A New Administration Building by B. G. Wilkinson

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 31, 1916

A New Administration Building

By B. G. Wilkinson

The Educational Campaign in the Columbia Union Conference

THE LORD looked forward to the spread of his last message of warning over all the world, and gave us the method by which it is to be brought about. He said, “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.” Of course he expected us to know that it is impossible to lengthen the cords without strengthening the stakes.

While we carry on our work for the conversion of souls in the great cities of the United States, there is also another work of great importance to which we must give heed. We must drive certain stakes to which we may attach the cords extending out to distant mission fields.

Now one of these stakes, and a very important one, is our educational institutions. The education of our missionaries is as truly a part of our foreign mission endeavors as is their going to the field. Our schools are, so to speak, the gateway to service at home and abroad.

From the Washington Missionary College alone there have already gone out into foreign fields 220 missionaries. This college was planted in the providence of the Lord. After our work was established in Washington, through the movings of the Spirit upon the denomination everywhere, the Lord sent the following Testimony through his servant concerning the college here:—

“From the Washington Training College missionaries are to be sent forth to many distant lands. . . . The Washington Training School must be fully equipped, that those who come may receive a thorough education as evangelists, medical missionaries, and teachers.”

There is prospect for a large attendance at the Washington Missionary College for the year 1916-17. Its capacity is already absolutely inadequate. The classrooms are too small, and there are not enough of them. Already the chapel has become so crowded that the students must be seated close to the platform, interfering with the passage between the chairs and the platform. It is even necessary to seat students out in the hall. Moreover, the normal work of the college suffers for lack of room.

The attendance of the church-school teachers of the Columbia Union Conference at the recent summer school surpassed that at any summer school ever held in the Columbia Union, and

still the supply of qualified teachers is insufficient. Increasing numbers of church schools are being opened, and these demand teachers. Shall we supply these demands? Shall we have a college provided with facilities sufficient to train these needed workers?

In addition, training in domestic science, in sewing, and in the use of tools cannot be given as it should be, owing to inadequate room. The brethren therefore decided at the fall council held at Loma Linda in 1915, to ask the Columbia Union Conference to present the college with a new building, at a cost of about $25,000. The brethren throughout the field were to be solicited for $27,000, $2,000 of this to go for industries at Mount Vernon Academy. When this plan was adopted, a great burden rested upon the hearts of some of the brethren. They feared that, in their efforts to economize, their plans would not be sufficient for the improvements demanded.

So the committee, after discussing the situation, came to the conclusion that the matter needed further consideration. A joint council was therefore called, consisting of representatives from the General Conference, the North American Division, the Washington Missionary College, and the Columbia Union Conference Committee. Looking only at the bare demands of the case, the brethren recognized that in the plan for the $25,000 building, they had not provided sufficient chapel room; and they had planned for an addition of only seventeen classrooms, when twenty-five would be the minimum with which the college could be operated.

They further noted that such important matters as making provisions for a good normal school, and teaching the girls to sew and cook, and the boys to handle tools, had been slighted. Therefore they decided to come before the brethren, stating the situation exactly, and asking from the Columbia Union a building worth $43,000. Since $2,000 was to be raised for industries at Mount Vernon Academy, this would make the new call from the Columbia Union $45,000.

There are, however, two items of encouragement in the situation. Elder R. D. Quinn, representing the Atlantic Union, expressed his willingness that the quota of that field be raised from $12,500 to $17,000, in order to meet the demands for a dormitory. A second good feature was the report of Elder G. F. Enoch, who said that from his work of solicitation throughout the Columbia Union nearly $25,000 had been raised already in cash and pledges; and he has not yet covered the field.

At the first place where this change of plan was presented and explained, a brother who had taken one share, immediately expressed his willingness to take two shares. When the situation was presented to the New Jersey Conference Committee, the brethren voted to raise their part of the money needed, which in the first plan was approximately $3,600, and in the new is about $6,000. Virginia has also expressed her willingness to double the amount expected from that conference, and word has come from other conferences, signifying their readiness to assist.

Now while we have presented this from the viewpoint of the foreign mission field, we must also remember that this same institution is giving us excellent workers for our conferences and our cities. Shall we not nobly respond to the present demands, and rejoice in seeing the progress, under the blessing of God, of the work in which our contributions have had a share? The Spirit of prophecy has said:—

“A beginning has been made in proclaiming the third angel’s message in the city of Washington, and in other cities of the South and the East; but in order to meet the mind of the Lord, we shall have to plan for the carrying forward of a far-reaching and systematic work. . . . In Portland, Maine; in Boston, and in the towns round about; in New York, and the populous cities close by; in Philadelphia and Baltimore and Washington, the Lord desires us to proclaim the third angel’s message with power.”

B. G. WILKINSON, Pres. Columbia Union Conf.