E L Minchin : Missionary Volunteer Work

MV Work

This image is of the first MV camp held in Australia in 1933 or 1934.

Introduction

Introducing the Missionary Volunteer Program

The Missionary Volunteer (MV) program of the Seventh-day Adventist Church began with a deep concern for youth, first expressed by James White in 1852 with the publication of The Youth’s Instructor. In 1879, teenagers Luther Warren and Harry Fenner launched the first youth society in Michigan. This movement grew rapidly, with similar societies forming across the U.S. and internationally during the 1890s. The General Conference officially recognized the need for organized youth ministry in 1907, establishing the Young People’s Department. That same year, the name “Seventh-day Adventist Young People’s Society of Missionary Volunteers” was adopted. Programs like the Junior MV (JMV) for ages 10–16 followed in 1909. By the 1920s, MV classes, summer camps, and the Pathfinder Club were introduced. The MV program focused on spiritual growth, missionary activity, leadership development, and community service, laying the foundation for the modern Adventist Youth Ministries that continues to inspire youth around the world today.

Pastor Minchin's Work with the MV Programs

L. E. Minchin began working as a formal leader of the missionary volunteer program in 1932. In 1940, he offered an assessment of how things were going and what was needed in a September article in the Australasian Union Church Recorder, as summarized in what follows:

Pastor Minchen's report [Article PDF] offers an overview of youth ministry activities in the Australasian Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the five years previous to 1940. The report emphasized both the spiritual challenges facing youth in a world increasingly characterized by vice, war, and secularism, and the church’s calling to provide strong spiritual leadership, and opportunities for spiritual development and service for the young people.

Citing the violence, secular entertainment, and moral degradation facing young people, he argued that God was calling the church to be a counterforce, "an army of youth" playing a key role. This movement, he wrote, was critical to the vitality and mission of the church at the end of time. Citing the Bible and Ellen White, he stressed that youth bore an immense responsibility.

He mentioned programs such as the Morning Watch, Bible Study Courses, M.V. Reading Courses, and the Study and Service League, which were helping young people internalize Adventist principles. As a result, over 43,000 Bible Study Course certificates and 3,669 Reading Course certificates had been issued. More than £10,000 had been donated to missions by the youth during the five years.

Evangelism was a central theme in all that was done. Special efforts for youth had been made during youth-focused weeks of prayer and city-based evangelistic meetings. Camps and conventions were also emphasized as vital tools for encouraging and strengthening the youth to overcome the challenges facing them. In Melbourne and Christchurch, young people had run their own evangelistic missions, conducted Bible studies, and held open-air meetings. Personal testimonies, like that of a gambler transformed through youth outreach, illustrated the tangible spiritual impact of those efforts. There had also been wonderful success at Avondale.

The Youth Congress at Avondale (Dec 1939–Jan 1940) was a watershed event, bringing together over 700 young people at the school, and was highlighted as a wonderful manifestation of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Senior youth camps and officers' training camps had been increasingly common, providing fellowship, leadership training, and spiritual inspiration.

Pastor Minchin also highlighted the loss of young people to the church, thus calling for a “Crusade for Youth” in 1941 to save unconverted youth within the church. Stability in youth leadership was identified as a challenge, with frequent changes in MV secretaries hindering continuity and effectiveness.

His report closed with a strong appeal: the church must not neglect its own youth while reaching others. Instead, it must prioritize systematic, spiritual investment in children and young people to secure their future in the faith.

On this page you will learn about some of those activities.

Articles Relating to Missionary Volunteer Work

April 12, 1937, MV Camp, (AAR).

This upcoming camp, organized by Pastor Minchin for leaders, is referred to as the first of its kind.

Article PDF

May 17, 1937, Perils of Leadership - by E. L. Minchin, (AAR).

The MV leaders were gathered together to learn about leadership and how to have a successful MV program in their location.

Article PDF 8x11 PDF

Perils of Leadership:

• Failing to realize our supreme need for time with Jesus
• Being so busy that we fail to leave time for personal, daily, regular absorbing communion with God.
• Deadening familiarity with spiritual things.
• Worldliness bringing a benumbing, deadening influence to service.

"Are we, as leaders, removing the stones from the path of our young people? Are we lifting up the standard for them to follow? Or are we so friendly with the world that the standard is dragging in the dirt, and our influence is placing stumbling stones? Our homes, furniture, and clothing all influence others and reveal our true selves. God calls for simplicity in living. Man's position does not make him one jot or tittle greater in the sight of God. Character alone is what God values. What are our social relations? Worldly pleasure must not be part of our lives. Do we practise healthful living? Are we strict about Sabbath observance, or do we use the day in social visiting? Do we put away the newspaper and turn off the wireless before the opening of the Sabbath? Is family worship conducted? Are we as leaders living up to this standard? God is calling us to return to the old paths." "Perils of Leadership," Australasian Union Conference Record, May 17, 1937.

May 31, 1937, Report of MV Convention - Watters, (AAR).

Article PDF

September 10, 1940, MV Department - by E. L. Minchin (AAR).

In this article, Pastor Minchin describes the MV Department and the various associated programs, as well as information on the size and nature of activity in various countries within the division.

Article PDF