Do Women Figure in Evangelism?

Two world wars during the first half of the twentieth century produced significant changes in many fields of thought. Specific needs in various areas brought the work of women into sudden and direct focus. Wartimes enlisted women's talents to an extent hardly comparable to any period in history. Her nat­ural endowments for mothering, comforting, nursing, teaching, and sharing were then in pressing demand. Women were called away from their hearths, kitchens, and cradles into action outside their home circles, often to the alarm of leaders who feared an imbalance of the sexes; but they measured up to the needs of this period.

However, the pressure of these war days left little time for far-reaching contemplation; there was too much at stake in the immediate present. The question then was not who ought to do what? The important thing was to make sure that things were done. While the more primi­tive lands looked on the leading nations with increasing frustration, women everywhere worked toward bringing about a better world.

Keeping pace with the trend of the militia, the church also enlisted for action. We need not review her activities at home and abroad, nor try to keep alive the memory of years of sharing, sacrificing, suffering, and endeavoring to right a much-confused world. The facts are that we are not yet through with our dilemma, nor are we prepared to let women return to their hearths, kitchens, and cradles; for imperceptibly we have evolved into a new world. Accepting these facts, the church will need to do some new thinking with regard to the work of women, and Seventh-day Adventists are no exception to the rule.

Our Denominational Professions

From its earliest inception, Adventism has had a true regard for youth. All through our history young men and women have been called into opening fields of service. Simplified training, and later more formalized education, developed into standardized courses for producing an army of recruits for our globe-encircling message. At the home bases our lay forces kept pace with the mission fields. Today practical train­ing and college preparation work hand in hand to spread the third angel's message, and as we say among ourselves, to "finish the work." Adventism has many educational, medical, and publishing institutions. Within ten years of hav­ing embraced the message, the average believer is either directly or through family ties a part of our work.

It requires more than ideals, means, and energy to develop the product of Adventism's machinery into strong workers for the comple­tion of the gospel task. Though the message holds in itself the elements of adaptation and adjustment, and is invested with the necessary drive to see things done, in the counsel of the church of Laodicea we have been warned to keep our vision clear. This counsel would include our spiritual needs first of all, but also the church's needs in all respects.

We all recognize the trend among us to push hard and fast at times in some lines of our developing work, to the slackening of other equally important phases. And there are times when certain agencies divinely appointed may lose their significance by the pressure of those already very evident on the horizon.

A Stronger Bible Work Emphasis

Pointedly, though we need various types of workers for our educational, medical, and pub­lishing work, evangelism also greatly needs a strong force of personal workers. Wise, forward-looking generals must occasionally look back to make certain that the fast-moving army under their command, with every battalion intact, is moving toward the main objective. How unwise it would be for Seventh-day Adventist generals to permit our important personal workers—workers who study and pray with the people in their homes—to fall out of line! This must never be, for these are a vital part of our evan­gelistic program.

Desirous of meeting the dire need for quali­fied personal workers, may we kindly suggest to our leaders generally a few definite points that will add strength to our message:

1. While we do urge a new consideration for employing men for our evangelistic needs, Bible work for our younger sisters should receive a new emphasis. The woman Bible instructor in our midst has demonstrated her true worth during the decades of our history. The servant of the Lord was shown her important place in the closing hours of our message. We have not yet found a substitute for the talents of the gifted Bible worker of earlier decades, and studying the pattern on record, we would today urge that her strength not be sidetracked when our evangelistic personnel is being made up.
2. The Bible instructor's usefulness and power are not in merely ringing doorbells to hand out announcements for evangelistic meet­ings, but in intelligent Bible teaching. A refined, educated, soul-winning personality may never rebel against the doorbell-ringing publi­city, but is it wise for directors to use her chiefly in this capacity? Again, is it fair to her spirit, and to her general health, to expect her to make this exaggerated type of stair-plodding her chief role? If we would draw the right kind of women into the Bible work and keep them sat­isfied and strong for their work, the evangelist should organize his personnel for the highest efficiency, and it will be to his advantage.

Appreciating the hearty cooperation our con­ference leaders and godly evangelists have given this service for women, we would here appeal for a united emphasis and more consideration for the Bible instructor's comforts. We have set for ourselves for the next few years an objective to guide and train our best young women for field Bible work. Our colleges and our Theo­logical Seminary are well prepared to develop the personality, skill, and educational back­ground of these valuable workers. With this accomplished, not only will the soul harvests increase in numbers, but the people who have been taught our present truth message will add greater strength to our churches.