The General Organization of the Missionary Campaign
By E. R. Palmer
The general missionary campaign as outlined by the General Conference in session at Washington, has already been placed before the readers of the REVIEW and The Signs of the Times. Special bulletins, outlining the plan, have also been sent out to the leading officers and workers in the United States. Therefore it will be necessary to present this general outline at this time, but a few statements concerning the organization of campaign committees and special lines of work may be of interest. Number 67 of the General Conference recommendations reads as follows: “We recommend that the General Conference Committee appoint a missionary campaign committee to co-operate with conference officers in the carrying out of these recommendations.” By “these recommendations” is meant recommendations 63 and 67 of the General Conference resolutions, which, as stated above, have already been published in several different forms. When this question of appointing the campaign committees came before the General Conference Committee, it was decided to refer these appointments and the general organization of the work to the General Conference Publishing Committee. Accordingly, at the first meeting of the General Conference Publishing Committee, held in camp at San Jose, Cal., June 30, these appointments were made, and notice of them was sent to all concerned. Although returns have not been received from all parts of the field, we feel that we should not delay longer in announcing these appointments. In providing for the management of this campaign work, the members of the publishing committee endeavored to avoid two evils: first, the appointment of one central committee which would try to do all the work in all parts of the field, thus removing responsibility from the local workers; and second, the evil of dividing up the field into independent parts, each with its own independent program and local interests, thus destroying our purpose to have a united movement in which the whole church of God would be marching in perfect order under a definite system and with one united plan of work. Therefore a general committee was appointed which will take the responsibility of laying general plans for the campaign, and of presenting them to our people through the REVIEW AND HERALD, through union and State papers, and through special bulletins sent out to leading workers. In many ways this committee will labor to promote the interests of the work in every part of the field. Then sub-committees were appointed for each publishing district, whose duty it will be to take the service plans as framed at the last General Conference, and as developed and worked out by the general campaign committee, and carry the responsibility of working these plans all out in detail, and of giving them power and effectiveness in their respective territories. These committees were appointed as follows:— General Campaign Committee: W. C. White, H. H. Hall, E. R. Palmer, G. A. Irwin, and W. A. Spicer. H. H. Hall was appointed secretary of this committee, and made responsible for the general oversight of the work throughout the field. Review and Herald Campaign Committee: S. N. Curtiss, D. W. Reavis, G. B. Thompson, K. C. Russell, Dr. J. E. Froom, Allen Moon, J. W. Mace. Southern Field: I. A. Ford, G. I. Butler, S. N. Haskell, P. T. Magan, and C. N. Woodward. Central West: James Cochran, E. T. Russell, A. T. Robinson, R. A. Underwood, and R. C. Porter. Pacific Coast: H. H. Hall, M. C. Wilcox, E. R. Palmer, G. W. Petit, and W. V. Sample. The special work outlined for these committees is as follows:— 1. An effort to place the REVIEW AND HERALD in every Sabbath-keeping home in the United States during the camp-meeting season and early fall. 2. An effort to secure a liberal circulation of message-filled tracts by every Seventh-day Adventist, the entering wedge for each worker to be the use of one pound (about twenty tracts of each number, or three hundred and twenty tracts in all) of The Signs of the Times Leaflets, these to be followed by specially selected tracts as advertised. 3. A general campaign in behalf of our missionary periodicals,—The Signs of the Times, the Watchman, and Life and Health,—this campaign to be entered upon about the first of October. 4. That this work be followed up early in November with the sale of forty-percent books from our home-workers' list. Orders should be taken for these books for delivery just before the Christmas holidays. 5. All these lines of missionary work should be followed by Bible readings, cottage meetings, missionary correspondence, etc. 6. Missionary conventions are to be held October 7 and November 18, for which has been prepared a special program with readings and other helps. This missionary campaign has already begun, and the first items of work have been entered upon. There are two definite points toward which every factor in this denomination should now be working; first, the placing of the REVIEW AND HERALD in every Sabbath-keeping family; and second, the use by every Seventh-day Adventist of at least one pound of The Signs of the Times Leaflets and later other message-filled tracts as advertised. In this general campaign every true Adventist must be a factor. Strenuous efforts are being put forth by the leaders to organize and direct this great campaign, but success will be attained only as the rank and file become responsible, intelligent workers. Therefore we invite the immediate co-operation of every Seventh-day Adventist, at least to this extent: first, sign for the REVIEW AND HERALD now, if you are not a subscriber. Do not wait to be asked. Second, send for one pound of The Signs of the Times Leaflets, and pass them out from house to house among your neighbors, beginning with number one, and thus give at least twenty families in your vicinity sixteen of these bright, pointed readings, covering the most important features of our faith. And when these are distributed, send for other larger tracts. What a mighty work may be accomplished throughout this country if every Seventh-day Adventist will step into the ranks and do this small amount of work; and when these two things have been done, other plans will be presented for further work. Watch the papers week by week, and keep in touch with each step of the movement as the work is unfolded, join in the march, and do your duty. As an illustration of the church of God in perfect marching order read Num. 9: 15-23. We earnestly pray that this may be the strongest and most successful campaign ever conducted in the history of this work; and it should be. As we near the end, as dangers thicken around us, and as the signs of the Coming One become more evident, our efforts should be stronger and more united. E. R. PALMER,
Secretary Gen. Conf. Publishing Com.