I understand where you're coming from, and resteeming is definitely a helpful tool in this case.
But I already started my "minnow author project" bevor resteeming was even a thing. When I did this, I noticed how positive the feedback was, the new users were motivated and eager to join.
Everybody is constantly coming up with ideas to improve the community and get new members. I have decided to go with this kind of project again, since it was very successful in the past, and again the feedback under this post is very positive.