Andrews University - Cardinal Yearbook (Berrien Springs, MI)

Page 93 text:

Seminar OR a number of years it has been the policy of the officers of the Seminar to invite men of wide experience in the Held to give instruction at the meetings, but this year the students have followed the plan of asking various members to give short sermons and Bible readings. Practice makes perfect, says an old maxim. But how are the pros- pective ministers and Bible workers to obtain the needed practice? The Sem- inar is the answer. The classes in Homiletics I and H and Field XVorker's Training give the theory and formulae for preaching, but in the Seminar experiments are worked out before a kind and sympathetic audience which helps by con- structive criticism. Although there has been much impromptu speaking, yet this has not diminished the interest in the meeting. Rather it has inculcated a healthy spirit in the ministerial group so that now there is an attendance of over one hun- dred twenty. The influence of the Seminar is felt throughout the school. It fosters the Bible Y ear, the Standard of Attainment, and the Morning lfVatch, a leader having been appointed to take charge of each of these activities. There is no joy outside of heaven comparable with the joy of rescuing men and women from destruction. It is the primary purpose of the Seminar to prepare young people who will go forth into the world of darkness, lighten- ing and brightening the path of others as they are started on the way to the City of God. lPage Seventy-sevenl

Page 92 text:

Missionary Volunteer Society FRICA, India, China. the islands of the sea, and other remote portions of the earth are today holding outstretched arms toward foreign mission boards. Truly the harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few.'y It is a great problem to cope with the needs of' these millions of heathen who are sinking into Christless graves. Not alone are wants to be supplied in foreign Fields, but in many places around one's own community. The M. V. Society of E. M. C. has made several new advances toward preparing better workers and doing more effective work. Atthe beginning of the school year the work of the organization was divided into four depart- ments. They were: the Home Missions, Foreign Missions, Literature Minis- try, and Bible Study and Evangelism bands. An assistant leader of the regular organization was put in charge of each department. Regular meetings are held twice each month and are so arranged that they alternate with the Friday evening vesper services. Besides these general meetings. each department holds its own meetings regularly to carry on its particular Work in its own Held. The fact that two hundred young men and women are taking an active part in the M. V. work readily reveals the fact that much is really being accomplished. Giving so many an opportunity to take part helps to maintain a spirit Of loyalty and co-operation. The purpose of the M. V. department here is to prepare workers for missionary work in the homeland, as well as abroad. In order for an indi- vidual to become a good missionary he must not wait until he reaches some foreign shore, but he should learn to love that type of work right here at home. and develop some skill in evangelistic endeavors. lPage Seventy -sixl

Page 94 text:

if 'A- , e-.'ii Missionary Volunteer Bands HE Missionary Volunteers of E. M. C. are given opportunity for prac- tical training in service for their fellow men while at the College. The missionary endeavors of the society are carried on under the direction of seven bands. Each week cars go to St. Joseph and South Bend to visit the county jails. Music is furnished, and short inspirational talks are given to the unfortunate ones. Often the results of these efforts are seen in the changed looks and ac- tions of some of them who express a desire for a better life. Another car takes willing workers to a children's home in St. Joseph, where twelve or fifteen children eagerly gather to hear good stories and re- ceive the copies of the Little Friend and Yozttlzfs I1zst1'1ict0r which are brought to them. An attentive audience is found at the Old People's Home near the Col- lege, where some seventy persons receive cheer and comfort from the music and other forms of worship. The Correspondence Band sends out literature and letters to nearly two hundred families. Many replies are received which show the effectiveness of this type of missionary endeavor. Others, members of the Personal Xlforkers' Band, give Bible studies to several interested families in the vicinity. The Christian Help Band is always ready to help the poor and needy. Its members care for the tired children during the church service and sing for the sick and shut-ins on Sabbath afternoons. Many students plan definitely on foreign mission work, and for these, bands have been organized to study South America, Asia, and Africa. Usually those who have been in these countries lead out in the work. Through the opportunities afforded in these bands a training school and laboratory are furnished for consecrated efforts of prospective Missionary Volunteer leaders. Il':ngu Seventy-eightl