In Seventh-day Adventist evangelistic usage, a word that crept into use as a technical term for a public evangelistic campaign. This sense may have been derived from, or at least developed out of, the frequent appearance of the word in Ellen White’s urgent appeals, beginning in the 1880s, to evangelize the cities. Following are examples: “In efforts made in large cities one half of the effort is lost because they close up the work too soon” ( Ev 328). “How much better if some of the same speakers who arouse the interest of the people during the largest attendance at the meeting would remain to follow up the work begun, by a thoroughly organized protracted effort” ( ibid. 83). In her usage “making public effort” ( ibid. 445; cf. 429) was equivalent to “holding public meetings.” It was perhaps from this equivalence that the expression “hold efforts,” arose among ministers and laity. However, in her terminology an effort was made, put forth, entered upon, or engaged in ( ibid. 42, 325, 399, 457), not held. Today the rather incomprehensible phrase has generally been replaced; “campaign” or “program” supplants “effort” as a term for a series of meetings.