Basic HTML Version
England, have been sent to posts in the United States -- others to
Scotland, Germany, and locations in England.
And I am especially happy and grateful to be able to
report to you that our "austere year" is producing results beyond
expectations!
Once again let me explain what this austere year is.
Some still seem to misunderstand. One Co-Worker somehow got the
idea that it meant God had "withdrawn His blessing" from His Work
-- that God was withholding money for the operation of the Work.
THAT IS NOT THE CASE AT ALL. The austere year was NOT put in
effect because of any reduction in financial income. On the
contrary, as this Work has grown at the phenomenal rate of 30% a
year for the past 30 years, the income to operate it also has
increased 30% a year -- otherwise the Work could not have
continued to grow!
But such a fast-growing Work does involve and force upon
us financing PROBLEMS. It has been difficult to keep expenditures
down to a 30% increase each year. Let me assure you that we HAVE
managed to do that, and keep our obligations within our income,
even though it has been difficult. It would have been far easier
to have committed ourselves to increased expenditures of 40% or 50%
a year. This we had to resist -- or, obviously, the work would have
gone bankrupt and been STOPPED long ago.
This Work of God, as I have explained many times, started
the very SMALLEST. When GOD is starting a Work through human
instruments, He ALWAYS starts it the very smallest, and then causes
it to GROW. It took real FAITH to be able to pay out $2.50 per
week for radio time, back in 1934. But today God's Work has grown
to a world-wide POWER, carrying Christ's Message to more than 22
million people every week. Today a million people read The PLAIN
TRUTH every month. Today some fifty thousand students are enrolled
in the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course. Today 500
students are resident on our two college campuses, being trained
for future service in God's Work. Today scores of specially
trained ordained ministers are serving people who have been brought
to Christ through this Work in all parts of the world. Today it is
necessary to appropriate millions of dollars a year for the
powerful operation of this Great Work.
When this work was operating on an expenditure of some $5
per week total, we were able to manage when "today's money came
today" -- or even tomorrow! It wasn't even necessary to handle the
financing through the bank, then. But today it could be handled in
no other way -- and this, of necessity, requires a limited reserve
at the bank. THAT IS WHY I put the austere year into effect -- and
I feel we ought to continue it a second year. Already, since last
February, we have made very satisfactory gains, in this cash
position at the bank. This has been accomplished by reducing
certain expenditures, temporarily, where it has not slowed the
forward growth of the Work in any vital phase of it.
The Work of GOD must be able to show a financial
statement that, as a banker would examine it, is sound and healthy.