p. 611 | Men and Means Respond by Irwin H. Evans

Pacific Press Publishing Association

FromSigns of the Times, Harvest Ingathering Number

Men and Means Respond

By Irwin H. Evans

What Do the Home Fields Say?

IRWIN H. EVANS President North American Division Conference

NOTHING lies nearer the hearts of God's children than the advancement of His work in all parts of the earth. While it is our duty to preach the gospel to all men, still the fact remains that of late years the unentered heathen fields have mightily appealed to the church of Christ; and as the people of God have become informed concerning conditions and the needs of the millions in heathen lands, they have responded proportionately both in means and in workers to enter these darkened portions of the earth.

1915 was our banner year in raising funds for mission work, to say nothing of what was raised for the work in the home land. The North American Division Conference contributed $692,477.71 for foreign mission work. While this is not a great sum, it is considerable when we take into account that there were only about 72,000 people who gave this amount. Of course, other divisions of territory responded with greater or lesser sums; but North America itself contributed the above sum for foreign mission work during 1915.

Giving Sons, Daughters, and Friends

1916 must not fall behind, but go beyond anything we have hitherto done. Liberality has been manifested not only in the money offered, but in the giving of sons and daughters and friends to carry the gospel to the benighted millions in heathen lands. The General Conference made a call on us for 1916 to furnish them with one hundred families, in addition to their already large corps of workers. This means a heavy tax on the North American Division Conference. Every training school has been drafted for all that were available, and the needs are still unsupplied.

An Added Responsibility

We cannot shut our eyes to the demands for workers in these great fields. God has always made His people willing in the day of His power; and as the funds are coming in with which to support the work, there will be a heavy demand upon well trained, consecrated workers to go to the needy fields. It will never do for us to look about and declare that we have needs that must be met before we can help the foreign fields.

China, India, and dark Africa must appeal to us strongly in the calls they have made for men. The situation in Europe adds to our responsibility. The awful war that has been raging has decimated the ranks of the workers in Europe, so that the European field is calling loudly for help. The whole situation demands that every young person available be drafted into the service of his Master for the finishing of the work.

Our hearts have been greatly cheered by the hearty response of the people to the call for means, and by their willingness to give their lives for service in the regions beyond. There is scarcely a man who does not hold himself in readiness for foreign service, if, in the exigencies of the work, the cause of God can be served better by his going to a heathen land than by his remaining in the home land.

The Base of Supplies

North America must ever remain the base of supplies, both of men and of means, for foreign work; and we must not allow our faith to become so narrow that we shall feel there is nothing more we can do. We must enlarge on every hand, increase our offerings to foreign fields, and withhold not our sons and daughters.

We hope the ingathering for missions this year will be the best in our experience, with the sole purpose of extending the kingdom of God in the earth.