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to hold two services every Sabbath, and often the overflow must
listen in via loudspeaker at the Student Center.
But this auditorium will be a superbly fine edifice -- by
far the finest building on the campus. Since we in God's Church
look forward to it as GOD'S HOUSE, to honor HIM, we simply could
not have cheapened it to reduce the cost and to have been able to
build it sooner.
Our God has simply LAVISHED every spiritual blessing upon
us, His own people -- and many, many material blessings also.
I'm sure that we will now want to make EXTRA sacrifice that HE
may be honored by this beautiful edifice where He will meet with
us -- for our fellowship is with our heavenly Father and with His
Son Jesus Christ! (I John 1:3.)
I have prayed through these years about this auditorium.
But I have NOT begged and pleaded with God to let me build it.
Instead, I have asked Him to reveal HIS WILL in the matter: IF
He wants it built I have asked Him to make it possible and supply
the money. And if He did not, I have always said, "Thy will be
done" -- I have always been perfectly willing to give it up. Now
that He has supplied the funds, I feel it has God's blessing!
The contract has been let, and we are now bound. To pay
off the balance of this financing, we have to meet payments of
$200,000 per month for the next few years. Brethren, after my
last January letter, your SPECIAL BUILDING FUND offerings did
equal that. Now, a year later, God has added a few thousand
additional members, so we ought to be able to do much MORE than
that.
But, if, in so doing, you took tithes and other REGULAR
offerings and earmarked them for this BUILDING FUND, the regular
Work would suffer, and the whole Work could be destroyed. So be
sure that offerings sent for the building fund are SPECIAL, over
and above those for THE WORK.
Now here's MORE GOOD NEWS!
We are hopeful that we may soon begin a program of
building our own local church buildings -- anywhere from one to a
dozen at a time. We have already been doing quite a bit of
research and fact-finding toward this project.
We are even giving much thought to whether it might be
possible to start additional IMPERIAL SCHOOLS at some of these
local church centers. Now of course we can't use some form of
magic and produce all this, at all churches at once. But I will
say that here at Headquarters our hearts do go out to you Brethren
all over the world, having your children in the public schools,
and the evils they are there exposed to. And also the poor
conditions some of you have to put up with in hired halls.
WE ARE VERY MINDFUL OF ALL THESE THINGS. But we know you
realize it cannot all be done at once. We are moving as fast as
God makes possible.