Conversion+Tactics

Home Page-Conversion Tactics-The Beginning-Expansion of the SVM-SVM today

by Patty__**
 * __Conversion Tactics



The Student Volunteer Movement's main focus was their field work. The aim of their field work was to develop missionary enthusiasm and thereby recruit volunteers, to educate regarding missionary concerns, to establish continuing student volunteer fellowships, and to promote conventions.

Records have been found that contain annual reports and statistics, form letters, procedural instructions and publicity releases. All of these show some of the tactics their used to convert people.

The SVM first needed tactics to recruit people who would train to be secretaries so that they could then try to preach to others. These people were primarily recently graduated volunteers not yet gone to the field or [|missionaries] home on furlough. In order to find these soon to be secretaries they had to have campus visits. During these visits, already certified secretaries would hand out pamphlets and be very enthusiastic about the SVM. Also, they had to record information regarding the activity they did, where they visited, and the names of the people who showed interest.

These type of reunions and way or recruiting people were very crucial around the 1890's. The special correspondents knew that if they attracted people at a very young age, when most people try to find themselves and their religion, they would have them for the rest of their lives and to use for their service in [|preaching] to others as well.

The recruiters always went out to find new believers with the idea that people were "heathen" without Christians and that without it they would die. This idea came from [|Dwight Moody], the man who created the Student Volunteer Movement, he once said "Don’t stay in this country theorizing, when a hundred thousand heathen a day are dying without hope because we are not there teaching the Gospel." He was a strong believer in this missionary movement because he believed he had the power to save people with his preaching’s. He also believed people needed to become American Christians because that was the best religion out there; a very imperialistic view on religion.

Soon after he said these words and right before the turn of the century, a missionary group was sent to China. The way they tried to gain members in China is a good example to see what their main tactics were.

Most of the time, they tried to take advantage of Chinese people who wanted to learn English. The SVM would get to teach them in English and the Chinese would learn English. This was a very popular way for them to obtain members because these people were no going to turn down the opportunity to learn English.



Even though this tactic was positive, they did have some that were not very effective; for example: they would not respect the foreign countries' culture and would be very racist about the simplest situations. This lack of respect towards another country really showed how imperialistic America was at the time. They were too good for everyone, that even when they try to do a "good deed" they would still always think of themselves as the superior kind.

The Student Volunteer Movement tried to manipulate these countries to introduce their "superior ways" into the culture of these [|"heathen"] people. SVM is the perfect example of American imperialism at the end of the century.