Jamaica and Mexico Hold Golden Anniversary Institutes
The Golden Anniversary spirit of
the lay activities department ran
high in Jamaica from December 26,
1962, to January 17, 1963, as the
three conferences called their lay
preachers together for training, in-
spiration, and marching orders for
the 50th Anniversary Soulwinning
Campaign. oo
In East Jamaica Lay . Activities
Secretary Fred White held a five-day
institute in the Xencot church,
December 26 to 30, for his 50
veteran lay preachers. H. E. Nemb-
hard, president of the East Jamaica
Conference, gave the opening
address and closed the institute with
a church elders, lay preachers, and
pastoral meeting, unifving their plans
for an all-out evangelistic soul
winning campaign in 1963.
The motto of the institute was: To
Set Men Free in 63. There was a
high spiritual tone throughout the
ceting, and all felt the time had
come to cease talking about how
much we have done and to con-
centrate on finishing the work.
~ The high lights of the institute
were: the candle lighting ceremony
and the passing of the torch on
Friday night; the soulwinning
experiences and symposium on
Sabbath afternoon; the singing of the
theme song composed by the lay
preachers’ poet laureate, Brother
Campbell; the setting of the goal of
600 souls for ’63, and the baptism in
the corporate area churches of
candidates won by lay preachers.
The Golden Anniversary pro-
gramme in Central Jamaica was
launched by holding a well
organised, deeply spiritual camp
meeting, the first in the historv of the
West Indies Union. This convocation
was held in the spacious Jamaica
Agricultural Society grounds in
© Denbeigh, May Pen. Workshops
were conducted bv. the lav activities,
MV, and Sabbath school depart-
ments, all geared toward the greatest
soulwinning campaign in conference
historv. Elders Hyatt, Carter, and
McCleary led out in these workshops.
The “already large daily attendance
at the workshops, morning devotion-
als, 11 o'clock preaching services, and
night “evangelistic * meetings was
augmented by visitors and church
members who came bv bus loads,
MAY, 1 963 EC
crowded trucks, and private cars to
welcome the New Year. Not even
standing room was left in the large
pavilion, which seats approximately
3,000. :
~ H. S, Walters, president of the
Central Jamaica Conference,
announced plans for making 1963 the
ereatest vear for evangelistic efforts,
Bible studies, tract distribution, Bible
correspondence enrollments, -and new
branch Sabbath schools. January 27
was designated as E Day for lay
preachers when at least 100 lav
efforts were to be in progress to win
700 souls; and February 10, E Day
for ministers, office workers, depart-
mezntal secretaries, and the president
himself. President Walters sent his
constituency back to their churches
with a well-defined plan as th» camp
meeting closed with a candle lighting
ceremony and 3,000 voices singing
“Let the Lower Lights Be Burning.”
Silburn Reid, lay activities secre-
tary of the West Jamaica Conference,
held five lay preachers’ rallies in five
districts with a total attendance of
some 250 lay preachers and new
recruits. Among those who attended
was a crippled man who moves
around on all fours. His lower limbs
are inactive as the result of a polio
attack two vears ago. He is now 30
vears old and does shoe mending for
a livelihood. He became a lay
preacher by starting at home and
vanning his own mother to the truth.
He is taken on a bicycle or donkey
to the place of meeting, placed on a
table, and thus he preaches the good
news of salvation. His motto is: “To
Win Three in 63.” At one of these
rallies 1 also met a man with only
one active hand. He brought three
souls to the rally as trophies for the,
Master. He wanted them to get the
inspiration and training so that thev
would become lay workers for God.
He had won 11 souls during 1962
and also had an::active branch
Sabbath school with seven believers
keeping the Sabbath.
S. G. Lindo, the conference presi-
dent, gave strong support to the
rallies. He announced that four new
companies had been raised up during
'62, and nearly 1,000 members added
to the Church. Elder Reid told of
85 lay efforts and many cottage
meetings conducted during the year,
resulting. in _450 baptisms. There
were also 800 in the baptismal classes
when the year ended.
The lay preachers set February 2
as a conference-wide day of fasting
and prayer and February 3 as the
launching date for 150 lay workers’
efforts. Their goal is to win 1,115
souls during 1963. All pledged to
“Pray for Power During Each Noon-
day Hour.”
~~ W. A. Holgate, lav activities secre-
tary of the West Indies Union, gave
valuable assistance in all these
Golden Anniversary launching pro-
grammes in Jamaica At the
colporteur and MV workshops in
Denbeigh, J. C. Culpepper from the
Division, and Elders Hurst and
Parchment from the Union rendered
valuable help.
During the months of January and
February the lay activities depart
ment of the Mexican Union launched
its Golden Anniversary programme
by challenging the church members
and delegates of the six missions in
session, held in close succession, to
make 1963 a vear of giving Bible
studies; carrying on a more active
visitation programme and tract dis-
tribution campaign; organising more
branch Sabbath schools; and launch-
ing 1,000 lay efforts for a vigorous
soulwinning harvest. Sergio Moc-
tezuma, the aggressive lay activities
secretary of the Union, told me that
there are 2,500 lay preachers in the
Mexican Union, and his goal is to
see everv church member become a
soul winner for God. He hopes to
achieve this goal by carrying on an
intensive training programme
throughout the union, and so far he
has conducted 11 lay instructors’
training schools, training lay
preachers to return to their churches
to train other church members to
work for God. |
V. W. Schoen, secretary of the
General Conference Home Missionarv
Department, and B. L. Archbold
from the Inter-Amerigan Division.
assisted Elder Mogtez 19a ani Soto
Valle-of the Soutlig: SSE
ducting a layii
sehiool in Merid
lay preachers,
them, prayed with them, consecrated
(Continued on page 12)
9