The Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollar Fund by Arthur G. Daniells

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Feb 7, 1907

The Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollar Fund

By Arthur G. Daniells

For Special Work at Home and Abroad

An Open Letter to Our Church Officers

For months I have had a very clear conviction as to what the officers of our churches can do to help raise the $150,000 so greatly needed just now to advance our cause. I have had a great desire to tell you my conviction, and how it came to me. I would have done so long ago if we could have had a personal interview. As this is impossible, I have decided to tell you through the columns of the REVIEW.

When the decision was made to raise this large fund, it was also decided to adopt the plan for securing the means that was carried out in raising the $100,000 fund. In that arrangement the main burden and responsibility of the undertaking was placed upon one person, known as the Financial Secretary, who carried on his work from the General Conference Office. The person to undertake this work of raising the $150,000 was selected by the officers of the General Conference Committee, but he did not feel free to accept the responsibility. This threw us into great perplexity, as we did not know whom to select in his place. As precious time kept slipping away without any selection being made, I became greatly troubled and somewhat disheartened.

I was obliged to leave the office on a camp-meeting tour in this state of mind. As my train pulled out of the station into the darkness of the night, I seemed plunged into as great darkness regarding the raising of this large fund. I could do nothing but cry to the Lord for help. In this state of perplexity I fell asleep. When I awoke, my perplexity was gone, and there was fixed in my mind a simple, yet well-defined plan for raising this fund. It was not at all like the plan we had agreed upon, and were trying to get started. It was this:—

Instead of placing the great burden and work of raising this large sum on one person, distribute it among the many that the Lord has provided for just such great things for his cause. Lay it upon the shoulders of General, union, and local conference committeemen, ministers, and church officers, according to the strength and opportunities of each one to carry the burden. When this large sum is spread over all the churches according to their membership and ability, the burden of each will be so light that there will be very few who will be unable to lift a proportionate share. And with this outline there was a very clear, strong conviction that the officers of our churches were in a position to be the men and women of influence and strength in this great effort.

It is now eight months since this outline came to me. The perplexity and anxiety that left me then has never returned. In their place there is a clear, settled conviction that the Lord wants to teach his people how all are to place their shoulders under the burdens he wants carried, and lift together.

Now what can our church officers do to aid in raising this fund? I do not hesitate to say that they can raise every dollar without the presence of a single minister. With a clear understanding of why this sum is called for, and the exact use to be made of it in different parts of the world, the elders, deacons, treasurer, and clerk of almost any church of which they are officers, can raise the proportionate share of their church.

Equally distributed among our people in North America, the sum to be raised is only $2.53 for each church-member. Can not the officers of a church of ten members raise $25.30? And can not the officers of a church of twenty members raise $50.60? A church of fifty members would have only $126.50 to raise. The church of one hundred would have to raise but $253. What group of officers over any one of the churches of this size will admit that they can not raise their proportionate share? Surely not many.

And this is the way you can raise it: Meet together for counsel and planning. Ascertain the exact membership of the church. Multiply this by $2.53. This will give the total amount to be raised. Consider the financial condition of the members, and determine whether it is reasonable to ask the church to raise its share. In nearly every case it will be clear that it is. When you have agreed on the amount your church can raise, then plan how to help the members to do it. Set a time to present the matter to the church. Arrange for each officer to take part in presenting the subject. Fix a reasonable but definite time for the whole amount to be paid in. Lead out in taking your share. Endeavor to persuade every member to take his share, and in case one is really not able to do so, get another to take a double portion. Visit those who may not be at the service when the subject is presented, and solicit their co-operation. When the total amount is promised, make arrangements for collecting frequently and regularly until it is all paid. And with all your efforts from first to last pray earnestly for divine help to succeed in this good and noble work.

Now all this may seem simple,—too simple and ordinary to print,—but it is just this kind of simple, painstaking, prayerful effort that accomplishes something for the Master. Precisely this kind of effort has enabled the officers of the churches in the District of Columbia to raise the full amount apportioned to the District. It will work everywhere.

I carry the profound conviction that it is the sacred duty of the officers of every Seventh-day Adventist church in the United States to bestir themselves, and in the name of Israel's God take hold of this work. Do not let this task, so small when taken hold of by all, drag on month after month. Now is the time for action. The spring will soon be here with its expense and labor of putting in crops. The summer will quickly follow, and then the pressing work of the fall. What is not done during the next three months will probably not be done for a year.

Brethren, have you the conscience and the heart to treat the most sacred and important responsibilities committed to men in this life so indifferently as this? May the Spirit of the living God greatly arouse all our church officers, and help them to do their work for the Lord with great zeal. A. G. DANIELLS.