ONE of the privileges of a conference evangelist is the opportunity to observe the various methods used by the different pastors with whom he is called to work. He can learn something from each of his fellow workers. Here are a few of the things that I have observed which seem worthy of sharing.
Personal Visiting
On a local map indicate the residence of each member. A simple number system can be used. Each church member is assigned a number. Map tacks with corresponding numbers can be used to indicate each location on the map. When the map is once set up, much time can be saved by visiting homes in a certain neighborhood on a given day instead of driving to widely separated locations. A youth group or a member who has time on her hands and needs something to do, will receive a blessing from setting up the map and getting it ready for use. There is no need for the pastor to take his time with such details.
When the map is once in readiness the pastor's first project in his new field of labor is to make a quick visit to each church member. He carries with him a questionnaire to get information for his membership-information file. This will be a great help when the nominating committee meets, as well as at other times. He also gathers information regarding relatives or neighbors who might be interested in receiving Bible studies or attending meetings.
Upon entering a new field of labor, make it one of your first duties to find out from the church clerk the names and addresses of those who were baptized and came into the church under the ministry of your predecessor. Make it your first work to seek them out and win their hearts, because they stand to suffer most from the loss of their former pastor.
On weekends and evenings invite church members to accompany you in your visiting. By doing this you will be training a corps of visitors who can later assist you by pairing up in teams and making regular visits for you. Elders, deacons, and deaconesses especially should be given the privilege of this type of training.
Don't try to do all the visiting yourself. Use your church officers and instruct them to alert you to situations where there is special need for a visit from the pastor.
Be sure that every church member receives a visit at stated intervals—once a quarter, once every six months, or once a year. Never should more than a year elapse without a call from a representative from the church.
Use your regular visitation teams to call on the members in their homes in the conduct of fund-raising and subscription campaigns. But be very sure that every visit is not occasioned by some campaign. The visit normally should leave the member feeling that he has received something from the visit. Such a wholesome feeling should even result from a fund-raising visit. And this can be when our members are educated to understand the blessings of Christian stewardship and when campaigns are conducted on a highly spiritual level.
One of the main advantages of such a visitation program is that the worship hour on Sabbath can be left, as it should be, free for the preaching of the Word. This the members and visitors will greatly appreciate, and their appreciation will be manifested in more liberal giving and an increased interest in the activities of the church.
Always visit with a purpose. Do not appear unduly hurried, and yet let there be a sense of urgency that will reveal that you are a man with a mission and that your time is valuable. The visit should be short. It might terminate with the reading of a scripture that will provoke interest in a forthcoming prayer meeting study. When you kneel for prayer, before praying yourself, give those whom you are visiting a chance to pray. It will be your privilege (and duty) to gently teach some of your members how to pray.
Talk enthusiastically about the work of the church. Uphold your fellow workers. Make it your business to see that every member has some duty—something to do that makes him feel needed. Lead your members into an experience of sharing their faith. Every member should have some soul-winning project: give Bible studies, hand out literature, write missionary letters, make telephone calls, or keep prayer lists, et cetera.
Church Officers
As soon as new officers are elected, arrange a special meeting where they can come together to be instructed as to what their duties are. If a conference officer is not available to lead out in this meeting, the pastor can very well do it himself, drawing source material from The Church Manual, Christian Service, or other books and material from his files, plus his own past experience. It is surprising how many church officers have never had the advantage of such training. Of Christ's relationship to the disciples we read, "These men He purposed to train and educate as the leaders of His church. They in turn were to educate others, and send them out with the gospel message."—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 17. A similar relationship should exist between the pastor and his church officers. He should train them to train, in turn, the entire membership of the church and to lead each one into some form of soul-winning endeavor.
"Those who have the spiritual oversight of the church should devise ways and means by which an opportunity may be given to every member of the church to act some part in God's work."—Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 116.
"In every church the members should be so trained that they will devote time to the winning of souls to Christ. . . . Let those who have charge of the flock of Christ awake to their duty and set many souls to work."—Ibid., vol. 6, p. 436.
"The elders and those who have leading places in the church should give more thought to their plans for conducting the work. They should arrange matters so that every member of the church shall have a part to act."—Christian Service, p. 62.
Certainly the duty of a church elder involves much more than sitting on the rostrum each Sabbath. There is much for the deacon to do in addition to receiving the tithes and offerings.
Deacons and deaconesses should be thoroughly instructed regarding their duties in connection with the celebration of the Lord's Supper. Plans and responsibilities relative to baptisms should be worked out and talked over so that each understands his part. Thus the services of the church will be beautiful and worshipful.
Newly baptized members have told me of baptisms that were so hectic and disorganized that they had no opportunity to meditate upon their sacred experience because of frantic last-minute searching for robes, towels, et cetera, and a general lack of understanding regarding what was to take place.
Likewise, I have heard sad tales of new members being overlooked in the ordinance of humility (and sometimes long-time members who were backward) because they lacked a partner. Such things do not happen when church officers who know their duty are on the job.
There is so much the church clerk can do tactfully to encourage transfers of membership both in and out (at the appropriate times) if she understands the duties and possibilities of her office. Every department of the church can become a soul-winning agency if there is proper instruction and inspiration provided.
A periodic clean-up day can be the occasion for a good time of fellowship. Outdated envelopes and promotional materials from past campaigns are disposed of. The foyer, missionary secretary's room, furnace room, closets, the attic, the back of the pulpit, and (in small churches) the minister's room are areas that should be searched and cleaned. In one church the deacons did this work early Sunday morning, and deaconesses rewarded their efforts by serving a hearty meal for the group when the work was completed.
Even in small country churches the deacons can be taught to make frequent checks to be sure there is a hymnal by each chair on the rostrum and that the offering plates are where they should be. Good order is a must in the house of God.
A class in public speaking, taught by the pastor or other responsible and qualified persons, can be a wonderful help to church officers, Sabbath school teachers, and those who will be giving mission stories, et cetera. Correction should be given tactfully and kindly so that no one will be embarrassed or discouraged.
A Yearbook
With modern offset printing methods it is possible to put out at a very reasonable cost a booklet containing a photograph of each individual or family in the church. Non-Adventist husbands or wives, et cetera, should be invited to be in the picture. Pictures can be produced from ordinary photographs. Pictures should be identified by the name of each one in the picture. This plan will do wonders in helping church members to get to know one another. It will be a help to new members and a treasure to old members.
Nominating Committee
During the early fall, before time for the selection of officers for the coming year, a list of church offices to be filled should be duplicated. Space should be provided where suggested names for these offices could be written in. Each member of the church should be given a copy of this material and invited to write down the church member that he would suggest for each of the offices in the church, Sabbath school, et cetera. The results should be tabulated and kept confidential. This information should be made available to the nominating committee. The committee, of course, is not in any sense bound to follow these sugclestions, but it does offer a source of suggestion and stimulation.
Monthly Newsletter
Envelopes for a monthly newsletter can be hand addressed. This provides a job for some person who has time on her hands and, again, wants to do something to feel needed. The letter should contain the topics for Sabbath sermons and prayer meeting studies for the coming month. This in itself will encourage faithful attendance. It also will encourage our members to bring visitors when they know what the subject will be.
A brief explanation should be given regarding the Sabbath offering for each Sabbath of the month, stating just what the offering will be used for. The amount received and the amount spent for local church expense should be indicated. A tithe envelope should be included with the letter each month to encourage the preparation of tithes and offerings before coming to worship. This service will be appreciated by shut-ins who mail in their offerings. The expense of duplicating and mailing the letter will be insignificant in comparison with the increased giving that this plan encourages.
When the letters are otherwise ready for mailing, the treasurer or assistant-treasurer should include in the envelope all receipts that have accumulated during the month. This confidential way of returning tithe and offering receipts will be very much appreciated by many.
Book and Bible House promotion should be included, also the missionary secretary receipts and notices.
The letter should include notes of interest, such as births, weddings, deaths, illness, newcomers, et cetera. Plans for the month's social activities will also deserve space. In other words, anything of interest to the church family in general should be included. A church newsletter can solve the problem of too many verbal announcements or an overcrowded church bulletin. There are often items that need to be brouht to the attention of the church family, items that may not be appropriate for announcing on the Sabbath.
The combination of a church newsletter with a well-organized visitation program can completely remove all campaigns and promotional materials from the Sabbath worship hour. When the members sense that the pastor is seeking to safeguard the worship hour for the preaching of the Word, they will manifest their appreciation by cooperating heartily with the program.
Many pastors virtually save themselves half a day each week by having a bulletin secretary. She receives the telephone calls giving the data and announcements for the bulletin. She cuts the stencil and runs the bulletin, or where the services of a professional printer are used she prepares the copy and takes it to the printer. In some situations it may be necessary for the pastor to make a final check of the material before the bulletin is run, but in most cases even this will not be necessary.
It has been an inspiration to me to see many of our ministers making application of the counsel, "Ministers should not do the work which belongs to the church, thus wearying themselves, and preventing others from performing their duty. They should teach the members how to labor in the church and in the community."—Ibid., p. 69.
