Foreword
vii
are limited in their work to the selecting of the subject matter and the
arranging of it in its logical sequence, supplying only the headings
.
It has been difficult and well-nigh impossible to bring within the
covers of one book the vast amount of instruction Ellen G. White
has given concerning this particular kind of work, and which might
rightly appear in a volume bearing the title Welfare Ministry. It is not
a simple matter to select the material and draw the line between the
neighborly visit and the missionary call, nor to separate the work of
noble Seventh-day Adventist women in its broader aspects from the
more well-defined task undertaken with solely missionary objectives.
To the child of God these blend together in the varied activities of daily
life
.
Attention is here called to certain terms occurring frequently in this
volume such as “medical missionary work” and “Christian help work.”
It should be noted that a careful study of the Ellen G. White writings
reveals that the phrase “medical missionary work” is employed by
the author to include professional services of consecrated doctors and
nurses, and that its significance also reaches far beyond these bounds
to include all acts of mercy and disinterested kindness. “Christian
help work” is also a term more commonly employed by Seventh-day
[11]
Adventists in their earlier years than now and refers to the type of work
described in this volume. Writing as she did in different continents,
the author in her reference to money at times speaks of dollars and at
other times of pounds and shillings
.
It is urged that the reader study the instruction in its proper setting,
to discover the basic principles involved in each case. For instance,
a study of the counsels regarding “Church suppers” will reveal that
although we are warned against utilizing the appeal to indulged ap-
petite and love of pleasure as a means of raising church funds, yet
it is the privilege of Church groups to engage in the preparation and
sale of healthful food if the work is properly conducted and done in an
appropriate place
.
Except in a very few cases where a sentence or two may clearly
enunciate a principle, the compilers have endeavored to include suffi-
cient of the context of each excerpt to assure the reader of the proper
use of the selected statement. In each case the date of writing or of first
publication is indicated in connection with the notation of the source
from which the statement is drawn
.