We continue the series of Every Home Crusade interviews with on of our Directors - Samuel Adams. I'd like to thank Sam for taking the time to do this as i know he's very busy. I trust that you enjoy this as much as i have!GB: Could you tell us a bit about yourself; your background & calling to Christ?
SA: As a youngster I probably always knew the Gospel message as I grew up in a Christian home where my parents taught and lived for Christ. However, I do remember one Sunday evening my father was at a meeting, my mother was at the fireside and I decided to pick out an old child’s storybook – the type where the whole page is a picture, except for about one line of text underneath the picture. I began to go through the different stories in picture form until I reached a picture of Calvary with the three crosses. Very suddenly that evening, I suddenly realised that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for me, and that I needed to trust Him and ask Him into my life. I simply went to my mother and said, “I want to ask Jesus Christ into my heart,” and we knelt and prayed and I trusted Jesus as my Saviour.
SA: As a youngster I probably always knew the Gospel message as I grew up in a Christian home where my parents taught and lived for Christ. However, I do remember one Sunday evening my father was at a meeting, my mother was at the fireside and I decided to pick out an old child’s storybook – the type where the whole page is a picture, except for about one line of text underneath the picture. I began to go through the different stories in picture form until I reached a picture of Calvary with the three crosses. Very suddenly that evening, I suddenly realised that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for me, and that I needed to trust Him and ask Him into my life. I simply went to my mother and said, “I want to ask Jesus Christ into my heart,” and we knelt and prayed and I trusted Jesus as my Saviour.
GB: In your early years as a Christian who or what did Christ use to shape, lead & disciple you?
SA: As I look back, I can think of two things that probably really influenced me. Firstly, my parents were interested in missionary work and frequently we had missionaries come to stay in our house or to visit and take meetings locally. I loved to be able to seat and listen to all the different stories from the missionaries. As a young person, I also got involved in Scripture Union in school. This helped me to take a stand at school to witness to others and the fellowship of young Christians was a real help for me.
GB: Bring us through from your conversion to where you are now, (what training or jobs have you had etc)?
SA: As I went through school I had a definite interest in Horticulture and quickly decided that, after I studied for my A-levels, that I would go to University and study the subject of Horticulture. I knew exactly what I wanted to study and where I was going to study it until one night I was at a CEF meeting and simply during the closing hymn, I felt the Lord clearly speak to me – telling me that I was to serve Him and was I willing? For several weeks I struggled with this question – 'was I prepare to leave aside all my own plans and to work for the Lord?'
Finally, I simply prayed, “Lord, take away the desire for Horticulture and I will serve you, and that is exactly what has happened! At that time I was extremely quiet. I considered going to Bible College but people advised me to work for at least one year in a job, preferably where I would meet people. I started to look for a job and got one in the Faith Mission bookshop.
GB: How did you come to move from the Faith Mission Bookshop to Every Home Crusade?
SA: After working in the Faith Mission bookshop for three years, I suddenly became very unsettled even though I loved working in the shop. I was not sure why I was unsettled and I simply prayed and asked the Lord to settle me again, or open up another door as to where He wanted me to go. Within two weeks, I got a phone call from Mr. Allen enquiring if I would be interested to come and learn how to print Gospel literature. In the very depths of my heart I knew that this was what the Lord was going to have me do, even before I sat the phone down although I did not tell Mr. Allen that at the time.
GB: Give us a bit of a description of EHC back when you started?
SA: When I started in Every Home Crusade, I started in 285 Newtownards Road in a small backroom with a small 1850 multi-lith printing machine. As this was a new machine, I got three days training on it and was left with the machine to try and print tracts. At the beginning my quota was to try and print 6,000 sheets in the day, both sides, with 4 tracts on each page. So my total output was 24,000 in the day.
GB:How would you describe the late Ernie Allen & his vision for EHC?
SA: Having worked very closely with Ernie Allen for many years the one thing which stands out, as far as I am concerned, was his single-minded vision for reaching the lost with the Gospel message. Many times after he would purchase a new machine, people would say that the work could not possibly grow any further, but he would simply ignore these comments – and then start talking about what more we could do to produce even more literature to reach the lost. He never lost this vision until the Lord took him home.
GB: You are now joint direct of the work, what does that role entail?
SA: As Joint-Directors of the work our role entails many varied jobs, but primarily our role is to lead a literature ministry – providing Gospel literature in as many languages as possible, to go to every country possible – so all of our day to day activity is to fulfil this aim.
GB: As the work moves forward, new factory, new machines etc does the original vision remain the same or has it changed over the years?
SA: As the work moves to a new factory and we purchase additional equipment, I believe the original vision stays the same. Mr. Allen was very strong on the idea that Scripture must be given to people first and foremost and this is why we print so many Scripture booklets and Gospels of John, even though other Gospel Literature is very important – and this is very much what we aim to continue to do – but just on a slightly larger scale.
GB: Can you share the up to date statistics of paper used, containers sent, Gospels & leaflets printed, money needed etc?
SA: The following are some statistics. During 2009 we used 1008 Tonnes of paper. This produced altogether 56 million pieces of literature. We shipped and posted many smaller quantities of literature, but we also sent 33 container loads of literature to various countries. Financially to keep the ministry going we need to receive gifts in the region of one and half million pounds each year.
GB: What are the problems faced by the ministry (eg customs etc) that people could pray about?
SA: Whenever we ship to many of the countries that we are working in we face the same basic problem. This is customs clearance. Generally, this in itself is not a problem, but the big problem is the speed with which people work. Generally it is slow, slow, slow and, while they work slowly, we have to pay storage on the docks for the container.
I think the biggest problem that we face today is that we cannot produce enough literature. Many people from all around the world are looking to us for supplies of Gospel literature and they are having to wait for months and months before they get their supply of literature to encourage and help them in their evangelism.
Apart from these problems, please pray for the entire team in the factory – that we will continue to work as one body to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. However, as in the human body if we have a sore head, then we don’t work as well so it is important that, as an entire staff, we all keep focused on our goal of serving the Lord as our Saviour.
GB: You’re married with two sons, to serve the ladies can you tell us how you met Carol and how you romanced her into marrying you?
(Haha I know your exceedingly comfortable with questions like this)
SA: The following is a romantic little story concerning how I started to go out with Carol, my wife. Firstly I should tell you what really attracted me to Carol. She came to work in Lisburn with CEF so I heard her give her testimony on a couple of occasions. Both times she clearly stated that she wanted to do Gods will in her life. No other plans were mentioned simply God’s will.
Carol also got involved in a Bible study for young people. At the same time I was also involved in the same Bible study. These young people were from unchurched backgrounds and were quite rough. I wanted to ask her out, but I did not want any one else to know! So I decided to write her a letter and I thought that, during the Bible study, I would simply slip the letter to her and say nothing! At the end of the Bible study I opened my Bible to get the letter only to find that it was not there! I began to search my Bible more carefully and the lady of the house noticed and enquired if I was missing something.
Immediately she had the whole place looking for my letter! Meantime, I realised that I had put my Bible under the car seat when coming to the meeting, but I had let a number of young people go out into my car and sit in the car during the suppertime. I immediately went out to my car to see if the letter had slipped out of my Bible and I hoped desperately that the young people would not have found it! I carefully looked under the seat but there was no letter. Suddenly I seen my letter sitting on the dashboard and, when I picked it up, I discovered a dirty big footprint right across it!
I knew that I was cornered because as soon as I would go back into the house everyone would enquire whether I had found the letter or not, so I decided to take it in and hand it to Carol. Because she was working with CEF and frequently receiving letters, everyone assumed that it was CEF business so nobody detected anything unusual. She also assumed that it was CEF business until she went home and then got a little surprise!
This was the best letter I have ever written and after 24 years of marriage we are in love more than ever. We have two boys David and Philip who we are very proud of for all the correct reasons. David is due to be married to Jenny Foster on the 8th July
GB: Much of your time is in ministering to others, through literature & with taking meetings etc but who ministers to Samuel Adams?
SA: The question – who ministers to Samuel Adams is a very good one. The obvious answer which is partially true is through reading the Scriptures, books, listening to tapes, attending services etc. But, one of the things that I feel spiritually is most important, is simply being quiet and allowing the Spirit of God to speak. Silence is a virtue that I think is forgotten today. I find when I am travelling long distances to meetings that it is a good time just to be able to think and allow the Spirit of God to work within. It is also a good time to sing praise to God, so when no one else can hear I can sing to some good music at the top of my voice and nobody can make any comment!!!
GB: Are there any books, authors etc that you’d recommend?
SA: When I visit Carol’s family (in Cork), I try to take a good long walk every day – not only is it good exercise, but again it is time when I can pray and think clearly – and lift my mind away from all the day to day things that can occupy so much. There are a few books that I would recommend. Concerning daily devotional books, there is “Streams in the Desert” Volume 1 and 2 by Mrs E. Cowman. The story behind how these books where written helps you to understand why they are such a blessing. There is also the daily devotional book “A Christian’s Daily Challenge” by Mr & Mrs Harvey, which also has been a blessing to me.
One other type of book that has been a real blessing and, which I thoroughly recommend, is any autobiographies of missionaries especially from last century – preferably some of the old original books, rather than the cutback, modernized, simplified and shortened editions which are so readily available today. Many of these books leave out the real “meat”.
If you every get the chance to read the books “50 years in Rome” and “40 years out of Rome” by Father Chiniguy take the time.
GB: What does Samuel Adams do to chill out?
SA: Chilling out is not something I do a lot of. But I have a glasshouse and I like to grow a few tomato plants each year. It gives me something to fiddle at and just to relax. In the last few years I have went on trips with some of our staff – up the mountains or to other places – sometimes it really is to chill out. I find these to be great times of fellowship, craic and the biggest blessing is that I am not in charge! So I can simply go with the flow!
GB: What is your funniest & shareable moment from EHC history?
SA: I am going to change this question from some of the funniest moments to some of the most unusual situations which I have found myself! On my first foreign trip I visited Maizie Smyth in Kisangani. On Sunday afternoon she suggested that we go for a boat trip on the river which is huge. It sounded good so we headed down to the river. Much to my amazement the boats consisted of a tree truck which had been dug out. Of course there were no seats, except on the log which was only a few inches out of the water. Another day Maizie took us to a village where there was a Bible school. The Christians had prepared a special meal for us which consisted of monkey meat!
Another time I was in Kazakhstan and we were to go to a village for evangelism. We walked through a forest until we came to a large fast flowing river which we wondered how we were to cross until we seen two wires stretching the entire width of the river! One wire was to stand on, the other wire was for us to hold on to, as we walked across on the bottom wire. Amazingly we all made it to the other side without falling in!
GB: Is there anything people can pray about for you personally?
SA: When I was working in the Faith Mission bookshop, I can remember pricing hundreds of book marks all at 1 pence each. I remember thinking to myself what a waste of time and then that night the Lord spoke to me and asked me to be faithful in the small things and, if I was faithful in the small things, He would enlarge my responsibilities.
Today I look round our work in wonder – not at what I have done, but how the Lord has provided for us a great team of workers, all the machinery, a new factory and all the finance to carry this work on.
So often I feel that the Lord has taken the foolish things of the world to confound the wise – and I would simply ask that people pray that I will stay in the centre of God’s will because, if I step outside the will of God, I could damage this ministry, then millions of people will be affected spiritually for all eternity.
This is the Lord’s work and it is marvellous in our eyes.
Sam said something to me the other day which i thought was a great summation of his life & testimony. He was saved through Christian literature, sold Christian literature & now prints & distributes Christian literature.
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Other interviews in this series:
Alan Graham (CEF)
Stephen Collins (EHC)
Timothy Millen (EHC)
