144
Evangelism
of the minister that he is not able to engage in the personal labor which
should follow. He should go from house to house and labor with
families, calling their attention to eternal truths in the Word of God.
[
See also pp. 429-455, “Personal Work.”
] If he does this labor in the
meekness of Christ, he will surely have the angels of God to work with
his efforts. But we are altogether too faithless and too narrow in our
ideas and in our plans.—
Manuscript 14, 1887
.
[158]
He will become acquainted with the parents and children in his con-
gregation, and will speak kind, earnest words to them.—
The Review
and Herald, January 21, 1902
.
Get Into the Families—Come close to the people; get into the
families when you can; do not wait for the people to hunt up the
shepherd. Bear with you the confidence and assurance of faith which
evidences that you are not trusting in idle tales but in a plain “Thus
saith the Lord.”—
Letter 8, 1895
.
Contacts at Public Meetings—When Christ was teaching on
earth, He watched the countenances of His hearers, and the kindling
eye, the animated expression, told Him in a moment when one as-
sented to the truth. Even so should the teachers of the people now
study the countenances of their hearers.
When they see a person in the audience who seems interested, they
should make it a point to form his acquaintance before leaving the
place of meeting, and, if possible, should ascertain where he lives, and
visit him. It is this kind of personal labor that helps to make him a
perfect workman. It enables him to prove his work, to give full proof
of his ministry. This is also the most successful way of reaching the
people; for by this means their attention is best secured.—Historical
Sketches, pp. 147, 148. (1886).
Winning Confidence by Home Contacts—There are numbers of
families who will never be reached by the truth of God’s Word unless
the stewards of the manifold grace of Christ enter their homes, and
by earnest ministry, sanctified by the endorsement of the Holy Spirit,
break down the barriers and enter the hearts of the people. As the
people see that these workers are messengers of mercy, the ministers
of grace, they are ready to listen to the words spoken by them. But the
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hearts of those who do this work must throb in unison with the heart
of Christ. They must be wholly consecrated to the service of God,
ready to do His bidding, to go wheresoever His providence leads them,