p. 6 | Aggressive Missionary Work by William Covert

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 9, 1913

Aggressive Missionary Work

By William Covert

WILLIAM COVERT

IN our missionary endeavors we have the world as our field, and the hasty but effective preaching of the gospel to all people in it as soon as conditions and earnest labor can make it possible. Heeding our Lord's advice, we are praying that the number of qualified workers may be rapidly multiplied; and our conduct should harmonize with what we advocate upon the subject. These workers who go must be made ready for the work they are sent to do, and they must be financially sustained when they go. Large funds are needed for this business of the Lord's appointment, and we can not be excused from learning our responsibilities in these things.

The budget which the General Conference has announced mentions more than a half million dollars annually for the frontier fields, and to secure this amount, fifteen cents a week must be raised for each member in all our churches. The young and the old, the rich and the poor, are all counted, and every church is called upon to make this up.

It will be possible to provide the required amount when all plan and work for it. The Sabbath-school offerings, the Midsummer Offerings, the Annual Offerings, together with the Harvest Ingathering and special missionary offerings, are all counted. It is necessary to educate and give much counsel upon these themes, and it pays well to do it. There is plenty of money in the world that can be procured for this purpose if we plan and labor faithfully to that end.

Even much missionary work may be done while attending to the Harvest Ingathering work. An immense amount of gospel teaching is bound up in the proper circulation of a half million copies of our Ingathering magazine.

Thinking of these things, in the early part of the year 1912 a definite purpose was formed by the Northern Illinois Conference to do more real missionary work and to gather in more funds for missions than during any previous year of its experience. Many things occurred to prevent the doing of this kind of work, yet in less than two months $220 was secured while circulating about seven hundred papers.

Not only has this amount of missionary funds been secured, but the work has been a means of doing much good for at least some who have contributed to this worthy cause. Some of the time, brethren have taken me from place to place, and they, too, have shared in the blessing, and have become interested in this kind of work. Some who have been backward in missionary effort have decided to become aggressive in it. And why should not all who believe we have a message that must go to the world become active in the work of making that message known to the people?

Aurora, Ill.