Student Volunteer Movement - Redefining The Movement

Redefining The Movement

The Student Volunteer Movement's financial situation had never been without problems, but in 1932, America's religious Depression," combined with the nation's general economic condition, had led Jesse Wilson to admit that "because of financial conditions, we are so puzzled now about our whole program that it is difficult for us to commit ourselves to anything." The dire economic straits had not lessened by the end of the decade, and it became increasingly evident that the SVM had to regroup and Redefine itself or else cease to exist.

While the Student Volunteer Movement had fulfilled a clear and unchallenged role in its early years, as a student missionary education and recruitment agency, the need for such an agency was increasingly questioned in the between-War period. Wilmina Rowland reported in 1936:

The influence of the SVM across the country is not heartening. Many persons who believe strongly in missions feel that its days of usefulness are over. A number of foreign mission board secretaries say that if the Movement went out of existence, it would not affect their candidate work. Many, even among the conservative leaders, think that the Movement should revamp its functions and expand its membership if it is to continue its existence.

Statements of denominational missions leaders during this period confirm the conclusions of Rowland. In 1939, Methodist leader H.D. Bollinger wrote: "The SVM is a thing of the past and those who are charged with the responsibility of perpetuating it should realize this fact." At a meeting of denominational leaders in January 1940, it was suggested that since the SVM had done very little recruiting for the major boards in recent years, and did not seem likely to do more, the boards should set up their own cooperative recruiting system. The gauntlet was thrown out: If the students want the SVM or its equivalent to continue, let them run it and finance it."

The Student Volunteer Movement entered these years of profound questioning without a stable leadership. In the decade following Jesse Wilson's resignation, four men served as acting or permanent General Secretary of the Movement. The General Council, an experiment in democracy begun after the Des Moines convention, was replaced by a smaller General Committee in 1936, which was in turn replaced by a different organizational arrangement in 1941. Amidst all this confusion, the Movement strove to identify the alternatives for its future existence. Most crucial during the late 1930s and the 1940 s were the issues of how the Movement would relate to 1) the general student Christian movements (YMCA,YWCA, denominational student work and union movements), 2) conservative student Christian movements such as the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, 3) the mainline denominational missionary programs, and 4) the evolving missions theory of the period.