The challenge of baptizing 1,000 souls a day for the 1,000 days between September 18, 1982, and June 15, 1985, has generally captured the imagination of the church, both ministerial workers and lay members. Although it would be repetitious to add the words "by God's grace" or "through the power of the Holy Spirit'' at each appropriate spot in these reports, all of us realize (and need to continue to keep before us) the fact that regardless of what we do, it is not we who really win a soul for Christ. It is the convicting power of the Holy Spirit that breathes life into all our plans and efforts.
With this in mind, it is encouraging to note the progress He has granted thus far in the great objective of 1 million new church members solid, well-grounded, soul-winning Christians. But we must not be content merely with reaching even such a challenging objective. We cannot be content until we have completed the assignment given by our Saviour: ((And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come' (Matt. 24:14). —Editors.
Africa-Indian Ocean Division
On September 18, 1982, members launched the 1000 Days of Reaping by observing a division-wide day of fasting and prayer focusing on soul winning. On that day 400 souls were baptized in Kumasi, Ghana, in the Central Ghana Conference.
The official division baptismal goal is 150 baptisms per day during the 1000 days, for a total of 150,000. Additional plans call for 1000 new churches to be established during this period and for work to begin in all unentered countries within the division.
Local pastors in the Africa-Indian Ocean Division are being challenged to hold one evangelistic campaign during the last quarter of 1982, 3 campaigns during 1983, 2 campaigns (in addition to the union-wide meeting) in 1984, and 3 campaigns in 1985. Administrators and departmental directors of the division, unions, and local fields are also being encouraged to conduct evangelistic campaigns. Virtually the entire division staff will be personally involved in public evangelism during the 1000 Days of Reaping.
By the end of 1982 division and union personnel had held special model evangelism councils in each union to focus on plans and objectives for the 1000 Days of Reaping. The first was conducted in Kumasi, Ghana, for the West African Union during September. By mid-1983 each local field will have held its own council, patterned after the union models.
A new evangelistic and health center has been purchased in Kinshasa, Zaire. This will assist the evangelistic program of the largest sub-Sahara city in Africa. Surburban churches are also being developed in the overall evangelistic plan for this great city.
Lay evangelism is being given high priority throughout the division during the 1000 Days of Reaping. The objective is to have 50,000 lay evangelists working during this time. The division is projecting 800,000 Sabbath school members and 555,000 church members by 1985.
Australasian Division
A survey taken at the beginning of the 1000 Days of Reaping indicates that within the division more than 2,000 evangelistic campaigns will be con ducted during this time by both ministerial workers and lay evangelists. Youth for youth evangelistic meetings will number about 120. Some 4,000 branch Sabbath schools are planned, 160 Vacation Bible Schools, and 2,000 health-oriented programs.
The opening of the 1000 Days of Reaping emphasized work for former and missing members and revival in the churches. Some congregations con ducted special meetings to which they invited former members. In one small church, the pastor visited the 8 known former members in his district. Six are now attending church. On the island of Tonga one pastor visited a man who had ceased to attend church 7 years earlier. He has now returned to church member ship and is helping the pastor seek out other missing members. As a result of their combined efforts, 40 individuals are back in the church!
Strong emphasis is being placed upon church-growth principles in reaching the division's goal of 25,000 baptisms during the 1,000 days. Each summer Avondale College intends to conduct field schools of soul winning headed up by a leading evangelist. Training will be on soul-winning skills, and participants will form a team that will work with the evangelist in running an evangelistic campaign during the summer school.
Two special issues of the Signs of the Times (numbering approximately 1 mil lion copies) will come off the press in June and July of this year to be delivered by church members to their neighbors and friends. Each magazine will contain special book offers.
Eastern Africa Division
On September 18, 1982, the Eastern Africa Division opened the 1000 Days of Reaping by baptizing 15,492 as the culmination of plans initiated in April, 1982, to involve every baptized member in reaching out to others.
Personal and public evangelism is to be combined as church members and ministerial workers join hands to achieve the division goal of 150,000 baptisms during the 1000 Days of Reaping. Local churches will be organizing themselves into witnessing teams of 6 to 8 members, each with a leader and an area assigned them by the pastor. Each group is to reach every home in its area with the offer of the Freedom in Christ Bible course. After the area has been completely covered with Bible lessons, each group will have public evangelistic meetings in its assigned area. Baptismal classes will follow. The emphasis is on thorough preparation.
Each pastor in the division will be conducting at least 2 public meetings each year. Every departmental director and administrator will be conducting at least one public evangelistic meeting during the 1000 Days of Reaping.
Euro-Africa Division
Believing that the necessity of increasing the number of workers and preparing them to perform their task is of first priority, the leaders of the Euro- Africa Division have organized nine seminars in several local fields designed to give ministers the opportunity to become familiar with the principles of church growth. Five seminars, with a total of 400 participants, have already taken place. Four more will follow in 1983. Dr. Gottfried Oosterwal is leading out.
All levels of administration within the division have pledged themselves to methods of working that are in harmony with the principles of church growth. During the 1982 autumn session of the division committee, delegates studied ways and means by which they, together with department heads, could support the pastors so that the teachings of the seminars could be put into practice in each community.
All German-speaking union and conference presidents, together with the lay activities and Ministerial Association directors, met in January 1983 to analyze and evaluate the impact of churchgrowth seminars on the work of the minister and the activities of the churches.
A church-growth institute, under the leadership of the division Ministerial Association, will be established on the campus of Marienhoehe Theological Seminary in Darmstadt, Germany. It will prepare working materials for churches and ministers, undertake analytical surveys of churches and their environments, and lay out patterns for applying church-growth principles effectively.
Far Eastern Division
The 1000 Days of Reaping was launched in the Far East when Neal C. Wilson, General Conference president, led out in the Manila Good News Total Health Expo '82. This evangelistic crusade actually began in May, 1982, when action teams began a concerted witnessing outreach throughout Metropolitan Manila. Under the blessing of God a total of 1,195 were baptized October 9, 1982, at the close of Elder Wilson's preaching, in a moving ceremony at the Rizal Memorial Swimming Pool. To this number were added 312 who were baptized at the national penitentiary. (See MINISTRY, January, 1983, pp. 10- 12.)
The Far East has officially voted 1983 as the Year of the Sabbath School. The division Sabbath school director, R. B. Grady, is spearheading the challenge of organizing 27,366 Sabbath school classes into evangelistic units. During early 1983, union-wide Sabbath school congresses and evangelism rallies will be held throughout the division. The objective is to involve every member of the church in productive evangelistic outreach. According to J. H. Zachary, division ministerial secretary, "All our evangelism activities for 1983 will cluster around the Sabbath school congresses and evangelism rallies."
The division lay activities director, Peter Jack, recently completed a 3-week evangelistic crusade in Hong Kong Academic Community Hall as the culmination of dedicated house-to-house witnessing by hundreds of church members during the year. An overflow audience of 2,700 attended the opening night, and hundreds had to be turned away. Two sessions each night continued through out the entire crusade. The closing night saw an attendance of 1,000, and more than 140 have made their decision for baptism. More than 500 homes have been opened for Bible studies.
The results of a similar campaign by Peter Jack on Guam show the Lord's blessings on the 1000 Days of Reaping program. Members there continued to witness in what had been an extremely unproductive area in the past, and by God's grace when the meetings began, 500 were present for the opening night. At the conclusion of 5 weeks (2 sessions per night), 33 took their stand for Christ and chose baptism, while 200 more are continuing to study the Bible.
Inter-American Division
During the division's recent triennial session, the El Salvador Mission was granted conference status. As of the end of November, 1982, 4,000 persons had been baptized in the conference, and expectations are that between 5,000 and 6,000 will be baptized during 1983. The pastor in the most troubled area of the country has already baptized 480 souls.
The Nicaragua Mission had baptized 1,800 persons by the end of November, 1982. This is double its goal for the year. All of the local fields in the Central American Union reached their baptismal goals for 1982.
Don Crowder, Caribbean Union evangelist, is leading out in a crusade in Guyana. Such large crowds have attended that 2 huge tents have been put together to accommodate the congregation. To date, 500 have been baptized.
During the first month of the 1000 Days of Reaping, the Inter-American Division baptized 6,241 persons—an average of 208 per day.
The Colombia-Venezuela Union plans to launch a second national evangelistic campaign throughout the entire union, patterned after the one held in Colombia early in 1982. The 1982 crusade covered all of Colombia with 600 simultaneous meetings using the same sermons, advertising, and organization. All union departmental directors, local field administrators and departmental directors, and 187 pastors and 422 lay members led out in the preaching. Final results of the 6-month meetings were 4,560 baptisms and 3,500 preparing for baptism. One hundred new congregations were organized. The second national evangelistic campaign began January 15, 1983, and will involve 7 local fields. Its objective is 7,000 baptisms.
During September and October, 1982, a large metropolitan campaign was held in Mexico City, coordinated by Carlos E. Aeschlimann, division Ministerial secretary. The message was preached in 60 locations at the same time. Baptisms numbered 574, and 23 new meeting places were organized.
North American Division
In the Columbia Union, 4,000 lay members are being trained, with the objective of leading 2 souls to Christ each year; literature evangelists have set their sights on following up 1,000 souls per year; a major church-growth center is being developed; and baptisms are increasing.
Conferences in the Lake Union are laying plans through their Faith, Action, Advance committees for a continued emphasis on evangelism. Spiritual Gifts Training Seminars are being conducted to help every member and church employee to make the most effective use of his spiritual gifts.
The North Pacific Union is training 1,000 lay Bible ministers to engage in evangelism during the 1000 Days of Reaping.
The Target/Model City plan is receiving a great deal of emphasis in the Southwestern Union as a means of saturating a metropolitan area with a coordinated strategy of evangelism. Youth are holding Revelation Seminars throughout the union with much success.
Northern European Division
The division publishing department is inaugurating a plan in 1983 to produce 500,000 copies of an inexpensive doctrinal book for mass distribution by church members.
In the Lapland Mission, organized in the autumn of 1982, plans call for an increased number of evangelistic campaigns by both pastors and laymen and the systematic distribution of the Signs of the Times.
The Polish Union has set a goal of 1,000 souls during the 1000 Days of Reaping. Despite martial law, preaching was unrestricted. In the first half of 1982 more persons united with the church than had been added during the whole of 1981.
A tent campaign in London, England, conducted by Richard Barren, resulted in adding 156 new members to the city's churches.
The beginning of the 1000 Days of Reaping was announced at a national Day of Fellowship in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands Union. On that day the Bible correspondence school released a new Bible course and asked a thousand members to distribute 1,000 enrollment cards each. Hundreds of requests have resulted from blanketing Holland with 1 million enrollment cards.
From June 17 through August 6, 1983, four 8-day Personal Ministries Seminars will be conducted throughout the division, training church members in the arts of personal evangelism. S. F. Monnier, of the General Conference Lay Activities Department, will be leading out.
South American Division
The South American Division has accepted the challenge of assigning itself 170,000 baptisms during the 1000 Days of Reaping—almost 20 percent of the world goal. During the first 2 weeks of this 1,000-day period, 13,268 youth were baptized as a result of spring and Christian education baptismal programs.
Guayaquil, Ecuador, has been the model for one important method of reaching the division's objectives. After nearly 8 decades of self-sacrificing work, the church had some 1,000 members in this metropolitan area. The goal set by mission administrators, pastors, and lay members in the 3 districts of the city was high: one day's portion of the world -1,000 souls—by the end of 1982! Strategy for the city-wide campaign included 9 preaching centers. The Ecuador Mission provided 12 pastors and 3 departmental secretaries in addition to the help given by administration. Inca Union College sent 36 senior theology students. Local church members were involved, and the entire operation was guided by Daniel Belvedere, division Ministerial secretary, together with the Ministerial secretaries of the Inca Union and the Ecuador Mission. The result? On December 3, 1982, 966 were baptized, making the 1,000 mark a certainty by the end of the year. The 5 small groups that existed at the beginning of the meetings became congregations of 100 to 160 members each, and 2 new congregations were raised up.
During 1983 large city campaigns will be held in Fortaleza, Brazil, by Jose Bessa, associate Ministerial secretary of the division; in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, by Severino Bezerra, Ministerial secre tary of the East Brazil Union; in Antofagasta, Chile, by Amaias Justiniano, Ministerial secretary of the Chile Union; in the South Brazil Union by Ministerial Secretary Alcides Campolongo; in the Inca Union by Ministerial Secretary Ricardo Cabero; and in Cordoba, Argentina, by Juan C. Sicalo, Ministerial secretary of the Austral Union.
Daniel Belvedere, division Ministerial secretary, will hold meetings in Buenos Aires. This evangelistic endeavor will consist of 3 major campaigns, 50 pastoral evangelistic series, and 200 neighborhood meetings held by laymen. The goal for this combined effort is 2,400 souls.
Among the 15 points of the program outlined by the division for the 1000 Days of Reaping are the following specific objectives: to have an evangelistic council functioning in every church and institution by 1983; to have each pastor conduct 3 evangelistic campaigns per year; to have each licensed or credentialed worker lead out or participate in a series of public meetings; to have 6,000 baptismal classes, 10,000 lay preachers, 50,000 Bible instructors, and 100,000 Bible correspondence school instructors functioning by the end of the 1000 Days of Reaping.
Southern Asia Division
G. J. Christo, division president, inaugurated the 1000 Days of Reaping in the headquarters church, and also at the headquarters of the North Andhra Section of the Central India Union. The North Andhra Section has been baptizing at the rate of 16 persons a day; their goal is 14 a day, or 14,000 before June 15, 1985.
The South Andhra Section of the Central India Union celebrated the one-hundredth day of the 1000 Days of Reaping by baptizing 210 individuals at 2 locations. John Willmott and R. I. Mathew, division and union Ministerial secretaries respectively, participated. This field is planning to baptize 14,000 during the 1000 Days of Reaping.
More than 2,000 contacts have been established through the Hyderabad Field School of Evangelism conducted by Arturo Schmidt, of the General Conference. Approximately 300 attended the lectures for more than 20 days. On November 14 and December 12 two subsequent meetings were held with about 300 present. A second series of meetings, conducted by John Willmott, division Ministerial secretary, resulted in 158 persons baptized. Cottage meetings are in progress in 5 places, and the pastors in the city are planning to reach their goal of 200 baptisms before March, 1983.
The Bangladesh Union launched a vigorous evangelistic outreach during 1982 that increased its membership by 50 percent. At this rate the target set for the 1000 Days of Reaping (doubling their membership) will be a glorious possibility. Calls are coming to establish work in each of the 3 sections of this union. Special appeals have come from the Garo tribes of north Bangladesh.
City evangelism remains a challenge in Southern Asia. Bombay will be "invaded" by 15 lay evangelists who will help make contacts and begin companies in 5 places in that city. Poona is a city where the church is meeting with success in evangelism. Of the 355 baptisms for the whole Maharashtra Section during 1982, 108 were in Poona.
The first company of believers has been established on the Andaman Islands, with 26 baptized members. C. C. Joseph, local pastor, is enthusiastic about the bright future of the work there.
Evangelistic work in Burma is steadily going forward. About 400 baptisms have been reported during 1982.
The largest single baptism at the Bombay Marathi church was conducted recently when 31 souls were added to the church as the result of a cottage meeting. A program of beginning several house churches is under study by the Central India Union.
Thirty-four were baptized at Raipur Kolar village in the North India Section during the first week of the 1000 Days of Reaping.
Four baptismal services have been conducted in the Gujarat region of India since September 18. Although the work in this region is new, its growth has been steady and solid. Pastor Prem Bazroy and his team of workers have great plans for the future in Gujarat.
Trans-Africa Division
Integrated departmental workshops are being conducted presently in the 5 unions of the Trans-Africa Division to coordinate departmental activities with administrative management in order to meet the division goal of 109,500 souls during the 1000 Days of Reaping.
Baptisms in Trans-Africa for the fourth quarter of 1982 numbered 5,055.
