Cont. from Page 33 Hunter followed his heart and his logic and the call of God to Winni peg in 1926, and there found that his call was the answer of an omniscient God to the deeply- burdened prayer of other hearts! He was introduced to a group of Christian businessmen who had been meeting regularly to pray for the very needs which had im posed themselves upon his own spiritual vision. These were men divinely chosen to stand behind Hunter as the first Board of the Canadian Sunday School Mission. Hunter carried within him a restless giant which motivated his vision. Others were not in such a hurry. Thus it was that a loving Father sent His child away with a heavy heart from his first meet ing with these men. He had yet another seal with which to bind His servant to Canada. In the lobby of the YMCA he met a man, and according to the Mind which guides our destinies, the man was a Christian. They talked. Hunter spoke of his rea son for being in Winnipeg, and of the burden on his soul. They parted. Hunter went to his room and dropped to his knees. “Lord,” he said, “ if You really want me here, seal the contract by giving me one hundred and fifty dollars to get the work started!” There was a knock at the door, and he rose to answer. The man he had met in the lounge handed him an en velope and hastened away. In the envelope was a check for fifty dollars. Again, Hunter dropped to his knees, in thanksgiving . . . with a “but.” Another knock sum moned him. The same man stood at the door, and again he handed Hunter an envelope. “ I didn’t give you what the Lord told me to,” he said, “ here’s the rest”—* a check for $100.00! God’s pro gram was launched. “ And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water....” So he was. The River o f Life which watered his soul flowed throughout Manitoba, and its re cipients were legion. By the time
3. Senior high students are very capable of teaching in VBS and Sunday school or serving as camp counselors with younger children. A systematic program of training should be offered, extending to them the opportunity and privi lege o f service. Materials are available for a training course in both of these areas. Youth are interested in being involved in these program s. A church in Southern California recently of fered an elective course in teacher training during the Sunday school hour along with its regular elec tive courses. The person who rec ommended this program was told that it was a waste of time be cause the youth wouldn’t respond. However, so many registered for the course that three teacher training classes had to be estab lished! Substitute teaching in Sunday school and VBS offers the opportunity for students who are trained. 4. Deputation team s w ith in both junior high and senior high departments provide another an swer. These are teams o f youth who meet weekly for two hours and learn how to give a testimony, how to present a sermonette and how to do personal witnessing. The requirements for such a pro gram are stiff, as definite Bible study and memorization are a part of the program. Once a month the group travels to an other church or a mission and presents the entire service. 5. Youth leadership retreats, small core group Bible studies, involvement in all phases of the life of the church—these are just a few o f the possibilities that lie before us as we seek to develop our youth into the leaders they should become and who will con tinue to serve Christ as they pro gress through life. BH Mr. Wright is Associate Pro fessor of Religious Education at Talbot Theological Seminary and Christian Education Consultant for Gospel Light Publications.
of the first annual meeting of the Mission in 1928, 3,800 pupils in 252 schools had enrolled in the Bible Memory Contest, memoriz ing 75,000 verses, 346 converts had been recorded and 19 Sunday schools organized. One day Lloyd Hunter laid down his burden and took his journey to the “ Better Land.” But one sweeping survey o f the C.S. S.M. ministry will tell you that others got under that burden. Others like D. R. Aikenhead, whose p ioneer spirit set him apart to succeed Lloyd Hunter as Superintendent, and under whose leadership the work reached out East and West, coast to coast. Others like Muriel Taylor, from whose heart and pen flowed the Mission publications and courses which today carry Truth into thousands of homes. Others like the many Christian businessmen who faithfully serve on the Head Office and Provincial Councils. Others like the multitudes of God’s people who share the bur den through prayer and giving. So, under the blessing of God, the seedling of 1927 has become a tree whose branches reach out in an ever-expanding ministry. To the Bible Memory Contest and Sunday schools have been added Bible camps, V.B.S., home Bible clubs, correspondence courses, ministry in day schools, children’s campaigns and pastoral ministry. On March 8, 1927, the name “ Canadian Sunday School Mis sion” entered official records. It had already entered the annals of God — perhaps in 1913, when a young man responded to the light God shed upon his logic— that a child saved at ten has twen ty thousand tomorrows to serve the living Christ. A child am I, with heart to feel, A mind, untainted, willing; A soul have I with which to deal, A body for His filling. A LIFE have I, to give IN TIME, Forbid me not, I pray; Reward is yours, a joy sublime, If you show me the way. —Ethel Virgint
AUGUST, 1968
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