The Centurion Evangelistic plan of the West Indies Union has brought a great blessing to the field. It has caused our workers to lift their evangelistic horizons higher and the fields have caught a new vision of evangelistic possibilities.
At the present time there are young ministers who are qualifying as Centurions, baptizing more than one hundred souls in their first year, and this has been unheard of in the past.
In 1961 when this plan was inaugurated there were only eight ministers throughout the union who qualified. In 1962 the number soared to fifteen. In 1963 seventeen qualified, and in 1964 there were twenty ministers who became eligible Centurions. These figures prove conclusively that the Centurion Evangelistic plan has greatly benefited our union field. We have had even a double Centurion from one of our conferences here in Jamaica.
Briefly, the plan is that in order to qualify, a worker must conduct a public evangelistic campaign of at least six weeks' duration. He must have a minimum of one hundred souls baptized during the year. This qualifies him to attend an evangelistic council with union executive officers, local presidents and departmental secretaries who have conducted a public effort of at least three weeks' duration. The head of the theological department of West Indies College is also entitled to attend. This union has also made a contribution to the other fields by placing a Centurion at the disposal of the Inter-American Division to conduct an effort in the territory of some sister union.
Last year one of our Centurions was invited to conduct an evangelistic campaign in British Honduras, in the Central American Union. This proved to be a great blessing to the worker as well as to that mission field. This year a Centurion will be conducting a series of meetings in the Colombia-Venezuela Union, and we anticipate that this will be a blessing to him and the workers of that union.
We have had three evangelistic councils conducted in the conference of Jamaica thus far. Our most recent Centurion Evangelistic retreat was in Nassau, Bahamas, May 12-16 of this year. There were thirty-one ministers in attendance, including field executives, departmental secretaries, and Centurions. It brought a new spirit to the work in the Bahamas Mission to have such a large number of ministers present. The Sabbath afternoon symposium was really the high light of this session, when each evangelist was given three minutes to tell of the joy of soul winning. For the second time we have had a ministers' choral group to participate during the symposium. On this occasion the group sang that inspiring song "Seeking the Lost."
We are all convinced that a greater work can still be accomplished if our vision is enlarged and there is a greater spirit of dedication.
"The scenes which are passing before us are of sufficient magnitude to cause us to arouse and urge the truth home to the hearts of all who will listen. The harvest of the earth is nearly ripe."—Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 261.
"All heaven is actively engaged in the work of preparing a people for the second coming of Christ to our world, and 'we are laborers together with God.' The end of all things is at hand. Now is our opportunity to work."—Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, Jan. 24, 1893, p. 49
