FOR years I had stifled the urge to do public evangelism with the excuse that denominational administrators and office workers possessed neither the time nor the aptitudes for the rigor of evangelism. Since college days, as a business student, I was moved by the challenges of evangelistic campaigns.
But as with many of our worthy ambitions, I allowed the years to pass, and the hours of pressing responsibilities as an accountant, auditor, and treasurer were so full, my cherished dreams of public meetings were assuaged. Instead of visitation there were numberless committees and boards, there were budgets to balance rather than baptismal goals, officers' councils that took the place of Bible studies. Faithfulness in stewardship was promoted in the place of appeals for surrender, and financial statements were produced in lieu of evangelistic sermons.
However, early this year a request was received from the South Sumatra Mission urging me to conduct an effort in the prosperous city of Tandjung Karang, located in Sumatra's southernmost province. A campaign such as this had never been held in the area. Through the years the work in this part of Sumatra had progressed slowly and our efforts had been met with persistent opposition from fanatical religious groups. The time seemed ripe and the challenge great. Once the usual obstacles of the administrative work could be cleared, we decided to accept the invitation.
The Challenge Accepted
Leaning fully upon God's promises for guidance and support, I temporarily laid aside the work which had heretofore seemed more urgent and plunged into the task of preparing for a three-week every-night series of meetings, preceded by a Week of Prayer and Revival in the small local church. For both the revival series and the public effort it was ultimately necessary to prepare 32 new sermons. Seeing the value of such an experience, the brethren decided to conduct a field school to share with the workers assigned to assist in the meetings the inspiration of a treasurer's first experience in evangelism. The work of preparation, sandwiched between other routine activities, seemed monumental.
Assisted by R. I. Sarumpaet, secretary of the West Indonesia Union departments of radio-TV and public relations, as translator, and my wife as music committee director, we opened the revival series on Sunday night, July 5. The studies, conducted each morning at 6:00 A.M. as well as the usual evening meeting, carried the theme "Teach Us to Pray," based on the Lord's Prayer, and were well attended. In fact, the attendance daily grew larger as members who had grown careless in their spiritual lives were visited and prayed with by the staff of workers from the South Sumatra Mission under the leadership of the mission president, C. G. Manurung.
Prayer and Success
Prayer was the secret of our success. The Week of Prayer concluded with a day of fasting and prayer on Sabbath as the Lord's Supper was celebrated, and closed with an all-night prayer service in the church. During the evangelistic crusade, which opened in the Wisma Ria Hall in the heart of the city on Sunday night, July 12, a special prayer group was organized by lay members to pray for the service each night. Many testified to strength gained and victories won from the emphasis on the power of prayer and the importance of the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the crusade.
From the beginning a strong visitation team was active. In addition to arranging Bible study groups with new interests as the meetings progressed, many backsliders were also visited and encouraged to return to church fellowship. Through this personal contact many important decisions were made to follow Christ.
A Full Program
The day's activities for the team began at 5:30 A.M. with jogging and physical exercises. Right after breakfast a two-hour field school was held with the staff of ten workers and the wives who were present. Discussions were organized on subjects of methods of evangelism, and a special study was included on the importance of stewardship. The remaining hours of the day were crowded with visits, Bible studies, and arrangements for the evening's program.
The regular campaign closed with our first baptism on Sabbath, August 1, when 29 souls were united with our church in Tandjung Karang by baptism in a public swimming pool. At this writing a strong follow-up program is being continued by the local workers. There are 16 in a class preparing for the next baptism planned soon and more than a hundred non-Adventists continue a. faithful and systematic study of the Adventist message. The Bible-marking technique was followed during the campaign and more than three hundred Indonesian Bibles were given away to those who attended the meetings regularly.
Do I feel repaid for the time and effort expended in this public evangelism crusade? The personal reward of looking into the tear-filled, happy faces of souls who had surrendered their lives fully to the Master is payment enough. Now I eagerly look forward to the next opportunity to lay aside the administrative responsibilities and become involved again in public evangelism.
