The Growing Army of Youth by William A. Spicer

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D.C. · Oct 4, 1906

The Growing Army of Youth

By William A. Spicer

“RUN, speak to this young man,” was the command to the angel in Zechariah’s vision. The Lord does not forget the youth. In every crisis in the history of his work, he has summoned young people to consecrate their energies and activities to the cause of truth. He is sounding that call to-day, and an army of youth is responding.

Have our older members noticed the last quarterly report of the young people’s work, printed in the Youth’s Instructor of September 11? It shows a most encouraging movement among the young people. The general secretary, Sister L. Flora Plummer, says in her notes on the report:—

This summary is the best we have yet had, and even now the secretaries have been quite unanimous in saying that the reports they send do not represent all the work done. Be that as it may, we certainly have cause for thankfulness that we now have two hundred and twenty-four Societies, with a membership, including the isolated, of more than five thousand. The host of young people represented by these figures brings forcibly to mind the statement, “We have an army of youth to-day who can do much if they are properly directed and encouraged.” The “army” now banded together for missionary purposes numbers five thousand. The work reported is considerable in the aggregate. Twelve hundred dollars for mission fields is an evidence that some at least in this “army” have the spirit of self-denial.

During the thirteen weeks they have given away 30,000 periodicals and considerably over a quarter of a million pages of tracts. Over 800 subscriptions for papers were taken, while 16,678 papers and 1,229 books were sold. Over 2,200 Bible readings were held, and 3,299 hours devoted to Christian Help work in behalf of the poor and needy.

The figures throughout the whole report are a bright register of the rising

spirit of service among the young people. This spirit is contagious, and wherever those who love the Lord Jesus are thus gathering and working and studying to help on the cause we love, listless and inactive ones are catching the inspiration and joining in the movement.

Again, as in Zechariah’s day, Zion is to be restored. This time it is to be the eternal city, from above. The work before us is to carry the definite gathering message to the children of Zion scattered among all the nations. Every soul who knows that the end is at hand is called to the work. Zechariah heard the commanding angel say, “Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited.” The same angel messengers are still, in tones of urgent haste, summoning every young man and woman to consecrate the life to the finishing of the work. W. A. S.