An annual one-week campaign devoted to the sale of Seventh-day Adventist publications by colporteurs. Originally church leaders and laypersons were encouraged to participate, and to turn over at least half, and if possible all, of the proceeds of their sales to missions; colporteurs were asked to contribute the sales of their biggest day. This plan was first tried in North Dakota in 1913 and was gradually adopted by other conferences in North America. In 1920 the Spring Council made it a part of the denomination’s worldwide program. During the 1920s and early 1930s this week usually came during the month of April or May. It became associated with the Missions Extension Fund for important special projects in the worldwide work of the church. Big Week was discontinued about 1935 as a fund-raising project and became a week during which colporteurs were encouraged to put forth extra time and effort in the sale of SDA publications. In the churches a Missions Extension Offering, no longer necessarily derived from the sale of publications, is taken annually—now in the month of September ( see Church Calendar ). About 1944 Big Week was shifted from a week in April or May to a Week in the first half of September.