wfn.org | 50th Anniversary of Advance

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (328
notes).

Note 322 by UMNS on Sept. 16, 1997 at 16:37 Eastern (4859 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT:  Linda Bloom                            510(10-71BP){322}
          New York (212) 870-3803                   Sept. 16, 1997

EDITORS NOTE: This story is part 1 of 3.  Pictures are available.

^From its post-war beginnings,
Advance has raised $700 million

                 by United Methodist News Service

     In the aftermath of World War II, Methodists were among the
people trying to put the world right again.
     Swelled with the strength of more than a half million new
members and a successful "Crusade for Christ," which raised $27
million for war-related emergency relief and reconstruction, the
denomination's 1948 General Conference embarked upon a
"Quadrennial Plan for Christ and His Church."
     Part of the plan was the creation of a special fund, called
the Advance Fund, which would allow for voluntary contributions to
specific mission projects.
     Since then, church members have donated more than $700
million to projects in all corners of the world. Last year's total
was $24,914,343.
     E. Harold Mohn, executive director for the new fund,
explained in the Feb. 17, 1949 edition of The Christian Advocate
that it was Methodism's answer to both humanity's physical needs
and "its hunger for righteousness in the midst of spiritual
destitution.
     "The Advance is Methodism's acknowledgement of the fact that
we are commissioned to help save the world we live in, the world
that is ours, or to lose our lives trying," he wrote.
     It became known as second-mile giving, making an extra
commitment not because it was required, but because the need was
there -- for digging a well, building a shelter, teaching a child.
     "We now go the second mile -- not to make Methodism greater
but to prove our conviction that Christ's redeeming love is
sufficient to capture the heart and mind of the world," Mohn said.
     The Advance immediately helped undergird the work of the
Methodist Committee on Relief in the Displaced Persons camps in
Europe and supported thousands of pastors in a variety of
countries. Building projects spanned Asia, Africa and Central and
South America, as well as the United States.
     In 1952, General Conference approved continuation of the
Advance for at least another four years. In 1956, its structure
was fine-tuned into a permanent mechanism for giving.
     By the time the Rev. Joseph Walker became involved with the
Advance in 1969 -- as assistant general secretary for cultivation
at the Board of Global Ministries -- it had lost some of its
momentum. He attributed the financial decline both to a lack of
focus and the belief, in some quarters, "that it was distracting
from World Service and the required apportionments."
     The turnaround came in 1972, when a denomination-wide
reorganization of the United Methodist Church set up an Advance
Committee, composed of 20 members of the General Council on
Ministries. Walker was elected to be the Advance's first official
director.
     "The program has always been very attractive because it gives
people the opportunity to express their own interest in mission,"
he said.
     Data collected during Walker's tenure as director showed that
"without exception," churches that participated in the Advance
also had higher rates of giving to World Service funds than those
that did not.
     And the wealth of an annual conference or local church was no
indicator of its generosity toward the Advance. The small Red Bird
Missionary Conference -- representing many of the poor of
Appalachia -- often gave more per person than any other
conference, according to Walker.   
     "I was always amazed that attitude, both at the local church
level and at the annual conference level, was really the
determinant of involvement in mission, much more than financial
ability," he said. "If they could celebrate mission, if they saw
it as a great opportunity, then they gave to it."
     Walker, now retired and living in Gresham, Ore., believes
that the way the Advance is set up -- allowing people to look
through the catalog and select the project most meaningful to them
-- suits the mood of today.
     The Rev. Bill Carter, the current Advance director, who was
elected in 1979, agreed. 
     Allowing the designation of a gift to a specific project or
person brings "a closer sense of involvement," he said.
Missionaries, in particular, can communicate back to churches
supporting them.
     Administrative support of the program from World Service
funds also allows 100 percent of a gift to reach the designated
project or person, which, Carter pointed out, "is unheard of in
any kind of giving program."
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