Plans for the Work in Washington
By Arthur G. Daniells
WHEN we moved our headquarters from Battle Creek to Washington, D. C., we expressed strong confidence that the providence of God was leading. We have been here about nine months, and have had many excellent opportunities6to test this matter. Our observations and experiences thus far all confirm us in the assurance we had that the Lord led us to this city. We have not met with a reverse, nor suffered a disappointment regarding any features of this change. To-day the outlook in Washington is brighter and more encouraging than at any time since the decision was made to come here. The wisdom of making the national capital our headquarters grows more apparent each month. The opportunities for rendering valuable service to those who do not know this truth, in connection with our office work, seem to multiply as we gain a better knowledge of the city. The advantages of our rural surroundings are greater than we realized when we selected our grounds. We can truthfully say to all our people that we have not found one thing to cause us to regret having come here. Since coming we have found it necessary to make careful preparation for the building we are required to do. As we have had all the regular work pertaining to the office to keep up, we have not made the progress in building that we desired. But we are now almost ready to break sod for the first building. We hope to be able to make quite a full statement of our plans next week. The special object of this article is to place before our readers some ways we believe should be taken this summer to give the people of this city the message God has committed to us. We have here three hundred thousand persons. Through the city papers the attention of thousands of these is being called to us and our work. Now is the most favorable time there has ever been for presenting our message to them. This is the opportunity for doing an effective work in this place. The work we shall be able to do with the two tents which we plan to use will be very small, compared with what should be done. We ought to canvass every house with our denominational books. We ought to work up a large sale of our denominational missionary paper, The Signs of the Times. Millions of pages of tracts explaining our message should be placed in the hands of the people. Thousands of Bible readings should be given to those who are willing to open their homes to us. All this could be done if we could have the workers to do it. We think we see a way to secure the workers, if we only had the money to support them. Recently we have been considering the following plan:— 1. Make a call to the most advanced, mature, and capable young men and young women in a number of our training-schools to spend the coming summer in Washington, doing the work suggested above. 2. Ask the fathers and mothers of the young people they have been sending to our schools for several years, to support, as far as possible and necessary, their sons and daughters in practical, useful work in this city during the coming summer. 3. Organize thoroughly in this city, to give these young people the very best instruction possible in Bible work, canvassing, paper-selling, and missionary visiting. 4. Direct this whole movement to the point of training and preparing our young people who have about finished school, for practical work in mission fields. We can see great possibilities in this plan. At the close of each school year scores of young people go to their homes and lose the summer, simply because they have no direct line of work to follow in the cause. Many drift out of the cause. The parents of many could, with a little sacrifice, send them to Washington and help to support them here in this practical training-school during the summer. Next summer a strong company might be sent to another city. We expect to be able to give exceptional advantages this summer. Sister White is now with us, and will probably remain in the East through the summer. We hope that she will be able to meet these workers every week, when she is in Washington, and give them the rich instruction she has received from the Lord. We shall have able and experienced Bible teachers in the city. And we can make arrangements for experienced leaders in canvassing, periodical-selling, and Bible-reading work, to spend the summer with us. We present this much of what seems to be a feasible plan, for our brethren and sisters to study. We shall be glad to hear from young people and parents who would like to join us in this work. In writing, tell us just what you are ready to do in making this large missionary effort self-supporting. Address the writer at 222 North Capitol St., Washington, D. C.