OH, IT is wonderful, it is marvelous and wonderful what Jesus has done for this soul of mine. The half has never been told!"
These were the words of a hymn sung in beautiful harmony by the workers of the Bismarck-Solomon Union Mission as we gathered for our ministerial institute at Jones Missionary College. They seemed to me to express the wonder of the saving and transforming power of the gospel, as well as the steady and encouraging progress of the work as I saw it throughout the entire Australasian Division.
It was a tremendous privilege to visit the various fields of this division and be come acquainted with the work and workers and many of our dear people there. What one sees and hears brings courage and conviction to the heart and with it the assurance that the Lord is about to do some mighty things with and for His people. My courage was never stronger, and my faith in the ultimate triumph of God's work was never brighter.
Upon my arrival in Sydney I was privileged to begin a period of association with Pastor George Burnside that was both a blessing and a challenge. For the next nine weeks, with but very few breaks, we were together in the various institutes that were conducted. My admiration for this dynamic evangelist and ministerial secretary is great, and it was a real privilege to see him at work and to spend time in prayer with and for each other as we sought to bring help and inspiration to the workers of the various union fields.
My first privilege was to have a part in the graduation exercises at Avondale College, and it was a most inspiring experience. The location for this school was chosen by the Lord through Ellen G. White, and it is certainly giving a fine demonstration of what our educational institutions should be doing for God's cause all over the world. Of the one hundred graduates in the class of 1968, eighty of them were already assigned posts of duty in the organized work, and others were expected to connect with the work as soon as openings developed. This is a remarkable achievement, and the leadership and staff should be commended on their dedication to the training of workers for the cause of God.
The following Tuesday evening we began our first ministerial institute in the division. This meeting was for the workers of the Trans-Tasman Union conference with the exception of the New Zealand workers. We met at Avondale College. The group was about a hundred strong, and a finer group of men one could hardly wish to meet. They were alert, dedicated, and eager to fit into God's plan for His work in this climactic time. The response to the call for genuine revival and reformation was wholehearted and set the pace for all the other institutes that were held through out the division.
The spirit of prayer and fellowship, the desire to be right with God and to have nothing separating them from one another, and their earnest prayers for the power of Pentecost—all these were clear indications that the Spirit of God was at work among us. By the grace of God these workers are determined to prepare a people for the coming of the Lord and to engage in ear nest and continuing evangelism "until this work is done. The practical counsel and guidance given by Pastor Burnside was much appreciated as were the devotional studies and other meetings conducted by W. J. Richards, the union president, and the conference presidents. Here, as at the other meetings, the presence and fellowship of the conference administrators was most encouraging. We were especially privileged to have W. R. Beach, the secretary of the General Conference, with us for a day, and all were benefited by his practical counsel.
K. E. Williamson, publishing secretary for the North New South Wales conference, spoke for all when he expressed his response to God's call:
To Him Alone
To Him alone I yield my heart;
No other power will share that throne;
Soul, body, spirit, all are Thine.
Come in, dear Lord, and reign alone.
In Him alone I find the peace
For which my soul and spirit long;
His precious blood alone can cleanse
My sinful heart from all its wrong.
By Him alone I shall be led,
As step by step my life He guides.
How can I fall, or go astray,
While in my heart His Spirit abides.
For Him alone I henceforth live;
My will is yielded to my Lord;
The purpose of my life from now—
The preaching of His blessed Word.
With Him alone I journey on,
To reach that blessed, golden shore.
Then share the glory now prepared
For those who live forevermore.
Following this meeting it was my privilege to speak at the Greater Sydney camp meeting. C. D. Judd, president, was in charge and is doing very strong work in this populous field. The challenge of Sydney is a great one, as indeed are the challenges that we face in all the large cities of the world. Sydney is spread out over a vast area, and the population is well beyond the 2.5 million figure. We have several fine pastor-evangelists in this city and its surrounding communities, and they are having good success in their soul-winning. Our second institute was in Perth at our campground outside the city. Perth has a charm all its own, and it was a privilege to spend a couple o£ hours upon arrival seeing a few of the points of interest. Perth is the city of lights and is remembered especially for the lights that were turned on when our first astronauts orbited the earth.
Our institute here was another blessed experience. About thirty workers from the West Australia Conference were present and eagerly responded to the challenge presented to them. The earnestness of prayer and consecration was outstanding, and it was again evident that the Spirit of God was at work among us. Pastor W. E. Rudge has a real burden on his heart for the work in this field and is giving strong leadership. A few of the wives were with us for the Sabbath, and it was a blessing to have them there. Again the call to revival and reformation and all-out evangelism was accepted with total dedication.
A special feature of the work in this conference is that which is being done by Pastor A. D. Vaughan for the aborigines. God is blessing in a wonderful way, and both the people and the government appreciate the efforts of this faithful worker and his churches. These have been the neglected people of Australia, and it is wonderful what God is doing among them.
Next in the schedule came the division council, and this was a time of rich blessing. L. C. Naden, president of the division, and his fellow officers had the program well organized, and it was amazing how much was done in the few days of this important meeting. I was impressed with the kind but steady and progressive leadership given by Pastor Naden. He has the confidence of his workers throughout the division.
Several things were impressed upon my mind at the time of this meeting. First was the encouragement that comes with the rapidity of expansion of the work in the mission fields of this division. The thrilling stories of the miracle-working power of the Lord and the dedication of the workers to the spread of the gospel brought new inspiration to our souls. The evening meetings in which the union presidents reported on their fields were high points of great interest. By visions and dreams God is awakening the people of these mission fields to the claims of the gospel.
From the report given by F. T. Maberly, secretary of the division, we gleaned the following information: "This division is one of colorful contrasts. Its climatic conditions range from the steamy jungles of Mussau, near the equator, to the icy alps of South New Zealand. It is multiracial, for within its borders is a fascinating variety of peoples.
"Our missionaries have carried the 'everlasting gospel' as a witness to 'every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people' within our territory. We now have members in 110 different language groups in our division. We have believers among all the various races: Polynesians of Tahiti, Samoa, Cook Islands, Tonga, and New Zealand; the Melanesians of Fiji, New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, and New Guinea; the Papuans of Southern New Guinea; the Micronesians of Western Islands; the aborigines of Australia; the Caucasians—English, Polish, Russian, Yugoslav, in Australia and New Zealand; the Chinese in Sydney.
"Of the 17.5 million population in the territory of our division, 14 million are Caucasians living in Australia and New Zealand, the home base; and 3.5 million are Pacific Islanders in the mission fields.
"The ratio of church members to population is as follows:
Mission field: 1 in 80
Home field: 1 in 370
Division: 1 in 214
"This is the highest density of Adventists to population in all the divisions of the world."
And what a thrill it is to know that in the year 1968 more than 6,000 precious souls were baptized into this message in this division, thus putting them well over the three-quarter mark in reaching their goal of 20,000 for the four years between General Conference sessions.
I was greatly impressed with the expansiveness and financial strength of the Sanitarium Health Foods. It was my privilege to see several of these plants, and they are a real credit to our cause. I was amazed as I discovered that nearly 1 million U.S. dollars, or 890,000 Australian dollars, were given to the division by the industry for the 1969 budget. This is a remarkable contribution and represents the spirit of service and sacrifice that is evident on the part of the personnel in these health-food factories.
L. L. Butler, the newly elected treasurer of the division, gave good evidence of his leadership ability and should make an out standing contribution. In fact, all the officers impressed me with their ability and their eagerness to serve with total dedication the cause of God, which they love. This might also be said of the departmental leaders in the division office. This is especially noteworthy when we recall how many of the brethren from that division were called to General Conference responsibilities at the last session in Detroit. God has blessed this field with strong men and capable leaders.
We were especially happy to learn of the involvement of our laymen in the soul-winning work of this division. Approximately a year ago V. W. Schoen, associate secretary of the General Conference Lay Activities Department, conducted a series of thrilling laymen's congresses. These special programs trained 1,060 instructors to return to their churches to train fellow laymen in soulwinning techniques.
As a result 245 of our 374 churches have conducted training classes this year, which culminated in the Bible Speaks Course and gift Bibles' being introduced to the public for the first time. So far 51 baptisms have resulted, while 288 are attending church. A total of 14,647 Bibles have gone out to the churches for distribution, while our latest reports show that 6,590 have been placed in the homes along with the Bible Speaks lessons. This certainly will produce a harvest in the days to come.
There are 180 full- and part-time colporteurs at work in this division, and during 1967 they sold $596,481.87 worth of our truth-filled literature. Baptisms from contacts made by literature evangelists numbered 68, but only eternity will reveal the full soul-saving results. One of our colporteurs, Stan Rex, working in South New Zealand, sold $2,529 worth of books in one week.
(To be continued)
