IN ORDER for any program of evangelism to be fully effective, the church members must be aroused spiritually beforehand. They must be thoroughly converted and dedicated to the glorious task of winning souls.
The Lord does not now work to bring many souls into the truth, because of the church members who have never been converted, and those who were once converted but who have backslidden.—Evangelism, p. 110.
In laboring where there are already some in the faith the minister should at first seek not so much to convert unbelievers, as to train the church-members for acceptable cooperation. Let him labor for them individually, endeavoring to arouse them to seek for a deeper experience themselves, and to work for others. When they are prepared to sustain the minister by their prayers and labors, greater success will attend his efforts.—Gospel Workers, p. 196.
The most effective method of reviving a church is to begin a strong missionary program. Members who are thus engaged will be prepared spiritually, mentally, and physically to support an evangelistic crusade later on. How much more effective our entire evangelistic program could be if we but harnessed the full potential working capacity of our churches!
The Lord requires that far greater personal effort shall be put forth by the members of our churches. Souls have been neglected, towns and villages and cities have not heard the truth for this time, because wise missionary efforts have not been made.... There are visits to be made, there is praying to be done . . . and . .. the whole church is to be employed if the work is to be accomplished.— Evangeli5m, p. 113.
We must do two things to harness the potential in our churches: (1) We must train the members in simple lines of missionary endeavor; (2) we must divide our churches into small working units. Plans must be devised that are simple, easy to follow, yet effective in reaching multitudes and bringing favorable decisions for present truth.
Instruction as well as inspiration must be given the churches.
As they [the ministers] put forth calm, steady, devoted effort to educate the church members to engage in personal work for souls wherever there are favorable openings, success will mark their lap. 114.
The plans for missionary endeavor must be kept simple, for the complicated will soon kill interest.
The very simplest modes of work should be devised and set in operation among the churches. If members will cooperate with such a plan, and perseveringly carry it out, they will reap a rich reward, for their experience will grow brighter, their ability will increase through exercise, and souls will be saved through their efforts. But if, on the other hand, the churches are left to their inactivity, Satan will see that they are employed. He will preoccupy the field, and give the members lines of work to do that will engage their energies, kill spirituality, and make them fall as dead weights upon the church—ELLEN G. WHITE, An Appeal to Our Churches on Behalf of Missionary Work, pp. 11. 12 (pamphlet).
Small working bands, with assigned territories, make the best use of the total potential of the church, for more members can be harnessed into service in this way.
In our churches let companies be formed for service. In the Lord's work there are to be no idlers. 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.
The formation of small companies as a basis of Christian effort is a plan that has been presented before me by One who cannot err. If there is a large number in the church, let the members be formed into small companies, to work not only for the church members but for unbelievers also.—Evangelism, p. 115.
Plan for Evangelism
Eight or nine months before the series is to be conducted. the pastor should visit every church member where the series is to be held, and personally solicit his cooperation. The missionary board has the responsibility of dividing the church membership into small working units, with the strongest possible leadership appointed for each unit. Every member, active or inactive, is assigned to a unit. These units then become agencies for helping the inactive members.
The area of the church is divided among the working units, each unit having its assigned territory. As far as possible, members should live in or near the territory assigned to their unit.
Six months before the starting date of the evangelistic crusade, the evangelist conducts the church services. At that time instruction is given and the entire missionary program (which has been previously organized) is launched. The date of the evangelist's visit should be announced and promoted three or four weeks in advance.
On the Sabbath afternoons following the evangelist's visit and the launching of the missionary program, each band visits the homes in its territory with a religious survey. This may take three or four weeks. The purpose of this survey is to discover and develop interests for the evangelistic meetings. At the close of every interview an endeavor should be made to secure Bible study course enrollments. The entire interview should be printed on the survey sheets, such as the following:
Community Survey
Good afternoon, I am_________ I am part of a team conducting a religious survey. May I have just a moment of your time, please?
What is your church preference? Are you a member?
Have you ever read the Biblical books of Daniel and Revelation?
Do you desire a better understanding of the prophecies?
Have you ever watched the religious telecasts: FAITH FOR TODAY or IT IS WRITTEN?
Have you ever listened to the VOICE OF PROPHECY radio broadcast?
Have you enrolled in any of the free Bible courses offered?
Would you be interested in receiving free Bible study guides through the mail offered by these programs, which you could use in your own private study of the Bible?
These are sent without cost or obligation.
Please place your name and address on this card and I will mail it to the correspondence school of your choice.
You will receive the first study guides in a few days.
These survey sheets can become a permanent record of the religious interest of the city.
When a good interest is discovered or an enrollment secured, this interest must be nourished and followed up with regular lay contacts. Such interests should be visited about a month after the survey to make certain that they are filling out the lessons, and every two or three weeks thereafter until the evangelistic crusade is scheduled to begin. Inexpensive books can be left to supplement the correspondence lessons, such as David Dare, Steps to Christ, Time Running Out, The Marked Bible, I Found the Way, et cetera, or one of the several series of colorful missionary literature can be used.
When such a plan as this is adopted and conscientiously carried out, the results from our evangelistic campaigns will be increased immeasurably. We must incorporate methods of labor that will reach larger numbers of people, and to do this we must organize the members of our churches into active service. When we accomplish this we can soon finish the work assigned to us by Jesus Christ, "Go ye into all the world. and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 1 6 : 15).
