The Outlook Encouraging by I. H. Evans

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · May 28, 1914

The Outlook Encouraging

By I. H. Evans

OUR union conferences and Bible institutes are now in the past, except one to be held in June in Eastern Canada. Most of our workers who have attended these institutes will acknowledge that the Lord has been present in a marked manner, and has bestowed rich blessings upon his people. A new era in soul winning has set in, and our workers seem determined to give their lives in a very definite way to the finishing of the work.

Encouraging reports concerning the spread of the message are coming in from all parts of the field. Elder O. Montgomery, president of the South-eastern Union Conference, writes:—

I am sending you the following report of home missionary work done in our union during the first quarter of 1914:— Letters written .................. 1,900 Missionary visits made ........... 5,000 Bible readings given ............. 3,500 Papers sold ....................... 5,600 Papers given away or lent ........ 8,000 Books sold ......................... 1,000 Books lent ........................... 700 Tracts given away ................. 10,000 Hours of Christian Help work ...... 4,000 Meals given away .................. 1,700

This report indicates that our churches in this part of the field are being aroused. We hope soon to see every man, woman, and child in this union actively engaged in service for God.

We have recently held some very interesting home missionary and religious liberty institutes, half of the time being devoted to each department of work, and I must say that I had never taken hold of any work that so enlisted my interest and stirred my heart as this. The people respond readily, and I am convinced that most of our people need only to be shown how to work, and to get just a little taste of the joy of service, and they will become firebrands for God.

It is our plan to carry on a strong campaign in home missionary work in each of our camp meetings, and we are asking the privilege of having one hour a day to devote to this work in the different meetings. I believe we can make this hour one of the most spiritual and uplifting meetings on the day's program.

I am trying to secure from the different presidents a statement of the number of persons who have been brought into the truth during the early part of the present year. One worker reports thirty-seven baptized the first four months; another reports thirty-four taken into the church by baptism; and this does not include quite a company that have accepted the truth as the result of a tent effort, but have not been organized as a church. I hope the first four months of the year will show a little more than one third of our part of the twelve thousand souls for the North American Division to be won to Christ for the year. We are sure that during the year we can come far above our pro-rata portion, but we shall not be satisfied until we have done all that the Lord would have us do.

Brother Charles Thompson, president of the Northern Union, writes concerning the work that has been going on in his field since the union conference, which ended the middle of February:—

There have been reported six efforts in different parts of the union, which have resulted in eighty-three persons accepting the truth. Twenty-nine of these are reported from Iowa, twenty-six from Minnesota, twenty-three from North Dakota, and five from South Dakota. There have been several instances where one and two persons have accepted the truth as a result of some Sabbath and Sunday meetings, but these eighty-three were brought in through regular efforts. We have also organized three churches with a combined membership of fifty-nine, in addition to the eighty-three reported above. One of these churches is in Iowa, one in South Dakota, and one in Minnesota. Two meetinghouses have been dedicated, one in Iowa and one in South Dakota.

From the Southern Union, Elder S. E. Wight reports as follows:—

I have just received a letter from the president of the Alabama Conference, stating that eight have accepted the Sabbath in one place where he has been laboring. Things are moving all through the field. The Mississippi Conference sold $1,567 worth of books last week. Our book sales for the last month amounted to more than $9,000. This is probably the largest report ever sent in from this union. We hope to raise our report this month to more than $10,000, and keep on increasing throughout the year. . . . The Tennessee River Conference reports fourteen converts during the month of March. We begin to feel that the work is moving.

Brother J. H. Schilling, of New York City, superintendent of the German work in the United States east of the Mississippi, under date of April 15, writes:—

On my tour among the churches, I expect to reorganize the missionary and tract societies in the churches, urging all the members as far as possible to help spread the message. I also expect to do each personal work with the workers, in order to encourage them to greater success in the work. I am constantly studying and planning how I may be able to develop the work in our department.

We are glad indeed to report that our work among the Germans in the East is onward. Some of our German workers have labored very hard; and where faithful work has been done the results are good. In 1913 the tithe averaged twenty-one dollars per capita. The donations to foreign missions in 1913 averaged nineteen cents a church member weekly. But in the German churches that had no American members the average was considerably over twenty cents a church member. So you see that we are standing pretty well in tithe and offerings, especially when it is remembered that most of our German people in the East are poor. In some churches the sales of tracts and periodicals have reached quite an amount, yet we are by no means satisfied. It is our purpose to double our sales this year. Our workers are all of good courage, and, as far as I know, feel like putting forth greater effort in the dissemination of present truth. Remember us Germans at the throne of grace. We will remember you.

Elder C. W. Flaiz, of the North Pacific Union Conference, writes:—

I believe these institutes will mark a new era in our work. The workers here seem to be of good courage, and are working with energy, and results are already being seen. The prospects for our camp meetings are good. There is considerable inquiry relative to these meetings, and we look for a good attendance.

We might quote from many others who have written concerning the work in their fields, but it can plainly be seen from the extracts already given that our men are determined to win souls to Christ. We believe that our people should follow these workers with their prayers, asking the blessing of God upon them while in the harvest field, that many souls may be brought to Christ this coming year. I. H. EVANS.