Southeastern California by W. F. MARTIN

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 2, 1915

Southeastern California

By W. F. MARTIN

At a meeting held in Los Angeles, Feb. 18-23, 1915, it was decided by the delegates assembled to divide the Southern California Conference. The portion that was set off included the counties of San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, San Diego, and Orange. This new conference was given the name Southeastern California Conference. The portion remaining retained the name Southern California Conference.

There were given to the Southeastern California Conference twenty-seven churches, with a membership of 1,652. These churches paid in 1914 a tithe of $35,379.86.

Loma Linda and Paradise Valley Sanitariums are located in this conference. The Fernando Academy is situated in the Southern California Conference, but is the academy for both conferences.

The writer was chosen president of the new conference, and J. C. McReynolds secretary and treasurer. March 9 the writer left his former place of labor in the North Pacific Union and came to this conference. Soon after, it was decided to locate the conference headquarters at Santa Ana, a fine little city of fourteen thousand people, situated thirty-four miles south of Los Angeles.

The conference has a varied climate. There is no season of the year that a tent meeting cannot be held in some part of the conference. During the summer we had three tent companies in the field. These all had good success. Elder L. E. Brant headed a company at Rialto, in the San Bernardino Valley. Elder R. S. Owen conducted a strong effort in San Diego, with a good company, and Elder C. F. Folkenberg and his helpers held a meeting at Anaheim, in Orange County.

During the nine months since the organization of the conference, the Lord has blessed us both spiritually and financially, as manifested in the number who have accepted the truth, and the amount of tithe and offerings received. The records show that in this field there have been 259 additions to the various churches. Of these, 219 have been by baptism; the others have been received on profession of faith. In addition to these, we know of a number who are keeping the Sabbath but have not yet united with the church. The stringency in the money market has been very evident in this section, and yet our people have shown a liberal spirit. The tithe has been larger than last year. For the nine months there has been paid in tithe $26,939.63. The offerings on the Twenty-cent-a-week Fund are not quite up to the goal, but we are determined to reach it before the end of the year.

Our camp meeting was held at Huntington Beach. We rented a “tent city,” with tents pitched, floored, and lighted. A large auditorium, and buildings for office, store, cafeteria, and lunch room were already on the ground. This saved the work of pitching the camp and taking it down. The meeting was a most excellent one. It was a great spiritual feast to our own people, and a good impression was made on the people of the town. Three hundred tents were filled the latter part of the meeting. All the expenses of the meeting were met from the proceeds of tent rent and the income from the store and the cafeteria, and we had a surplus of nearly seven hundred dollars. Thirty-four were baptized during the meeting.

Although our territory is not large, and a great deal of work has been done, yet this is still a fruitful field; and as it is filling up rapidly, there are always a number who have not come in contact with the truths of the message, and that makes an open field for labor. We feel to thank the Lord for his prospering care, and the success and blessing that have thus far attended the work in our conference. We take courage and go forward.

W. F. MARTIN.