IN THE famous American short story, "The Devil and Daniel Webster," the devil contracted with Farmer Cabez Stone —his soul for seven years of prosperity. When the seven years were up, the devil even granted an extension of three years, being quite sure that the soul would eventually be his. When the devil took out his pocketbook to check on the contract, a soul in the form of a moth flew out. The devil immediately grabbed it in his hand kerchief and carefully tied the corners, explaining to Cabez Stone that he had not yet had time to construct a special cage for this soul, but that all the souls he had captured were carefully and securely kept in special boxes. Yes, indeed, he took utmost care to make sure not one escaped.
The story is, of course, fictitious. But it points out one very dramatic point: Satan bends his entire being to the winning of souls for his cause. To win souls from his grasp will take an equally great devotion on our part.
It is not too much to say that our pastors today have the destiny of souls in their grasp. Many times these are hidden in the form of interest names.
Several years ago a young woman finishing the Faith for Today Bible Course sent in a request for someone to call. A report was forwarded to the field. Faith for To day had no more word until a staff member visited a certain church. There a church member told him about meeting the woman.
"I happened to call on her," he said. "She told me that two years ago she was eager to talk to a representative from our church. She was contemplating marriage to a person not interested in Christianity, and she wasn't quite sure what course to take. She kept postponing the decision, waiting for a minister to call and talk to her. But no one came; therefore, she finally married the non-Christian. She said, 'If someone had called then, I am sure I would have taken my stand for the church. But now ... it is too late!' "
Another graduate wrote. A young minister had called on her in following up an interest report, but that had been some time ago. "Will the young man call back for Bible studies?" she asked.
Another pastor returned a report marked, "Not interested." However, several months later a new minister came into that area, happened to call on the "not-interested" family, and found a group meeting for Bible study.
The above illustrates three desperate weaknesses in our follow-up work: 1. Failure to call on interests; 2. failure to negotiate regular visitation; and 3. giving up too quickly on an interest as hopeless.
A Possible Ten Thousand Baptisms Lost
In the past nineteen years of Faith for Today's ministry, possibly up to ten thou sand baptisms have been lost because of lack of follow-up. In the past two years alone, nearly two thousand possible baptisms were lost.
Consider a few statistics:
In the long-range overview, for every 28 interest reports followed up there have been ten known baptisms. In 1967 there were ten baptisms for every 25 reports, and in 1968 there were ten for every 14 reports. What does this indicate? That it pays to follow up interest reports. To neglect such known interests can mean lost decisions and baptisms.
Now for a look at some disturbing statistics:
For every seventeen interest reports sent to pastors, ten were returned, seven were not. We know that some of the names were followed up but no report was returned to us. We would conclude that pastors are so busy they have no time to send in the reports. Although this may hurt us statistically, nevertheless, the follow-up work is being done.
We don't want to believe that some interest cards are merely collecting dust in a file or cupboard, although one pastor moving into a new district reported this. And if this is what is happening to the interest names that are unreturned, then some disturbing statistics confront us:
Interest Reports Hint, Not Verify
We admit that some of the reports sent out are not as reliable as we wish they could be. But we have to work from sources available to us. Sometimes a student marks down, "Keeping the Sabbath," when actually he has misunderstood the lesson and is observing Sunday in the belief he is doing right. Sometimes a student indicates that he desires baptism but upon personal contact may hesitate. The interest sheets are not a sure sign of a future Adventist, very true! But any person who is working on or has finished 34 lessons of a Bible course is interested in the Bible! Such an interest ought to be encouraged by a visit.
What is our method of reporting? Does every name of every graduate automatically become an interest report? Far from it. We average only one interest report for every two graduates. If the student checks that he would like a visit from a representative, naturally a report is made. If he answers No to this question, no report is sent. However, if he leaves it blank, an interest report noting this is sent to the field.
When the pastor receives the report from his conference president, he is expected to attempt a contact and soon after report this. If he cannot make the visit or cannot locate the person or address or even if he cannot squeeze it into his schedule, he should note this, return the report to his president, who will return it to us. That way we will know what has been done for the student and can proceed accordingly.
In making the initial visit with the interest, the caller should not assume that the person is ready to make up his mind whether he should join the church. We should not expect the student to be already dressed in a baptismal garment! Although the Faith for Today Bible Course is quite comprehensive, a student can easily miss an important point or misunderstand. The best way is to approach him as one who wants to be a better Christian, who wishes to know more about the Bible. That first visit should be to find a friend, not necessarily an Adventist.
For instance, one minister in making a first call came upon what appeared to be a hopeless situation. Besides being a drunkard, the husband of the interested woman would not let her attend church. The pastor persisted, called back on the family for a friendly visit and also became acquainted with a visiting couple. He arranged Bible studies with both families. That^is an example of a minister who was willing to develop an interest rather than immediately expect a baptism!
A common problem is finding the person's home. If a pastor cannot locate the address, he could drop a card to the interested student, stating who he is and his need for directions. A self-addressed and stamped envelope will improve returns.
But what if the person has moved? Here is what one pastor did: "I made this call some time ago only to find that the woman had moved out of State. The people in the house could not give me a forwarding address. So I wrote a letter requesting her new address, and sent the letter to the old address. The letter got to her, I found out her new address, and forwarded it to the conference in which she was situated.
Returned Reports—A Study in Contrasts
The following notes made on returned interest reports might perhaps better illustrate the attitudes taken toward the contacts, both bad and good. They are used not to pass judgment, for we do not know the circumstances, but merely for contrast.
Pessimistic: "This is a very nice elderly lady. She says she believes the Sabbath but has no way to get to church. She lives in the country and we have no one living that way who could bring her, so there seems no way to handle the situation."
Optimistic: "This girl is far away from any of our churches, but she is going to continue and take another Bible course. We will stay in touch with her and keep encouraging her."
Pessimistic (About a 15-year-old): "She does not comprehend the truth to live it. Not a promising interest. Lives 50 miles from church. She is the only one in her family who has studied the course and has no encouragement, no way to come to church."
Optimistic: "Good interest—more than 30 miles from church. Believes in Sabbath—trying to keep it. Am trying to arrange transportation to church."
Pessimistic: "Mrs. ———— isn't a bit interested in becoming one of us. Very definite; likes Armstrong better."
Optimistic: "States that she is a Baptist and will never change. Good interest—will keep in touch with her."
We realize that the visiting minister or worker knows the possibilities best. He has many calls to make, many interests to fol low up, and to be most efficient he has to delete some names that may not show as much promise as others. But what were some of the encouraging hints in the positive letters that suggest the best attitude toward students? "We will keep in touch with . . . keep encouraging her." There lies the secret of positive visitation: A Christian concern and interest in the Bible student; not just seeing him to determine whether he's ready to join the church or not.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
We are concerned not only about the ministry of Faith for Today but the interests from other sources. Each of us is a member of a church in the area. Because of this we are also concerned about follow-up of our other mass media programs, such as the Voice of Prophecy and It Is Written.
From the lay activities secretary in my church I got a list of interest names. Some of them were from two years back, and no contact had been made yet! I'm sure that if there had been proper follow-up there would have been several more people rejoicing in the Advent hope. At present I am having very rewarding studies with three families—one an interest from Faith for Today, another from the Voice of Prophecy, and the last from It Is Written. I shudder to think what might have be come of these wonderful families if those interest cards had been filed away instead of followed up.
I know there are many workers who feel much the same way. We hear of them faith fully traveling many miles over hills, mountains, and back roads to find the people, and sometimes they are not home. They call back again and again and let us know that they are still trying and will keep on trying. To such workers is due any success that our mass media has.
Credit also goes to the thousands of members who support this gospel media by their prayers and donations. They deserve a full picture of what is being accomplished by their sacrifices, but they cannot get it unless we get back reports.
There is a chain of events involved here. The more reports that are returned, the more encouraging the results will be. These results will naturally lead to better sup port from our members; thus more can be done by our mass media.
It is also encouraging to know that students with whom we've worked for months have not been neglected. In the Faith for Today Bible School, the workers have a motto: "Every Name a Sacred Trust." We pray that such a worthy motto will not expire when we send a name to a fellow worker for Christ.
