Men of the Century, what a year 1967 has been for the preaching of the Word of God! Five men baptized between 390 and 602 new converts within the year. Two men baptized 275 and 287, respectively. Twenty-three baptized between 200 and 266. Twenty-five men baptized between 150 and 197. One hundred and eighty-six men baptized between 100 and 149, and 317 men baptized between 50 and 99 persons. For this marvelous record, we say, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow!" And with this may we acknowledge the thousands of faithful, fruitful Seventh-day Adventist ministers whose baptisms ranged from one through 49. Our supreme happiness springs from the fact that our names are written in heaven and so are our soul-winning records, but we are still on the earth, and it is encouraging to see the record that is being made and kept on the earth.
No human pen can adequately describe the blessings of God. The language of man fails to reflect accurately what the mind of man cannot fully comprehend. There are men who have labored faithfully through the year and made sacrifices that only Heaven can record, and the figures herein listed do not begin to tell the story of blood, sweat, and tears that is the human side of this report. Represented here is everything from the sandwich-board advertisement in the Solomon Islands to the billboard advertisements of large modern cities, and the campaigns ranged from the one-man operation under the open sky to the large packed halls of modern cities.
This is the age of the Holy Ghost. Since the all-powerful manifestation at Pentecost and the conversions numbering thousands, we have long awaited this day. Opportunity was never greater. Access to the large populations of the earth is still ours and so is the momentum. God give us vision to match our privilege.
Leading the way last year was the president of the General Conference, who held a campaign in Wilmington, Delaware. Forty-one members of the General Conference staff were active in the public preaching of the Word during the year just past. If you would ask me what was the single most significant factor in the breakthrough in evangelism for the year 1967, I would answer, "The return of administrators to the public pulpit." Union presidents and conference presidents joined to swell the gospel chorus.
The following figures are but a pale reflection of the true story of evangelistic advance around the world. For lack of space we have been unable to list the names of the men who, under God, labored just as faithfully as others but under dire circumstances baptized 99 people or less. Our hats are off to you, and I'm sure that your pulse beat will quicken as you study the list that follows and rejoice with the fruitful shepherds who have thus achieved.
(See PDF for Statistics)
The objective of preaching is not a finished sermon, but a finished Christian. We construct a sermon that we may reconstruct a man. And like the purposeful hunter who fires his weapon and expects to see his game fall, so may we rightfully expect the Word of God when sent out in faith and wisdom not to return void.
Chaplains in our sanitariums and on the battlefield, God has witnessed your labors that are for the most part unseen and unheralded, but your work is reflected in some of the totals that are listed here. You who have run campaigns this year for the first time, may you be neither depressed by failure nor elated by success, but go on to more fruitful seasons in the days ahead.
The year 1967 was a challenging one, but the year 1968 is likely to be more so. The time has surely come for our laymen to get more fully involved with us in the grand work of soulsaving. If during the year 1968 we succeed in little else, what a marvelous accomplishment if church by church the minister brought his parishioners alive for Christ. This as I see it is the challenge of the future. It is certainly the key to increased baptisms.
The days ahead are indeed fraught with danger to the men of God, but the presence of a "lion in the street" has not stopped us thus far; it must not now. We must finish the work that we've been comissioned to do, and in the name of Christ we shall not, we will not, we must not fail!