Trials and Triumphs - Huntington University

348 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS
quadrennium indicated 8947 conversions toward the 10,000 goal; and
5373 accessions to the church toward the 10,000 goal; and 1183 enlisted
tithers, quite short of the 5000 goal.
Financially the gains were rather modest compared to the desired
results. Of the $750,000 goal, $246,378 was reported in 1925 as having
been raised in cash and pledges, both for distribution to the church
departments and for the Endowment Fund. Some pledges were never
received. Numerically the total of conversions showed the church to be
a fairly fertile field for evangelism, but the problem was in conserving
the results. Although 5373 were taken into church membership, nearly
that many disappeared through losses during the same period.
Evidently the movement lacked sufficient support out in the field.
Supporting organization was brought into being in some conferences
and churches, but not in others. Musgrave reported, "One of the sad
results growing out of these adverse conditions was our inability to get
our local and general O.F.M. organizations to function in the various
conferences." 5
He further stated, "This lack of preparation or set up
work was the great obstacle in the way of accomplishing the largest
results in the financial campaign. In many places the workers encountered
the utter indifference of the conference administration and in
some cases their positive hostility." 6
Musgrave offered a helpful analysis of church conditions at the time,
pointing out four factors which he believed contributed to church
losses. These were: 1) a part-time ministry—many pastors of necessity
were otherwise employed; 2) a lack of systematic effort in conserving
gains; 3) the shift of some of the membership from the rural
community to the city where they were lost from the church;
and 4) young people attending schools other than those of the
denomination where they were lost to the church.
Since the Otterbein Forward Movement was a five-year program, it
was allowed to wind down in the years following 1925, except for the
ingathering of standing pledges. No General Council was provided to
operate the movement, and Musgrave was elected to the office of
bishop. The General Conference of 1925 created a new position,
Executive Secretary of the Board of Administration, and the Reverend
W. C. South was elected to this office. One aspect of his work was to
oversee the remaining aspects of the Otterbein Forward Movement.
During the quadrennium of 1925-1929, $31,928 was received, almost
entirely from existing pledges made during the previous quadrennium.
Thus a noble endeavor ended, with only small gains, and without the
satisfaction of seeing much of what its planners had envisioned.