A Needy Mission Field by O. A. OLSEN

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D.C. · Jul 23, 1914

A Needy Mission Field

By O. A. OLSEN

O. A. OLSEN

I know not what title other than “A Needy Mission Field” to give to the ever foreign field that is here in North America, the homeland of the message. The tide of immigration which a hundred years ago, yes, even fifty years ago, was only a few thousands each year, has increased so rapidly that it has startled the world. Instead of coming by thousands, they come by the hundreds of thousands every year, and in 1907 more than a million and a quarter of these immigrants landed on the shores of the United States, in addition to the thousands that landed in the great Dominion of Canada.

True, the tide fluctuates; they do not come in the same numbers every year. That the reader may have some idea of the rate at which they are coming, we give below the number of immigrants that have landed in the United States, year by year, for the last ten years:—

Year	Number	Year	Number
1904	815,361	1909	751,786
1905	1,026,499	1910	1,041,570
1906	1,100,735	1911	878,587
1907	1,285,349	1912	838,172
1908	782,870	1913	1,197,892

Total ........................9,718,821

This is in the United States alone. Add to these the thousands and thousands that have entered Canada during the same time, which also composes a part of our field. North America presents a condition worthy of most careful study and interest from the standpoint of the third angel’s message to all the world in this generation.

From where do they come? In reply to that, let me quote from the report of the Government Immigration Commission for the year ending June 30, 1913: “Here they are, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Bulgaria, Servia, Montenegro, Denmark, France, Corsica, German Empire, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Roumania, Russian Empire and Finland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, China, Japan, India, Africa, Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, etc.”

Here they are from all quarters of the globe. The countries furnishing the largest numbers in 1913 are: Russia, including Finland, 295,040; Italy, including Sicily and Sardinia, 265,542; Austria, 137,245; Hungary, 117,586. The other countries follow with lesser numbers.

These figures will give the reader some idea of the condition of our country’s population. Who will say that we do not have an extensive foreign mission field right here in the homeland?

Where do they locate? To this we answer, Everywhere. It is true, however, that the larger number settle in our large cities. About thirty-four per cent settle in New York, a smaller number in the cities of Massachusetts and in the larger cities in the interior of the country; but aside from those who go to these large cities, we meet the foreigners everywhere, in the cities, the rural districts, the populous country districts, and on the great prairies of the West. In short, they are everywhere, and sometimes in large compact communities, where they keep up their foreign customs and preserve their own peculiar characteristics and languages for generations. We find men and women who were born in America many of whom speak no English, and others who have only a very limited knowledge of it.

Such is the situation in general, and it is no wonder that it is attracting the attention of the government and of thinking people in both state and church. It is but natural and right that it should, for it presents a condition of things that unless properly cared for may be a menace to both state and church, instead of a blessing.

The phase of this question that is of special interest to us is its relation to the gospel message to all nations in this generation. The Master stated very definitely that—

This Gospel of the Kingdom

should be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then would come the end. We are putting forth a strong effort to bring the message to people in foreign lands, which is what we ought to do; but while doing that, we should not overlook the foreigners whom providence has brought in such vast numbers to our very doors. If we had put forth greater efforts for these foreigners who have come to us from all countries in the world, our work in the foreign fields would have been less difficult; for among these nationalities many would have accepted the truth who could have been quickly trained to bear the message to their own people. This is evident, from the results of the small efforts that have been made to give the message to the foreigners in this country.

Aside from all that, we owe a duty to all these foreigners. They must hear the message, and now is the time to give it to them. Something has been done, but even among those where most has been done, there are a great many yet unwarned. It has been found by experience

that new settlements are by all means the most favorable to work. Old associations have been broken; new relations, new acquaintances, are being made; religious privileges are few, and prejudices have to quite an extent given way. Such opportunities should be improved to the fullest extent possible, for they yield an abundant harvest at a comparatively small outlay of labor and means. We have not taken advantage of this as much as we should have done, and it is our duty, at this late hour, to do our utmost, for the day in which we can work is far spent.

Workers are needed in these various tongues, and funds with which to support and carry on the work. This is the situation everywhere. What can we do? What course can we take to supply both money and workers?

While attending camp meetings in Western Canada, many brethren in all the provinces spoke to me of large communities of foreigners—Germans, Russians, Swedes, Norwegians, and others—whose religious privileges were few, who were calling for some one to come and preach to them the gospel of salvation. I presented these calls to the various conference presidents and others, but they had neither the workers nor the funds to support them; so what could they do? What we find in Canada, we find in many other places. Truly it is a needy field.

Our local conferences feel deeply over the situation, and so does our North American Division Conference Committee. Feeling that something very definite should be done to meet it, they have decided to call for a special collection to be taken on Sabbath, August 22, 1914, for the foreign work in North America.

Think what it would mean if the North American Division Conference could render some aid to the local conferences, through the Foreign Department, to promote this work by developing laborers and by assisting them when they are ready to enter these promising open doors. This is what the offering has in view, and we believe it will appeal to all our people. We are not asking for money to build any institution, however good and proper that may be; but we are asking for funds to enable us to assist in developing laborers among the foreign nationalities, and to assist where it is necessary in order to get them started in the work. Our local conferences have shown themselves ready to do their utmost to cooperate in this work, and now we ask all to help us, and thus aid in hastening the message to its final and glorious consummation.