districts, except for such help as our wives and lay workers can offer. It is easy to dream of the evangelism we would carry on, if Thank the Lord, some of us have awakened out of that kind of daydreaming. We are still in district work with a number of churches demanding our attention. We still have no skilled musical help of quality. A Bible instructor is not in prospect, and budgets are still small.
But we have learned that an effective public presentation of the Advent message is still both possible and desirable on a small JANUARY, 1954 scale, and, best of all, whenever the message is presented some will always accept. If public meetings are in progress the effectiveness of our personal work is doubled and the interest of the laymen is increased as at no other time. During the early years of our ministry most of us were more or less active in public evangelism. In those blundering days we didn't hesitate to pitch a tent or rent a hall and start advertising a series of meetings.
Sometimes we had crowds sometimes we did not but the Lord always gave us a few souls. How did we ever find the time or have the courage back in those days? We each had just as many churches then as now, and our automobile budget was about one third of what it is now. When it came to evangelistic budgets, the brethren said: "Here are a few dollars be sure to bring them all back in offerings." How did we get away from that simple but fruitful program, anyway? We seem to have gathered the idea, somewhere, somehow, that the machinery of the cause of God would not run unless we ourselves oiled every bearing and made every adjustment. We gradually increased the hours of work and worry among the churches until we were completely lost in detail. We began acting as engineer, fireman, brakeman, and conductor for all the departments in all the churches under our care. We nearly wore ourselves out doing for the layman what he could easily have done for himself. We even deceived ourselves into thinking that the lay man might be persuaded to do the work that we should have been doing.
We forgot that the direction of the work of the churches should be secondary to the program of evangelism that we must maintain.
Thus many of us have wasted a great deal of time. Precious opportunities have slipped past our doors. And while we have been oiling machinery, the enemy has been building up road blocks. We can no longer go out and pitch a tent on a good-looking lot as easily as we did at one time. The authorities now demand that we fireproof the canvas, wire the place with conduit, and pipe it with water and sewer. We can no longer tuck our Bibles under our arms at six-thirty on Sunday evenings and think over just what songs we will sing and what we will say at the meeting. We are now competing with TV, and it takes a real program to pull the people out of their easy chairs. The Canaanites have been building their walls higher of recent years while many of us have been wondering how the work would be finished in our areas.
One-Man Armies
So what shall the lone district leader do? What can he do in public evangelism? I have found that I can work with whatever is at hand, and rely upon God to make up for what is lacking. We read in the Scriptures how the Lord used Shamgar to take care of six hundred Philistines with nothing more than an oxgoad. No budget is mentioned. And there was Sam son, who got results with the jawbone of an ass. A thousand men went down under that piece of bone. Nothing is said about an evangelistic team. The Lord used Samson as a sort of one-man army. I find that the Lord still appreciates one-man armies. Fortunately, most of the cities and towns in my district are of a size well adapted to one-man-army work. They are not easy to reach. In a small place everybody knows every body else's religion and many dislike to be seen going to Adventist meetings. Local Protestant churches usually manage to bring in an evangelist about the time we start a series. The place chosen is usually at a distance, and this makes follow-up difficult. But, believe it or not, public evangelism still seems to produce results in the small towns, and the country is dotted with them. Several short series of meetings each year, or a prolonged series of Sunday evening programs, can be planned. Either plan works well. In counsel with my church leaders of the district I learn where an interest is developing most rapidly.
That is where we shall work next. When the members see that we are working all over the district, systematically following up seed sowing, a new interest grips their hearts. They feel that their sowing will be reaped. They sense the fact that they are part of an evangelistic team. In some cases a regular colporteur can be induced to work ahead of an effort. No matter how much any one group want a series of meetings, they must give place to others until an interest is evident. Having to work at a considerable distance from headquarters, public meetings of this kind must have some initial interest if results are to be seen at the close of the series. How can a one-man army carry on a program with enough drawing power to compete with other, better-equipped forces? I wish I knew all the answers. I use the best quality of re corded music that I can get. I make much of the question box. I use about thirty minutes of good motion pictures the Moody pictures in color, Bible pictures, nature color films. I have no time to write out sermons, so I offer books or a brief synopsis of the evening's sermon to secure names.
Thirty minutes of the best slides I can secure provides a Bible study, and then I give a half-hour sermon with a closing appeal. It is a two-hour program, from 7 to 9 P.M. Absolutely nothing new, but the Lord comes in and the people come back. How can we find time to follow up the interest? I wish I knew all the answers to that one, too. Our people bring friends and neighbors, and this helps a great deal. They already have a hold on those people. My wife does much of the visitation, and we use the conference Bible correspondence school to give instruction. Our correspondence school instructors take a personal interest in the people, and the school in this conference is very effective. Where we have skilled laymen we lean heavily upon their help. There is no substitute, however, for visitation by the evangelist himself, and since I have learned to let the laymen oil the wheels of church activities, I have more time to visit. I find that when our people see their district leader "sweating" in public evangelism, they shoulder a great deal more responsibility than otherwise. They feel themselves a part of the team, and then we begin to feel that it is more than a one-man army. Small-town evangelism is not dead by any means. Our pioneer preachers pitched a tent at almost any settlement and raised up a church. The work is much harder now in some ways, but there are still honest hearts in every ham let. Many have known something of the truth. They listen to the message on the air, they know an Adventist friend, or they have bought a book. They are just waiting for someone to challenge them to do something with the truth they know. And God is more than willing to da His part when we set our hands to the task.
Pastoral Evangelism
H. W. WALKER Pastor-Evangelist, Georgia-Cumberland Conference
During the past eight years I have con ducted our evangelistic work in a very modest way, at little expense, and have enjoyed a measure of success. Most of that time I have carried on my work without a Bible instructor, intern, or song leader employed by the conference, and my public evangelism has been limited almost entirely to the churches where I have labored. Laymen have led out in the singing and ushering. Special songs or instrumental numbers have been entirely by local talent, and I have urged local members to give Bible studies, con duct branch Sabbath schools, and use the S.A.V.E. projector and sound machine manufactured by Brother Zima, of Minneapolis. These machines are especially designed for cottage meetings and services in schoolhouses and churches. I have learned to look for much through the efforts of laymen, and have secured a number of baptisms as a result. We have a message to give. "The Lord designs that the presentation of this message shall be the highest, greatest work carried on in the, world at this time." Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 11. Such a task will challenge the united efforts of ministry and laity. Let us preach and teach the message constantly to our church members. They should be carefully instructed on every point of doctrine.
Pastor's Special Sabbath School Class
The pastor himself should teach a special class in Sabbath school, and all the visitors and non-Adventists should be urged to go into his class. Such a class should be conducted in true evangelistic fashion. The message should be presented and appeals made for people to give their hearts to Christ. Our laymen should all be instructed and trained until they can give an intelligent reason for the faith they hold. If they know the JANUARY, 1954 message themselves, they can and will tell it to others. "The three angels of Revelation 14 represent the people who accept the light of God's messages and go forth as His agents to sound the warning throughout the length and breadth of the earth." Ibid., vol. 5, pp. 455, 456. Homes represented in our churches make fruitful spots for evangelism. Husbands, wives, and children will yield their lives to Christ when the high principles of truth are consistently and properly revealed.
Such homes have many times produced stanch converts for baptism. At an appropriate time it is well to comment openly on the successful work of faithful laymen who have succeeded in winning souls to Christ. It is an incentive to others to go to work, and is often a challenge to some who may be living carelessly in their homes. Recently I baptized a prominent businessman. He was well instructed in the tenets of our faith because he had heard the truth and witnessed it in the life of a faithful wife. One day while sitting at his table he said, "I am an Adventist because of the godly life of my wife, and because of the way she has lived the truth in our home." Later, when I repeated the experience in the church, the eyes of both husband and wife filled with tears of joy, and now they are both laboring to win their children to the message. Such consecrated, well-instructed Adventists in the homes of the denomination make ideal evangelists, and will present a preacher with many precious souls.
Our Message in Every Sermon
Visitors who come to our churches should never leave with the feeling that they have heard just another sermon. Whether it is a church service, prayer meeting, or a Sabbath school class, such occasions afford a real opportunity to give a tactful presentation of some point of the message. Some may depart with a feeling of prejudice, but those who are honest in heart will ponder over the truths they have heard and will often return for more. We should always make Jesus the soul of our teaching and preaching. Logic is effective only when the Spirit's power is present to leaven the hearts. As ministers we should study and restudy our message. We should seek God's Spirit for some thing new and fresh every time we present it -to others. Our preaching becomes lifeless when we conclude that we know the doctrine "line upon line" and have no need of further study. Such stale preaching will destroy our attendance, and even our own church members will lose interest. Preaching, to be effective, must be fresh and spiritual, and when we render such a service our churches will fill up on Sunday evenings with church members, their relatives, and visitors.
A Continuous Program
In the first five months of 1953 we had baptized 24 people, and when we closed our Sun day night meetings in Knoxville, Tennessee, to move, we were enjoying our largest attendance after carrying on in the same place over a period of three years. In 1952 we baptized 28. These are modest results, but they were accomplished with little financial help, and with practically no experienced assistance. During the same period of time we remodeled the church at a cost of several thousand dollars, and at times we preached from an improvised platform made of planks and nail kegs, attractively camouflaged, of course!
Our churches should be well lighted and clean for Sunday evening services. A spirit of quiet reverence should prevail. Such an atmosphere will impress a visitor regardless of humble surroundings. Ministers should instruct church members to dress modestly for such an occasion, and when they come into the church they should learn to find their places quietly and without conversation. People Like Text Slides I use hundreds of text slides during a series of meetings, and make new ones when needed. It is amazing how the audience appreciates the privilege of reading the texts with the preacher. I use only the very best pictures and charts in my prophetic Bible studies, weeding out pictures that are highly emotional. In my appeals I use at times a picture of Christ in the garden, on the cross, or coming again.
Such illustrations always have a good effect. Keep the sermon short. Try to close the meeting when the interest is high. When the people go out saying, "We could have listened longer," the preacher knows he has succeeded, and doubtless they will return the following Sunday evening for more. Secure as many names and addresses as possible and enroll the people in Bible correspondence schools, and also direct their interest toward the Voice of Prophecy and Faith for Today. Let us make the best of what we have. "What is that in thine hand?" God asked Moses. It was only a rod. But what an instrument of power it was in the deliverance of Israel! Let us shun attempting anything beyond our ability, or beyond the talent we have in the church. Give the message with simplicity and leave off the frills. We live in a day of radio and television; the finest kind of entertainment may be had by merely turning a dial. But our visitors have deserted that kind of amusement and entertainment because they have been attracted by the topic, and because they hunger for some thing from the Bible.
Be prepared to feed them from the Word of God. What the Adventist minister has .to offer is just what the world needs. It is the very message God wants the world to hear. It is present truth, and it alone will satisfy the spiritual craving of every searching heart. There is no easy highway to success in pastoral evangelism. It is accomplished only by Bible study, prayer, and good organization. The minister who regards these steps will not fail. No matter how simple the methods we may be compelled to use, when we use carefully every means at hand God will give us fruit for our labor.
Singlehanded Evangelism
ROBERT R. JOHNSON Pastor-Evangelist, Nebraska Conference
A great deal of inspiration has come to me from studying the life of John the Baptist. He was amazingly successful as a soul winner. We could do well to study John's methods. We are prone to feel that unless we have a large budget and at least a singing evangelist and Bible instructor and a good-sized city in which to hold our campaign, we cannot hope for a large harvest of souls. In considering John's ministry, we find several interesting facts.
First, he carried on his work very much alone, "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" (Matt. 3:3). Second, he preached "in the wilderness" (verse 1). He was not known to preach in the cities. In fact, the Scriptures state that the people in the city of Jerusalem "went out to him . . . , and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins" (verses 5, 6). The heartening part of the account of John's ministry is that a "multitude . . . came forth to be baptized of him" (Luke 3:7). I am not minimizing the importance of largecity evangelism or the essential part that singing evangelists and Bible instructors play in making campaigns successful. However, evangelism can not be confined to cities alone. In small towns and rural regions, as well as in metropolitan areas, there are honest souls, for whom Christ died, who are searching for light. In the majority of cases these small towns and rural areas, if they are to be evangelized, must be reached by the district pastor without the assistance of a singing evangelist or a Bible instructor, and often without trained laymen. If you are a district pastor burdened with such a problem, take heart from John's experience. Singlehanded evangelism does produce some problems. I humbly submit a few suggestions and personal observations with the prayer that they may prove helpful. Believe me, a wonderful thrill and a fruitful field await anyone who will go forth as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness."
Finance
Small-town or country evangelism is not ex pensive. Where it is at all possible, I heartily recommend that your nearest church or the district finance the effort. This plan has several advantages. It not only greatly reduces your yearly cost per soul, which will not make the JANUARY, 1954 conference president and committee feel at all bad, but, more important, it produces a greater spirit of cooperation from the members. When a good brother invests in your campaign, it be comes his campaign too. Because of his investment he will no longer be merely a bystander, but will do everything in his power to make the effort successful. Presenting to your church boards your evangelistic plans, along with an itemized list of estimated expenses, will generally result in one-hundred-per-cent cooperation from your church or churches. If churches would finance more small-town and rural efforts, we would have much more money to devote to large-city campaigns in which expenses are more than the local churches can meet.
Place for Meetings
In small towns it is generally easy to obtain the city hall at little expense. If this is not available, empty store buildings can be outfitted and decorated attractively. In the country, it is convenient to use the schoolhouse. In most cases the schoolhouse can be used free of charge, is easily advertised, and generally has a piano, as do city halls.
Advertising
It is very difficult to get satisfactory printing done in small towns. When you find a printer who can do satisfactory work, it pays to have him do the printing for campaigns throughout the whole district. It may mean additional expense in postage and mileage, but the investment will pay big dividends. The printer soon learns to know what you expect and will be a big help to you in planning your handbills. Our handbills and all our printing should be neatly done and be in good taste. Distribution of handbills in the town where your campaign will be held is not a problem if you have the cooperation of the church members. Rural routes are thoroughly covered by the mail. The long two-cent stamped envelope is a cheap and attractive method of getting handbills over a large rural area. These, of course, must be addressed "Rural" or "Star Route, Boxholder," city and State, and tied in bundles for each of the rural and star routes. Be sure first to ask the local postmaster for the necessary information.
Program
Many have asked, "How can I hold an effort without a singing evangelist? What do I do for the song service?" Often there is no musical talent available for special music or directing; but the problem is not so serious as it seems. The type of people you will have coming to your meetings good country folk are not too hard to please. However, it would be too much to expect of your voice, good or bad, to lead a song service and then preach the sermon. A care fully chosen sound motion picture is an asset to any evangelistic program. The many avail able filmstrips are also satisfactory. I like to show one of these during the song service, and I pick a film or filmstrip that reviews the subject of the previous meeting. An occasional Bible quiz, with some of our good books as prizes, stimulates interest
. Your Bible Question Box can be opened one night each week during the song service period. For the sake of variety, the color hymn filmstrips are always accepted enthusiastically by the audience. Here is the plan I follow for the song service: Two or three gospel songs Pictured Hymn (Filmstrip) Bible Quiz, Question Box, or Children's Story Film Theme Song The film could also be used as the first item on the program. Visiting In a singlehanded effort, keeping up with the visiting is a real problem. The only solution is to use your laymen as much as possible. But it also means longer hours for the evangelist. Since it is often impossible for one person to get in touch with all the interested ones, especially during the first few weeks, some other devices must be used to keep attendance up during this period. Many times a personal post card or letter sent by the evangelist to those who were not present, telling them that he missed them and will be looking for them back again at the next meeting, proves very effective. This does not take the place of visiting, by any means, but it does serve its purpose. I have used a business calling card with good results. This little card with my picture on it is left in the door when the person I was intending to visit is not at home. The following copy is on the back of the card: "Date ; [Name] ; I called to give you a personal invitation to attend the meeting because I thought you would be especially interested in the subject . Present this card to me at the meeting and you will receive a FREE BOOK entitled Steps to Christ. Best wishes, [signature]. P.S. Sorry you were not home today." Making the members responsible for those attending from their neighborhood, to keep the interested ones encouraged and attending regularly, will do much in relieving your visiting load. It is absolutely essential to keep an accurate record of everyone who attends the meetings. This record should show all attendance at meetings, family information, a record of all visits, and directions for finding the home. This is most important in small towns and rural areas where you do not always have street names or house numbers. I use the copy illustrated below to keep a record of those at tending meetings. On the reverse side of the 3 by 5 inch slip of paper I make a record of my visits in the home under three columns: Date Topic Remarks.
All of our plans and theory are of no avail whatever without the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. What a blessed comfort and source of power to know that every night of meeting, be tween 6 and 7 P.M., every church member has been on his knees in earnest prayer for God's blessing on that meeting! What a privilege to kneel with your church in prayer for a particular family when they reach the hour of their decision or for some certain individual! There is power in united prayer. God will bless such unified action church members and pastor sacrificing, working, and praying together for souls. May God open our eyes, brethren, to the evangelistic possibilities even in our sparsely settled districts. Let us profit from the example of John and go forward, alone if necessary, in the "wilderness" to prepare the way of the Lord.
Divine Plan for Church Evangelism
ROY B. THURMON Pastor-Evangelist, Alabama-Mississippi Conference
"If in one place there are only two or three who know the truth, let them form themselves into a band of workers. Let them keep their bond of union unbroken, pressing together in love and unity, encouraging one another to advance, each gaining courage and strength from the assistance of the others. . . . Let them labor in Christlike love for those outside the fold, forgetting self in their endeavor to help others. As they work and pray in Christ's name, their numbers will increase; for the Saviour says: 'If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven.' " Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 22. (Italics supplied.) "Why do not two or three meet together and plead with God for the salvation of some special one, and then for still another? In our churches let companies be formed for service.
Let different ones unite in labor as fishers of men. Let them seek to gather souls from the corruption of the world into the saving purity of Christ's love." Ibid., p. 21. (Italics sup plied.) Guided by this counsel and knowing there are no failures in God's plans, the pastor organized the Mobile church into missionary bands. The territory of the district was so divided that bands of about ten or twelve members could be organized in each section. This made it easy for the bands to meet often and to begin their missionary activities from their own neighborhoods. A leader was appointed over each band. As far as possible the elders and deacons and deaconesses were used as leaders, for each one was to become a shepherd over the little flock. Each band leader was encouraged to foster a strong missionary pro gram in his territory, utilizing the talents of each in his band. Furthermore he (or she) was to look after the weak members, seeing that they were regular attendants at church and Sabbath school, counseling them when they were in trouble, encouraging the despondent, admonishing the wayward, and providing activity for the idle. To each of the band leaders was given the following list of mimeographed hints.
Helpful Hints
1. Have band meetings once each week if possible. a. Short studies from Bible and Spirit of prophecy. b. Prayer circle. c. Exchange experiences speak courage. d. Alternate homes for meetings if desirable. JANUARY, 1954 e. Don't prolong these band meetings make them short, interesting, and inspiring.
2. Know every member of band personally and en courage each one to do the work he is best suited to do. Be sure everyone is active in some missionary enterprise.
3. Know the spiritual and physical needs of each band member.
4. Be sure to visit shut-ins often, giving them a Sabbath School Quarterly and a report of church and Sabbath school and of plans and program of church. (They are interested.) Pick up tithes and mission offerings and give receipts for past offerings.
5. Make your group a Sunshine Band. a. Visit the sick. b. Visit jails. c. Visit old folks' homes, etc.
6. Promote Bible school enrollments. Divide territory and work every street systematically.
7. Visit every home in territory for Ingathering do nations. (Encourage every member to raise personal goal.)
8. Find the poor in community and give relief.
9. Encourage band to write missionary letters to friends.
10. See that every member who is able attends church and Sabbath school.
11. Encourage band members to uphold high standards of church and to be faithful in their tithes, and offerings.
12. Hold Bible studies and show pictures in homes of community.
13. Send cards or letters occasionally to band members to lend courage. Use telephone too. Remember birthdays and other special occasions.
14. Establish family altar in every home.
15. Inspire every band member to give away or lend literature. a. Tracts. b. Signs of the Times. c. These Times. d. Listen. e. Life and Health. f. Lending Library.
16. Watch for opportunities to promote the temperance cause.
17. Report activities to home missionary leader once each month.
18. Give periodic personal reports to church during missionary meeting.
19. Be a shepherd not merely a watchdog over your little flock.
20. Don't procrastinate! "Behold, now is the accepted time."
21. Never become discouraged at anything! Work, with what you have.
22. Pray daily for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Sectional Efforts by Pastor
With the laymen looking out for one another and pressing on in missionary projects of their own, the pastor of the church was free to launch into public evangelism. His plan was to hold sectional efforts in various parts of the district, as the interest from the bands might demand, giving a relatively short series of messages, then moving on to another section. The second of these tent meetings has just been completed and a new church is being organized in the district. Other sections are ready and eager for the next effort. "Place after place is to be visited; church after church is to be raised up.
Those who take their stand for the truth are to be organized into churches, and then the minister is to pass on to other equally important fields." Ibid., p. 20. Ever since the band program was inaugurated, the home missionary period between Sabbath school and the worship service has been one of the most inspiring parts of the Sabbath program. The time is not filled with cold, formal announcements, but is occupied largely by different laymen, who relate personal experiences. It seems natural for people to share their joys and give their experiences, and by so doing they themselves are strengthened and the congregation is inspired. If the bands are to be kept active there must be much promotion by the pastor. A periodic band leaders' meeting should be held, at which questions can be asked, problems discussed, and encouragement and instruction given.
An occasional mimeographed letter is helpful. A personal note of commendation will do wonders. A monthly newssheet, "What the Bands Are Doing," will spur them on.
With the S.A.V.E. machines many of the band leaders are conducting meetings, and on numerous occasions from thirty to seventy people have been in attendance. Laymen are giving studies with these machines who otherwise would never be able to give an intelligible presentation of Bible truth, and they are getting results, too. The people taking the studies soon begin to at tend church to learn more of the message and see the Adventists in action. Each Sabbath the pastor of the church makes a call at the conclusion of his sermon. It is not a general call to the altar for prayer, nor for a general hand raising for prayer, but an invitation song is sung and people are invited to come forward for baptism and church member ship. Those attending soon become aware of the fact that at the end of the sermon they will have an opportunity to make a definite decision for Christ. Often persons come forward whom one would least expect. They hear the appeal and act immediately. All too many times, it seems, after a wonderful message has been presented there are no results, because no invitation was given for some penitent soul to make an expression of his faith. Baptisms are planned as the candidates are ready, even though there may be only one candidate at a time. The church is helped by hearing the baptismal vows taken often, and encouraged by witnessing frequent baptismal scenes. (In the Mobile church a baptism was conducted each Sabbath during one of the last autumn months, with from one to five believers baptized on each occasion.) Often visitors who have never seen a baptism by immersion come just to see the service and are impressed.
The laymen thrill to see their candidates go into the watery grave. Much more "credit" and commendation should be given to those "nonsalaried ministers" of the Word.
The One-Man Evangelistic Campaign
LLOYD STEPHENS Pastor-Evangelist, Upper Columbia Conference
Not long ago a group of workers were overheard lamenting the fact that some are expected to do both evangelism and pastoral work at the same time. But is it not a privilege to engage in both? Of course it is natural for the enthusiastic worker to long to specialize in evangelism, and to have the very best possible song leader and Bible instructor assist in his evangelistic campaign; but what is he going to do if they are not the best? More Page 20 sobering yet, what if his conference president regretfully informs him that there just isn't any one trained for the work, or perhaps the budget will not permit him to have extra help? The true shepherd will do his best, using consecrated lay men in place of regular workers. We will just suppose that such a pastor is in charge of a district, and is desiring to do a real work in evangelism, but has no trained help to assist him. How can he start a one-man evangelistic campaign, and still be effective in his pastoral work? Of course, it can only be a oneman campaign in the sense that the idea originates in one man's mind, and even then we have every reason to believe that it was God who put it there.
Getting Next to the People
There is an old formula that this minister should seek out; it should become a part of his thinking at all times; he should preach it and practice it in his own everyday life: "If we would humble ourselves before God, and be kind and courteous and tenderhearted and pitiful, there would be one hundred conversions to the truth where now there is only one." Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 189. The pastor will be convinced in his own heart that this formula contains the atomic spark for broader evangelism. It will serve to start an effective chain reaction in genuine soul winning throughout his district. With prayer, meditation, and examining of their own souls the minister and his good wife will continue their visiting with new vim and vigor, for now they have a goal they are planning a series of meetings somewhere in the district when the time is ripe. During their visiting they watch carefully for answered prayer, and come very close to the people. They will also watch for certain other things such as the unconverted members in the families, prospective ushers, musical talent, and human-interest items. The people become very friendly, hearts are warmed, and all are refreshed because of these calls. The minister and his wife have found their way into the hearts of their members. This is something the regular evangelist often misses. By his visits the pastor will be inspired to preach more soul-stirring and heart warming sermons.
Church Board Cooperation
Our pastor-evangelist will discover that his success as an effective soul winner will be largely in proportion to the natural harmony that prevails in his church board meetings. All wise pastors understand, of course, that an active church board is absolutely imperative. There are three attitudes that the pastor may assume.
First, he may convey to his board not inten tionally, of course that he feels he is the "captain and the crew," and the members of the board are just spectators in the gallery, giving their applause. Second, he may indicate by his attitude that he is just a hireling, and that his stay is not at all permanent. Third, the attitude our man will assume is that any problem of JANUARY, 1954 the church will be shouldered by the minister and the church board jointly, and worked out by them in cooperation and by the approval of the church as a whole. He will let it be known that he will be working faithfully by their side as long as they want him and the conference sees fit for him to be there. Here is a point that will greatly strengthen his effectiveness. There are two helpful projects that our pastor may want to introduce to his churches. They are well known to all of us, yet are seldom used to promote broader evangelism, but they will do a great deal to prepare the hearts of the people for a soul-winning endeavor and will also serve to mellow any prejudice that might be lurking about. First, a welfare center, or something a little more simple, perhaps just a very active Dorcas Society, with the men working right along with their wives, visiting the needy and delivering food and clothing. The activities should be carried on in the true spirit of benevolence, with good publicity, and become a permanent part of the church program.
The other project will be just as effective, but in a different manner the singing band, which generally goes out from the church on Sabbath afternoon. A good organizer will be selected to direct this band, not necessarily a singer, but someone who has the ability to organize and be sociable. The band will visit convalescent homes and shut-ins to sing and pray with the patients. Then after the songs and the prayer, literature is left that is most likely to interest them. Many of these people are the forgotten ones, but they have souls to be saved and relatives who are greatly influenced by any kindness shown them. Jesus did much for the less fortunate people. By now our pastor friend has been successful in bringing about a deep spiritual revival in many of the homes. Missionary activities have been encouraged; hence, every possible means of intelligent soul-winning is in progress. Some have dug out their old projectors and are using them. Some have perhaps found it possible to purchase the Zima S.A.V.E. machines, and many Bible studies are being given faithfully by the laymen in the homes of the people.
Here is the minister's golden opportunity to help the cause of God in his district, simply by encouragement given at the right time and in the right way. Our godly members will go to the, limit of their endurance for this kind of program, if only their minister friend will lead out and encourage them. The pastor will have preached many sermons on soul winning to his congregations, but several weeks before the public meetings begin he will want to give a special well-ordered message on personal work. Then the ushers will pass out a questionnaire pledge card. On this card there will be several items for the people to check; this is important because it gives everyone an opportunity to help in some way. The list of pledges will include such items as taking people to meetings, invitation by telephone or by handbill, personal invitations to acquaintances, donation of money toward meeting expenses, personal attendance at the meetings a definite number of nights each week, and prayer for the meetings daily. The items will be checked and the pledge cards signed.
They will be taken up by the ushers, and now the minister will have a valuable source of information for future use, as well as the assurance of cooperation. A list of friends, relatives, and neighbors will also be helpful, and this is a good place and time to ask the people to start making out such a list; but it should be received at a later date, after they have had time to think and pray about their friends, relatives, and special acquaintances. When the opening night arrives, the meeting will be a success, because the people have sponsored it. They feel a great deal of responsibility and soon it becomes a matter of routine.
The Bible Course Plan
The length of the series should be determined by weather, local work, vacations, Ingathering campaign, and camp meeting. Two or three nights a week will perhaps fit the weekly schedule best. The use of the Home Bible Course or the Twentieth Century Course is a great blessing to the program and should be started as soon as possible. However, the pastor will want to use the registry plan for obtaining names the first night. This plan is carried out by having some one stationed near the entrance of the auditorium, seated at a table with the registry book. This person will have some award, such as a bookmark or some other appropriate little gift, to hand out to everyone who writes his name and address in the registry.
After the meetings are well started, the minister will want to begin his health evangelism by introducing some capable and well-qualified person to give a ten- or fifteen-minute talk on the fundamentals of health. Charts, illustrations, and sometimes short films are appropriate. This short meeting will probably come between the song service and the sermon. A guest speaker, such as one of our doctors or some other well-qualified person, might be called in to give a lecture or two on some of the fundamental health phases. Variation and added interest can be obtained in this way. At the close of the public health series a cooking class may appropriately be introduced. This class can be conducted in a home. However, the pastor will find that one of the best ways to foster the health message is for him to be a living example of temperance and right living. His radiant health should speak for a life of temperance. A balance of the spiritual, mental, and physical phases will be included in his everyday schedule if he is to carry on an uninterrupted program.
Proper exercise, pure water, fresh air, and good plain food will not only relieve a strain on his financial budget but will also help to smooth out the physical bulges that may be more or less prominent. Strange as it may seem, this same method can be successfully used to bring color and sparkle to the sallow. A way will be sought whereby our new members may be successfully transplanted into the Sabbath school and church. The visitors' class is good for the visitors, but we need another class or two that will serve as a real down-to-earth training class and Bible school. Here our pastor will do well to seek out a tactful, wise, and lovable member to act as teacher, one who can cause all to feel at ease and enjoy good Christian fellowship. If our pastor-evangelist will continue this type of over-all program yearly, being humble and kind to all, God will give him and his members precious fruit and rich experiences.
Sharing the Responsibilities of Evangelism
DESMOND E. TINKLER Pastor-Evangelist, British Columbia Conference
Eunching out in public evangelism with out an associate minister, song leader, or Bible instructor calls for dauntless courage and heroic faith. However, no evangelist need bear the burden alone, for with the church members sharing the responsibility, he will have a group of enthusiastic helpers eager to do exploits for God. I am blessed with four churches and a company to pastor, as well as four church schools to administer. In spite of the fact that I have no help in the form of an intern or Bible instructor, I still feel that my main business is evangelism, and I try to hold at least one campaign each year. A colporteur working in the district may be the evangelist's right-hand man and can be a great boon to the evangelistic program. In the meetings he can serve as bookstand operator, floor manager, or projectionist, and the contacts he makes in the homes of the district are a productive source of potential interest.
Very often there is a layman who can be coached and trained as a song leader. He should be encouraged to dress appropriately, and his picture may be used in the advertising. But should it happen that no one is available to lead the singing, it is still possible to run a lively, interesting, and spiritual program. The following order of service may be used:. 7:00 P.M. Doors open. Organ (recorded) music begins. JANUARY, 1954 7:30 P.M. Sound movie, without announcement. 7:50 P.M. Immediately at the close of the movie the evangelist steps to the pulpit, welcomes the audience, and leads in the singing of one or two songs and a chorus. This is followed by the theme song, during which the audience stands, and the local elder or some other appointed person comes to the pulpit and offers prayer. Next come announcements, offering, and distribution of literature cards, followed by special music. The sermon follows, ending with appeal song, prayer, and call to surrender. Then a brief reminder about the next meeting, and the benediction. On the nights when a sound movie is not used, the period for singing may be interspersed with vocal or instrumental numbers, chalk paintings, a recorded story for the children (on a specified night each week), or other special items. Thus the speaker is not wearied by con ducting a lengthy song service.
The Evangelist's Wife
Though it is true that many evangelists do not have a Bible instructor, most of them do have a wife. When she has a vision of the world's needs and a passion for souls, she can do a most fruitful work. Mrs. Tinkler acts as receptionist at the meetings and makes personal contact with the people. Then when the literature cards are listed, she makes the first visits to the homes and spots the interest. As a rule her first visits are casual, friendly calls; she has prayer in the home if there is opportunity. When questions arise, she may conduct a study on the first call. But her objective is to cover as many homes as possible and locate interest. She continues calling on new homes as names are received and contacts made at the meetings. Since the people have met her at the meetings and know who she is, they heartily welcome her. When she finds definite interest, I visit the home and begin studies. She accompanies me to the studies as her time permits, especially when a family is involved. I like to have public meetings four to six nights a week if possible. This program relieves the urgency of formal Bible studies in the homes until the time for testing truths and decisions. No doubt every evangelist dreams of the happy day when he can work with a full-time evangelistic company. Until that time comes let us use the resources within our reach and march forward, fanning the fires of evangelism into a mighty flame until the work is finished.
Putting Laymen to Work
J. R. YOUNG Pastor-Evangelist, Florida Conference
Long ago the Lord told His people through the gift of prophecy, "The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers." Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 117. (Italics sup plied.) Many of our consecrated laymen have caught the vision of this program as outlined in the divine blueprint, and they are rallying to the work and uniting their efforts with those of ministers and church officers. The enthusiastic lay members of the St. Petersburg, Florida, church have heard the call of God to them, and they are on fire for God. Some compelling power is leading them to greatly enlarge their soul-winning endeavors. One Sabbath the laymen had charge of the church service. At a designated moment in the message being given by the missionary leader of the church, forty laymen arose from their seats in the main auditorium and in the balcony, and came forward to the rostrum, bringing with them their projectors and other equipment used in giving Bible studies. It was truly an electrifying moment!
The congregation was caught by surprise. As these laymen told the thrilling story of their experiences in working for souls, and as they spoke of the indescribable joy in their hearts, the church was deeply moved. After the service many remarked that they had never before in all their lives witnessed such a service. Others declared that they were going out to work for souls. Our laymen are using various types of projectors and some are just giving old-fashioned Bible studies. The special S.A.V.E. projector and sound tapes developed by Brother Zima, of Minneapolis, have certainly led many of our laymen who felt they could not give Bible studies to change their minds and enter enthusiastically into soul-winning work, and the Lord is giving them success. A number of precious souls have recently been added to the church as the fruitage of the work of the laymen. Many others are studying the message and attending church services. Who can estimate what the final results will be? Oh, may we realize that "time is short, and our forces must be organized to "do a larger work." Ibid., P. 27.
It Can Be Done!
ARTHUR R. LICKEY Pastor-Evangelist, Nebraska Conference
Many ministers are pastoring large districts of three or four churches or more, with little or no conference help in the way of assistants or music leaders, and with a program that is full and time consuming. In their hearts is a longing to do public evangelism, to reach out and preach to die lost of their communities. And yet, when they think of such a program, many questions come to mind. How can I find the time? How can I work with such a small evangelistic budget? What will happen to my churches if I leave them and hold meetings?
Where Can We Find the Time?
As ministers we must take the time! Regard less of the press of the program, we must plan a series of evangelistic meetings and let nothing stop us from holding them. If we allow the routine programs of the church, as good as they are, to so encircle us that we feel we cannot break through to preach to the lost of our communities, we are failing to do the task that we are ordained as God's ministers to do. Many are the men in all walks of life who have failed in their lifework because they counted and recounted the obstacles that might stand in the way of the accomplishment of a given task, until those obstacles so overwhelmed them that nothing was ever ventured and nothing gained. Absolutely nothing should keep God's ministers from preaching to the lost.
How Can I Care for My Churches?
Public evangelism in a district calls for closer organization of district work and greater utilization of the talents of lay leaders. The evangelistic effort will take the greater portion of the district pastor's time, both night and day. Let the local elders take the prayer meetings. Give the elders and the deacons the responsibility of periodically visiting the church membership, after first organizing the church into groups and giving each leader a definite task. Our people JANUARY, 1954 believe in public evangelism, and if they know that their pastor is giving his all to win the lost, they will not complain if he puts responsibility on their shoulders. Often a pastor will be surprised at how church problems will lessen under a program of evangelism. Sometimes it may be the only way to remedy a very serious church situation.
My Budget Is Too Small
If the budget is small, say one hundred dollars or two hundred dollars or perhaps there is no budget at all what can be done? As much as our good people give to the many and varied programs of the organization, they will respond most liberally to a call for money to be used in local evangelism. A good plan is to pledge each member to a certain amount twenty-five dollars, fifteen dollars, ten dollars, et cetera. In a Sabbath service a spiritual sermon should be preached on the responsibility of God's people to the lost souls all around them, and then an appeal made for financial help. Our people will back this up enthusiastically. We should make strong but careful appeals for offerings each night of our meetings. Tell our audience the need, suggest silent offerings and thank offerings, and occasionally use printed envelopes. Giving a free book for each offering of one dollar or more placed in an envelope with a space for the name and address, can be of value in increasing offerings. Audiences will respond to offering appeals if the need is presented clearly and specifically and with a smile. Lack of funds should never keep us from preaching!
Advertising the Small Effort Newspaper advertising is, of course, essential. In the small towns a quarter- or eighth-page ad can generally be run for little cost. Handbills bring results too. One way to cut expenses is to suggest to the newspaper the plan of using for handbills the same type form used to print the newspaper ad. If the same form is used for both the ad and the handbill, the cost of having another type form set up is saved. For the first meeting I like to mail a post card-size handbill or a folded handbill to all the rural routes, besides the distribution of handbills to the city homes by our people. I like to run two or three newspaper ads, spaced several days apart, announcing the opening pro gram. It is a good plan to take several articles of news value to the editor of the paper several weeks before the meetings begin. These free news items are excellent advertising. After the meetings are going and a list of names has been built up, a good plan is to mail the handbill each week to these names. Window posters are readily accepted in a small town. Costs on window posters can be saved if the old posters are collected each week. If a vacant spot is left on the poster, some cards printed with the time, place, and date can then be stapled to the posters. In this way they can be used over and over. Radio spot ads are effective too, if one can afford enough of them.
Getting Names and Addresses
The use of a guest register book is an excel lent way of getting names. At the entrance to the hall may be placed a guest book, with a small sign reading something like this: "Free Woven Bookmark Will Be Sent to Each Registered Guest." The success of the guest book depends almost entirely on the receptionist. The best receptionist a minister can have is his wife. As the guests come in, she welcomes them and then easily and quickly suggests that they register their names and addresses and shows them a sample of the free gift that will be mailed to them. I like to use the woven bookmarks that may be purchased for about fifteen cents each through the Christian Board of Publications, St. Louis, Missouri. Be sure that the guest book has a place clearly marked for the address. I also use the free literature card at least every Sunday night. In asking the people to fill out the card that entitles them to receive through the mail free printed material on the evening's subject, I like to make the invitation include everybody. Our own people should be instructed to fill the cards out to, but to place an X on each card so that the evangelist will know that an Adventist filled it out. This helps the others to fill out their cards. In a small campaign, by diligent effort you can get acquainted with many who come who do not sign the guest register or fill out the cards. When you shake hands with them, ask Page 26 their names. They will not object to this.
Visit, Visit, Visit!
Visiting these people is the most important phase of the series of meetings barring nothing! If a man does not visit constantly in the homes of those in attendance, his meetings will fail. Unless you plan to visit, don't even start the meetings. To keep track of the number of times a per son has been to the meetings, the number of visits that have been made to the home, and the studies given, I use a three-ring notebook with an alphabetical file. Using paper 43/4 by 7 inches, I mimeograph on one side most of the main subjects I present. Following the subject column are four columns headed "Date, S, B, and D." In the date column may be placed the date the person was in attendance when a particular subject was presented. The S column is for study, and is checked when a subject has been reviewed or studied with the individual. The B column is checked when the truth of the doctrine is believed and accepted, and the D column is checked when the decision is made to follow the particular truth. Space is left on the sheet for additional subjects not listed. On the front of the sheet is the place for name and address, age, denomination, occupation, et cetera. A space is left for any additional information obtained during the visit. And then, very important, is a section for the accurate recording of the number and date of all visits. Visiting may begin in the first or second week of the series. The excuse for the first call is found in the inquiry as to whether the interested ones have received the printed material or the bookmark, as the case may be. Don't go inside on the first visit. On the second or third visit, go in and begin the gentle questioning and teaching and praying. Brethren, we must visit, visit, visit night and day! I preach three nights a week, leaving several nights free to make calls on people who can be reached at no other time. Generally speaking, our small-town efforts run from ten to twelve weeks.
A Baptismal Class?
I have worked both with and without a baptismal class, and have found that, for me, it is easier to review and study the various doctrines in the homes of the people. I do not, as a rule, make appointments for study, but rather study when I find the people home and learn the particular need. Persons who have heard the subject presented publicly can be reviewed on that subject in the home. Subjects that have been missed can be given to them privately. In the small-town effort many of the interested persons are on farms, and it is difficult to get them together for a baptismal class. May we be men of God's power. In all our plans for evangelism, may we always seek God's guidance. May we be sure that we are preaching in the place where God wants us to preach. When we have the assurance that we are where God wants us to be, there comes an inner sense of strength and assurance of ultimate victory. If God is leading, how can we fail, if we continue to follow? Let us ask God to bless our preaching, to touch hungry hearts, to guide our visitation. Regardless of the difficulties, let us go forth to preach! It can be done!
'Mass Production" District Evangelism
ELMER RASMUSSEN Pastor-Evangelist, British Columbia Conference
A pastor-evangelist cannot be con tent with the text "Occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13). He must combine with that text the one that says, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). The greatest limitations on any worker in God's cause are time and means. How shall we overcome these? The time problem may be over come by an increase in the number of workers under the pastor-evangelist. But this immediately intensifies beyond reason the problem of finances. Then how shall it be done? A motto of my life comes from a statement of the Lord Himself to Moses when Moses complained of a difficult situation. This motto is, "What is that in thine hand?" (Ex. 4:2). This means nothing to a non-Christian, but it means everything to one who knows Him with whom all things are possible. The first step, then, in preparation for the pastor-evangelist's task in a district where there are many towns and communities is to take stock of what is in our hand. Help, by way of paid workers, is very little, and budgets are very small. Then what do we have?
First, the gospel. Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16). Second, we have the help of the Holy Spirit. Ellen G. White said, "There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God." The Desire of Ages, p. 250. Third, we have the people, and "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). fourth, we have the promise of God that if we cast our bread upon the waters we shall find it again after many days (Eccl. 11:1). And "not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord" (Zech. 4:6). JANUARY, 1954 Then although we do not have a large budget, and although paid help is little or none, we shall find we have all the essentials for successful aggressive warfare against the enemy. We have all that is needed to advance the kingdom of God on earth, and "if God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31).
Simultaneous Regional Meetings in Five Areas
The second step of the pastor-evangelist is discovering successful methods of executing the evangelistic program. Mass production is a time-saving method. Can it be used in evangelism? Why not? Five meetings just alike in five different places each week. In this district our program consisted of a Sunday night meeting in Vernon, my home church. Then Monday night we were in Salmon Arm, forty miles from home; Tuesday night in Malakwa, sixty miles away; Wednesday night in Falkland, thirty miles from home; Thursday night in Cherryville, fifty miles' drive. This type of program cuts sermon preparation time to one-fifth. It results in improved delivery, for practice makes perfect. It even helps mental improvement, for repetition fixes thoughts more perfectly in the mind. Another thought on the sermon is to remember that you may be working short-handed and without much talent by way of special features; therefore make the sermon as attractive as possible. Divine help is assured to all. Above all else feed the people. If they are nourished spiritually, they will come again. It is not necessary to present large doses, but nourishing sermons thoroughly winnowed of all chaff. If we do this we need never look back with any regrets for what we have done, and the Lord has said, "It shall not return unto me void" (Isa. 55:11). I have used Bible moving pictures as an advertisement feature and also to improve punctuality, as well as for inspirational and educational value. This mass-production program gave me a half-rate on film rentals, thus helping the financial problem. Now I would like to note some advantages I have observed from such a program, as well as a few disadvantages.
1. This method gave me a weekly contact with each of the five organized churches in my district.
2. One sermon a week by the pastor greatly improved the spiritual condition of church members.
3. One meeting a week per area greatly improved attendance.
4. Larger attendance as well as fewer meetings per week in each area increased the offerings received.
5. Advertising preparation time was cut tremendously, and advertising costs were cut through time saved by printers in preparation.
6. Halls were more readily available one night per week than several.
7. Preacher morale was improved, because never were all the efforts passing through a slump at the same time. There was never any fear of failure, because out of five efforts some were bound to be successful.
8. This method gave every church an evangelistic meeting every week to which the members could bring the interested folk they found.
9. The work can go five times as fast as usual in an area.
10. There are better Ingathering returns be cause of an effort in a community.
11. It solves many pastoral church problems before they arise. Our greatest problem was to stay within our travel budget. Our original plan was to go to the place of meeting early in the day and carry ' on our visiting program before the meeting. This, however, was very difficult to do because of other responsibilities. In all of our work pastoral, evangelistic, teaching, or whatever else we may attempt for the Master we must never forget that in the Word of God the plan of salvation is outlined, and the acceptance or rejection of the trans forming power of God opens or closes the gates of heaven. The key is in our hands. Let us open to all who will receive. We do it as we teach the plan of salvation to men and women.
Lay Preachers
Another plan we have worked here with good success, which may be of interest to others, deals with speakers for the Sabbath services in a large district. Page 28 In this district there are seven groups meeting each Sabbath. It is a very difficult task to make arrangements for each group each week. To leave it entirely for the local elder in each church creates a problem also. We as ministers are not left in a district much more than four years, but think of a local elder in his church, not for four years, but for a lifetime. He may be changed, but usually he is not. If he is to measure up to his task, he will need to be more resourceful than some of us preachers. He might in twenty years need to speak over one thou sand times to the same congregation, including prayer meetings, church services, and sometimes MV meetings.
Therefore we have a plan for this district in which seven speakers are needed each week and there is only one preacher. I have selected eighteen laymen who are willing to speak. These men are divided into three groups of six plus myself, which makes- seven for each Sabbath. Numbers 1 to 6 speak the first Sabbath; 7 to 12 the second Sabbath; 13 to 18 the third Sabbath. Then the fourth Sabbath, numbers 1 to 6 again, and so on. This gives each speaker one Sabbath to speak, followed by two Sabbaths when he is free. Each one speaks in a different church each time, until he has been to each of the seven churches.
It requires more than five months for a complete round of the churches. This program allows the layman to use his sermon material seven times, if he chooses to do so. The delivery of a sermon is improved by repetition. I prepare a schedule of speakers and give a copy to each participant and also to each church elder. The church members appreciate the variety of sermons, and those who participate in the program are receiving a vision of the work yet to be done in the Lord's vineyard. I believe this plan will prepare some of these speakers for lay evangelism. A class in public speaking and sermon preparation might be conducted for these men. Whenever a guest minister is scheduled to visit a church, the layman appointed for that day drops out. The same thing is true when the local church has a program they wish to promote. I would suggest a layman's Bible instructor training course to precede a program of this kind. I would also suggest that the minister select several in each area to participate with him in definite house-to-house visiting for giving Bible studies. Yes, "mass production" can be adapted to district evangelism!
'The Gospel on the Screen" Plan
PERRY GREEN Pastor-Evangelist, Arkansas-Lowisiana Conference
In addition to the work of pastoring his churches, the district leader generally feels the great responsibility of evangelizing his district. This creates two problems: (1) how to conduct evangelistic efforts alone and on a small budget, and (2) how to evangelize the smaller cities and towns. To solve these problems we have developed a fruitful plan called The Gospel on the Screen. This is a program presenting the message through the use of sound motion pictures and filmstrips. The equipment necessary for the program is as follows: a rather large screen; 300-watt projector, signal cord; Twentieth Century, new Shuler, and Rich filmstrips; song filmstrips; motion-picture projector; record player, together with a good assortment of records; a public ad dress system, if needed; and, as far as possible, literature on each subject. It is much easier to obtain a public building for the Gospel on the Screen than for a preaching service. Since a minister's time is generally taken up with Ingathering, school problems, and other church items during the winter months, I have found that a 40 x 60-foot tent for summer use works better than anything else. This size tent will seat about two hundred people comfortably, and the sides can be rolled up, which makes it possible to seat at least that many outside. Of course this would not work on stormy nights, but generally the crowd is small during inclement weather. The tent should be well lighted; the ground should be covered with clean shavings. It is well to have an attractive entrance made of latticework, bearing a sign. The lights on the sign should be left on all during the meeting, making enough light for late comers.
Each night of the campaign, and we suggest three nights a week, the program is divided into four parts: motion picture, song service, announcements, and the filmstrip. The motion picture begins promptly at seven-thirty, the regular meeting time, and continues for approximately twenty minutes. Some films may be a little longer or shorter. Two nights a week the motion films are religious, stressing Christ. These can be obtained from the Pacific Union Supply Company, Glendale, California, or a film rental agency. Then one night a week I provide a motion picture for children, using nature films obtained without cost from the State film-renting library. At the close of the song service we have our prayer. The next few minutes are given over to announcements and receiving the offering. At this time, too, the literature covering the subject for the evening is passed out, with the instruction that it not be looked at until after the sermon. Then in order to build up our list of names we have a Bible guessing game, cards and pencils for this having been handed out as people entered the tent. A Bible or a picture is awarded to the winner. Almost everyone participates in this, and thus we are able to keep a record of the number of nights each person attends. The final and, of course, the important part of the program is the filmstrip.
After the announcements and Bible game, the minister re mains on the platform to announce the subject for the evening. Then the lights are turned off and the projector is turned on. I think it is important that the minister stay on the plat form to deliver his illustrated sermon, just as he would any other sermon. The order of subjects is the same as in any other effort, and the appeals at the close are made in the same way. Care should be taken to close the meeting by nine o'clock.
Advertising "The Gospel on the Screen"
If proper care is taken in advertising, the people will attend the campaign faithfully, and a harvest of souls will result. Generally around the small towns there are four effective means of advertising radio, newspaper, loud-speaker, and handbills. In each of these the same point should be stressed, namely, The Gospel on the Screen makes plain the gospel of Jesus and the great prophecy of Revelation, with sound motion pictures and prophecy filmstrips in color. I have found that a few spot announcements on the radio during the day, advertising the evening's program, are sufficient in view of a small budget. A newspaper advertisement is generally used once a week, stressing the out standing prophecy of the week. We favor an ad size of one column by twelve inches, with the ad placed vertically on the page in such Page 30 a way that the page must be turned halfway around in order that it may be read. The loud speaker is very effective in rural areas. This simply means placing a portable loud-speaker upon a car and driving the car along the high ways and byways, urging the people to see "the great Revelation prophecy of the Bible come to life at the Gospel on the Screen Tent tonight at seven-thirty. No admission charge." On the car a sign should be placed bearing the name of the program and the location. The handbill is probably the most important feature in advertising.
Each bill gives the in formation about the subjects for the week, stressing the outstanding prophecy subject. The first handbill is large 12"x 18". The following ones are 9"x 12". In order to keep the attendance built up, it is necessary to put out the handbills every week of the campaign until the attendance is established, and then every other week will suffice. I like for these bills to be on glossy paper with the printing done in either a rich red or blue. As has already been stated, the most important subject of the week should be printed on the handbills in large two-inch type. These bills can be put up in store windows, tacked on telephone posts and trees and in every place permissible throughout the area. These posters will withstand the weather for sufficient time. In the corner of the bill should be placed the information containing the mail ing permit, so that they can be sent out to the boxholders with a one-cent stamp. Every postoffice boxholder and route holder within the radius of fifteen miles should receive each hand bill. These should be mailed at least four days before the first meeting advertised. Last summer the above plan was used for an effort in Minden, Louisiana. The attendance ranged from 250 to 350, and we were able to organize a good church as the result. At the present time we are using this program in Marthaville, Louisiana.
This is a very small town, with a population of only 120. Our small est audience has been 200 and the largest nearly 500. We are confident that with God's blessing we will be able to organize a strong church in this dark parish. [EDITORIAL NOTE. In his advertising Perry Green uses from time to time such phrases as: "You are invited to something decidedly different! The Gospel on the Screen . . . You can now SEE the Gospel of Jesus and the great prophecies of Revelation come to life on the screen in this thrilling program of sound motion pictures and beautiful color filmstrips. ... At the Gospel on the Screen Tent hundreds are saying, 'I have never seen the Bible made so plain.' You owe it to yourself to see these great religious motion pictures and filmstrips." B. G.]
This Is the Laymen's Hour!
A. J. MUSTARD President, Cold Coast Mission, West Africa
I begin with a confession. I have only just begun to appreciate the force and importance of the teaching of the Bible and the Spirit of prophecy on the place of the layman in the program of work committed by God to this Advent people. Perhaps my experience and background in six teen years in the ministry in one of the home fields has something to do with this. There the workers were far more plentiful in relation to the membership than is the case here in the mission field, and, moreover, many of the lay men and women were as highly educated and qualified for service in the church as was the ministry. Sometimes the burdens of the work seemed heavy, but not so weighty as they seem in the mission field. I know I did encourage the membership in my churches to give their help in the work, and their response was always good, but the need for a much bigger, united effort on the part of the ministry and the laity was only dimly perceived until I came to the mission field. The recital of a few facts will perhaps help to explain this. In the Gold Coast Mission we have approximately 10,000 adults in the churches, besides several thousand children. Most of these people (I would say 90 per cent) are illiterates. They are found in about 220 churches and companies scattered over an area as large as the British Isles. But many of these churches and companies are in out-of-the-way places, reached only after traveling on foot over many hot, weary miles. They are organized into twelve districts, ten of which have an ordained minister in charge.
These district leaders have twenty-three evangelists to help them care for the membership and promote the work of evangelism. One district, though small in area, has 1,000 baptized people and another thousand in the hearers' and baptismal classes, and besides the district leader there is one young evangelist, a boy of twenty, to help. Of our total of thirty-five evangelical workers twenty-one are completely untrained, eight have had one year of training, and six have enjoyed two years of training in addition to a Standard VII (elementary) education. Moreover, because of certain fears, prejudices, and trends peculiar to the country, it is difficult to find recruits for the ministry among the young men in the churches, except among those JANUARY, 1954 who are unemployed and finding it hard to live. And we are not inclined to take that type into the ministry! Furthermore, the mission budget would not permit us to expand our working force, even if recruits were available. To this rather somber picture let me add yet a darker hue. At the close of this year we are planning to send ten or twelve of our evangelists to our mission training school for two years, and we shall have only four graduates from the school to replace them. So it will be even more difficult to maintain, let alone expand, the work in 1954 than it has been in 1953.
This is one of the "headaches" of the mission field administrator! But I believe I have found the remedy! What is it? Why, turn to the laymen! The experience of struggling with this problem has been a great blessing to me. Among other things, it has taught me to place a higher value on the labors of the consecrated layman. Shortly after my arrival in the mission field, I began dimly to see the possibilities in our African laymen. We organized a laymen's council in every district of the mission. Would the lay men respond to the challenge and the opportunity we placed before them? I need not have feared. They came to the places of meeting in larger numbers than I had thought possible. Two men walked twenty-seven miles to attend, and twenty-seven miles back home again when the meetings were over. At the close of the year I called for a special check on the number of souls won during 1952 by laymen, and was astonished to find it was 646. Recently we have conducted a laymen's institute for representatives of the churches, and 140 attended. They provided me with the biggest thrill of my ministry, and before they re turned to their homes they set themselves the goal of 988 converts in 1953. Final results are not yet available. We have taken an important step toward giving the layman his rightful place in the work in this mission by issuing a Lay Preacher's Identification Card to those who meet certain stringent qualifications. One of these is that the layman must have demonstrated his soul-winning ability in successfully conducting a branch Sabbath school or a layman's effort. The month of August is dedicated to all-out evangelism. Every worker is expected to lay aside other interests to engage in a full month of effort work. The laymen are invited and expect to share in the experience, and I confidently look forward to seeing large numbers leave their usual employment to engage in several weeks of evangelistic labor. It will be a sight to thrill the soul! Some of the efforts will be led by laymen, with less capable junior evangelists helping!
[Later word from Elder Mustard states: This year 41 efforts were conducted during August. There were 408 converted and enrolled in the hearers' classes. After one year they will graduate to the baptismal class, and after another year of instruction they should be ready for baptism and church membership. We have to depend largely upon our best laymen and schoolteachers to conduct these instructional classes. The pastors supervise the classes and examine the candidates before they pass into the baptismal class, and later, prior to baptism itself. In the 1953 August campaign seventy-seven teachers from our mission church schools, with more than seventy laymen, shared in this successful effort to reach the thousands of unwarned people of the Gold Coast.] Emmanuel Oduro of Atabubu, Ashanti, is a weaver by trade and a preacher of the gospel by preference. Like the Waldensian travelers of old, he sells his native cloth and "wine and milk without money and without price" at the same time. Some time ago he visited an isolated village after many miles of walking, sold his wares, and spoke to the people of the love of God and the cross of Calvary. The people were all heathen. There were no Christian influences in the village at all. Our brother kept on visiting Anyinofi, as the place is called. Once a fort night he goes there, always arranging his visit so that he spends a Sabbath with the people.
Today we have a flourishing Sabbath school of ninety adults and children in Anyinofi. No worker had yet visited there until the pastor was asked to go there to conduct a baptism. Last year I met a sister in our church at Nkwabeng. She is completely illiterate, but has won eighteen souls by her own preaching and visiting. Some of the time spent at our recent laymen's institute was given to visiting in the homes of the people, and sixty-six souls were won by the laymen as they visited in bands, pleading and praying with the people.
God Has Always Used Laymen
Has the coming of the Lord been delayed? It has. "Had the purpose of God been carried out by His people . . . , Christ would, ere this, have come to the earth." Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 450. Part of God's purpose for the finishing of the work is the training and educating of the laity to take the larger share of the burdens of the work. "The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers." Ibid., vol. 9, p. 117. The historian Adolf Harnack, in his book Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries, volume 1, page 460, says that the rapid growth of the church in the early days was "in reality accomplished by means of in formal missionaries." Luke's Acts of the Apostles ought to be renamed The Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit, and Laymen, for it was the union of the three that gave the work of the gospel such impetus in the early days. D'Aubigne tells us that in the Protestant Reformation there was a "mysterious power that urged all these people on ward. . . .
Often would unlearned Christians, with the New Testament in their hands, undertake to justify the doctrine of the Reformation. The catholics who remained faithful to Rome withdrew in af fright; for to priests and monks alone had been as signed the task of studying sacred literature. The latter were therefore compelled to come forward; the conference began; but erelong, overwhelmed by the declarations of Holy " Scripture cited by these laymen, the priests and monks knew not how to reply. . . . Men of the lowest station, and even the weaker sex, with the aid of God's Word, persuaded and led away men's hearts. Extraordinary works are the result of extraordinary times. . . . Women and children, artisans and soldiers, knew more of the Bible than the doctors of the schools or the priests of the altars." History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, vol. 3, bk. IX, chap. 11, pp. 346, 347. The messenger of the Lord tells us that the giving of the first angel's message in 1844 was "largely committed to humble laymen." "Farmers left their fields, mechanics their tools, traders their merchandise, professional men their positions; and yet the number of workers was small in comparison with the work to be accomplished. . . . The simple, direct testimony of the Scriptures, set home by the power of the Holy Spirit, brought a weight of conviction which few were able wholly to resist." The Great Controversy, pp. 368, 369. And in the same way the work of the third angel will be done. "As the time comes for it to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through humble instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to His service.
The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. Men of faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the words which God gives them. ... By these solemn warnings the people will be stirred. Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard words like these." Ibid., p. 606. The chief work of the ministry is to train and educate the church members to render faithful, effective service. By precept and example our workers should lead them in soul-winning work. This is the teaching of Scripture (Eph. 4:11, 12). God has given pastors, evangelists, and teachers to His people to teach them to do His work. The gifts of the Spirit are bestowed for the perfecting of the saints in ministry to others, until the church is built up to its full stature. This humbling statement comes to men in the ministry: "/ ministers and men in positions of authority will get out of the way, and let the Holy Spirit move upon the minds of the lay brethren, God will direct them what to do for the honor of His name. Let men have freedom to carry out that which the Holy Spirit indicates.
Do not put the shackles upon humble men whom God would use." MRS. E. G. WHITE in Review and Herald, July 9, 1895. (Italics supplied.) To me here in the mission field the following statement is very heartening: "In fields where the conditions are so objection able and disheartening that many workers refuse to go to them, most remarkable changes for the better may be brought about by the efforts of self-sacrificing lay members. These humble workers will accomplish much because they put forth patient, per severing effort, not relying upon human power, but upon God, who gives them His favor. The amount of good that these workers accomplish will never be known in this world." Testimonies, vol. 7, pp. 22, 23.
The largest resources of the church are still virtually untapped. The possibilities for the rapid finishing of the work in all the world are tremendous, if only we can learn, as ministers and leaders of the church, to harness the talents of our lay men and women and children. Given the right example, a little precept, and some training, they will amaze us and delight the angels. God give the ministry and leadership of the Advent Movement the vision, the largeness of heart, and the unselfishness it needs to meet the need and the opportunity of this hour the laymen's hour!
Parish Hall Bible School
T. MILTON ROWE Pastor-Evangelist, Lake Region Conference
Seeing the successful effort put forth by so many in the adult education program in the larger cities, I felt that the time had come to offer these seekers of knowledge a course in the doctrines of the Bible. The venture was new, but it was launched in faith. My fellow workers and I were anxious for the people to get the impression that this was a school rather than a church effort or revival; so we mailed and handed out a few thousand circulars advertising the need of becoming acquainted with the Bible in these trying times. The members of the church were urged to get in touch with at least ten of their friends who they felt would be interested in taking such a course.
The School Plan
On the opening night the hall was well filled with church members and friends and relatives whom they had brought, as well as others who had received a circular. After a song and prayer, I spent five minutes explaining that this was to be a school where the doctrines of the Bible would be taught and that each one joining the class would be expected to attend three nights a week, Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, from eight to nine-thirty, and listen to the open discussion of the lesson. After I had spent thirty-five minutes teaching the opening lesson I asked how many had en joyed it, and of course every hand was raised. Then I asked how many would like to join the class and complete the course of thirty lessons, and there were sixty who enrolled on the first night. This number later grew to one hundred. In this school the Twentieth Century Bible lessons are used. Therefore lesson number one was passed to those who had joined by giving their name, address, and phone number with the instruction that they were to study the lesson carefully at home, fill in the test paper, and return it on Tuesday evening. This pro gram is continued for ten weeks, each enrollee being given only one lesson at a time, so that step by step he is led into the message. Our Bible instructor corrects the test papers and these are returned each night after the study of the current lesson. When the ten-week course is finished a regular graduation exercise is held, with a guest speaker, after which a diploma is presented to each one who has finished the course. I have conducted four such schools in Chicago, and have been able, under the blessing of the Lord, to baptize two thirds of those who enroll. More than five hundred of the small one-dollar Bible Readings have been sold to members and friends of the class. Then to each one who graduates a paper-bound copy of the little book Prove All Things, by M. L. Rice, is presented, along with the diploma.
Low Cost
Having on file the names and addresses of those who enrolled and did not finish the course or take their stand for the truth, my associates and I make it our special business to keep in touch with them. We have been able to bring many of them into full acceptance of the mes sage. There is, I believe, another important advantage in this type of evangelism, and that is that the conference has never had to appropriate more than two hundred dollars for any one of these Bible schools. This kind of work was
begun in Chicago in September, 1950, and to date three hundred have been baptized, yet less than five hundred dollars of conference funds has been used. I believe this type of evangelism would make a successful soul winner of every local pastor we have. And may I also point out that up to the time of moving into our new church home, with its many facilities, these meetings were conducted in the main auditorium of our church. [EDITORIAL NOTE. Elder Rowe in his publicity uses an attractive four-page brochure picturing the place of meeting on the front page with "Grand Opening . . . PARISH HALL BIBLE SCHOOL, 7008 South Michigan Avenue, September , , 8:00 p.m. A free course in the doctrines of the Bible at Chicago's Greatest Bible School." On page 2 is a picture of Pastor Rowe, with the caption, "T. Milton Rowe, Instructor." On page 3 the fol lowing paragraph is attractively displayed: "Evangelist Rowe is a student of Bible prophecy and history, with a background of many years' experience as minister, teacher, and lecturer, that qualifies him to deal with the subjects that will be presented in this course. The Parish Hall board feels assured you will appreciate his sound, sensible, lucid presentation of these prophetic themes unfolded with grip ping interest. They will be illustrated with many pictures on the screen. Even those who have had no interest in religion have been deeply moved as they have attended these lectures." The page, ends with these words in display type: "Our Motto: 'What God unfolds we gladly teach; what God withholds we dare not preach.' Our Creed: The Bible and the Bible only."
