Harvest 90 aims at a concerted effort of preaching the gospel to the whole world and thus accomplishing the supreme commission given by Christ to the church.
The One Thousand Days of Reaping, which garnered in more than 1.1 million precious souls, came to its climax at the General Conference session in New Orleans in June 1985. At that time Elder Neal C. Wilson, president of the General Conference, launched the new Harvest 90 program, which set forth the great challenge of winning 2 million souls during the quinquennium that will end with the General Conference session in 1990. All of the divisions in the world field accepted this new challenge.
The impact of this evangelistic fervor moving through the Adventist world made itself known in various ways. During Annual Council in October 1985, all the devotional sermons gave emphasis to some aspect of the Harvest 90 plan. Dr. Gottfried Oosterwal con ducted a mission council at the world headquarters of the church. When each division had presented its plans and announced its baptismal goals, the sum amounted to more than 2.3 million. The 1986 Spring Council also placed great emphasis on Harvest 90. Reports from the various fields indicate that already during the first three quarters of the Harvest 90 program 259,000 precious souls have been baptized.
Another sign of the great evangelistic impetus within the church is that while baptisms usually decrease during the year of the General Conference session, 1985 saw more baptisms than any other year in the history of the Adventist Church. For the first time a year's baptisms totaled more than 400,000.
Goals for the church
The Harvest 90 document accepted at the last General Conference session sets forth the focus of the church through 1990. It notes that "the proclamation of the everlasting gospel and its power demonstrated in the lives of a Spirit-filled people will be used by God to call forth the final events of earth." Recognizing that only with revival and reformation can we reach the goal of fulfilling the gospel commission, Harvest 90 holds as of high importance: "renewal and personal growth through Bible study, intercessory prayer, fellowship, and worship"; "revitalization of family religion"; the reclamation of inactive members; and the "reaffirmation of the principles and standards of the church, calling for reformation in appearance and lifestyle."
Harvest 90 calls Adventists to commit themselves to the goal of the church: "The completion of the gospel commission in the setting of the three angels' messages in preparation for the coming of Jesus." It says that for us to accomplish this, we must (1) recognize "the local church as the center of evangelism, nurture, and training of members for ministry"; (2) make our homes "centers of love, care, and witness"; (3) renew our proclamation "of the biblical-prophetic message"; and (4) reach "the large numbers of people who as yet are unreached by the gospel."
Harvest 90 is a call to all church members to evangelize and to win souls. For this reason we must recognize that the local church should be a "center of evangelism, nurture, and training of members for ministry."
To complete the gospel commission Harvest 90 sets two specific goals: (1) to "double, in every division, union, conference, local field, and church, the number of accessions that were achieved during the One Thousand Days of Reaping"; and (2) to "double the number of members equipped for soul-winning activities".
All the world fields accepted with enthusiasm the Harvest 90 program. Divisions and unions have outlined aggressive plans, and' the results are outstanding. The two European divisions are experiencing a significant evangelistic revival. This year saw a successful evangelistic campaign in Munich, West Germany. And our brethren in Spain are planning a gigantic national evangelistic campaign for 1988. In all of Europe Revelation seminars are being instituted.
The North American Division has established a high goal, outlined excel lent plans, and prepared very fine materials. The latter part of 1986 has brought a large evangelistic campaign to Washington, D.C., and multiple campaigns in New York.
The divisions of Africa are in full activity and are beginning to see great harvests of souls. And the Far Eastern Division set apart 12 days to plan evangelistic strategies for its vast territory. We expect a great harvest of souls in the Philippines and in Korea. In addition, they will hold a large evangelistic campaign in Singapore to inaugurate a new evangelistic center.
The South Pacific Division has made very careful plans and prepared excellent materials. And the Southern Asia Division, though smaller in membership, has already held several campaigns and has had promising results.
The South American Division baptized almost 50,000 souls during the first three quarters of Harvest 90. For the years 1986 and 1987 they are planning national campaigns in Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Inter-America began Harvest 90 with a gigantic campaign in Kingston, Jamaica. Elder John Carter, of Australia, conducted the campaign and baptized more than 400 souls.
The reply to the challenge of Harvest 90 has been immediate and total. At the present time this great evangelistic movement, which involves administrators, workers, and lay members alike, covers the entire world, and the harvest is growing day by day.
Suggestions for 1987
For the full quinquennium the motto is Harvest 90. But each year should see varying emphases. The Ministerial Association recommends that during 1987 we give emphasis to evangelism centered in the local church and based on the united work of pastors and laity.
The local church as an evangelistic center and a center for training laity is a pillar of evangelism. The Spirit of Prophecy supports this concept: "The church is God's appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world" (Christian Service, p. 15). "Someone must fulfill the commission of Christ; someone must carry on the work which He began to do on earth; and the church has been given this privilege. For this purpose it has been organized" (ibid., p. 14). We hope that every Seventh-day Adventist church will maintain a continuous program of evangelism.
Because they are the church's leaders in evangelism and instructors of laity and because evangelism is a part of the mission that Christ gave to them, pastors should hold evangelistic efforts. We recommend that every pastor in the world field conduct at least one evangelistic campaign and coordinate a permanent program of evangelism in his district or church. But the pastor's greatest responsibility is to train the largest number of lay members possible in all aspects of evangelism. The Spirit of Prophecy says: "It is a fatal mistake to suppose that the work of soul-saving depends alone upon the ministry" (ibid., p. 68). "The best help that ministers can give the members of our churches is not sermonizing, but planning work for them. Give each one something to do for others. Help all to see that as receivers of the grace of Christ they are under obligation to work for Him. And let all be taught how to work" (ibid., p. 69).
The successful pastor is not the one who works hard but alone. Rather, he is the one who is able to recruit, train, and place in action the members of his congregation. The pastor is like a gen eral. He knows that alone he cannot face the enemy host. For this reason he does the planning and then enters the battle assisted by a good number of soldiers, well motivated, trained, and armed.
The laity helps the church fulfill its mission by participating in all its evangelistic activities. Christ prepared His followers to carry the gospel to all the world. In the early church all were missionaries. The Spirit of Prophecy supports the missionary call of the layperson: "Every soul whom Christ has rescued is called to work in His name for the saving of the lost." "To save souls should be the lifework of everyone who professes Christ" (ibid., p. 10).
During 1987 we would like to see thousands of lay members working as preachers, Bible instructors, and baptismal class instructors. They can offer their homes as centers for witnessing, conduct seminars, bring friends and visitors to evangelistic meetings, participate actively in committees and missionary groups, and prepare candidates for baptism.
The rapid finishing of the work depends on this. "The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work, and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers" (ibid., p. 68).
Conference and mission administrators and departmental leaders should remember that in order to implement a dynamic evangelistic program they must show by word and example that evangelism is a priority undertaking. They must offer training to pastors and laity, and, especially for the laity, they must provide an abundance of quality materials.
Harvest 90 is in full progress. The program has been enthusiastically accepted by the world field. All the way from the General Conference to every local church, daring and visionary plans have been laid, and the results are beginning to indicate that the harvest will be of great proportion, according to the Bible promise: "The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord" (Isa. 11:9). The Spirit of Prophecy predicts: "God will soon do great things for us. ... The church, aided by the providential interpositions of her exalted Lord, will diffuse the knowledge of salvation so abundantly that light will be communicated to every city and town. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of salvation. So abundantly will the renewing Spirit of God have crowned with success the intensely active agencies, that the light of present truth will be seen flashing everywhere" (Evangelism, pp. 693, 694).
The promises are sure, and the Lord has the power to fulfill them. It is our duty and opportunity to collaborate with God directly and with untiring dedication. "In proportion to the enthusiasm and perseverance with which the work is carried forward, will be the success given" (Christian Service, p. 262).
