Reaching the Masses by Chas. Thompson

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 3, 1916

Reaching the Masses

By Chas. Thompson

THE camp meetings of the Northern Union Conference for 1916 are in the past. We began them May 25 and closed June 25, holding a ten-day meeting in each of the four conferences comprising the union. These meetings will be reported by others, but I desire to report an effort during and immediately following these meetings that will perhaps not be mentioned in other reports.

Elder A. G. Daniells was with us through our entire series, and labored with his usual freedom and enthusiasm in behalf of all the interests to be considered at a large camp meeting. In addition to this, he gave ten lectures in public halls, auditoriums, and theaters, and in these ten meetings he spoke to about twelve thousand people. These lectures were given in the cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, Superior, Jamestown, Fargo, Hutchinson, Mankato, and Colquet. At each place quite thorough advertising was done, and notwithstanding the severe heat, we were greeted with fine audiences which gave marked attention to the words spoken.

Elder Daniells's subject was “The World's War; Its Cause and Meaning.” From prophecy and history and from statements of modern scholars and writers, emphasized by various maps and views thrown upon a large screen by a stereopticon, convincing testimony was given that the present European conflict

is a prelude to Armageddon, and a fulfilment, in part at least, of the scenes foretold in the last verses of the eleventh chapter and the first verses of the twelfth chapter of the book of Daniel.

At these lectures about two thousand interested persons gave their names and addresses that they might be further informed upon this and kindred subjects through the reception of literature. These names were taken by the home missionary department of the church in the place where the lecture was given, and it was planned to visit these persons and present them with a printed copy of the lecture, and thus come in personal touch with them and seek to increase their interest in God's message for today.

I wish to say personally that I watched the outcome of these lectures with great interest, and I am convinced that much good was accomplished, and that through this medium, properly handled, thousands of honest people who live in our congested cities can be brought in touch with the truth.

We are all aware that through the Spirit of prophecy we have been urged to work the cities. We have also been told that the Lord will not come until our entire membership takes part in home missionary work. We must accept the fact that there is a harmony between these two statements. There are thousands of people in the cities, many of them the very best class of citizens, that will never go to one of our churches, or attend a public effort in a tent. They will, however, attend a lecture in an auditorium or other public building; and thus an interest can be awakened in their minds, and they will leave their cards with the lecture committee. This opens the way for personal work to be done at their homes or places of business; and the rank and file of our church members can engage in this personal work.

I believe that many of our ministers who are able to present various phases of our message in an interesting manner should develop further the line of work being done by Elder Daniells in this public way, and thus reach not only the “masses,” but the “classes” also, and secure names and addresses of thousands of interested people, thus taxing our church members to the extent of their ability to answer the calls that would come to them.

In “Testimonies for the Church,” Volume VI, page 29, we are told that God desires to see the entire church devising ways and means whereby the high and low, rich and poor, can hear the message. Surely the time has come for the church to be performing the work outlined for her in both the Scriptures and the Testimonies. CHAS. THOMPSON.