IN VISIONS of the night, representations passed before me of a great reformatory movement among God's people. . . . Hundreds and thousands were seen visiting families and opening before them the word of God. Hearts were convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit, and a spirit of genuine conversion was manifest. On every side doors were thrown open to the proclamation of the truth."—Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 126.
The Gift Bible Plan is not just another idea, it is part of the fulfillment of this prophecy and it is helping to finish God's work. The plan has been proved successful by workers and laymen alike over the past several years.
The Advent Movement is prolific with ideas. We tend to move from one idea to another in our use of methods and tools. Certainly this is good, for it is a mark of progress, but there is a danger in moving too quickly from one plan to another, or in promoting ideas just for the sake of newness.
Because of this some workers become a bit cautious about new programs being adopted too quickly. When I first heard of the Gift Bible Plan several years ago I thought it might be one of those ideas that sounded too good to be true, or at least as great as they said it was.
Before promoting it to the laymen of the church where I was serving as Bible instructor and lay activities leader, I decided to try out the plan myself. With twenty-five Bibles and sets of lessons, I set out to visit my interests. Soon the Bibles were all placed and more were needed. This was all it took to make me a confirmed believer in the plan.
Nothing in all my experience has ever so revolutionized my work as did the Gift Bible Plan. The beauty of it is, of course, that it is as simple as it is effective. No gimmicks, no expensive equipment, just the Word of God and a plan of study that gives the worker something to place in the hands of his interests. Now I wonder how I ever carried on my work for so many years without this plan.
For those workers who for one reason or another have not yet incorporated the Gift Bible Plan into their personal soulwinning program, I would like to suggest some of the reasons why I believe every worker ought to use this valuable tool to enhance and enlarge his effectiveness in personal evangelism.
1. One of the benefits of this program that first appealed to me was the fact that it gave purpose to my visits. In my early experience in the work I found this to be one of my biggest problems—a reason to visit. Literature, invitations to church, soon ran out and I found myself searching for a reason to visit certain types of interests. The Gift Bible Plan solves all that. If they are interested at all they will usually enroll in the program, then you have your reason for calling back repeatedly. Many times we are given names with very little information and there is an awkwardness about calling on someone you have no idea is interested. But taking a Bible to offer them makes that first visit much smoother and easier.
2. The Gift Bible Plan is an excellent way of determining and developing interest. When an interest seems vague and indefinite, as already mentioned, his interest in this program will often be a key to how good an interest it is. Many times a long-range interest can be developed by taking them through the course and watching their responses to the questions at the end of each lesson. Thus the contact can be kept up with a minimum of time spent until more interest develops.
3. One of the very obvious advantages of this program over our other fine Bible courses is the fact that it is local. Thus personal contact is maintained from the very beginning instead of two or three months after they have finished, which often happens in the case of the correspondence enrollments. Interests are often lost because when they come to some crucial subject someone plants a seed of doubt or prejudice, and by the time the worker arrives it is too late to change the person's mind. But in this program the worker is there as soon as the problems arise and can meet them at the crucial time.
4. Another very helpful and valuable factor is the continuity that this program offers. All too often we find our soul-winning program of giving Bible studies interrupted by camp meetings, vacation, In gathering, et cetera. But this program can work for us even though we are not able to spend as much time with the interest as we ordinarily would. My own experience in this respect helped me to appreciate the tremendous value of the program. The first summer I used it, General Conference, camp meeting, vacation, and one other major interruption broke into my schedule. Ordinarily, my interests would have dwindled to a low ebb on that kind of a program. But I kept all my best interests busy with the Gift Bible Plan lessons. I would deliver them or mail them if necessary, and even though I was notable to give as many Bible studies as usual I was able to hold the interests until fall, when things returned to normal.
5. The Gift Bible Plan is an excellent entering wedge for Bible studies. I have given many Bible studies with the lessons where I could never have done so with the usual procedure. For the busy pastor the lessons are a time-conserving way of giving Bible studies.
6. One of the increasingly difficult problems that confronts the soul winner is finding people at home. Some who would be high on our priority list for studies are often almost impossible to get appointments with because of their work schedule and ours. Many times I have used the Gift Bible Plan and enrolled interests with whom it was impossible to study at the time, and thus the interest was developed and saved despite existing difficulties.
7. Finally, the Gift Bible Plan lessons take a spiritual approach to the doctrines we hold dear. It is possible, and all too often true, that people can go through a series of some studies and be convinced of the truth without being convicted. But these lessons are geared to spiritual motivation that leads to conviction. They do not answer all the questions the student may have, but they do point him to Christ, thus they are a real help in getting decisions.
In summary, I believe that every minister who takes seriously the admonition that every worker ought to be a personal worker will have his own little Bible school in the form of the gift-Bible program. In this way he can handle more interests, give more Bible studies, and thus win more souls!
