Target Groups

THE UNREACHED

Many City Dwellers Ignorant of Christ's Soon Return.—There are those in all our cities who have not had the truth presented to them; who have not heard the warning message of the Lord's soon coming; who have not heard that the end of all things is at hand. Unless messengers go to them in the Spirit of Christ, how shall these people hear the gospel invitation? How shall they know that their sins may be forgiven through the mercy of a crucified and risen Saviour?—The Review and Herald, July 2, 1895.MTC 101.1

THE POOR

Poor Respond to the Gospel.—The Lord's people are mainly made up of the poor of this world, the common people. Not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble are called. God hath “chosen the poor of this world.” “The poor have the gospel preached to them.” The wealthy are called, in one sense; they are invited, but they do not accept the invitation. But in these wicked cities the Lord has many who are humble and yet trustful.—Manuscript 17, 1898 (Evangelism, 565).MTC 101.2

All Called to Help the Needy.—Brethren and sisters, as this appeal in behalf of the needy comes to you, I hope that you will respond. Let every member take a lively interest in this good work. Do not let Jesus be disappointed in you. The Word of God abounds with instruction as to how we should treat the widow and fatherless, and the needy, suffering poor. If all would do the work of the Master, the widow's heart would sing for joy, and hungry little children would be fed, the destitute would be clothed, and those ready to perish would be revived.—Manuscript 26, 1891 (Medical Missionary, July 1891).MTC 101.3

Every Case of Need to Be Noted.—It is God's purpose that the rich and the poor shall be closely bound together by the ties of sympathy and helpfulness. He bids us interest ourselves in every case of suffering and need that shall come to our knowledge.MTC 102.1

Think it not lowering to your dignity to minister to suffering humanity.—Testimonies For The Church 6:279. (1900)MTC 102.2

Best Way to Reach Hearts.—By showing an interest in the wants of suffering humanity we can best reach hearts. The culture of the mind and heart is much more easily accomplished when we feel such tender sympathy in others that we scatter our benefits and privileges to relieve their necessities.—Letter 116, 1897 (Welfare Ministry, 192, 193).MTC 102.3

Personal Involvement Needed.—In trying to help the poor, the despised, the forsaken, do not work for them mounted on the stilts of your dignity and superiority, for in this way you will accomplish nothing. Become truly converted, and learn of Him who is meek and lowly in heart. We must set the Lord always before us. As servants of Christ keep saying, lest you forget it, “I am bought with a price.”MTC 102.4

God calls not only for your benevolence, but for your cheerful countenance, your hopeful words, the grasp of your hand. As you visit the Lord's afflicted ones, you will find some from whom hope has departed; bring back the sunshine to them. There are those who need the bread of life; read to them from the Word of God. Upon others there is a soul sickness that no earthly balm can reach or physician heal; pray for these, and bring them to Jesus.—Testimonies For The Church 6:277. (1900)MTC 102.5

Help Poor Who Can Be Benefited .—The Lord's poor subjects are to be helped in every case where it will be for their benefit. They are to be placed where they can help themselves. We have no question in regard to the cases of this class of poor. The best methods of helping them are to be carefully and prayerfully considered.MTC 103.1

The Lord lays this responsibility upon every church. ... God suffers His poor to be in the borders of every church. ... They are not to pass by the Lord's poor but they are to deny themselves of luxuries ... that they may make the suffering, needy ones comfortable.MTC 103.2

After this they may reach still farther to help those who are not of the household of faith, if they are the proper subjects to be helped.—Manuscript 46, 1900 (Manuscript Releases 4:421, 422; see also Testimonies For The Church 1:272-274).MTC 103.3

Employment Opportunities to Be Provided.—What can be done where poverty prevails and is to be contended with at every step? Certainly the work is difficult. The necessary reformation will never be made unless men and women are assisted by a power outside of themselves. It is God's purpose that the rich and the poor shall be closely bound together by the ties of sympathy and helpfulness. Those who have means, talents, and capabilities are to use these gifts in blessing their fellow men. ...MTC 103.4

Attention should be given to the establishment of various industries so that poor families can find employment. Carpenters, blacksmiths, and indeed everyone who understands some line of useful labor, should feel a responsibility to teach and help the ignorant and the unemployed.—The Ministry of Healing, 193, 194. (1905)MTC 103.5

God Is Robbed When Poor Not Helped.—Every extravagance should be cut out of our lives, for the time which we have to work is none too long. All around us we see suffering humanity. Families are in want of food; little ones are crying for bread. The houses of the poor lack proper furniture and bedding. Many live in mere hovels, which are almost destitute of all conveniences. The cry of the poor reaches to heaven. God sees; God hears. But many glorify themselves. While their fellow men are poor and hungry, suffering for want of food, they expend much on their tables, and eat far more than they require. What an account men will by and by have to render for their selfish use of God's money! Those who disregard the provision God has made for the poor will find that they have not only robbed their fellow men, but that in robbing them, they have robbed God, and have embezzled His goods.—Manuscript 60, 1896 (Special Testimonies for Ministers and Workers, Series A 9:68, 69).MTC 104.1

Generosity Toward Others Will Not Result in Personal Poverty.—“The poor,” He [Jesus] says, “shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land” (Deuteronomy 15:11). ...MTC 104.2

None need fear that their liberality would bring them to want. Obedience to God's commandments would surely result in prosperity. ...MTC 104.3

The plan of life that God gave to Israel was intended as an object lesson for all mankind. If these principles were carried out today, what a different place this world would be!—The Ministry of Healing, 186-188. (1905)MTC 104.4

THE AFFLUENT, EDUCATED, AND POWERFUL

Higher Classes in Society to Be Reached.—The gospel message is to be preached in every city; for this is in accordance with the example of Christ and His disciples. Medical missionaries are to seek patiently and earnestly to reach the higher classes. If this work is faithfully done, professional men will become trained evangelists.—Manuscript 33, 1901 (Medical Ministry, 241).MTC 104.5

Work for Higher Classes Needs Our Best Capabilities.—We are to present the truth to those in the highways. This work has been neglected. We have a work to do for the higher classes, and this work needs all our capabilities. While we are in no case to neglect the poor and destitute, we have neither men nor money for the work among the very lowest classes. We point our workers to a higher grade. All reasons for this I cannot explain now.MTC 105.1

The fields ripe for the harvest have been spread before me. We must work for the higher class of people. Then we shall have strength and ability with which to carry forward in the lines which God has pointed out.—Letter 164, 1901, p. 2 (Manuscript Releases, 4:420, 421).MTC 105.2

Methods for Sharing Gospel With All Classes Needed.—The gospel invitation is to be given to the rich and the poor, the high and the low, and we must devise means for carrying the truth into new places and to all classes of people. The Lord bids us, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled.” He says, “Begin in the highways; thoroughly work the highways; prepare a company who in unity with you can go forth to do the very work that Christ did in seeking and saving the lost.”—Manuscript 3, 1899 (Medical Ministry, 312).MTC 105.3

People of Influence Not to Be Ignored.—This fallen world is in strange hands. Men rule for hire, and preach for hire. In all business transactions there is a strife for the supremacy. If Christ should walk through the streets of our cities today, few would have interest enough to follow Him. Those who act a part in the government of the world have no part with Christ, who has declared, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” Can they be successful statesmen who have not learned the ways and methods of the Great Teacher? The men in high positions of trust should be educated in the school of Christ. Do not shun these influential men.—The Review and Herald, August 21, 1900.MTC 105.4

Wealthy Reached Through Bible-based Presentations.—The servants of Christ should labor faithfully for the rich men in our cities, as well as for the poor and lowly. There are many wealthy men who are susceptible to the influences and impressions of the gospel message, and who, when the Bible, and the Bible alone, is presented to them as the expositor of Christian faith and practice, will be moved by the Spirit of God to open doors for the advancement of the gospel. They will reveal a living faith in the word of God and will use their entrusted means to prepare the way of the Lord, to make straight in the desert a highway for our God.—Testimonies For The Church 9:113, 114. (1909)MTC 106.1

Holy Spirit Uses Government Officials to Protect God's Work.—But so long as Jesus remains man's intercessor in the sanctuary above, the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit is felt by rulers and people. It still controls to some extent the laws of the land. Were it not for these laws, the condition of the world would be much worse than it now is. While many of our rulers are active agents of Satan, God also has His agents among the leading men of the nation. The enemy moves upon his servants to propose measures that would greatly impede the work of God; but statesmen who fear the Lord are influenced by holy angels to oppose such propositions with unanswerable arguments. Thus a few men will hold in check a powerful current of evil. The opposition of the enemies of truth will be restrained that the third angel's message may do its work. When the final warning shall be given, it will arrest the attention of these leading men through whom the Lord is now working, and some of them will accept it, and will stand with the people of God through the time of trouble.—The Great Controversy, 610, 611. (1911)MTC 106.2

SECULAR CAMPUSES

Youth to Practice Virtues Described by the Apostle Peter.—If our youth would take heed to and practice the rules laid down in this chapter [2 Peter 1], what an influence they would exert on the side of righteousness, whether they were at Ann Arbor [i.e., in a state university], or in our institutions, or in any place of responsibility.—Letter 43, 1895 (Peter's Counsel to Parents, 48).MTC 107.1

THE SECULAR-MINDED

Satan Seeks to Divert Minds From Truth.—The unwarned multitudes are fast becoming the sport of the evil one. Satan is leading them into many forms of folly and self-pleasing. Many are seeking for that which is novel and startling; their minds are far from God and the truths of His Word. At this time, when the enemy is working as never before to engross the minds of men and women and turn them from the truth, we should be laboring with increasing activity in the highways and also in the byways. Diligently, interestedly, we are to proclaim the last message of mercy in the cities—the highways—and the work is not to end there, but is to extend into the surrounding settlements and in the country districts—into the byways and the hedges.MTC 107.2

All classes are to be reached. As we labor, we shall meet with various nationalities. None are to be passed by, unwarned. The Lord Jesus was the gift of God to the entire world—not to the higher classes alone, and not to any one nationality to the exclusion of others. His saving grace encircles the whole world. Whosoever will may drink of the water of life freely.—Letter 4, 1911 (The Upward Look, 60).MTC 107.3

Minds to Be Influenced for Christ.—As physicians unite with ministers in proclaiming the gospel in the great cities of the land, their combined labors will result in influencing many minds in favor of the truth for this time.MTC 107.4

From the light that God has given me, I know that His cause today is in great need of the living representatives of Bible truth. The ordained ministers alone are not equal to the task. God is calling not only upon the ministers, but also upon physicians, nurses, canvassers, Bible workers, and other consecrated laymen of varied talent who have a knowledge of present truth, to consider the needs of the unwarned cities. There should be one hundred believers actively engaged in personal missionary work where now there is but one. Time is rapidly passing. There is much work to be done before satanic opposition shall close up the way. Every agency must be set in operation, that present opportunities may be wisely improved.—The Review and Herald, April 7, 1910 (Medical Ministry, 248, 249).MTC 108.1

VISITORS TO FAIRS AND CONVENTIONS

Fairs and Other Large Gatherings Provide Outreach Opportunities.—I was given instruction that as we approach the end, there will be large gatherings in our cities, as there has recently been in St. Louis,^{*World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, 1904.} and that preparations must be made to present the truth at these gatherings. When Christ was upon this earth, He took advantage of such opportunities. Wherever a large number of people was gathered for any purpose, His voice was heard, clear and distinct, giving His message. And as a result, after His crucifixion and ascension, thousands were converted in a day. The seed sown by Christ sank deep into hearts, and germinated, and when the disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit, the harvest was gathered in.MTC 108.2

The disciples went forth and preached the word everywhere with such power that fear fell upon their opposers, and they dared not do that which they would have done had not the evidence been so plain that God was working.MTC 108.3

At every large gathering some of our ministers should be in attendance. They should work wisely to obtain a hearing and to get the light of the truth before as many as possible. ...MTC 108.4

We should improve every such opportunity as that presented by the St. Louis Fair. At all such gatherings there should be present men whom God can use. Leaflets containing the light of present truth should be scattered among the people like the leaves of autumn. To many who attend these gatherings these leaflets would be as the leaves of the tree of life, which are for the healing of the nations.MTC 109.1

I send you this, my brethren [A. G. Daniells and W. W. Prescott], that you may give it to others. Those who go forth to proclaim the truth shall be blessed by Him who has given them the burden of proclaiming this truth. ...MTC 109.2

The time has come when, as never before, Seventh-day Adventists are to arise and shine, because their light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon them.—Letter 296, 1904 (Evangelism, 35, 36).MTC 109.3

NOT ALL CALLED TO WORK EXCLUSIVELY FOR LOWEST CLASSES

Work for Both Poor and Rich Needed.—[NOTE BY DR. DANIEL H. KRESS: “Before graduating from the University of Michigan, during the last year I spent three months in the city of Chicago, where we opened up a medical mission and aimed to help the outcasts and neglected, known as the down-and-outs, in the worst part of the city of Chicago. I enjoyed this work, and in my perplexity I thought possibly I should take up that work again. I wrote Sister White telling her of what I had been thinking, and in reply she said,”]MTC 109.4

In your letter you speak of the rescue work in the poorer parts of the city. I am glad that you feel a burden to help the very ones that need help. Christ desires His work to become the light of the world. He Himself came to make known to all classes the gospel of salvation. There may be associated with you some who should work among the unfortunate and the degraded, but you are especially fitted to labor for the higher classes. Your influence with them would be lessened should you be associated largely with the rescue work for those who are generally regarded as outcasts.—The Kress Collection, 168, 169. Ellen White's response is from Letter 158, 1909 (Manuscript Releases 7:329, 330).MTC 109.5

Priorities Needed When Working for Lowest Classes.—The great question of our duty to humanity is a serious one, and much of the grace of God is needed in deciding how to work so as to accomplish the greatest amount of good. Not all are called to begin their work by laboring among the lowest classes. God does not require His workmen to obtain their education and training in order to devote themselves exclusively to these classes.—Manuscript 3, 1899 (Evangelism, 548).MTC 110.1

Work for Lowest Classes Not to Supersede Worldwide Proclamation of Gospel.—We do not advise our people to open up a work in our cities, to the extent of erecting buildings to which they can invite the most depraved class of people to come and receive food and beds and treatment without money and without price. None are required to establish a work in any city which gives to an indiscriminate class an invitation to be supported by the charities of the Seventh-day Adventist people, whose special work is to bear an unpopular message to the world. The commission is given to bear the message to all nations.—Letter 90, 1900 (Manuscript Releases 4:420).MTC 110.2

Do Not Forbid Those Who Feel Called to Help Worst Parts of Cities.—If men feel that God has called them to devote all their missionary efforts to the worst part of the cities, no one should forbid them to work.—Letter 3, 1900 (Manuscript Releases 4:421).MTC 110.3

Obtain Financial Support From World to Fund Work for Most Degraded in Society.—If there are men who will take up the work of laboring for the most degraded, men upon whom God has laid the burden to labor for the masses in a variety of ways, let these converted ones go forth and gather from the world the means required to do this work. Let them not depend on the means which God intends shall sustain the work of the gospel.—Letter 205, 1899 (Manuscript Releases 20:252).MTC 110.4