PROPHETIC PRESCRIPTION: Close the Door! (Part 2)

 Last month we learned that no matter how faithfully and clearly the preacher communicates the everlasting gospel, the people can’t retain it all that was spoken. We were given counsel that “the printed page is therefore essential, not only in awakening them to the importance of the truth for this time, but in rooting and grounding them in the truth, and establishing them against deceptive error.” Evangelism, p. 161. What are some ways that our material establishes new believers? Thanks for asking! J

    

     “Readers [of Ellen White’s writings] have a closer relationship with Christ, more certainty of their standing with God, and are more likely to have identified their spiritual gifts.  They are more in favor of spending for public evangelism and contribute more heavily to local missionary projects.  They feel more prepared for witnessing and actually engage in more witnessing and outreach programs.  They are more likely to study the Bible daily, to pray for specific people, to meet in fellowship groups, and to have daily family worship.  They see their church more positively.  They are responsible for winning more converts.” (Roger L. Dudley and Des Cummings, Jr., “A Comparison of the Christian Attitudes and Behaviors Between Those Adventist Church Members Who Regularly Read Ellen White Books and Those Who Do Not,” pp. 41, 42 [Seventh-day Adventists Believe, p. 258, second edition, 2005]).

Encourage your new believers to feed their faith with written material to add breadth and depth to what you’ve presented in the pulpit. The more they read, the more likely they are to assist you in reaching others.