"’Nurture’ is a four-letter word," we sometimes hear. Those who say this do not mean that they have found a shorter way to spell the term. Their point is that, when considering our church’s priorities, this concept is a vulgarity. Making new converts: high priority! Supporting and educating current members and their children: low priority! That’s the message.

Thankfully, Elder Jan Paulsen, an accomplished missionary, educator, and administrator who is our church’s world leader, takes a more balanced view. He recently spoke about the importance of nurturing new members in an address to a number of our church’s administrators who had gathered in Greece and Turkey from all parts of the world to study archaeological sites and discuss the theological unity of our church. Entitled "The Theological Landscape," his entire speech is worth reading and discussing.

"So I say to the church," declared Elder Paulsen, "particularly where the growth potentials seem almost unlimited: Be sure you have the arrangements in place to look after that which is being harvested." By this he meant at least two things, and where possible a third. New members need places to worship and they need people who will assist them as they become fully active participants. They also need schools for their children, wherever they can be established. Elder Paulsen reported that in India this plan is being followed with success. He also indicated that in some other parts of the world, which he did not name, the lack of such nurturing is resulting in a 90 percent attrition rate among new members after one year.

Elder Paulsen’s invitation to a balanced ministry makes practical, historical, and theological sense. From a practical point of view, it seems unwise to invest resources in the recruitment of new members if shortly thereafter the yield on this investment has all but evaporated. True, those who participate in the evangelistic projects probably benefit, as do those inspired by their reports. Also, we can hope that those who are briefly members of our church are helped during the interlude. Nevertheless, few farmers would scatter seed where they knew in advance that 90 percent of it would perish before reaching maturity because of inadequate cultivation. Neither should we.

When we consider the history of our church’s endeavors, we recall that, unlike some of their contemporaries, our predecessors established institutions wherever they went. These institutions centered on at least four distinct, related, and equally important priorities: evangelism, education, publishing, and healing. Having worked for our church in all four areas, I can attest that in each some people believe that theirs is the most important, and that the other three should be measured by its standards.

In part, this is friendly rivalry and should be enjoyed as such. In recent years, however, the earlier balance of our church’s efforts has suffered because some have tried to make everything our church does fit into one of its molds: evangelism. This is no more appropriate than saying that everything we do should be understood as extensions of the ministry of healing, publishing, or education. In the past, earlier in my own lifetime, we often were more balanced in the way we spoke about things and did them. I am thankful that Elder Paulsen is inviting us to retrieve this part of our history.

Theologically speaking, the Great Commission invites us to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matt. 28: 19,20 NRSV). As Bonnie Dwyer, the editor of Spectrum, is helping us understand, this should always be linked with the Great Commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22: 37-39 NRSV). The message is the same in both passages; however, it is even more clear and compelling when they are read together: our church’s work should be inclusive, comprehensive, and balanced, not skewed in any one direction.

I was reared in an evangelist’s home and have spent most of my own ministry on a medical and educational campus. Nevertheless, because I served our church for four summers and one school year as a student literature evangelist, I have a special place in my heart for our publishing ministry. My sense is that these days in some parts of the world it is not doing as well as we might wish. When I think of how many people over the years have "read themselves" into our church, I wish that our publishing efforts would flourish! I particularly wish that we would publish more books that would be interesting and helpful to the thousands of men and women who have graduated from our colleges and universities, often with advanced degrees. Our alumni lists constitute an untapped market!

Most university presses in the United States are not profitable; however, their institutions subsidize them because their publications make substantial academic contributions. Publishing books for people who are well educated is part of what an excellent university does. It is also part of what a healthy church does. Unfortunately, however, perhaps because they are easier to sell, and perhaps because they are less likely to be controversial, it appears to me that our church’s publishing houses are increasingly specializing in books for those who are children, whether physically or spiritually. Our college and university graduates are reading widely; however, they are finding very little for them at some of our church’s publishing houses.

"Our success in mission for Christ is directly linked to nurture," declared Elder Paulsen. How very right he is!

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