The Wednesday night prayer meeting is vital to every Seventh-day Adventist. How important that every church member be faithful in attending the midweek prayer meeting. In Steps to Christ, page 98, we have this counsel given us:
"Make every effort to keep open the communion between Jesus and your own soul. Seek every opportunity to go where prayer is wont to be made. Those who are really seeking for communion with God, will be seen in the prayer meeting, faithful to do their duty, and earnest and anxious to reap all the benefits they can gain. They will improve every opportunity of placing themselves where they can receive the rays of light from heaven."
Many of our pastors and church elders are greatly concerned and are wondering what they can do to increase the attendance at the prayer meeting. Pastor H. Rampton, of our Launceston church, seems to have found a way. He writes:
"Eight weeks ago tonight we commenced our Training Light Bearers class with seventeen present. The meetings were held on our prayer meeting night. Although in the midst of a Tasmanian winter, we have averaged twenty-two present each night. This is an increase of about 30 per cent over our usual prayer meeting attendance. The folk are enjoying the meetings immensely, at least so they tell me. Among our group we have two non-Adventists who are meeting with us regularly, and who are interested in the message. They are taking a keen interest in our class study. On October 17 we complete our classwork and will then present those who have taken the course with their certificates."
Yes, it works! In fact, I have never seen it fail. Where these classes are being conducted in connection with the prayer meeting the attendance has always increased.
There is another course that fits equally as well into the prayer meeting night, and that is Teaching Teachers to Teach. The lessons are spiritual, practical, and very educational. At the close of the classwork of either of these courses our people will be stronger spiritually and better prepared to share their faith with their non-Adventist neighbors. And those who have completed the Teaching Teachers to Teach course will make the best Sabbath school teachers in the church.
Teaching Teachers to Teach is the textbook used in the class last mentioned above. This text is prepared by the General Conference Sabbath School Department. The text used in the other class is Training Light Bearers, and it is prepared by the Home Missionary Department of the General Conference. This department has also prepared a text for an advanced class, which is entitled Lift Him up.
Pastors, why not organize a class and try this plan immediately, or at least beginning with the new year?