Soul Winning by Canvassing
By M. N. Campbell
THE canvassing work was ordained by our Saviour to be an effective means of winning souls to him, and of reaching many who would not otherwise hear the gospel message. While it has been instrumental in bringing quite a number to a saving knowledge of the truth, it certainly seems as if the results have been small in comparison with the labor expended. Just how to make it more effective has been a matter of earnest thought and solicitous consideration on the part of many devoted men. The writer does not assume to offer “new light” upon this question, but will lay before our people the fruits of actual experience on the part of himself and others. It is a generally recognized fact that a crop must be thoroughly cultivated in order to yield its fulness of grain or fruit. The ground must be gone over again and again to conserve the moisture, keep down the weeds, and stimulate the plant’s growth. Every intelligent farmer recognizes this principle. What is true in farming is equally true in business. The attention of the people must be frequently drawn to the value of one’s wares by judicious advertising. But especially is the principle recognized by the itinerant merchant. He knows that the more often he travels over his territory, the more his business will increase, as the people recognize his integrity and the good quality of his merchandise. It is on precisely this plan that the writer is convinced that the prosperity and effectiveness of our canvassing work are to be built up. The old plan has been for an agent to spin rapidly over a given territory, take all the orders possible, deliver the books, pocket the cash, and never return to follow up his seed sowing. As well might the farmer expect a yield of corn when he paid no attention to the crop between sowing and harvesting, as the canvasser who sows the seed but does not follow up his work. If every canvasser had gone over his territory time and again, each time with a different book, far different results would have been seen. By this method the canvasser would soon become acquainted with the people, would become practically the pastor of his field, and able to minister to their spiritual needs. On the other hand, the people would have their confidence in him materially strengthened on seeing that he was not afraid to come back and meet his work. They would learn to look for him at regular intervals, and would save their orders for him. By this method a substantial business would be built up that would yield profitable results, both financial and spiritual. The canvasser would see souls brought into the truth every year as the result of his labors, and thus have a practical realization of the fact that he is what God intended he should be—a canvassing evangelist.