By E. L. MINCHIN - Seventh-day Adventist - BUC Historical Archive

coloured and native churchmembers)whom I like to think of asprecious "jewels" in Johannesburg.CHURCH BUILDINGSWe have five Europeanchurches in the city, three ofthem English-speaking and twoAfrikaans-speaking. The Centralchurch with over three hundredmembers has a fine church buildingand hall which cost upwardof £10,000. Being centrallylocated, the large building blockhouses the Natal-Transvaal Conferenceoffices and the churchschool as well. Our SouthernSuburbs church also has a veryrepresentive hause of warship inthat section of the city. Thenin 1945 a beautiful little churchbuilding in goldeq-faced brickwas erected in Orange Grove ata cost of .£2,500. The Melvilleand Booysens churches are stillmeeting in halls, but both havegrowing building funds ad arelwking forward to erecting theirown church buildings in the nearfuture.PUBLIC EVANGELISMThe churchmembers are veryactive in every department ofmissionary work. Last y e a rthree of the churches (Central,Melville, and Booysens) ran theirown lay evangelistic tent campaigns.In the Southern Suburbsand Orange Grove districts, whereI conducted public efforts, theconference and church officersgave all possible support. Themembers faithfully distributedsome 10,000 handbills each weekand the local church officers caredfor the interested people whocould not be handled by theconference workers. Just as wewere about to leave Johannesburgthe Senior Missiorary Volunteersof the five churches formed anevangelistic group and were allset to run a full-scale campaign.DORCAS WORKOur Dorcas Societies in Johannesburghave contributed greatlyto the prosperity of the churches.Early in 1946 a strong forwardmove was made in the organizationof a Federated DorcasSociety. The first FederationSale of Work was held in theJohannesburg City Hall in De-APRIL 11, 1947cember, and word has juq comethrough that it realized £333 net.So the societies will now be ableto do a more extensive work inhelping the needy, both insideand outside the churches.VOICE OF PROPHECYThere is a keen interest in thegreat work being done by theVoice of Prophecy. I cite onlyone instance out of the many. OnVoice of Prophecy Sabbath far1916, after conducting the serviceat our Orange Grove church, Iappealed for an offering on behalfof that work. As about fiftymembers were present (witharound thirty young people andchildren) I did not expect a verylarge offering. Imagine my surprisewhen the total offeringwas announced as £155. Withthat self-sacrificing spirit in ourchurches the Voice of Prophecy,through its radio programme, isbeing speeded over the etherwaves like an "angel flying in themidst of heaven" and the thirdangel's message is being spoken"with a loud voice" that can beheard by people in their homeshundreds and thousands of milesaway.BAPTISM AND PROSPECTSBefore closing this report Imust say a few words about someof the results of these activities.During the first six months of1946 it was my privilege to immersefifty-eight new members inour Central church baptistery.With two more received on professionof faith, a total of sixtynew members were added to ourchurches in Johannesburg. Withmany more interested and studyingthe truth, the prospects areindeed bright. We are lookingforward to reaching the goal of"a thousand European membersin Johannesburg" in the not fardistantfuture.When the Royal Family visitJohannesburg, they will meet thedignitaries of the city and will beshown over the places of interest.The king will see the bars ofgold coming from the great holes(mines) of the earth in transit toother holes (vaults) in differentparts of the world. He will watchthe diamonds being polished soonto go from factory to finger. Buthe may pass by without noticingthose who are more precious thangold or diamonds. They can restassured, however, that when theKing of kings comes "to claimHis own," He will see those liv-ing "jewels"in Johannesburg.Far He has said in His Word:"They shall be Mine . . . in thatday when I make up My jewels."Mal. 3 : 17.[It may interest our British believersto hear that Dr. G A S.Madgwick, well known to many, isa leading elder in our Centralchurch. He is the medical superintendentof our Nokuphila Hospitalin the Western Township.Sister V. Madgwick is president ofthe Federated Dorcas Society,which now includes the churchesof Pretoria, and ,Sister M. Morganis one of our Bible Instructors inthe city.]M. C. MURDOCH.Urnion NotesLONDON DISTRICT MEETINGTHE ministry of Elder L. K.Dickson, vice-president of rheGeneral Conference, was muchappreciated by the large congregationassembled in the UpperHolloway Road Baptist chapel forthe district meeting on Sabbath,March 22nd. Visits from GeneralConference officers have been veryinfrequent during recent years andwe entertain strong hopes thatElder Dickson and other leading ,brethren will definitely plan to bewith us in Britain for a morelengthy visit in the not too-distantfuture.ORDINATION SERVICE"THE laying on of hands" isalways a solemn and impressiveservice and one which is designedto emphasize the responsibilityand sacredness of the Christianministry. Such was the 2.45 p.m.service at Holloway on March22nd when Brother S. W. Beardsellwas "set apart" by ordinationto the Gospel ministry. Thisservice was conducted in responseto a request from the SouthernAfrican Division, for BrotherBeardsell has served faithfully andsuccessfully as a teacher in Africafor seventeen years.