On October 21, 1963, the Voice of Prophecy radio group was on its way to Georgia, to follow up the soul-winning thrust made by the Voice of Prophecy daily broadcast.
For the past year and a half the daily broadcast has been aired over seven local stations in the areas of Atlanta and Baxley, Georgia. Inserted in the second six-month series was an eight-week Bible-marking program, which had been prepared especially for this campaign by my father. Bibles were made available for the radio listener who wanted to participate in this intriguing radio Bible-marking program.
A telephone-answering service was organized and manned by conference office workers and ministers' wives. The response was surprising. Many were participating in this marking program and were asking for the Bibles. As various Bible subjects were discussed and studied from day to day, the Bible references were referred to by page number as well as by Scripture text. Those receiving a Friendship Bible were also sent the outlines of the various Bible topics from week to week.
At first, members of the churches in Atlanta delivered these Friendship Bibles in person, but the demand soon become so great that Bibles had to be sent by mail.
A free picture of Christ was offered to each person who had marked at least twenty of the subjects that had been covered on the daily Voice of Prophecy Bible-marking program. In the Atlanta and Baxley areas alone, more than 3,000 took part.
As a result of hearing the Voice of Prophecy every day for more than a year, and the added boost of the radio Bible Marking Plan, we found a completely different atmosphere than we had expected and have met in times past. There are areas in the United States where the name Seventh-day Adventist is either totally strange to people or is very unpopular, and when evangelistic teams enter these areas they are immediately up against walls of prejudice. We have found that as a result of the impact of the daily Voice of Prophecy broadcast series the attitudes of communities are surprisingly different. Even though people know that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is sponsoring the Voice of Prophecy, the broadcast itself becomes a buffer to soften the blow with many of these people.
The Bible Marking Plan uplifts the Holy Scriptures and sustains the interest of the listener in a unique and intriguing way, and prepares the recipient for further Bible study and enrollment in one of the correspondence courses.
Both Voice of Prophecy groups that were participating in this experiment had visitation schedules during the three-week crusade in Atlanta and Baxley. We found in these personal contacts people with a great yearning to know what the Bible actually says and also possessing an awareness of the religious and political changes coming in the world. We feel that this means of reaching people by way of the daily radio broadcast with the use of the Bible Marking Plan is God ordained.
He reached the hearts of the people by going among them as one who desired their good. He sought them in the public streets, in private houses, on the boats, in the synagogue, by the shores of the lake, and at the marriage feast. He met them at their daily vocations, and manifested an interest in their secular affairs. He carried His instruction into the household, bringing families in their own homes under the influence of His divine presence.—The Desire of Ages, p. 151.
The Voice of Prophecy daily broadcast does just this. It reaches the people where they are. There are many areas that have no television, and radio is the daily channel of communication from the outside world. In areas such as this, the people in nearly all homes listen to their own local station on their radios. When the Voice of Prophecy daily broadcast continues daily for months, people begin to talk to their friends and neighbors about the broadcast and the good things that they are learning, and we have found that after the Voice of Prophecy daily broadcast has become established in a town or area, many families come to feel that this program fills a daily need. We found many people in these towns and communities who were hearing the Voice of Prophecy broadcast each day, and were using the sermons in their Bible study groups and in their churches. Many pastors had enrolled their church members in the Bible course, and many were participating in the radio Bible-marking class. As a result it was not so difficult for these people to attend meetings and have Bible studies in their homes as it would have been if we or some other evangelistic team had gone into these areas with no previous preparation.
Elder A. C. McKee, formerly president of the Georgia-Cumberland Conference, said this about the impact of the daily Voice of Prophecy series in his field:
The Voice of Prophecy program has brought great blessing as a soul-winning agency in Georgia-Cumberland. We feel the effectiveness of the program has been greatly increased with the introduction of the daily broadcast and the Bible Marking Plan.
We were fortunate in having the Voice of Prophecy groups personally conduct a three-week decision series of meetings in two areas of our conference recently.
Under the sponsorship of the Adventist churches of greater Atlanta, Elder H. M. S. Richards, Sr., and the King's Heralds quartet conducted a citywide crusade October 26 to November 17. During this same period, Elder Harold Richards, Del Delker, and Brad Braley, conducted a crusade in the very heart of the dark-county area of south Georgia —in that section where it has seemed our message has made little impression in past years.
We were greatly cheered by the outstanding reception given the groups in both areas. The many requests for personal appearances placed the Voice of Prophecy in the "limelight," and the attendance was excellent for both meetings. How thrilling it was to see the large Atlanta auditorium packed to capacity, even on the closing night of the series, and a large number indicate their decision for Christ and His message of truth.
It would be difficult to express the joy that was felt in seeing a new church organized at the close of the meetings in south Georgia. As the personnel of radio stations carrying the broadcast were visited and businessmen of influence were interviewed, we could detect a very warm, spiritual response and a kindly attitude toward the Adventist Church, which had not been previously felt in this area.
The baptisms to date are but the beginning of the decisions that will ultimately result from these meetings. People of this section of the country are known to be more reluctant in making decisions. Therefore, the three-week series could not fully reap the harvest.
A careful follow-up program is being conducted in both areas. Many of the finest class of people are deeply impressed with the message, and we confidently expect a large number of these will yet become members of the remnant church.
We are deeply grateful to Elders Richards, and those associated with them in these meetings, and for the might) influence of the Voice of Prophecy broadcasts in the Georgia-Cumberland Conference.
These daily broadcasts not only reach the nonchurch person and the person who is not satisfied with his Christian experience but also the backsliders.
I was in my motel room one night, preparing for the evening meeting, when I heard a knock at my door. I opened it and found a man standing in the doorway whom I had never met before. I asked him if I could be of help to him and he said, "Yes, Pastor Richards, I want to be baptized."
I invited him into my room and he poured out his heart, telling me that as a boy he had been a Seventh-day Adventist church member, but for thirty-five years had been away from God and out of the church, but lately had been hearing the daily broadcasts. He lived in a town fifty miles from where we were holding the meetings. There were no Seventh-day Adventist church members there. I had a wonderful visit with him, and we prayed together. He gave his heart completely to the Lord Jesus and was baptized later on. He is the only church member that we have in that town now, but his wife is having Bible studies and will be joining him. This will be the beginning of the work in his town there in Georgia.
Radio plays a completely different role from what it used to play when the Voice of Prophecy first went coast to coast. Since the advent of television, almost all major programing is planned on a daily basis. Much of today's radio is geared to people who are present at a time and place where television is not available, such as during work hours in the shop and in the home, or while traveling to and from work in a car. So the sermon topics of the Voice of Prophecy daily broadcasts are presented in a logical order, much like an evangelistic series. By holding the people's attention day after day, they make an indelible impact on the mind and hearts of the listeners, sowing the seed, and preparing the minds for the harvest work of an evangelist.
The opportunities in using this type of evangelistic tool are limitless. Already the daily broadcasts have been released in Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Tennessee, Washington, and Wyoming.
Now the procedure for arranging for the daily series on a local station is as follows:
Station Contacts
I. If you are acquainted with your local radio station and have had previous contact with the management you could then discuss with him the daily broadcast series plan and schedule and learn what special rate he could give you for releasing the series. This is especially true if the locality is in a captive market area.
2. If the daily series is to be run in a metropolitan community, our Voice of Prophecy agency stands ready to ascertain what price and arrangements can be made.
3. The station contacts should be made only when there is quite a definite assurance that you are going to go forward with the release of the series, unless your contact is to get general information on cost, et cetera, of daily time.
Cost
For your information, in communities of 10,000 to 20,000 population, stations have been obtained from $150 to $300 per month for one-half hour time, seven days a week.
The payments for charges for station time are the responsibility of the church or local conference and are to be paid direct to the station. If a metropolitan area is involved and arrangements are made through the Voice of Prophecy agency, statements will be sent to and paid by the local conference.
In some instances local business will want to sponsor the daily broadcast series and have an opening and closing spot announcement on each program to advertise their organization. This plan makes it possible for the business to charge off the station time costs as an advertising expense.
Tapes
Tapes for the daily broadcast are available from the Voice of Prophecy at no charge to conferences or churches planning to run the series.
Coverage and Time
The decision must be made whether the series is to be a local or an area-wide campaign that would involve other nearby churches.
Study should be given to the best hour for coverage, taking into consideration the occupations of your audience, and their radio-listening habits.
Advertising
Advertisements in local newspapers, by radio, and handbills, placed at the beginning of the series and periodically during the twenty-six-week run should be planned for. The Voice of Prophecy will supply special daily broadcast mats upon request.
Individual announcements of the daily series soon to be run should be taken to the homes of the people on the weekend of the opening of the series on radio as well as periodically throughout the campaign.
Best Time for Follow-up
Early arrangements should be made with the conference office for an evangelistic team to conduct public meetings prior to the close of the series.
a. Make up visiting information sheets, listing names of friends.
- Enlist members in a prayer band before midweek prayer meetings to present names before the Lord.
- Encourage members to pray each day at a fixed time for the Holy Spirit to work on the hearts of those whose names are on the prayer lists.
b. Using the radio survey blank, visit all homes in the community, inviting people to listen to the broadcast and to take a Bible course.
c. Set up friendship teams, who will develop friendship with listeners, and be prepared to bring them to services when evangelistic meetings are started.
d. Organize and train Bible study groups, able to give Bible studies, to visit Bible course applicants, and to make sure that lessons have arrived. Ask if help with lessons is desired. Offer to give personal Bible studies if interest is shown.
e. Develop study groups—Use Faith lessons available on film and tape.
The Voice of Prophecy will provide double post cards, imprinted with local station coverage, to leave at each home as a reminder to listen and to send in applications for the Bible course.
Sermon tracts will be available for the free offers made in Series Two. Church members may order these at cost from: The Voice of Prophecy, Box 1511, Glendale 5, California.
All names sent in for the lessons will be returned, if desired, for use in checking on visitation lists.
The meetings in Atlanta and Baxley are now over, but the work in Georgia will never be the same. One Seventh-day Adventist church has been organized as a direct result of the daily broadcast, and others are being formed. The impact really is only beginning to be felt.
Even though the Voice of Prophecy is unable to finance the daily broadcast, because of its limited budget, we believe that there are local conferences, church groups, or individuals, who will want to sponsor the daily broadcast, using the Bible Marking Plan, for we believe that this new daily program is one of the greatest potential soul-winning devices we have. Its saturating effect encourages Bible study, breaks down prejudice, and actually prepares people for baptism.
We left Georgia greatly encouraged and more determined than ever that by God's grace His gospel will be preached coast to coast every day of the week.