p. 17 | Saving Our Young People by A. G. Daniells

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 16, 1914

Saving Our Young People

By A. G. Daniells

By action of the General Conference the first Sabbath in May has been set apart for our young people. This is not for the year 1914 only; it is for each year that shall come to us as long as this appointment stands unchanged. I hope that this Sabbath will come to be known and recognized among us, the world over, as Young People's Day.

But what is this Young People's Day for? and what is to be done on this day? This Sabbath day is to be devoted especially to the spiritual welfare and uplift of our young people and children. It is not to be an occasion for their amusement and worldly pleasure. It is not to be devoted to strolls through fields and forests, nor for social gatherings, nor even amusements in the churches. This day is to be given to the study of our young people's interests and needs; to earnest efforts to deepen their religious life, and to their instruction and training for consecrated, efficient service in the Lord's work. It is to help bind them forever in love, devotion, and loyalty to the cause of their Lord and Master.

It is hoped that the Young People's Day will create a greater general interest in our young people, and lead to greater efforts in behalf of their salvation. We must feel deeply for them. We must place a proper value upon them. We must bind them to the truth and to the cause of God with cords that shall never be broken. A little study of this question will cause us to discover some very weighty reasons why the most earnest, prayerful efforts should be made by all in behalf of our young people:—

1. For the sake of Jesus. He loves them. They are dear to his heart. He died for them. He now ministers his love and life for them in the heavenly sanctuary. He calls for the loving, whole-hearted cooperation of every believer in his efforts to save them. He must work through his own redeemed people who come into personal contact with these youth and children. For his sake we must labor and faint not in this soul-winning effort.

2. For the sake of our young people and children themselves. We cannot see them miss their way and go down at last with the lost. We must keep them in the truth, and take them with us to the kingdom. But they are human, and are just as subject to the fascinating, deceptive allurements of the world as are the millions outside of our ranks who are being ensnared. The mere fact that they are our children does not insure their salvation. Nor will their outward, formal connection with the cause to which we give our lives, of itself save them.

Their only hope is in the personal reception of Christ as their Saviour. They must be led to see that they are sinners, and, by repentance, confession, and faith, lay hold of him who can save to the uttermost. They can be led into this experience only in the same way others have been—by the personal efforts and influence of those who have found the way. And so, for the sake of these children and youth so dear to us we should gladly embrace every opportunity to win them to their Saviour.

3. For the sake of the great unsaved masses about us. Today there are millions of both old and young living without Christ. For some reason their eyes have never been opened to the light of the gospel, their heart's love never been reached by the Saviour's love. These dear souls whom Jesus died to save need to come in contact with those whose hearts are warm with the love of God. They need the same kind, loving ministry that reached our hearts and led us to the cross.

That is exactly what our message and movement stand for. Our mission is more than to proclaim and defend sound doctrines. It is more than to carry forward a movement, more than to operate institutions. Its supreme purpose is to win the lost to Christ. It is to lead men and women to renounce sin and open their hearts to him who died for them. It is to help them to live "the life that wins."

Now for the sake of these lost millions in both Christian and heathen lands we should spare no efforts to lead our young people to become true, unselfish, consecrated Christian workers. We know too well that the influence and power of the professed churches of Christ are not at this time all that they should be. They are not what they were fifty or one hundred years ago. They are not adequate to meet the powerful influences of the world that are leading away from Christ. There is need of greater piety and devotion, of a more powerful witness for the truth as it is in Jesus. Here is an opportunity for us, and as we prize the light and truth and hope that have come to us, so we should consecrate all our resources to soul-winning endeavor.

When we speak of our resources for this work, we must not eliminate our young people and our children. There has never been a time in the history of the church when there were so many avenues open for young people to bear witness for their Lord as there are today. In nearly all heathen lands the doors stand wide open for the heralds of the cross. And in many respects young men and women are best adapted to meet the conditions prevailing in these lands. Those whose hearts are aglow with the love of Christ and who go to these heathen lands and work with unselfish devotion for the salvation of the people, receive a hearty welcome. The fact that they are young does not stand in their way. And they can bear the privations and hardships better than men and women advanced in years. They can also adjust themselves to new conditions and learn new languages more readily.

And even in the homeland very few will resent the modest, earnest, whole-hearted endeavors of young people to witness for Christ by the teaching of the Scriptures, the distribution of religious literature, and loving ministry for the sick, and suffering, and sorrowing. It is truly refreshing and pleasing in these times to see young people who are plain, and sober, and serious concerning the things of the kingdom.

But we should fully realize that we cannot bring our children and youth to this state of Christian experience without earnest, intelligent, continuous effort. First of all, we older people must get a true vision ourselves. Our ideals of what they are and of what they should and may become must be clear and true. We must also know how the work is to be done, and cheerfully and resolutely consecrate ourselves to the task of doing it. Nothing else yields such large and joyous returns as warm-hearted efforts in behalf of young people.

It was to carry forward a large, well-planned, steady effort for the children, youth, and young people of our denomination that the Young People's Missionary Volunteer Department was organized. We felt that the interests of our young people were worthy of our highest and best efforts. The aim of the department is much broader and more

enduring than a mere appeal to the sentiments. Its aim is to reach the conscience, to educate and train the mind, to establish true ideals, to determine the life service.

Those who engage in this line of work find it truly fascinating and inspiring. The possibilities appear greater and the burden increases with the efforts. And now what is wanted is general cooperation by all. The department has clearly demonstrated what can be done. But experience shows that full results cannot be secured without the steady, unremitting cooperation of parents, ministers, and conference and church officers. These children and young people are scattered throughout our ranks in families, churches, and conferences. They must be helped by those who come in contact with them day by day. This is why every Seventh-day Adventist should be alive to the interests, the needs, and the welfare of our young people.

A few suggestions as to how we may all work together in efficient cooperation may be helpful:—

1. Let us see that the family altar is established and maintained in each of our homes. The prayer and Bible study habit should be formed early in life. Our children should not only be accustomed to the sound of prayer in the home, but they should be encouraged to raise their voices in praise and supplication. These are the two greatest safeguards we can place about our youth. A missionary on furlough to this country visited many homes. On returning to his field of labor, he was asked what impressed him most in the homeland. He replied, "The absence of the family altar in the home."

2. By showing an active sympathetic interest in the young people's society. This is a church organization, under church supervision, and working in harmony with the church. We desire to have our children worship with us around the family altar, in the Sabbath school, and in the church. We can do much to encourage and assist the young people in their meetings if we occasionally attend, and point out opportunities, suggest methods of work, and assist the children in preparing their parts on the program.

3. We can help to advance the spirituality of our boys and girls by observing with them the morning watch. Let father and mother by precept and example encourage this good work. In 1908 the Missionary Volunteer Department printed and sold 6,000 Morning Watch Calendars. But the present year 40,000 have been sold in North America alone. Australia has published 3,000, the Scandinavian countries 5,000, Japan 500; Mexico and Central and South America have published a large edition in Spanish; and the German brethren in Europe and America publish the Morning Watch texts in their paper. Thus thousands of our people are observing the morning watch.

4. Encourage your young people to get the Missionary Volunteer Reading Course books, then read and discuss these together. These will furnish excellent material for conversation at meal-time and in the evening. This effort to place before our youth helpful reading is doing much to prevent the reading of novels and other injurious literature.

5. As a people, we should devote more time to the study of our doctrinal truths. The Standard of Attainment, conducted by the Missionary Volunteer Department, is qualifying scores of our boys and girls to give a reason of the hope that is in them.

6. Be companions to your boys and girls. Help them plan suitable social gatherings, that will divert their minds from parties, moving picture shows, and other soul-destroying pleasures. Social gatherings can be made very inspirational and uplifting, or debasing and harmful.

7. Encourage Christian education. Place your children in the church school, academy, or college. Pray for these educational institutions, and cooperate with their faithful laborers. Do all you can to increase the patronage and influence of our schools.

8. Can you think of a better purpose for our Young People's Day than to make it decision day throughout the world,—a time when every unconverted youth who has reached the years of accountability will receive a personal invitation to give his heart to God, to enlist under the blood-stained banner of Prince Immanuel, willing to go "anywhere provided it be forward," heralding the advent message to all the world?