Chapter 1—Why God Called the Church to Establish and Operate Institutions

Instrumentalities for Proclaiming the Three Angel’s Messages.—The three angels of revelation 14 are represented as flying in the midst of heaven, symbolizing the work of those who proclaim the first, second, and third angels’ messages. All are linked together. The evidences of the abiding, everliving truth of these grand messages, that mean so much to the church, that have awakened such intense opposition from the religious world, are not extinct….POSDAI 3.1

The influence of these messages has been deepening and widening, setting in motion the springs of action in thousands of hearts, bringing into existence institutions of learning, publishing houses, and health institutions. All these are instrumentalities of God to co-operate in the grand work represented by the first, second, and third angels, the work of warning the inhabitants of the world that Christ is coming the second time with power and great glory.—Testimonies for the Church 6:17, 18.POSDAI 3.2

Nearness of the End Impels Us to Establish Institutions.—A great work must a done all through the world, and let no one conclude that, because the end is near, there is no need of special effort to build up the various institutions as the cause shall demand….POSDAI 3.3

When the Lord shall bid us make no further effort to build meetinghouses and establish schools, sanitariums, and publishing institutions, it will be time for us to fold our hands and let the Lord close up the work; but now is our opportunity to show our zeal for God and our love for humanity. We are to be partners in the work of God throughout the world; wherever there are souls to be saved, we are to lend our help, that many sons and daughters may be brought to God….POSDAI 3.4

Schools must be established, that the youth may be educated, that those engaged in the work of the ministry may reach higher attainments in the knowledge of the Bible and the sciences. Institutions for the treatment of the sick must be established in foreign lands, and medical missionaries must be raised up who will be self-denying, who will lift the cross, who will be prepared to fill positions of trust and be able to educate others.—Testimonies for the Church 6:440.POSDAI 3.5

God’s Instrumentalities.—Our institutions are to be regarded as God’s instrumentalities for the furtherance of His work in the earth. We must look to God for guidance and wisdom; we must plead with Him to teach us how to carry the work solidly. Let us recognize the Lord as our teacher and guide, and then we shall carry the work in correct lines. We need to stand as a united company who shall see eye to eye. Then we shall see the salvation of God revealed on the right hand and on the left. If we work in harmony, we give God a chance to work for us.—Fundamentals of Christian Education, 531, 532.POSDAI 3.6

For the Spread of the Truth and the Salvation of Souls.—January 3, 1875, I was shown many things relative to the great and important interests at Battle Creek in the work of the Publishing Association, the school, and the Health Institute. If these institutions were properly conducted, they would greatly advance the cause of God in the spread of the truth and in the salvation of souls.—Testimonies for the Church 3:468.POSDAI 3.7

Effectual Means of Soulsaving.—Our institutions were established to serve as an effectual means of advancing the work of soulsaving. Those connected with them are to study how they can help the institution, not how they can take the most out of the treasury. If they grasp more than is their due, they hinder the cause of God.—Selected Messages 2:183.POSDAI 4.1

God’s Special Warning to be Given Through All Our Institutions.—The third angel’s message, the great testing truth of this time, is to be taught in all our institutions. God designs that through them this special warning shall be given, and bright beams of light shall shine to the world. Time is short.—Testimonies for the Church 6:128.POSDAI 4.2

The Holy and the Profane.—There are many who recognize no distinction between a common business enterprise, as a workshop, factory, or cornfield, and an institution established especially to advance the interests of the cause of God. But the same distinction exists that in ancient times God placed between the sacred and the common, the holy and the profane. This distinction He desires every worker in our institutions to discern and appreciate.—Testimonies for the Church 7:191.POSDAI 4.3

Established for the Dissemination of Light.—The institutions which God has established as centers of influence for the dissemination of light are not blending their interests and working together as God would have them. The managers of these institutions should know that their very first work is to harmonize with their fellow workers.—Testimonies for the Church 8:77.POSDAI 4.4

To Save Souls and Promulgate Truth.—In the providence of God we have institutions established among us to advance the promulgation of truth, but they do not reach the efficiency they might if the workers were wholly consecrated to God. The Lord has made every provision that these institutions may reach a high standard, that they may attain to a larger growth and wider usefulness, and that those employed in them may possess Christian virtues and graces.POSDAI 4.5

But those connected with these instrumentalities are not all devout and spiritual. They do not represent the spirit and character of Christ. They are not ensamples to those connected with them, because they do not live in communion with God, earnestly seeking by faith and fervent prayer to know His will that they may do it.POSDAI 4.6

These instrumentalities are missionary institutions. The Lord designed that they should be a power for good; and if all who are connected with them are consecrated, if they are meek and lowly in heart, Christ will give them most precious lessons in His school. In our health institutions, our publishing houses, our schools, all should work harmoniously to carry out the purpose of God, and everything connected with the institutions should tend toward reform.POSDAI 4.7

The managers and helpers should have the true missionary spirit as a daily, abiding principle; for they are in a field that requires the highest kind of missionary work. Our institutions, properly conducted, will exert a far-reaching influence, and if the managers and workers are Christians, they will be as shining lights. They will educate those connected with them in the principles of truth.POSDAI 5.1

A responsibility to spread the knowledge of right principles rests upon all who have received the light. This responsibility should be felt by every man and woman who claims to be a Seventh-day Adventist, and much more by those who are connected with our institutions. All should realize that these institutions are an important part of the Lord’s great work for the salvation of souls. Let it be the aim of all to be laborers together with God for the uplifting of humanity. All should be educators by precept and example.—Selections from Testimonies to the Managers and Workers in our Institutions, 3, 4.POSDAI 5.2