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PHILADELPHIA
THE JUDSON PRESS
BOSTON CHICAGO LOS ANGELES
KANSAS CITY SEATTLE TORONTO
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INTRODUCTION
ACCEPTANCE of the universality of the Christian re-
ligion owes its origin to those intrepid missionary
Greathearts who pioneered across continents and
seas in the name of the King. Slowly, but certainly,
the Christian church of whatever name has reached
their convictions respecting the essential task of
the church itself, and “ the blood of the martyrs is
the seed of the church.” Coincident with the period
of the World War, the Christian church, having re-
vised its thinking about missions, entered upon a
new era of world service.
This new attitude toward missions required read-
justment in matters of program and method. Among
the questions asked by churches of their missionary
agencies, the most frequently recurring one is,
*“ How may I introduce missions into my church, and
what program and materials have you to suggest? ”
This book presents an effective answer to this and
kindred questions. We have waited a long time for
this statement, and know of no other book which
discusses this theme so thoughtfully and conclu-
sively. It is carefully analytical, thoroughly com-
prehensive, and is easy to read. It does not attempt
to show how a missionary program may be super-
imposed upon the church so much as it aims to gear
the mechanism of the local church organization into
the great world task. The hypothesis upon which
Introduction
the book rests is thoroughly Biblical, and hence its
conclusions and deductions are unescapabie. It is
not only an excellent exposition of the missionary
motive and message, but it is also an overflowing
reservoir of information relating to missionary or-
ganization and plans. Here is a handbook of mis-
sionary methods for Christian leaders which should
be read by pastors, Sunday-school superintendents
and teachers, directors of religious education, young
people’s directors, woman’s society leaders, and
planning committees. For instance, every pastor
should read the chapter “ The Message of the Pul-
pit.” Every leader of young people should read
“Young People and the Social Life.” Every official |
board should know the contents of the chapter, ‘A
Unified Missionary Plan for the Church.” The im-
portance of the chapter dealing with the missionary
committee and the organization of a missionary
church should not be overlooked. “
As a book for general usefulness in the “ making
of a missionary church,” we think it is unexcelled
and commend it to all Christian leaders charged
with the responsibility in the local church organiza-
tion and in missionary cultivation. Study-class lead-
ers and summer assembly program-makers will dis-
cover here an admirable text-book on the subject,
“ A Program of Missionary Education for the Local
Church.”
WILLIAM A. HILL,
Secretary of Missionary Education
of Baptist Board of Education.
PREFACE
THIS book is intended as a handbook for church lead-
ers and all others who are interested in helping their
church to realize its full mission in the world. It
is hoped also that the book may be of use to teachers
of missions in theological seminaries and perhaps
serve as the basis of a course, which should be re-
quired of all who are preparing for the pastorate, in
the principles and methods of developing a mission-
ary church. _
The book deals with the missionary program of
the whole church. There are valuable books on mis-
sionary education in the church school, and in a
lesser degree some other departments or groups
have received attention in books or pamphlets. But
it has seemed to the author that there is need for
a volume which, while conveniently brief, would con-
sider comprehensively the missionary task of the
church as a whole, and would present a unified pro-
gram of missionary education in which all depart-
ments and all groups would find their places. The
thesis of the book is the need for a comprehensive
and unified missionary plan for the whole church,
and upon this are based the plans suggested for the
Preface
various groups and departments, the aim being the
making and developing and ee of a mis-
sionary church. |
The ideas and suggestions here presented have
grown out of the experience of the author, as a
foreign missionary, as a pastor of both a rural and
a city church, and as a missionary editor and execu-
tive. All the plans described have actually been
tried with success. Of course not everything sug-
gested is adapted to every church. Judicious choice
and modification will be necessary. But the main
principles are applicable in every church. !
Bibliographies have been added to most of the
chapters. These are intended as suggestive only.
They should be supplemented by the new books
which are appearing- constantly. It need hardly be
added that the prices given are subject to change.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH.......... 1
II.’ A UNIFIED MISSIONARY PLAN FOR THE
CU ROH at em aerattee le recehcie eet eee te 13
III. THE TRAINING OF THE PASTOR......... 3D
¥ IV. THE TRAINING OF CHURCH OFFICERS.... 66>
V. THE TRAINING OF PARENTS............ 80
VL" THE MESSAGE OF THE PULPIT.......... 93
VIL! THE CHURCH-SCHOOL CURRICULUM..... 108
VIII. YOUNG.PEOPLE AND THE SOCIAL LIFE.... 130
PAORCERPING INFORMED}. 0! 3).. alawiciy viele at 150
X.\MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES............... 174
XI. THE MISSIONARIES AND THE MISSION
Le LATO TS BS IA Ze ep 9s eat ARN Bul MERE Se AL 188
XIJ. RECRUITING FOR THE FIELD............ 213
PHL MONEY: FOR MISSIONS. oo oe Sees 228
XIV. PRAYER FOR BIE CLON ES gee) sede uataue cae". saa ue 244
\ XV ORGANIZING A MISSIONARY CHURCH..... 258
I
THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH
Has the Church a Purpose?
It is worth while asking the question, for in thou-
sands of churches it is never seriously asked or
answered. How many churches, for example, ever
hear a sermon on “ The Mission of the Church ’”’?
Or how many official boards devote a single session
to considering why their church exists? Or how
many sit down at the beginning of the year and place
before themselves the purpose and meaning of the
church, and in the light of this purpose study the
various phases and departments of the church work
to decide how they will attempt to realize the
church’s purpose in the work of these various de-
partments or societies during the coming year?
The fact is, most churches have a very vague idea
of their mission. Most church-members would give
a very incomplete answer to the question, “‘ What
is the purpose of your church?” And the work
many churches are doing is correspondingly vague
and incomplete. Pastors make plans for their
churches without considering the relation of these
plans to the fundamental purpose of the church.
The Sunday school has certain aims as to member-
ship, attendance, offerings, etc., but these are quite
unrelated to the all-inclusive aim of the church. The
woman’s society and the men’s brotherhood have
1
2 Making a Missionary Church
plans that too often aim simply at strengthening
the organization without reference to the objective
of the church as a whole. The Christian Endeavor ©
Society, the Camp Fire Girls, the Boy Scouts, and
other young people’s societies generally plan inde-
pendently, and in making their plans consider only
the special purpose of their own organization. The
fault is not with the different departments and so-
cieties, but with the church itself, which all too
commonly has no clear aim in view.
Success Depends on Aim
The futility of the ordinary opportunist policy of
churches needs no argument. Success depends on
aim. The clearer the aim the more definite the plans.
The broader the aim the more comprehensive the
plans. The more accurately and completely the aim
represents the purpose of Christ, the more effec-
tive will be the church’s work. The results depend
on the aim. The work to be done is too large to —
justify wasteful or unintelligent efforts. The forces
arrayed against the church understand just what
they are aiming at, and churches cannot afford to
be less definite.
What is said of the church is true of the various
departments and societies in the church. The Sun-
day school’s success is measured by its attainment of
its true purpose. Unless its purpose is known and
understood, its highest success will not be attained;
numbers and enthusiasm may really obscure the
true aim. The young people’s society may have the
support of all the young people in the church, may °
have delightful socials, helpful devotional meetings,
The Purpose of the Church 3
and a multiplicity of other activities, yet fail of
achieving its real purpose because its purpose, as
a part of the larger purpose of the church, is not
recognized. We have not begun to achieve the suc-
cess that will become possible when we stop to con-
sider the question, What is the purpose of the church
—of my church? Answer it in the light of the
supreme purpose of Christ. The work of the church
and of all its affiliated organizations will find its
success in realizing this end.
What Is the Purpose of the Church? Evangelism?
Most people would probably say off-hand that the
purpose of the church, of any church, is “to win
men to Christ ’—in other words, evangelism. Dif-
ferent church bodies would interpret this differently,
but broadly interpreted it means the enlistment of
individuals in personal loyalty and service to Christ.
Scarcely any would deny that this is at the heart of
the church’s purpose. ‘“‘ Go and make disciples,” said
Jesus, and the love which has drawn the members
of his church to Christ inspires them to seek other
disciples also. The apostles had a consuming pas-
sion to win others to their Lord. The early disciples,
scattered abroad by persecution, ‘‘ went everywhere
preaching the word.” It is clear from Scripture and
the whole history of the church that the purpose of
the church is evangelism.
Christian Development?
But does this exhaust its aim? The church is sure-
ly intended partly to strengthen and build up its
members in Christian faith and experience. “In
4 Making a Missionary Church
union there is strength.” Courage, loyalty, love, en-
thusiasm, all gain strength from the consciousness
that others have the same interests and are seeking ~
the same ideals. United public worship gives oppor-
tunities for stimulating the Christian life. The study
of the Scriptures together adds zest above what is
possible in private study, and the united activities of
the church continually stir up the members to new
consecration and new service. The church is a part
of Christ’s plan for his followers, but even if he
had said nothing about his church, it was inevitable
that Christians would associate themselves together
in an organization for mutual helpfulness.
Community Service?
While ministering to the souls of men the church
has a larger service to the community which takes
in all needs, including those not classed as spiritual.
To help provide for young people opportunities for
social life under Christian auspices, to improve the
homes of the poor, to make conditions more health-
ful, to secure better schools, to aid in bringing
brotherhood into the relations between employer and |
employed, to make life safer and decency surer—
all of these are a part of the mission of the church
to its community. Every service a church can
render to the people within its reach, in the effort
to uplift the individual and community life in the
name of Jesus Christ and to illustrate the Christian
spirit of service and love to all who can see or ex-
perience the church’s ministry, belongs within the
scope of the purpose for which the church, any «
church, exists.
The Purpose of the Church °
Church to Establish Christ’s World Kingdom
All of these things, however—Christian culture,
evangelism, community service—have to do with the
direct personal service rendered by the church to
the people of the local community only. But the
church’s mission reaches far beyond this. A study
of the New Testament makes it perfectly clear that
the true aim of a church is nothing less than to
establish the kingdom of Christ in all the earth.
Christ came to set up that kingdom. His program
he committed to his church. And every church
that calls itself by his name is thereby committed
to the carrying out of Christ’s plans and purpose.
The most characteristic feature of his gospel is its
universality. He seemed to think always in uni-
versals. If he spoke to his own nation it was in
terms applicable to all peoples, and his teachings
are found to be practicable for all races to whom
they have been carried. He was not more interested
in winning the Jews than in winning the Greeks.
His offer of life and fellowship was to all who would
accept it. One of his last words was a prophecy
of the flockings of peoples of all nations to his
standard: “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will
draw all men unto myself” (John 12: 32). And
the Commission which he gave to his disciples was
not limited to place or people: “ all nations,” “ every
creature,” ‘all the world.’ Christ’s mission was
to establish the kingdom of God in the hearts and
lives and relationships of all people in all the world.
His purpose was world-embracing. His plans in-
cluded all peoples. His mission was a universal one.
6 Making a Missionary Church
This is the mission which the apostles understood
Christ to have committed to them. There were
Judaizers — narrow nationalists in religion — who -
wanted all converts to follow Jewish law and cus-
toms, but even these did not oppose the preaching
of the gospel to the Gentiles. Christ’s command,
‘“Go ye and make disciples of all the nations,” was
accepted and obeyed by the apostles and the early
church, and as a result we have a New Testament
which is throughout a missionary book, and as a
greater result the universal gospel of the universal
Christ has been proclaimed to practically all nations.
Every Church a Missionary Organization
The mission of every church is the mission of ,
Christ and the apostles—to give the gospel to the /“
whole world. That means that every church is a
missionary organization. All the world is its field.
Its responsibility to one part of that world field
is no greater than to another. If it is under obliga-
tions to make its community Christian, it has equal
obligations to make China and India and Africa
and South America Christian. A church cannot be
loyal to Christ and make any gradation in its pur-
pose. It cannot say, for example, “ We must take
care of our work for those in our own city—our
evangelistic work, our social service—and then so
far aS we can we must do our best for missions.”
All is missions, and the church’s neighborhood and
the world’s frontier are both equally to be considered
in the church’s purpose and plans.
One of the most encouraging things for the king-
dom of God is the increasing number of churches
The Purpose of the Church (i
that accept as their purpose the winning of the /
whole world to Christ and build their programs and ©
plans around it. Yet such churches are still all too
few. As we have pointed out, very many churches,
even good-sized, active churches, never stop to con-
sider what their purpose is. Most churches that
would make a serious study of the subject would
doubtless accept unreservedly Christ’s program and
purpose as theirs. The trouble is, the matter is
not considered seriously and deliberately. With a
world purpose in view, plans and activities would be
more unified and more comprehensive. The whole
work of the church would be far more effective.
The outlook of the church would be wider. The
interests of the members would be more diversified.
Sympathies would be deeper. Activities would be
greater. And best of all, the church would be tak-
ing its part in the full program of Jesus—the re-
demption of the whole world.
No Conflict with Other Purposes
Taking this as the purpose of the church does
not mean a choice between the missionary purpose
and other purposes. Rather all other worthy pur- |
poses and aims are included and comprehended in —
the missionary purpose. For example, to have the
redemption of the world as the church’s controlling
purpose does not limit in any degree the effort of
the church to win to Christ members of the con-
gregation or of the community who are not Chris-
tians. On the contrary, that is genuine missionary
work. Missionary work in its largest sense includes,
every effort to establish the dominion of Christ ©
8 Making a Missionary Church
wherever it does not hold sway, in the hearts of
men and in the life of mankind. Evangelism takes
its place in that all-inclusive purpose. Teaching is.
vital to its realization. Social service is necessary
to its complete fulfilment. None of these phases
of the church’s work is likely to be given its proper
place in proportion to the whole work or to be con-
ducted in the true spirit unless thought of as a part
of the world missionary program of the kingdom.
They are all means to the one great end of winning
the world to Christ and his ideals. Their meaning
and value depend on the missionary spirit that enters
into them.
Considering missions in the narrower sense, as
commonly understood, it is simply the extension
of evangelism and Christian education and Chris-
tian social service beyond the local community to
other communities in our own and other lands.
The work which a church is doing in China through
an evangelist missionary is the same as it is doing
in America through its pastor. And the work it is
doing in India through a teacher missionary is just
what it is doing in its Christian schools in this
country. The fact is, there is no real distinction —
between a church’s local work and its missionary
work. They are essentially the same. The only
line of demarcation is an imaginary geographical
one. The local work is carried on where the mem-
bers of the church can see it and have a part per-
sonally in it: the missionary work is conducted
where they cannot see it and where they have part
in it through their gifts, their prayers, and their
representatives.
The Purpose of the Church 9
Missionary Success Depends on Leaders Getting this
Conception of the Church’s Mission
If the missionary work of the churches is to be
fully successful the leaders of the churches must
come to understand the missionary purpose of the
church. By this is meant not the denominational
leaders but the leaders of the local churches—the ’.
pastors and official members. For missionary work
is in the final analysis the work of the local churches,
and what a local church does depends on its leaders.
Primarily the responsibilty for leadership rests
upon the pastor; his attitude, his ideals, his aims,
his intellectual and spiritual horizon, his interpre-
tation of the gospel of Jesus and of the mission of
the church, will. inevitably determine the interests
and activities and achievements of his church. If
he interprets the mission of the church with a
major emphasis on its local application, his church
may be active in evangelism and community service,
but is not likely to do much for those beyond
its locality. If he has not grasped the conception
of the church as a missionary organization, re-
sponsible to Christ for establishing his kingdom in
all the world so far as its resources make that
possible, he may give a limited attention to missions,
but it will be secondary and subordinate to the
attention he devotes to the development of the
church’s local work—evangelism, religious educa-
tion, community uplift. In loyalty to his denomina-
tion he may present the denominational missionary
program to his church, and even be active in push-
ing it, up to a certain point, but unless he is
10 Making a Missionary Church
mastered by the passion of Jesus for world con-
quest he will not make his church a missionary
church, and his own activities in behalf of missions
will depend on the urging of the denominational
boards or his concern for his denominational stand-
ing. Even the financial contributions of the church
will not be all that is possible without the inspira-
tion of the missionary motive deep-seated in the
heart and life of the pastor. And money, impor-
tant as it is in God’s plan for his church’s work,
is not the only thing necessary. There must be
prayer, earnest, persistent, intelligent, and the
offering of lives for missionary service. These de-
pend generally on the pastor—his personal influence
and efforts as he goes about among his people,
and his plans and his spoken messages.
In other words, the pastor is the key to the mis-
sionary situation, and what his church is and does
depends on him. In Chapter III we indicate how
he can develop an intelligent missionary ideal for
himself. It is sufficient here to emphasize the
essential importance of such an ideal and to point
out how few pastors enter fully into the concep-
tion of the establishment of Christ’s world king- ©
dom as the real, fundamental work of the individual
church. Missions will not take its rightful place
in the program of the local churches, and the mis-
sionary efforts of the churches and denominations
will not achieve their full success, until pastors
and other church leaders understand the primary \
work of their churches to be missions, of whic L\
everything else is a part or for which it is a prepara-
tion, :
The Purpose of the Church 11
Sharing the responsibility of the pastor for the
missionary outlook of the church are the official mem-
bers, superintendent of the church school, deacons,
stewards, members of session, etc. The first work
of the pastor is to train the official leaders to a
right conception of the church’s mission and an
intelligent activity in missions. Next to the pastor,
they are the ones who determine the attitude and
direction of the work of the church. Indeed, they
can strongly influence the pastor in the formation
of his ideals and the formulation of his plans. And
in some parts of the church’s work they have almost
if not quite as much influence as the pastor. In the
church school, for example, the superintendent can
largely determine the amount and quality of the
missionary education which the pupils receive, and
can greatly help or hinder the pastor’s efforts to
realize the school’s missionary aim. So that it is
almost equally important that not only the pastor
but all the official leaders of a church have the
missionary vision and understand the missionary
purpose of the church. And of course the possi-
bilities of the church in the working out of its
mission will not be realized until every member is
fired by the missionary zeal and dominated by
Christ’s passion for world conquest. This must be
the aim of pastor and officers, in their work of
leading the church in the task Christ has given it.
A Purpose Worth While
Here is a purpose that is worth while. Any
church that sets before itself as its aim and goal
1See Chapter IV.
=e
12 Making a Missionary Church
the establishing of the kingdom of God in all the
world and in the lives and relations of all men,
will not fail to grow in strength or to develop its
members spiritually or to reach the people of its
own community. The greater includes the less.
There is no greater aim or ambition than the mis-
sionary purpose. And to make every other aim and
every other plan contributory to this matchless one
which is Christ’s, is to make certain the fulfilling
of every lesser one that is worthy. The greatest
need in the kingdom of God is churches and pastors
big enough and bold enough and Christlike enough
to take a chance on success at home, in their own
community, for the sake of success in the great
world field which the Lord has committed to them.
God will not fail a church or a pastor that takes
such a venture of faith. |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
R. E. Speer, “ The New Opportunity of the Church.”
Macmillan Co. 80 cents.
J. W. Shackford, ‘The Program of the Christian
Religion.”” Methodist Book Con. 80 cents.
Sherwood Eddy, “‘ Everybody’s World.” George H.
Doran Co. $1.90.
E. C. Moore, ‘“‘ West and East.” Charles Scribner’s
Sons. $4.00. .
R. E. Diffendorfer, “‘ Missionary Education in Home
and School.” Methodist Book Con. $2.00.
A. E. Garvie, “The Missicnary Obligation in the
Light of the Changes in Modern Thought.”
George H. Doran Co. 75 cents.
II
A UNIFIED MISSIONARY PLAN FOR THE
CHURCH |
Need for a Unified Plan
A unified missionary purpose for the church, as
outlined in the preceding chapter, naturally means
a unified missionary plan for the whole church. If
a church sets before itself its missionary objective,
and holds that objective continually before itself,
all departments of the church and all phases of
the work will be considered in its missionary plans,
and the missionary objective will be in the fore-
ground of the plans for each and all of these. This
logically means a unified missionary plan for they
whole church. All too few churches now have such
a plan.
Think of some of the churches with which you are
familiar. Some organizations pay no attention to
missions whatever. Others are likely to make each
its own missionary plans, without reference to those
of any other. The woman’s society follows plans
suggested by the denominational women’s board.
The Sunday school bases its plans on help furnished
by the missionary education department of the de-
nomination or by the Sunday school association.
The young people’s society also has its own inde-
pendent plans. And the church at large makes its »
plans without considering the relation of these and
other departments to them.
13
14 Making a Missionary Church
The financial objective is the most common ex-
ception, the various departments and organizations
of most churches uniting in relation to the amount
which the church decides to contribute to the de-
nominational missionary enterprise. Yet even this
exception is not always in evidence, and the church
at large may be working for an apportionment to
be applied to the general missionary purposes of
the denomination, while the young people’s society
or the Sunday school is trying to raise a separate
sum for a special object that has attracted them,
or even giving all their missionary offerings to
work entirely outside the denomination or the
church’s plan. |
The need for a unified missionary plan for such
a church is self-evident. Only by making a plan that
will take in all the organizations and departments,
whatever may be their special purpose, and on the
other hand relating all its missionary activities to
this unified plan, and organizing its work and mem-
bership and resources in such a way as to make
possible the carrying out of this unified plan, can
a church make its full contribution to the great
missionary enterprise and fulfil its purpose as a
church of Christ.
We do not lack for books dealing with the prin-
ciples of missions and the larger missionary ques-
tions, nor for suggestions for the missionary work
of special bodies in the church, especially the Sunday
school and the woman’s society. But there is no
book that deals in a practical, comprehensive way
with the missionary work of the local church as a4
whole, the making and carrying out of a unified
A Unified Missionary Plan 15
plan for the whole church and all its departments
and activities. So that a chapter at least may very
profitably be devoted to the consideration of such
a plan.
Missionary Education not Distinct from Religious Edu-
cation
One reason for the lack of attention to the formu-
lation of a unified missionary plan in so many
churches is the distinction which has been made,
between missionary education and religious educa-
tion—a distinction which is entirely false. The two
are not separate and unrelated. Religious education
includes missionary education, and no course of re-
ligious education is complete that does not include
full and adequate study of missions. Nor can any
one—pastor, church officer, teacher or any one else—
be considered educated in religion who is not in-
formed on the great missionary teachings of the Bible
and the great names and achievements of the modern
missionary enterprise. Unfortunately not all re-
ligious leaders are qualified according to this stand-
ard. There are plenty of teachers in church Bible
schools who seldom or never teach a missionary
lesson from the Bible, and there are plenty of pastors
whose plans for religious education in their churches
have little or no provision for instruction in mis-
sions, leaving this to the women or the young peo-
ple’s society.
The fault is twofold. In the first place, the leaders
of religious education for a long time refused to
give place to missions in their plans and courses.
Some had not seen the missionary vision; some
16 Making a Missionary Church
looked upon education in missions as important,
but considered it outside the province of Bible-school
teachers or other educational leaders in the church. —
So those who understood the fundamental im-
portance of the missionary spirit and outlook in
the life of every Christian and every church were
compelled to bring out separate courses in missions
and promote special plans for missionary education.
On the other hand, missionary leaders have been
jealous for the work so close to their hearts, and
have often insisted on promoting their plans for
missionary education apart from the established
departments of religious education, even where these
were favorable to cooperation. The result has been |
the false distinction between religious education and
missionary education, which has reacted unfavor-
ably on the missionary ideals of the local church
and on the unification of its missionary plans.
All Departments Need Missionary Education
The need for a unified, thoroughgoing missionary
plan in a church is clear from the fact that all the
members of the church, young and old, need mis-
sionary education. Naturally we think of education
as belonging to the Sunday school. And we have
begun to educate the children and young people in
the school in missions. But we have only begun.* It
is supremely important that from the earliest stages
of their experience of religious teaching, children»
should have a true conception of the gospel of Jesus
and the relation of God to all his children. Of
course the details of missionary biography and his-
1See Chapter VII.
A Unified Missionary Plan 17
tory and geography cannot be given all at once, but
the great “‘ whosoevers ” of the Bible can be taught,
and illustrated with stories from mission lands.
Then gradually the heroes of missions can be intro-
duced, with the rest of the full-rounded course of
missionary instruction which should form a part
of the curriculum of religious education. It is an »
entire mistake to suppose that missions properly
taught will not interest the members of the school.
The trouble is not with the subject, nor with the
boys and girls—they will listen open-mouthed to
some of the stories that can be told—but with the
teachers, who have not grasped the greatness of |
the gospel, or allowed their imagination to give them
the enticing vision of the world purpose and oppor-
tunity of their church. Every boy and girl in the
church should have the privilege of starting right
in his study of the Bible, the gospel, and Christian
service.
But education is not limited to those in school.
Most people know a good deal more than they
learned in school—more current history, more about
life in many lands, more of human nature and human
needs, more about how to live and how to do things
in the world. There is a good deal more to be
learned than is contained in the more or less ele-
mentary course most of us studied in school. In the
same way there is a good deal more to be learned
about missions than can well be included in the
curriculum of the church school. And those who
are not in the school should have the chance to learn
and to keep on learning the great things of God’s
great kingdom. Moreover, those in other groups,
18 Making a Missionary Church
like the men’s brotherhood, the women’s society, the
young people’s organizations, the Boy Scouts, etc.,
have a group consciousness that leads them to look —
at things from their own special view-point. Ad-
vantage should be taken of this by the church in
its missionary education plans, and every organiza-
tion and group be included in a unified, comprehen-
sive plan. The boys, for example, will jump eagerly
at stories of missionary heroes told from the point
of view of the Scouts, the young people will recog-
nize the special responsibility and privileges that be-
long to them as young people, the women will feel
the needs of women when these come to them as
members of the women’s society. Some of these |
groups are receiving worthy attention—for example,
the women’s society—but others receive scant notice
in the plans for missionary education of the ordinary
church. The recognition of missions as the chief
purpose of the church, and the adoption of a uni-
fied missionary plan which will take in the whole
church with all its various departments and organi-
zations, will make up the deficiency and give to
every member of the whole church the knowledge
of what God has done and is doing and can do in
the world, that is the joyous privilege of every
Christian.
All Need Missionary Activities
A comprehensive missionary plan will include not
only learning but doing. To absorb knowledge
without putting the knowledge to some use may give
a broader horizon and stimulate mental interest,
but surely does not make the time and thought yield
A Unified Missionary Plan 19
all it should, for oneself or for others. This is true
of all knowledge, and especially knowledge that is
related to the world kingdom of Jesus—a wide
enough field as we shall see. Christian activity
ought to be planned in every church to take in every
member. And when we remember that the supreme
work of the church is the establishing of the king-
dom of God in the whole world—the missionary
task—we shall realize the importance of giving every
member a part in the missionary activities of the
church. These activities will of course include the
raising and giving of money; but this is not the only
missionary activity in which members of a church
should. engage. Missionary prayer should be
planned to fit the interests and experience of the
various groups in the church. And personal service
through missionaries abroad and especially in local
mission fields at home, within the reach of every
church, should have its place among the well-planned
activities of a church in fulfilling comprehensively
its missionary purpose.
The Work Needs the Whole Church
Conversely, the whole church is needed by the
missionary task. As pointed out, various groups,
the women, the men, the boys, etc., each appreciate
more than other groups certain features of the
spreading kingdom enterprise, and each can there-
fore along these lines make to some degree a more
effective contribution to the world work than others.
What women have contributed can be appreciated
only by those who know how vast a revolution has
been wrought in the lives of Eastern women by the
20 Making a Missionary Church
message Western women have carried them. The
enthusiasm, fearlessness, originality, and consecra-
tion of youth is ever needed by the missionary enter-
prise. The experience and vision and business acu-
men of men of affairs must be increasingly enlisted
in this biggest and most important of all businesses.
And the participation of even the boys and girls is
quite essential to remind us of the children in
heathen lands, born not heathen but just children,
for whom we ought to do our mightiest to save them
from becoming heathen.
In other words the work of missions calls for the
enthusiastic, intelligent enlistment of every group,
department, and organization in the church. It is
too vast and too varied a task to belong to only a
certain group and only a part of the church. The
work will be successful only as all groups and de-
partments—the whole church—are brought into the
program of missionary activity. All must find their
place in the church’s missionary plans. Hence the
need for a unified missionary program for the
church.
Unified Missionary Plan Will Be Comprehensive
A unified missionary plan for a church, linking
up all departments to a well-planned program, is
far more likely to be comprehensive and complete
than the unstudied program that is so common. It |
will include a carefully planned program of mission-
ary education. All groups, departments, and organi-
zations will be provided for; there will be something
for every member of the church, young and old,
carefully chosen to fit the capacities, experience,
A Unified Missionary Plan 21
and interests of each. All phases of missions will
be included in the educational program. Stories of
heroism, descriptions of life in mission lands, tales
of missionary work, studies of missionary methods,
the Biblical basis of missions, achievements of mis-
sions, present-day missionary ideals and objectives,
the missionary situation in home and foreign fields,
missionaries and fields of the church’s own denomi-
nation, need and qualifications of new missionaries,
need and results of missionary prayer, the financial
side of missions, our personal responsibility—all
subjects which will make up a complete course in
missionary education should have their place in the
educational plans for the different parts of the
church.
Prayer will be given a prominent place in the mis-
sionary program. ‘There should be education in
prayer, as already suggested—its authority in Scrip-
ture, its scope, its purpose, its results, its possibili-
ties, but the practise of prayer for missions should
also be provided for, with definite plans for the use
of this mighty divine means to accomplish results.
Giving of money must be included in the unified
plan, not haphazard giving, but carefully studied
and arranged, according to the best proved methods
and the recommendations of the church’s denomi-
nation. Here, as with prayer, all groups in the
church should be reached and all kinds of missionary
work should be included in the objects for which
the money is given.
Personal missionary service should have its place
in the program also. This is too commonly left out
of the missionary plans of a church, as though all
22 Making a Missionary Church
our mission fields were far away and all our mis-
sionary work must be done at arm’s length or
through others. There is hardly a church that does
not have a mission field within reach—often right
at its doors—and all the members of the church
should be enlisted, so far as possible, in definite plans
to reach with the gospel ministry those in the
church’s local mission field. Old and young can find
a part in personal missionary work, and the unified
plan should make full provision for this. There are
also personal relations with missionaries which are
helpful and important and which should be planned
and encouraged.
Unified Plan Will Solve Missionary Problems
A comprehensive plan, taking in the whole church,
and covering all phases of missions, is essential to
the full success of the missionary enterprise. In
the first place, such a plan will give the church-wide,
knowledge of missions without which the coopera- \
tion of the members generally in giving and other
missionary service cannot be expected. The widest
and most thorough missionary education is necessary
for the largest practical results, and this is possible
only when the whole church is united in a single,
comprehensive plan. In the second place, a unified \/
plan brings all groups in the church into one com-
bined financial program, making possible the full-
est and most effective use of the financial resources
of the church. In the third place, a well-studied »
program of prayer is assured in a unified missionary
plan, educating the young in the wide-ranging”
power of prayer, widening the spiritual horizon of
A Unified Missionary Plan 23
the whole church, and releasing divine resources
that are available in proportion to the prayers of
Christians. In the fourth place, personal Christian
service, so tremendously needed in local home-
mission fields, is made available, being a necessary
part of a church’s unified missionary program. And
finally, a unified plan emphasizes the fundamental
importance of missions, and besides creating the
mental and spiritual foundation on which the mis-
sionary results mentioned can be built, gives a
stimulus to all the other work of the church and
presents to the community a true idea of the church’s
complete work and purpose. Only a unified mission-
ary plan can solve the pressing problems of missions
and make possible the conquest of the world for
Christ. |
How Make a Unified Plan?
We have seen what a unified missionary plan is
and what it should include. Consider now the de-
tails of the plan. How shall a church go to work ¢
to make it? First of all, let it be understood that ’’
the details will of necessity differ in different
churches and different denominations. Fundamen-
tally the plan will be the same, but the details will
vary according to the organization, size, denomina-
tional traditions, missionary development, educa-
tional and financial resources, and community sur-
roundings of the church. No suggestions made here
can be followed without variation, but must be
adapted to the local conditions in every case. The
denominational program should be considered, and
the church plans should be linked up to that pro-
24, Making a Missionary Church
gram. The suggestions of the various denomina-
tional boards or societies as to organization and
plans should be taken into account in making the
church plan. The various groups and organizations
in the church need to be studied, with reference to
the extent of the plan. The personnel of the church,
in number, education, availability, etc., is another
factor to be considered. Let no one think, however,
that his church is peculiarly situated and has diffi-
culties that other churches do not have, and that
hence a unified comprehensive plan is impracticable
in its case. The plan need not be elaborate, but no
other plan is worthy of the great kingdom cause for
which each church exists, and no other will enlist.
all the resources of the church in this great cause.
Church’s Official Board Should Make Plan
The planning of the missionary work of a church
ought not to be left to the missionary committee or
any other subsidiary body. This is the church’s
supreme work—its largest, most important task—
and the highest official group in the church should
have it in charge.._As it is a unified plan which is
to be made, including all departments and relating ©
all to the one comprehensive program, the construc-
tion of the plan should not be left to any individual
nor to the representative of any society or organi-
zation. The president of the woman’s missionary
society can make a large contribution in the making
of the church missionary plan, but cannot make a
satisfactory plan for the whole church. The young
people’s society may have a good missionary com-
mittee, but its chairman is not able by himself to
A Unified Missionary Plan 25
plan the missionary work of the whole church.
Neither of these, nor any other leaders, by them-
selves can plan the work of the whole church. All,
lines of work and all departments of the church
should have a share in the planning of the church’s
missionary program. If the church is properly
organized, the chief official body includes represen- ’
tatives of all the various phases of the work—
Bible school, woman’s society, young people’s so-
ciety, men’s brotherhood, etc.—besides the more
general interests of the church. Quite too generally
the official board is not thus made up, and there is
no board or committee which can intelligently con-
sider the work of the church as a whole, with all
its many societies and other special groups. The
lack of such a central planning board is a sufficient
reason for the aimless, inefficient work of some
churches. Where such is the case, the highest official
body—deacons and trustees, trustees and stewards,
Session, or whatever it may be—should call into coun-
cil with themselves the official representatives of all
the principal organizations and departments and var-
ious phases of work, and of course the missionary
committee, if there is one. The final decision should
be in the hands of the official board itself, that the
plan adopted may be the official action of the church,
but all available wisdom should be sought in this
most important task.
Before the board meets to make the plan, the
pastor, as the one primarily responsible, should give
the matter his most careful and prayerful thought
and study. First of all, he needs to grasp fully the
missionary purpose of the church and believe un-
20 Making a Missionary Church
flinchingly in it as Christ’s mission for his church
and as a possibility for his and every other church.
Then he must study thoroughly the whole subject
of missions and particularly the missionary work
and program of his own denomination. If he is
keeping up his studies and is keeping informed on
the work of the kingdom, this will not be a great
\' task. Next he has to consider the different groups
in the church. And finally he has to block out a plan
for the official board to consider. The director of
religious education, if there is one, and other edu-
cational and missionary leaders in the church, can
be of help to him in this task.
Then the board is called together—not after the.
midweek prayer-meeting nor when only a few can
be present, but for a whole evening on a date care-
fully considered to secure the largest and most
representative attendance. The importance of the
meeting should be emphasized strongly so that all
will come realizing their responsibility. The meet-
ing should be given up solely to the consideration
of the church’s missionary plan; other business
should be considered at a different meeting. Make it
clear that missions is of the first importance. )
When the board meets—with representatives of
the various church interests if these are not ade-
quately represented in the board—the first thing \_
is a study of the purpose of the church and its |
missionary character and objective. This should
be led by the pastor, who should have prepared him-
self well by a careful study of the Scriptures. It
need scarcely be added that unless he has a thorough
conviction himself regarding the missionary purpose
A Unified Missionary Plan 27
of the church, he cannot convince his board or carry
them with him in any plans he may make.
Then the question should be considered, What
should a Christian know of missions?? List every
phase of missions that you think may properly be
included. Do not be afraid of making the list too
long; you can modify it later. Classify the subjects
listed, so as to indicate those of most immediate
importance.
Then consider the departments and organizations
in the church. List them all, not omitting any,
even those apparently least related to missionary
work, for you will remember that this is to be a
comprehensive plan for the whole church. Now |,
what subjects of knowledge, activity, and service /’
that you have listed can be assigned to the various
departments and organizations? For example, the
Bible school should include in its curriculum certain
subjects for study, and certain activities also. The
women’s society should provide for certain special
phases of information, and should plan for prayer
and giving and also local mission work. Raise the
question about every society, guild, and other organi-
zation connected with the church. Ask about each,
How can it be utilized to build up its members in
missionary knowledge and interest? How can it
be used in the doing of actual missionary work?
Some of the phases of the missionary plan that may
properly be assumed by the different departments,
are considered in detail in later chapters of this
book. It will be seen at once that both the educa-
tional subjects and the forms of service must be
2See page 112.
28 Making a Missionary Church
graded to the ages and Christian development of
the various groups. Careful thought needs to be
given to this, in order that the plan may not break”
down by being ill-adapted to those for whom it is
prepared.
As an aid in securing unity of plan and effort,
one country or field may be chosen, or one foreign
and one home field, planning the study and activity
around these. These special interests will need to
be changed from year to year, however, so as to
cover the whole field of missionary knowledge. And
there are some subjects and some lines of service
that perhaps will not be related to the special field
of interest, that may be included in the plan each |
year. The denominational program should be fol-
lowed, and the church plan should be related closely
to it. The financial objective should be that pro-
posed by the denomination, and the financial plans
of every organization should be linked up to this
objective.
Thus make up the missionary plan for your
church. A few cautions: Do not attempt too much
the first year, but whether the program be small or
great let it be a unified one, linking up every organi- |
zation in the church to the one plan. Do not be
afraid of undertaking new lines of, study and activ-
ity; keep in mind the fundamental missionary pur-
pose of the church, and see that some part of the
program is given to each organization and group.
Do not try to force the plan through or any part
if it; most churches cannot be driven, and most
church societies and clubs are pretty independent.
If the pastor has been educating his church in mis-
A Unified Missionary Plan 29
sions, as suggested in other chapters of this book,
there will be little difficulty in securing the coopera-
tion of the leaders of the various organizations, es-
pecially if they are taken into counsel by the official
board; but there may be a leader who balks and
kicks, and some very patient and diplomatic work
may be necessary, coupled it may be with “ prayer
and fasting,” before hearty team-work is secured.
But the effort is abundantly worth while.
Suggestive Plans
We give here two plans to illustrate the uniform
missionary plan that has been described, one a com-
prehensive program of missionary information and
service for the whole church, the other a study of one
subject by the whole church. They will show what
is intended and indicate the possibilities of the
unified plan. In the last analysis, each church must
work out its own plan, developing and improving
it from year to year. The important thing is to.
adopt the principle of a unified plan for the whole
church and to make a beginning along such lines as
may be most practicable.
PLAN I
A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM FOR THE WHOLE
CHURCH
BIBLE SCHOOL
Aim: To gain the spirit of world friendship and to lay a
foundation of missionary knowledge.
Course: As suggested in Chapter VII.
30 Making a Missionary Church
YOUNG PEOPLE’S SOCIETIES
Aim: To supplement Sunday-school course with more con- |
crete knowledge and with practical service.
1. YOUNGER SOCIETIES
Program of Information: Programs, dramatizations, talks,
on children and young people of other lands and
races; church reading course.
Program of Service: Friendly service to foreigners in com-
munity, White Cross work, summer Christmas-tree for
@ missionary, collecting curios and photos, etc.
2. OLDER SOCIETIES
Program of Information: Study classes, programs, debates,
dramatizations, on missionary work and problems, es-
pecially the missionary plans of the denomination;
church reading course.
Program of Service: Missionary work in the community
(including friendly visiting), White Cross work, sum-
mer Christmas-tree, relieving definite needs of mission-
aries, making maps and posters, volunteering for
Christian life service, contributing through church
treasury, etc.
WOMAN’S SOCIETY
Aim: To supplement Sunday-school course with more inti-
mate knowledge of women and children of other lands
and races, what has been done for them and what still
needs to be done. #.
Program of Information: Study classes, programs, drama-
tizations, addresses, on work of denominational mission
boards and missionaries; church reading course.
Program of Service: Missionary work in community, White
Cross work, relieving special needs of missionaries,
extension work for women not in society, contributing
through church treasury, etc.
A Unified Missionary Plan 31
MEN’S BROTHERHOOD
Aim: To supplement Sunday-school course with more in-
timate knowledge of men of other lands and races; to
understand the larger affairs of their national life
from the Christian point of view.
Program of Information: Study classes, addresses, debates;
church reading course.
Program of Service: Friendly service to foreigners in com-
munity, relieving definite needs of missionaries, pro-
viding material for missionary museum and library,
contributing through church treasury, etc.
GENERAL
Aim: To present to the whole church the missionary pur-
pose of Christianity; to provide missionary material
for all groups in the church.
Program of Information: Missionary sermons, missionary
references in sermons and prayers, addresses on the
denominational program, stereopticon lectures; mis-
sionary training of church officers; literature, museum,
bulletin-board, calendar; home stories and games.
Program of Service: Systematic enlistment of members in
definite missionary prayer; weekly giving to missions
by all members; enlistment of qualified young people
for Christian life service.
PLAN II
ONE SUBJECT FOR WHOLE CHURCH
E. g., Japan
This is a simplification of Plan I, the attention of
the whole church and of all organizations being
32 Making a Missionary Church
focused upon Japan. The suggestions given in
Plan I can be followed, limiting the programs of
information and service to Japan, the Japanese, and
missionaries to the Japanese. Plan II may have a
foreign mission topic for one part of the year and a
home mission topic for another part. The topics
can be varied from year to year. The subjects sug-
gested by the Missionary Education Movement may
be taken up if desired. The ae is a ts
outline:
BIBLE SCHOOL
Course of study and service as suggested in Chapter VII,
focusing attention upon Japan.
YOUNG PEOPLE’S SOCIETIES
Customs in Japan and relation of the denomination’s mis-
sionaries to them.
WOMAN’S SOCIETY
Women and children of Japan.
MEN’S BROTHERHOOD
Men of Japan.
Japan and America from Christian standpoint.
GENERAL iF
Illustrations from Japan in sermons.
Stereopticon lectures on Japan.
Reading course, stressing Japan.
News items and pictures on Japan in calendar and on
bulletin-board.
Home stories and Japanese games for children,
Use of literature on Japan,
A Unified Missionary Plan 33
The carrying out of the plan calls for the mission-
ary organization of the church. The plan will not
be put into operation or carried through successfully
without responsibility on the part of some who are
carefully selected and definitely assigned to the task.
We reserve for Chapter XV the discussion of that
phase of the plan, but it should be recognized at the
beginning as of the utmost importance.
A Unified Plan for Each Denomination
In concluding this chapter a paragraph may
properly be added regarding a unified missionary
plan for each denomination. In some denominations
such a plan is in operation, but in others the adop-
tion of special forward movement plans and pro-
motional campaigns has tended to emphasize the
immediate financial objective at the expense, for
example, of general missionary education, so that
the denominational program gives little place to the
educating of the church in missionary knowledge.
Yet the latter is fundamental, and the success of the
whole missionary program depends on it. The
trouble is that the immediate financial objective
looms so large, and it seems so essential to concen-
trate attention and effort on this, that the more
fundamental education is obscured. Some attention
of course is given to this, but only in connection with
the financial campaign. Nothing could be more
short-sighted. The neglect of missionary education
makes the securing of future funds more difficult.
It would be far better to spend less on the immediate
program and lay a strong foundation for the future,
even at the expense of somewhat smaller immediate
34: Making a Missionary Church
receipts. In the long run the financial results would
be vastly increased.
Every denominational program ought to include 7
thoroughgoing plans of missionary information and
service. Every board and agency having any part
in missionary education should be brought into the
program. The theological seminaries ought to be
enlisted in cooperation, so that the courses given
by their teachers of missions may be more intimately
related to the needs of the churches and the pro-
gram of the denomination. Almost nothing along
this line has been done, and in most seminaries
the missionary instruction is entirely unrelated to
the needs of pastors, churches, and the denomina-
tion. Each local church should be urged to adopt
a unified and continuous missionary program for
all departments and groups. The whole denomina-
tion should be enlisted in a unified program. -The
leaders in all denominations may well restudy their
missionary programs with a view to making them
comprehensive in the widest sense. —
II!
THE TRAINING OF THE PASTOR
The Pastor the Key to the Missionary Problem
No plan can work itself. Some one or some group,
as pointed out in the previous chapter, must be re-
sponsible for carrying into operation the missionary
plan of the church. And the chief responsibility
rests upon the pastor. He is the key to the whole
missionary problem. Upon his grasp of the funda-
mental missionary principles of the gospel, his mis-
sionary knowledge and intelligence, his ability to
apply these principles in the making of the church’s
missionary plan, and his faithfulness, perseverance,
and tactfulness in carrying the plan into effect, de-
pends the success or failure of the church as a mis-
sionary organization. If he does not have a pro-
found conviction that the supreme purpose for
which his church exists is to establish the reign
of Christ in the whole wide world, his church can-
not be expected to have as wide a horizon as that.
It is quite natural to have most prominently in mind
the things you can see. The needs and opportunities
in the community are tangible and are likely to im-
press the members of the church more strongly than
the situation beyond the community, where the peo-
ple are never seen and their needs are never felt
at first hand. Yet every church is responsible
equally for the Christianizing of its own community
and the Christianizing of the world outside. It
35
36 Making a Missionary Church
rests with the pastor to give his people a clear
understanding of the universal character of the
gospel and its universal imperative, to develop in -
their hearts and minds a solid conviction of the
missionary character and purpose of their church.
Whether they are little Christians with a narrow
conception of the gospel and of Christ and a limited
horizon of Christian service, or whether they are
great Christians, grasping the mighty idea of a
world gospel and the unlimited scope of activities
open to them and to their church, depends on the
pastor. What he is they will inevitably be. His
church will succeed or fail in its mission as he suc-
ceeds or fails to grasp the fundamental meaning of —
that mission.
The pastor must be the teacher of his church; he
must lead them in the continual acquiring of mis-
sionary knowledge. The interest of the church and
its members will naturally be directed toward the
things that are known. There is plenty to interest
in the story of missionary conquest, and the story
is readily available for those who want to know it,
but without suggestion and direction on the part
of some one the members of the church will for
the most part remain in ignorance of the fascinat-
ing and inspiring tale. The pastor must know the
facts and know where his people can get the facts.
If he does not know, they will not know. And if they
do not know, they will not pray and they will not.
give. The pastor must in this, as in everything else
in his church, be the leader, and by his own ex-
ample and his enthusiastic and well-planned sug-
gestion lead his people into a growing knowledge
The Training of the Pastor 37
of Christ’s expanding kingdom. The making of a
missionary church depends primarily on the pastor.
We have already noted the place of leadership
which the pastor must take in formulating the mis-
sionary plan of his church. Itis he who must survey
the church, study the various phases of the mission-
ary problem, and block out a preliminary plan for
the consideration of the official body which is to
act upon it. Let us emphasize again that by no
means should he suppose that he can turn over to
some one else in the church the leadership in this»
important task. He cannot hope for ready ac-
quiescence and enthusiastic action unless he him-
self presents the plan to his church leaders. But
any pastor will do well to take counsel with some
who are specially fitted to advise, and if a church has
a pastor who is not trained to study and who has
little ability in making plans, happy is that church
if the pastor is willing to take advice and accept
the wisdom and experience of others. 7
It is the pastor also who must lead the church
in putting into operation the missionary plan which °
has been adopted. Some organization will be neces-
sary,' but in any case the pastor must assume the
responsibility for making the plan a success. In
the first place, the leaders in the various depart-
ments or societies need a good many suggestions as
to carrying into effect the parts of the church plan
that belong to them. They need encouragement, too,
and the contagious enthusiasm of the pastor. And
the pastor needs to supplement the work of the
various leaders by judicious suggestion and volun-
1See Chapter XV.
38 Making a Missionary Church
tary aid, though of course he can wreck the whole
plan by untactful ‘ butting in.” Especially in the
more general work of the: church, the public ser-
vices, the preaching, the pastoral work, he must
make it evident that he is interested heart and soul
in the church’s missionary plan. Certainly if in
anything he is to lead his church, the pastor must
be at the forefront of its supreme work, its mission-
ary task. He is the key to the missionary problem.
The Responsibility of the Theological Seminaries
Pastors need to be trained for leadership in the
missionary work of their churches, and this. train-
ing, like their training in Bible interpretation and
preaching, may properly be expected to be given
them in the theological seminary. Unfortunately,
however, the seminaries that give an adequate
preparation for missionary leadership in the home
pastorate are few and far between. Very few em-
phasize adequately the fundamental missionary pur-
pose of the church. Only here and there is one
found that offers its students a comprehensive
survey of the church’s missionary problem. And
strangely enough, there are not a dozen semina-
ries presenting a full course in missionary educa-
tion, or the principles and methods of developing
and maintaining a missionary church. Theology,
church history, homiletics, and Biblical interpreta-
tion are well provided for, and many seminaries are
now building up strong departments of religious
education. But only a few have a full-grade pro-
fessor giving full time to missions. Most men go’
from the theological seminary into the pastorate
The Training of the Pastor 39
with little preparation for the great task of making
their churches missionary organizations, which shall
do their full part in establishing a world kingdom
for Christ. They have to pick up, wherever they
can get them, through years it may be, the prin-
ciples and methods with which they ought to have
been familiar when they came out of the seminary.
Responsibility of the Colleges
Perhaps the colleges have some responsibility also
in the missionary training of the pastor. Perhaps
only denominational colleges will include missions
as a part of the curriculum, though the question
may properly be asked whether a department of
religion ought not to be found in a complete college.
But certainly every college graduate, especially those
planning to enter the ministry, and who are to teach
people the principles of the world-wide kingdom of
God and lead the church in making Christianity
world-wide in its scope, ought to have a world spirit,
an international outlook—to view events in their
universal relations and to be free from national
prejudices and provincial ideas. Some courses to
give this outlook and spirit should be part of the
curriculum of every college. Even foreign mission-
aries not infrequently go out without this essen-
tial preparation, ignorant of the great world move-
ments and provincial and nationalistic in their
outlook and interest. The dean of one of the lan-
guage schools for new missionaries in the Orient
recently indicated this as the greatest handicap new
missionaries have. Pastors, who are to organize and
promote the plans for sending out missionaries and
40 Making a Missionary Church
maintaining their work, need the international out-
look quite as much as the missionaries themselves,
and the best place to secure this should be the col-
lege.
Responsibility of the Churches
Certainly the churches are responsible for the mis-
sionary training of pastors. The president of a
theological seminary said, when some one criticized
the output of the seminaries, “‘ We do the best we
can with the material the churches send us.” The
arly church training of a pastor counts for quite
“.as much as his studies and experience in later life,
so far as his outlook and interest are concerned.
The writer vividly remembers going as a boy to
meetings of the ‘ Little Gleaners”’ mission circle
led by his mother, playing with other boys while the
young women sewed patchwork, but stopping to
listen to the missionary stories and to the song
“Two cents a week and earnest prayer’; and he
credits largely to his early training his apprecia-
tion of the universal aspect of Christianity and its
demand upon every Christian for missionary passion
and missionary service. Teach a boy in Sunday
school that Christ came to win to God everybody,
black or white, yellow or brown, Oriental or Occi-
dental, American or Japanese, show him that Jesus’
promises are for him only because Jesus said “ who-
soever ”’ and “ every one,” talk to him of the gospel
in broad terms, fill his mind with the thrilling
stories of missionary heroism and the devotion of
converts from heathen religions, spread out before °
him the bigness of the kingdom and the opportuni-
The Training of the Pastor Al
ties it offers for doing big things, and if he enters
the ministry he will be thoroughly missionary in
spirit and will set the true ideal before his church.
Many young people never hear a missionary sermon*
from their pastor, never have the missionary teach-
ings of the Bible presented to them in Sunday
school, never have a missionary book placed in their
hands, and if they give anything for missions it is
in response to a more or less perfunctory appeal,
made in loyalty to the denomination rather than in
full appreciation of the missionary purpose of the
church. And very many pastors see something of
the missionary meaning of the church and appeal
for missionary offerings, but find the task a hard
one and receive a poor response because back in
their home churches in early days they never had
things presented to them in true proportions. Their
missionary education was neglected at its founda-
tion, and it is hard for them to overcome the
handicap. Nothing can take the place of the church
itself in the training of the pastor for missionary
leadership.
The Pastor’s Training Should Be Continuous
But it is not to be supposed that a pastor’s mis-
Sionary training is to be limited to what he re-
ceived in his home church as a youth, or that it is ~
to end with his seminary course. His training has
noend. It must be continuous. Reading, study, ex-
perience should all contribute to his equipment as a
missionary leader. His seminary course ought to
have given him information as to the materials of
missionary knowledge and the sources of mission-
42 Making a Missionary Church
ary information. It goes without saying that a
pastor should be incessantly a student. Of course
he must study the Bible continually, and he will read ~
on religious themes. But he ought to be a diligent
student of the kingdom—know how it is progress-
ing, where there is success and where difficulties are
encountered, how the work is being done under
‘changing modern conditions, what are the best
methods of missionary education, etc. Conditions
of work change, the kingdom moves on, new ideas
and plans are being worked out, and the up-to-date
pastor who would keep his church informed on the
progress of the kingdom and would lead his church
in aggressive work in Christ’s world-wide enter-
prise, must keep himself informed. He cannot af-
ford to stand still or give up his missionary reading
or study. | |
There are plenty of men in the churches who are
away out-of-date in their knowledge of Christian
missions. They know what Paul and his associates
did in inaugurating the mighty enterprise and they
are enthusiastic about the great apostle-missionary,
but they know very little of what has taken place
in the world of missions since then, or of the work
_ of present day missionary-apostles. Surely the pas-
‘tor must not be like this. He if any one must be
up-to-date in the affairs of the kingdom. Busy? Of
course. Other things to study? Plenty of them. .
Sermons take a good deal of time? Nodoubt. Other
work to organize in the church? To be sure. But
a pastor must plan his studies and his church work
so as to keep things in their true proportions. Many °
pastors are very busy, without accomplishing half
The Training of the Pastor 43
of what they might do for the great kingdom of
Jesus if they gave their attention to the chief things
and planned the use of their time well. One of the
essentials for the highest success of a minister is
knowledge, and he can always find time—he can
afford to take time—for this. Let a pastor determine
that come what will he will keep informed on the
principles and facts of Christ’s world-wide enter-
prise, let him plan his missionary reading and study
carefully, and he will be able to get into his limited
time what he needs to keep up his training as a
missionary leader. For his training must be con-
tinuous.
What Should a Pastor Know About Missions?
We have already suggested many of the things a
pastor should know in order to be a worthy and
efficient leader of his church in its missionary enter-
prise, but for clearness let us recapitulate them
here.
First of all, he should know what the Bible teaches
about Christ’s mission and ours. He should be
familiar with Jesus’ teachings in regard to the king-
dom, and should understand the Biblical and social
basis of missions. He should know what is the pur-
pose of the church, and the relation of its evangelis-
tic, educational, community service, and social work
to its great missionary objective.
Second, he should be familiar with the sources of |
missionary knowledge. Of course he should take.
and read his denominational missionary magazine,
and should also know and if possible have at hand
one or more interdenominational missionary jour-
44, Making a Missionary Church
nals. The current mission study-books and other
recent books on missions should be familiar by title _
and contents, and the principal ones he should read.
He should know what missionary books and period-
icals are available in the public library. The pam-
phlet literature should be well-known to him, and
missionary catalogs should be on his study table.
In fine, he ought to be an authority on missionary
‘literature, and be able to tell his people just where
to get information of all kinds on missions.
Third, the great names of missionary history
should be familiar to him, the names of mission-
aries and the names of mission fields. A few names
out of the premodern period should be known, like
Francis Xavier and Raymund Lull, and the out-
standing names of the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, such as Carey, Eliot, Martyn, Mills, Mof-
fat, Livingstone, Duff, Judson, and others. Names
of countries, like India, Turkey, Egypt, Burma, etc.,
should mean not only political events and strange
customs, but also achievements in the progress of
the kingdom. Other lesser known mission fields, for
example, Uganda, should also be known. ‘And, of
course, he should be thoroughly familiar with the
missions and living missionaries of his own denomi-
nation.
- Fourth, he ought to be acquainted with the dif-
‘ferent forms and methods of work in both foreign
and home fields, and the conditions of life that call
for these various kinds of work.
Fifth, he should understand the principal features _
of the non-Christian faiths, so as to appreciate the
problems faced by the missionary and to realize the
The Training of the Pastor 45
great gift which we have for the people of those
lands in Christianity.
Sixth, he ought to know the objectives and aims
of modern missions, foreign and home, especially
the changed missionary appeal of more recent years.
Seventh, he should know thoroughly the work that
has been done and that needs to be done in the fields
of his own denomination.
Eighth, he should be somewhat familiar with in-
terdenominational missionary movements and work,
and the relation of his own denomination to them.
Ninth, he should know his own denominational
mission boards, their officers, the location of their
headquarters, and the missionary plans and pro-
gram of the denomination.
Tenth, he should be acquainted with the best
methods of missionary education, the most success-
ful plans for securing money for missions, and the
best plans suggested for organizing a church for its
missionary task.
Eleventh, he ought to know thoroughly the mis-
sion field of his immediate vicinity, the foreign or
neglected populations, the work being done for them,
the resources of his own church for service among
them, and the possibilities of mission work for and
with them.
A Course of Mission Study for the Pastor
The above statement of what a pastor should know
of missions suggests the importance of his laying
out a definite course of study in missions. The pro-
gressive pastor will always be studying, and as we
have seen above, his training in missions ought to be
46 Making a Missionary Church
continuous. He should map out each year a course
of reading and study, and though his time will be
limited, he cannot hope to be a leader in the great —
world-ranging kingdom enterprise of the church
unless he stedfastly and assiduously studies missions.
Let every young minister especially note this, and
plan his time so as to become a world leader. _
If the theological seminary has given him proper
‘preparation in missions, the pastor ought to find
in the courses pursued there suggestions enough
for his study and reading from year to year. Those
courses at the minimum should have included: (1)
a survey of the missionary problem of the church—
the Biblical and social basis of missions, the ex-
tent and quality of the Christianization of the vari-
ous countries of the world, the religious and social
forces opposed to Christianity, the work to be done,
and the resources available for the task; and (2) a
study of the principles and methods by which a
church may be educated to its missionary task and
may be led in the fulfilment of the task. Pursuing
further the studies thus begun, the following outline
may be helpful:
1. Current missionary history, from denomina-
tional and interdenominational periodicals.
2. Missionary teaching of the Bible, studied in con-
nection with sermon preparation, and also devotion-
ally and historically; important in order to keep to
the front in the pastor’s thinking the fundamental
missionary purpose in Christianity.
3. Religious and social conditions in mission
fields; current mission-study text-books and other ’
more solid books.
The Training of the Pastor 47
4, Non-Christian religions; one religion may be
considered each year.
5. Modern missionary problems; read especially
the International Review of Missions.
A Missionary Survey of the Church
In order to insure a thorough missionary educa-
tion of his church and the most effective organiza-
tion of the church’s resources for its missionary
task, the pastor needs to know what those resources
are. A study of the church should be made from .
the point of view of the church’s missionary ideal »
and purpose, and the various points of strength or
weakness noted down.
(1) What does the church know about missions? .
This is the first question for answer. Is missionary
teaching given in the Sunday school? If so, in what
grades? Is the subject an integral part of the curri-
culum, or is it taught only occasionally, or as a
supplementary study? What are the specific sub-
jects of missions included in the curriculum—in
other words, how much does an adult member of
the church who has been through the Sunday school
know about the basis, obligations, methods, achieve-
ments, workers, fields, needs, and possibilities of mis-
sions? What attention is the young people’s society \\
giving to the subject? Is there a study class or
are there reading groups? Is it one of the sub-
jects for the devotional meetings of the society? If
so, how often is it presented? What are the specific
topics, and how effective are the methods for in-
structing the members? The women’s society needs
to be considered in the same way. What methods
48 Making a Missionary Church
are employed in giving missionary information?
What subjects are presented, and how effectively?
Then what about the men? Are any efforts being |
made to bring adequately to their attention the facts
of Christ’s expanding kingdom, to make them ac-
quainted with the names and work of the great mis-
sionary statesmen, to understand the motives, pre-
sent-day objectives and methods of missions, and to
appreciate the attractiveness of the bigness of the
task and the compelling obligation for missionary
gifts, prayer, and service upon every loyal servant
of Christ? Are the opportunities offered by other
organizations in the church, such as Boy Scouts,
Camp Fire Girls, etc., being taken advantage of to |
tie up young life to the Christian world crusade, and
to turn in this direction the enthusiasms awakened
by the special purposes of these organizations?
Moreover, what are the resources in leadership?
What members are qualified by education, experi-
ence, or native ability to teach or to organize? Also
what instruction in missions is given to the church
at large by the pastor in Sunday sermons or mid-
week services? Make a list of the subjects thus
presented during the past two years. Finally, how
many of the church-members are learning anything
about missions, and how would you estimate the mis-
sionary knowledge of the church as a whole?
(2) To what extent are the prayer resources of ,
the church organized for missions? Clearly this in- | ~
volves more than occasional prayers, and more
than vague, general, unintelligent praying. How
often is prayer offered for missions or missionaries
in the public services of the church, and what specific
The Training of the Pastor 49
subjects or persons have been thus mentioned in the
last year? What plans are followed to enlist the
members of the church in missionary prayer? Are
definite plans and efforts made to give a basis of
intelligent information to the missionary prayers
of the church, and to make missionary praying in-
teresting? What proportion of the church probably
include missions in their private prayers? How
would you estimate the effectiveness of the church’s
prayer life?
(3) Is the missionary giving of the church ade-
quate, and to what extent is it organized on a
thoroughgoing and intelligent basis? What are the
methods of missionary giving? Is there an annual
every-member canvass, and is it thoroughly organ-
ized and followed up? What preparations are made
to secure intelligent giving? To what causes are
gifts made? Are the financial plans of the denomi-
nation followed? What extra-denominational causes
are included? Does the giving adequately represent
the financial resources of the members, considering
the individual members or groups? What instruc-
tion is given in stewardship? How many tithers are
there? Is systematic effort made to enlist members
in proportionate giving? About what proportion
of the income of the members is given to church ex-
penses and beneficence, and how is this divided be-
tween the two? Are all the various organizations
and groups in the church reached by instruction in
the principles of stewardship, and are they all in-
cluded in the plans for missionary giving? If not
all, what groups are omitted and why? How many
members are giving regularly to missions, and what
20 Making a Missionary Church
proportion does this number represent? What are
the probable causes for lack of giving on the part —
of those not participating?
(4) What practical missionary work is believe
done by the members of the church? This includes
work in the church’s community and help to home
and foreign missionaries other than financial gifts
and prayer. Has a survey been made of the com-
munity with reference to alien populations and their
missionary needs and possibilities? What nationali-
ties are represented in the community? What re-
ligious work is being done for them and how
thoroughly are they being reached? What is the
church doing in this service, and how many members —
are thus engaged? What kinds of work are possible
among those not being reached, and what members
of the church are qualified for these different lines
of work? What are various groups or individual
members doing to assist missionaries in more dis-
tant fields? What special abilities have members
which could be put to account in this way?
These questions will suggest the scope of the sur-
vey which the pastor needs to make—partly through
others—of the resources of his church with regard
to its missionary program.
The Missionary Study of the Bible
Doctor Ashmore, of China, used to speak of his
“missionary Bible,” meaning the Bible as it was
interpreted to him by his missionary experience.
He had found that the Bible was throughout a mis-_
sionary book, and had a new meaning when under-
stood in the light of its fundamental missionary
The Training of the Pastor ol
message. If the pastor thinks of himself as organ-
izer and leader of a missionary force, which is work- *
ing at the same task as the missionary, to estab-
lish Christ’s world kingdom, then his Bible, like that
of the missionary, will be a ‘‘ missionary Bible.”
The Bible is the chief text-book in the pastor’s
training, as it is his chief source-book for the mes-
sages and teaching he gives to his people. He should
be continually studying it from the missionary,,
point of view. Here we use the term “ mission-_
ary ” in its broadest meaning, including evangelism,
Christian service, and the Christianizing of all non-
Christian peoples and unchristian human relations.
Of course, he will not neglect the study of the Bible’s
teaching as to personal religion, but he must not
stop with that. The active, aggressive, crusading
side of Christianity must be to the fore in his de-
votional study, his sermon preparation, his general
study.\ He should be seeking in the Bible continually
new illustrations of the missionary spirit in religion,
new phases of missionary teaching, and the broader
aspects of our mission as revealed in God’s Word.
Pastors, no less than others, are in danger of over-
looking this side of the Bible’s teaching, especially
the more definitely missionary teachings. The needs
of the church and the community press hard upon
the pastor’s thought and sympathy, and he is liable
to give these the first consideration, relegating the
study of the missionary aspects of Christianity to
second place. But the missionary aspect of our re-
ligion is always primary— its universality is its
fundamental and characteristic quality—and the
reiterated emphasis of repeated study is necessary
52 Making a Missionary Church
if a pastor is not to preach a smaller gospel than
Christ proclaimed and to work for a narrower king-
dom than the kingdom of Christ’s ambitious pro-—
gram. Nor is the missionary teaching of the Bible
confined to the New Testament. In the Psalms, in
Isaiah and other prophets, and in other books, will
be found a rich store of suggestion for the pastor’s
thought and a fund of texts for his missionary
preaching and teaching. Reference to books like
those listed at the end of this chapter will be helpful.
The Changing Missionary Problem
The pastor who would be efficient and up-to-date
in his leadership of his church in its world task must -
be alert to the changing missionary problem. There
are new forces at work in the social, political, eco-
nomic, and religious life of the peoples we are at-
tempting to reach with the gospel, new elements in
the meaning of the kingdom of God are receiving
recognition, new relations are opening between de-
nominations, new methods of work and of adminis-
tration are being used, and the whole objective of
the missionary enterprise is different, or at least _
differently expressed, from that of former days. Ay
new missionary apologetic is necessary. A new mis-—
sionary appeal is possible. The pastor who is un-
acquainted with these modern phases of the mission-
ary problem will be confused by many things that
he hears and reads, and will find difficulty in enter-
ing heartily and intelligently into the missionary
plans of his denomination. He is liable to be led
astray by reactionary men, and his appeals, teach-’
ings, and plans will fail to attract and enlist the
The Training of the Pastor oe
younger, more progressive and better-educated mem-
bers of his congregation. To understand missions
he must understand it in terms of today, not as he
learned it twenty-five years ago.
The following are some of the new elements in‘
the changing missionary problem to which the live
pastor will give attention: (1) The new nationalism
powerfully affecting all life in such countries as
India, Egypt, China, etc.; (2) the rapidly growing
industrial life, such as is appearing in India, China
and elsewhere; (3) the new interest in Christian
social service which is revealing itself in work at
home and abroad; (4) the cooperation between de-
nominations in both the home and the foreign field;
(5) decentralization in foreign mission administra-
tion; (6) enlarged emphasis on native leadership;
(7) development of education among peoples of mis-
sion lands by schools and universities and by in-
creased reading and travel; (8) recognition of good
elements in native religious and social life which are
helpful in the missionary’s work of building up a
Christian national life. Just to list these—and
others might be added—will show the need of study
by the pastor, of training for his missionary task.
To most men who have been in the ministry for
some time these are strange themes. Their very
words are unfamiliar. They cannot be mastered in
a few moments, or a few days, but they are all live
subjects in missions, related directly to the new
political, social, economic, and religious conditions
that are affecting all life at home and abroad. And, |
if a pastor is to speak with a twentieth-century ac-
cent, and correctly interpret to his people the great
P. hen
=
54 Making a Missionary Church
missionary enterprise in which he and they are en-
gaged, he must certainly know that enterprise as
it is conducted today, not as it was in his childhood,
The latest books will give him some of the informa-
tion he needs, but the magazines, especially the In-
ternational Review of Missions, The Missionary
Review of the World, and his own denominational
periodical, together with direct correspondence with
missionaries and addresses by board secretaries,
must be looked to for the up-to-date information
which he needs. Mention should also be made of
the annual reports of the Foreign Missions Confer-
ence of North America and the Home Missions Coun-
cil, which are most illuminating along this line. |
Some of the latest mission study-books are very help-
ful, and most boards issue pamphlets dealing with
some of the subjects referred to. But however and
wherever he gets his information, he must get it,
for altogether too many pastors are quite out-of-
date in their knowledge of missionary problems, and
his church, and the missionaries who represent him,
have a right to expect that he will intelligently and
adequately interpret to his people the world task
in which they are engaged.
Learning His Denomination’s Missionary Work
If a prospective pastor has had the opportunities
he should have had and has taken advantage of
them, he should come to his work pretty well in-
formed about the fields, methods, and missionaries |
of his denomination. For inadequate as is the mis- »
Sionary preparation given the student for the pas-
torate in almost any theological seminary, books and
The Training of the Pastor D0
magazines and voluntary mission study-classes are
available, as well as frequent missionary addresses.
Yet what a pastor learned in those delightful days
back in the seminary will not suffice him now. What
he learned was principally the sources of knowl-
edge and the lines along which he should direct his
study. And to know what his denomination is now
doing he must continually read and study.
Whatever else he knows in the field of missions, _,
he must know the missionary work of his own de- “
nomination. The missionary plan of his church will
be built upon that work, and the immediate interest
of his members will be in the fields and mission-
aries of their own denomination. (1) First of all,
the names of missionaries in both the foreign and
the home fields should be familiav to him. The
pioneers and later leaders should be like household
names. And likewise the names of living workers
should be well known. When any country is men-
tioned in which his denomination has work, certain
names should naturally spring into mind. (2)
These names ought to suggest the particular work
those leaders did or are doing. They should be more
than words; they should stand for a whole life-story,
definite achievements, and specific forms of work.
In other words, a pastor ought to know what the
mission boards of his denomination have done and
are doing. (3) This involves a knowledge of the
fields of work. Countries that are strange to most
men should be familiar to him, and the names of
mission stations should bring up mental pictures
of those places from the descriptions and illustra-
tions with which he has made himself familiar. He
26 Making a Missionary Church
should be so well acquainted with the principal ones
that he can describe them to his people. In that
way he can make the stories from the mission field —
live and can fill with vivid interest the experiences
and problems of the missionaries. (4) The pastor
ought also certainly to be thoroughly familiar with
the missionary organization of his denomination—
the mission boards, their relation to the churches,
the officers, address of the offices, etc. Suggestions
are given elsewhere on the means of securing and
maintaining the missionary knowledge a pastor
should have.? All means available should be used to
learn and know continually the work of his own
denomination.
How the Seminaries Can Help
In the training of the pastors for missionary
leadership the theological seminaries could render
a service of incalculable value. Weare not referring
here to prospective pastors, but to those already in
charge of churches. Some are long out of the semi-
nary, and a very large number were never in semi-
nary at all. Every pastor, whether poorly trained
or well trained, would profit by the right kind of
help from a seminary. To bring to the leaders of
the churches the best results of the studies of ex-
perts, with stimulating suggestions for their thought
and study, and practical help for their missionary
plans, would increase the value of the seminaries to
the churches more than a hundredfold. |
One thing that the missionary department of a~|
seminary could do is to send out at intervals to +.
2See Chap. IX, “ Keeping Informed.” |
The Training of the Pastor o7
the pastors of the churches of its constituency sug-
gestions for their missionary reading. What are the
latest books on India, or China, or the Negro, or
foreign-speaking Americans? Many pastors do not
have access to book lists and do not know the most
recent books. Others receive book lists or see
books mentioned in denominational periodicals, but
have to choose and would like to know the best
books. Moreover, titles do not mean much; to have
a description and estimate of the best books on
various fields and various subjects, with the author-
ity not of the publishers but of an impartial teacher
and missionary leader, would be welcomed by very
many pastors. Along with a list of books could go
references to articles in current magazines bearing’ ‘
on missions or on events in the world’s life that have
a meaning to the kingdom of God. Many such
articles are not labeled with missionary titles, and
many events of far-reaching importance to the mis-
sionary enterprise of the church are not seen in
that relation by the ordinary reader of the daily
newspaper; professors of missions can here render
an important service to pastors by descriptive or
explanatory notes in a bulletin such as we have de-
scribed. Some seminaries, it should be noted, are
doing noteworthy work in publishing book lists
related to the work of different departments; but
there is room for a special service along the line of
missions.
In this connection a second suggestion may be |
made: Missionary books could be loaned to the pas- >
tors, or selected libraries of books could be loaned to
churches. This is a plan already in operation in
58 Making a Missionary Church
connection with some seminaries, and one which is
greatly appreciated. Most pastors cannot afford |
to buy many books, but a loan plan would put in
their hands the best books recommended by the
seminaries.
A third way in which seminaries could help the ~
pastors is by missionary institutes. Institutes are
now conducted from time to time by the denomi-
national boards, and interdenominational institutes
are held in the summer at certain points, but the
seminaries play little part in them. Institutes
fostered directly by the seminary, with no connec-
tion with the denominational campaign or program
but for educational purposes only, would be most
valuable. Lessons could well be learned from the
methods of the agricultural departments of the
State colleges and universities, whose extension
work is so large and valuable a part of their service
to their constituency. Mission boards ought also to
make larger use of teachers of missions in the semi-
naries in institutes, conferences, and public meetings
arranged by them.
The Pastor’s Missionary Library
His library is the principal part of the pastor’s
working equipment, and no pastor’s library, how-
ever small, is complete without a section devoted to
missions. He needs at least a few judiciously
selected books to furnish him with the information
and suggestion he continually needs for his sermons,
addresses, prayers, etc. If his church does not have
a missionary library he can also make good use of —
his own in helping members in their part of the
The Training of the Pastor 59
church missionary plans. But the primary value
of his library of missionary books is for himself.
If he believes in the church’s missionary purpose
and is endeavoring to build and maintain a mission-
ary church, he will be continually referring to those
of his books that deal with missions. They will be
consulted as frequently as his commentaries, or his
Bible histories, or his books on Sunday-school work,
and a great deal oftener than most of his books.
His missionary library is indispensable.
What sort of books ought a pastor to have in his
missionary library? Some kinds are more important
than others, but the following subjects may be rep-__ .
resented: Missionary principles, including the mis- ©
sionary interpretation of the Bible; description of
mission fields and peoples, such as the text-books
published by the Missionary Education Movement,
though these should also be supplemented by more
advanced works; missionary methods, as for ex-
ample education, medical work, or industrial mis-
sions; non-Christian religions, at least one good
work on the history of religion or describing the
religions of mission fields; missionary biography,
which should be liberally represented, and here the
field is wide and the product rich; Christian
stewardship, on which there are a few good books;
and the home base of missions, methods and plans
in the local church, a subject which despite the vig-
orous attention it is receiving has a literature still
quite incomplete and fragmentary. Added to the
above might be one or two reference works like the
World Atlas of Christian Missions or the Encyclo-
peedia of Religion and Ethics. One or two mission-
60 Making a Missionary Church
ary and travel magazines should be included, for ex-
ample, one’s denominational missionary periodical,
the International Review of Missions, The Mission-
ary Review of the World, the National Geographic
Magazine, and Asia. The choice of books is almost
unlimited, and most pastors will be compelled to
make their missionary library much smaller than
they would like. A few books to begin with, then
a few careful purchases each year, will give a practi-
cal working library for the church’s missionary
leader. In selecting books for reading and pur-
chase the Ten Years’ Selected International Mis- —
sionary Bibliography in the International Review of
Missions for January, 1922, will be found extremely
helpful, as also the Selected Bibliography of Mis-
sionary Literature (Student Volunteer Movement,
1920). Both need to be supplemented by reviews in
the International Review of Missions and other mis-
sionary periodicals. And one’s library needs to be
continually replenished ; for example, a book on India
published ten years ago is quite out of date now.
Buy a few books, but buy the best and buy some
each year.
Missions and the Pastor’s Broadening Mental Outlook
The pastor who does not grow is doomed to failure.
And among other elements in his growth should be
a widening of his mental outlook, a broadening of the |
horizon of his thought. Here missions can help him ‘|
greatly. No pastor can fail to profit by the contri-
bution to his thought given by his missionary studies,
and no pastor can afford to miss this contribution. °
The study of other lands and peoples gives a better
The Training of the Pastor 61
understanding of human nature, tends to break down
the prejudices of race and nationality, and helps
to give that cosmopolitan spirit which a Christian
leader should have. Biography of representative
men and women of other races is especially illumi-
nating and broadening in its concrete introduc-
tion to their thoughts and attitudes. Studying the
problems of the missionaries and the native churches ~
leads one’s thought out to new conditions and needs,
and helps one to see the meaning and perhaps the
solution of one’s own problems. For example, the
study of cooperative movements in mission fields is \
bound to affect the pastor’s attitude toward inter- \
denominational relations at home. The very big-
ness and breadth of the missionary enterprise is
stimulating to largeness of ideas and broadness of
thought. If there were no need of a minister’s
studying missions for its own sake, he needs to study
the subject continually for his own sake, for the
broadening mental outlook it will give him.
Missions and the Pastor’s Deepening Spiritual Life
Nothing will stimulate the pastor’s spiritual life
more vigorously than to enter intimately into the
experiences of the missionaries, home and foreign.
These experiences are a veritable mine of wealth,
inexhaustible in their contribution to every one who
will explore them. Your faith will take a new grip
as you read the story of Judson waiting seven years
for his first convert, or the workers of the China
Inland Mission praying for a hundred recruits and
then holding a praise service to thank God for the
answer they were sure he would give. Your loyalty
62 Making a Missionary Church
will burn with rekindled fire after you become ac-
quainted with some of the splendid young men and
women who are offering themselves for missionary
service and read the story of their triumph over
selfish ambitions and the call of home. Your
love will glow with more Christlike unselfishness in-
spired by the loving minisele of missionaries in
hospital and home. Your zeal will fire you with new
ambitions for the kingdom when you read of Henry
Martyn or David Livingstone or Raymund Lull. The
story of the advancing kingdom and the biographies
of missionaries in all lands and all forms of the
Christian faith are a'choice possession of the church. ,
The pastor’s daily devotional life will be richly re- \_
warded by such reading, and his library should be
receiving additions constantly of books dealing with
the achievements of missions and the life and charac-
ter of missionaries. Thus he will be receiving that
training of heart which above all others will fit him
for his great missionary task.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
J. R. Mott, “ The Pastor and Modern Missions.”
Student Volunteer Movement. 50 cents.
G. A. Miller, “ Missionary Morale.” Methodist Book
Con. $1.00.
SEE PAGE 46
A. Current Missionary History
E. C. Moore, “ The Spread of Christianity in the ©
Modern World.”’ Chicago University Press. $2.25.
The Training of the Pastor 63
“The International Review of Missions” (quar-
terly). New York. $2.50.
“The Missionary Review of the World ” (monthly).
New York. $2.50.
“The Moslem World.” New York. $1.25.
C. H. Robinson, ‘‘ History of Christian Missions.”
Charles Scribner’s Sons. $3.50.
B. Missionary Teaching of the Bible
W. O. Carver, “ The Bible a Missionary Message.”
F. H. Revell Co. $1.50.
H. B. Montgomery, ‘‘ The Bible and Missions.”’ Cent.
Committee. 40 and 60 cents.
D. J. Fleming, “‘ Marks of a World Christian.” Asgsso-
ciation Press. $1.15.
R. F. Horton, “ The Bible a Missionary Book.” Pil-
grim Press. $1.00.
C. Conditions in Mission Fields
W. H. P. Faunce, “ Social Aspects of Foreign Mis-
sions.” Missionary Education Movement. 40 and
60 cents.
D. J. Fleming, “ Building with India.” Missionary
Education Movement.” 50 and 75 cents.
G. M. Fisher, ‘‘ Creative Forces in Japan.” Mis-
sionary Education Movement. 50 and 75 cents.
C. H. Patton, ‘‘ World Facts and America’s Respon-
sibility.” Association Press. $1.00.
P.S. Reinsch, “‘ Intellectual and Political Currents in
the Far East.” Houghton Mifflin Publishing Co.
$3.00.
D. J. Fleming, “ Contacts with Non-Christian Cul-
tures.” Student Volunteer Movement. $1.25.
64 Making a Missionary Church
R. W. Babson, “ New Tasks for Old Churches.”
F. H. Revell Co. $1.00.
S. G. Inman, “‘ Problems of Dar Airamearnarnid As-
sociation Press. $2.00.
K. L. Butterfield, “The Country Church and the
Rural Problem.” University of Chicago Press.
$1.25. ;
H. O. Belknap, “‘ The Church on the Changing Fron-
tier.” George H. Doran Co. $2.50. |
G. E. E. Lindquist, “The Red Man in the United
States.” George H. Doran Co. $3.50.
G. E. Haynes, ‘‘ The Trend of the Races.” Mission-
ary Education Movement. 50 and 75 cents.
J. 5. Stowell, “ A Study of Mexicans and Spanish-
Americans in the United States.” Home Missions
Council. Paper, 50 cents.
D. Non-Christian Religions
EK. D. Soper, ‘‘ The Religions of Mankind.” Metho-
dist Book Con. $3.00.
G. A. Barton, “The Religions of the World.”
University of Chicago Press. $2.25.
Sidney Cave, “ An Introduction to the Study of Some
Living Religions of the East.”’ Charles Scribner’s
Sons. $1.75.
Mrs. C. A. F. Rhys Davids, “ Buddhism, a Study of
the Buddhist Norm.” Henry Holt Publishing Co.
90 cents.
J. N. Farquhar, “ A Primer of Hinduism.” Oxford
University Press. $1.20.
J. M. DeGroot, “‘ The Religion of the Chinese.” Mac- |
millan Co. $1.25.
The Training of the Pastor 65
D. S. Margoliouth, ‘‘ Mohammedanism.” Putnam
Publishing Co. $2.50.
W. G. Aston, “Shinto (the Way of the Gods).”
Longman Green Co. $2.20.
K. J. Saunders, “ Buddhism in the Modern World.”
Oxford University Press. $1.50.
E. Modern Missionary Problems
“The Missionary Outlook in the Light of the War.”
Association Press. $2.25.
“The International Review of Missions” (quar-
terly). New York. $2.50.
A. E. Garvie, “The Missionary Obligation in the
Light of the Changes in Modern Thought.”
George H. Doran Co. 75 cents.
R. E. Speer, ‘The Gospel and the New World.”
F. H. Revell Co. $2.00.
H. P. Douglass, ‘‘ The New Home Missions.”’ Asso-
ciation Press. 60 cents.
IV
THE TRAINING OF CHURCH OFFICERS
Success Depends on Church Leaders
A pastor must have the hearty cooperation of the
officers of his church in every program which he ex-
pects to succeed. He will not think of undertaking\ ’
an evangelistic campaign without the hearty back-
ing of his official board. If he is forming plans for
the reorganization of the church school, he will make
sure of their understanding and support. Full
success cannot be expected without the cooperation
of his church leaders. This is equally true with re-
gard to the missionary plans of the church. The
men and women making up the official board and
occupying other official positions are in general
chosen because of their ability and good judgment,
and have an influence commensurate with their posi-
tions. They can help mightily in making the church
a strong force for the kingdom of God throughout
the whole world, or by opposition or even indiffer-
ence they can thwart the aggressive missionary pro-
gram of the pastor and make the church provincial
in its outlook and narrow in its effort. Every pastor
should remember this: the support of the church
officers is essential to success.
Their Knowledge and Interest Cannot Be Assumed
More’s the pity! But it is a fact. There are ©
plenty of men and women who are leaders of the
66
The Training of Church Officers 67
church, who do not know whither they are leading \~
it, or what leadership in a church means. They are
sincere enough and have plenty of earnestness, but
their zeal is not according to knowledge. They have
never been trained. They have not given thought
to the question of the real objective and mission of
the church. They see in general the need in the
community for the message and service of the
church, and sense the varied opportunities among
the people close at hand, but they have not had their
attention directed to the larger world in which they
and the church live. They have not looked out into
the great world lying beyond, and realized its sin
and ignorance and superstition and degradation and
sorrow. A church leader, whatever his office, ought
first of all to know the grand world mission of his
church. Then he can properly relate his own par-
ticular work to the church’s great objective and pur-
pose.
The First Work of the Pastor Is to Train His Church
Officers
So the first thing for a pastor to do who wants
to see his church fulfilling its mission to the world
is to train the officers of the church. He can be
training the members at the same time, but at any
rate he must be training his officers. No amount of
missionary enthusiasm in the pulpit or prayer-
meeting, no energy in the collection of funds, can
take the place of carefully planned, tactful, per-
sistent instruction of his associates in the leader-
ship of the church. Such enthusiasm and energy
may even arouse opposition on the part of some of
63 Making a Missionary Church
the leaders, who only need some instruction and
training to become eager supporters of the pastor’s
missionary plans. To train the deacons or trustees —
or elders or stewards may not be the easiest task
and may not promise so much satisfaction and
pleasure as some other parts of his program, but it
is the most rewarding, and may prove to be quite as
delightful as anything he undertakes. At any rate,
let him boldly set himself to the task, for the officers
of the church are the crux of the whole problem,
and the first step—and the second and the third and
the last, for he will need to keep it up—is to train ©
them in missions and in their missionary task and
that of the church.
Missionary Interest an Important Qualification for
Leadership ;
A leader in the work of the church ought to be
broad-minded, with a wide-ranging interest and a
knowledge of people outside his own class and coun-
try. He ought to be unselfish, seeking for the
highest good of others to the last man his help can
reach. He should be aggressive, eager to make the
kingdom of God a reality. He ought to be a man
of faith, believing in God’s purpose for the world
and fearing no obstacle to the progress of Christ’s
rule. He ought to be loving, sympathizing with
men’s needs everywhere and longing to have all men
know his own loving Father.
All these qualities are exemplified in one who has
the missionary spirit of Christ. In fact they are
the expression of missionary interest. In other‘
words, missionary interest is a qualification for ~
The Training of Church Officers 69
leadership in the church. Are leaders chosen with
this in mind? To ask the question is to answer it.
But if those who have a right to occupy such posi-
tions of trust will study their work as leaders in
the church, and the special task that is theirs, they
will be likely to be convinced that they should know
the missionary work of the church in its many varied
relations. / The pastor can do a good deal to gather
around him men and women who will enter sym-
pathetically and energetically into his mission-
ary plans by preaching occasionally on the quali-
ties that a church leader should have, and especially
by pointing these out to the church before selection
is made of any who are to hold official position.
Then those with missionary outlook will be chosen.
At least those who are chosen will be more readily
persuaded to train themselves to lead in the far-
ranging missionary task of their church.
What Trained Officers Can Do
This is a subject that might be enlarged upon with
reference to the whole. work of the church. But
here we confine it to what officers who are trained
in missionary principles, knowledge, and practise
can do in forwarding the unified missionary plan of
the church. A church leader who has been trained, ,
in missions can help greatly in making the mission-/*
ary plan itself. He knows the church and its mem-
bers and resources better, in some ways, than the
pastor. He can look at the problem from a different
angle, and bring his own experience and reading to
bear upon the problem of laying out the church’s
world plan. This he will do only if he knows some-
70 Making a Missionary Church
thing of missions and can think in terms of the
world kingdom. Then too, he can lead off in carry-—
ing out some of the important details of the plan,\
such as missionary education, the development of
prayer, or the stimulating of giving. And in local
community missionary work he can take his part,
he will help to secure recruits from the young
people of the church, and will be a tower of strength
behind the pastor as he leads the people forward
in their great task. No one can help the pastor so
much in the missionary work of the church as a
trained officer—trained to see things from the view-
point of Christ’s world kingdom.
Missions in the Official Board Meetings
The best opportunity for training the members of
the church board is in their regular meetings. There \
will be no objection there to almost anything the -
pastor may say, and what he does in that meeting
will seem almost a matter of course; while it may
be more difficult outside to carry through plans for
the missionary training of his leaders. If a pastor
has continually in the back of his mind the great
missionary purpose of the church and realizes the
importance of church officers who have a zealous
missionary spirit, he will not find it difficult to bring
the subject frequently into the meetings of the,
board. Only he must be tactful. All that he says \
and does must be so planned as to disarm criticism
and dispel prejudice. Again and again, let it be
said, Tact is absolutely necessary. The whole cam-
paign to win the church to-ageressive missionary
endeavor may be won or lost with the deacons or
The Training of Church Officers 71
elders or trustees. The pastor must move wisely
in the effort to win their support and to train them
as missionary leaders. But the fear that he may
antagonize some conservative, uninformed man must
not keep him from a vigorous, thorough effort. More
men fail by lack of effort than by misdirected ef-
fort. Most pastors are too timid. The officers of
the church will respond favorably to the pastor’s
appeal nine times out of ten—or ninety-nine out of
a hundred.
Missions in the Board’s Devotional Service
The easiest place to bring in missions, and the
most natural, is the brief devotional service with \
which every meeting of the board may be expected ”
to open. The Scripture may be some great mission-
ary passage like Isaiah 43 : 1-18; Isaiah 60; Micah
4: 1-5; Matthew 28: 16-20; Luke 10: 25-37;
John 3: 16-21 (note the universals ‘“ world,”
‘‘ whosoever,” ‘‘ every one”) ; John 12 : 20-36; Acts
1: 1-8; Acts 11°: 1-18; Romans 1; Revelation 2:
12-17; Revelation 3 : 7-18; Revelation 5: 1-9, and
many others. A word of comment will turn the
thought in the desired direction. Here is a good
chance to make it clear that the Bible is a mis-
sionary volume, that at least twenty-one of the
twenty-seven books of the New Testament are mis-
sionary books, and that even the Old Testament is
full of missionary teaching.
Prayer, too, gives a fine opportunity to turn the
thoughts toward the non-Christian parts of the
world. This should have good preparation, and
special reference should be made to countries or
12 Making a Missionary Church
events fresh in public thought that have an evident
relation to God’s redemptive plan for the world. It |
will be a good idea, perhaps, to call on members of
the board to pray, suggesting special objects of a
missionary character at home and abroad. By all
means let the pastor remember that the missionary
appeal is a spiritual one first of all, and let him
emphasize the subject in the devotional part of the
board meeting.
Discuss the Missionary Plan of the Church
The pastor should discuss with the church board
the missionary plan of the church, not only when
making up that plan, as suggested in Chapter II,
but at frequent intervals throughout the year. Do
not leave it entirely to the woman’s society, or the
missionary committee. The church board is re-
sponsible for all the work of the church, mission-
ary as well as evangelistic. The members of the
board will appreciate the recognition of their re-
sponsibility and will be likely to give serious atten-
tion to the subject when it is presented. Let the
pastor ask their advice on various details. Appeal
to their knowledge of missions. In some cases
there will be little knowledge, but the pastor can
assume that the members are informed, and they
will be quick to see how little they reaily do know.
A tactful suggestion by the pastor regarding the
importance of the church’s leaders being well
trained in what is its greatest task, will have good
effect. And the pastor in discussing the missionary |
work of the church can manage to give a good deal
of information to the members of the board.
The Training of Church Officers 73
Have Special Missionary Study
Meetings of the church board might frequently
be made more profitable to its members than is
generally the case, with corresponding profit to the
church. There are generally many matters to be
discussed relating to the church’s work, and the
time often seems all too short. Buta half hour spent
in study or discussion of some great theme or some
portion of the kingdom will be a great and often
much-needed education for the members of the
board and will give new interest to the meetings.
Among these. subjects none is more important or
more capable of being made thoroughly interesting \y
than missions. It will have the attraction of nov-
elty to many, it is full of human interest, and if
rightly handled, it will be fresh and invigorating
in its expansiveness and bigness. Care must be
taken, of course, not to make the interest of the
meetings one-sided or to have the pastor appear
to be a man of one idea, only see that missions is
given its full place. A point of contact might be-
found in a foreign population in the community,
or a mission field where a member of the church is
living or has lived. The visit of a missionary past
or prospective can be made the occasion for a study
of his field of work. The home and foreign mis-
sion subjects which are studied each year by
churches of practically all denominations will sug-
gest the importance of the church leaders being
well informed on the countries or topics suggested,
as the woman’s circle or the young people’s society
or the Sunday school or some other department of
74 Making a Missionary Church
the church will perhaps include these in their pro-
gram for the year; or at any rate denominational |
loyalty will give reason enough for some serious
consideration of subjects that are a part of the de-
nomination’s program. Events in the world’s life
that are closely connected with missionary activity,
like our relations with Mexico or Japan or Cuba, or
like the Smyrna outrage of 1922, give ample oppor-
tunity to point out the achievements, problems, and
opportunities for the kingdom in those parts of the
world. The material for missionary study in the
meetings of the church board is almost unlimited,
and a pastor who is awake to his opportunity and
to the vital importance of the church’s having well- —
informed leaders need not lack for SAY and
help.
A Special Class for Officers
A plan which has been used ELE is to
have a class or discussion group composed of the .,
officers of the church to study missions. The author
had such a class in one church which proved of keen
interest. The members frankly confessed their gen-
eral ignorance of the subject, and went into the
study of Arthur J. Brown’s book ‘‘ The Why and
How of Foreign Missions ” with the greatest avidity
and earnestness. Discussion was live, and the leader
was kept on his mettle in answering questions. The
pastor ought to conduct the class, and the number
of sessions be limited to six or eight. A book such
as the one mentioned, or others similar, may be.
studied, or a series of general themes taken up. A
fascinating course could be had on “ Missions in the
The Training of Church Officers 75
Newspapers,” considering the daily news in its re-
lation to the world kingdom of Jesus. Such a class
is exceedingly profitable, even though the member-
ship may be small. Attendance need not be limited
to members of the official church board, but should
include the superintendent and other officers of the
Bible school, the clerk, treasurer, financial secre-
tary, and others in official position in the church.
But make the class strictly an officers’ class, and
the element of exclusiveness will appeal. Treat the
subject from the point of view of the officers as
leaders in the work of Christ’s kingdom, and en-
courage plenty of discussion. The time of meeting
will be determined by local conditions. Introduc-
ing the social element will help in many cases, for
example, holding the sessions at the home of the
pastor or of one of the board members, with per-
haps light refreshments. The results accruing
from such a class (or call it a discussion group if
that is likely to bring better results) are likely to
be so great that the time and effort required to
organize and conduct it are well worth while.
Using Literature
The chapter on “ Keeping Informed” suggests
many ways of using printed matter effectively in
developing a missionary church. Missionary litera- .
ture ought not to be left to the woman’s society, as
so often is done, but be used to the fullest extent by
the pastor. And most valuable is its use in train-
ing the officers in missionary leadership. Take, for
example, the wide range of descriptive folders and
booklets, many of them most attractive in form
76 Making a Missionary Church
and well illustrated, put forth by the various de-
denominations. In most denominations there are
so many titles that a selection must be made to —
meet local needs and conditions. Having selected
what he thinks most effective for use in his church,
he should place the most important of these in
the hands of his officers. This he will need to do’
personally, with a word of explanation regarding
the various folders, and perhaps an enthusiastic de-
scription, in part, of one or two, leaving enough
untold to whet the appetite for the rest. It is cer-
tainly of the utmost importance that the church’s
officers be thoroughly informed on the denomina-
tional missionary program, and the least they can
do along this line—and by no means the least im-
portant—is to read some of the pamphlets describ-
ing the year’s plans. Besides the literature dealing
with the immediate program, there is a wealth
of folders, pamphlets, and booklets describing the
mission fields and work of the denomination. Some
of these are best suited to use by the women, some
by the Sunday school, but some will prove valuable
to the officers of the church. If the official board
devotes a period to missionary discussion or there
is an officers’ discussion group or class, the litera-
ture selected from this general group should be
related to the topics considered ; or the general home
and foreign mission subjects for the year may sug-
gest what is to be used. The pastor should go back
of these topics, however, and see that in the hands
of his officers is placed such literature as will lay
a foundation concerning missionary principles, the °
pioneers of missions, and the location and charac-
The Training of Church Officers 717
teristics of the mission fields of the denomination.
Books may be used in this connection, and the mis-
sionary magazine should be read. But the pastor
will of course, proceed tactfully and judiciously.
The chapter on “ Keeping Informed” will give
further suggestions.
Enlisting the Officers in Missionary Activity
Knowing without doing is worse than useless.
Impression without expression is dangerous. It is
important, as pointed out, to train and inform the
officers of the church in missions in order to give
strong backing and support to the pastor in carry-
ing out a worthy missionary plan in the church.
But to secure permanence of interest the officers \
must be enlisted in missionary activity themselves. ’
As leaders in the church, their influence upon others
will be an important factor in securing a general
participation in missionary service if they them-
selves are engaged in definite work for the cause.
And a further consideration is the special fitness
for missionary leadership which some of the offi-
cers—though not all—have as a result of their
training and experience. In choosing members for
special places of leadership and responsibility, in
Missions as in evangelism or education, those best
fitted should be selected, regardless of official posi-
tion. Too often a member is put in a position of
leadership simply because he or she is a good talker
and in this, or some other way, becomes prominent,
though no qualifications whatever exist for the work
suggested. It must be remembered, too, that one
may be well qualified for one position and not at
78 Making a Missionary Church
all qualified for another. So the fact that one is
an officer of the church or of one of its depart- -
ments is not a proof that one is fitted for special
leadership in the great missionary plans of the
church. But the training which we have suggested
that the church officers should have, coupled with
the influence their position gives, should make the
service of some of them of special effectiveness.
And particularly is it important that many of the
officers should be enlisted in definite missionary
work, in order to give a strong push to the mis-
sionary plans which they have recommended to
the church. Hardly anything will give greater im-
petus to these plans or assure more interest on the
part of the church than for the official leaders to.
take a prominent place in carrying out the plans.
What the officers and members of official boards
can do depends of course on individual -qualifica- |
tions, and the pastor needs to take the leadership in |
Soxpepitbors
seeing that the right selections are made. Among |
lines of work in which the church officers may share |
are the following: The church missionary committee,
as members or as chairman; the missionary com-
mittee of the Bible School; secretary of missionary
_ literature; leader of study class or discussion group;
missionary superintendent in the Bible School;
church benevolence treasurer; local missionary
work; missionary correspondent; and many others.
Training of Officers Must Be Continuous
Here we emphasize a most important thing in —
the training of the church’s leaders in missions: it
must not be given once only, or be intermittent,
The Training of Church Officers 19
but must be continuous. New members will ap-
pear on the official board from time to time, and
these will need instruction and training. Sugges-
tions and training need repetition; once is not
enough. Moreover, everything cannot be learned
in a few weeks. As the pastor should be contin-
ually studying the principles, methods, and achieve-
ments of missions, so likewise his associates need
continually to be enlarging their knowledge, stimu-
lating their interest, and learning methods of mis-
sionary work. There is more in the Bible than can
be discovered in a lifetime of study, and there is
more in the great missionary enterprise of the
church than can be learned in the longest term of
an officer’s service. Variety in method must be
followed by the pastor, new approaches of interest
must be found, and tactfulness must be an unvarying
characteristic; but he must be persistent and pa-
tient, and remember that the full success of his
missionary plans and of the world-wide endeavor
of the church depend in very large measure upon the
attitude, knowledge, and skill of his official asso-
ciates. No effort is too great to secure for the
church a corps of well-trained officers and leaders.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
F. A. Agar, “ Church Officers.” F. H. Revell Co.
75 cents.
F. A. Agar, “ The Deacon at Work.” The Ameri-
can Baptist Publication Society. $1.00.
V
THE TRAINING OF PARENTS
What Have Parents to Do with Missionary Education?
We have grown so accustomed to leaving the
education of children to the public school and the
Bible school that we have pretty nearly forgotten
the relation of parents to the problem. As a mat-
ter of fact, even a child’s secular education depends
a good deal on the encouragement or coaching given
by the parents. And religious education offers op-
portunities for home training that are not at all
possible in the Bible school. So, too, missionary |
education cannot be given entirely in the Bible )
school or other departments of the church, but de-/
pends largely on the home.
The general attitude of the parents affects the
interest of the children in missions. If the latter
hear father or mother say, ‘‘I don’t believe in mis-
sions,” they naturally discount what they hear on
the subject in church. If they never see a missionary
magazine or book at home, it is hard to get them
interested in such reading. If the parents give
nothing to missions the children are likely to know
it and to grow up with selfish ideas on the use of |
money. The children’s attitude toward the world S
and the kingdom of Christ will, ten chances to
one, be the attitude of father and mother.
On the other hand, parents have an unequaled *
opportunity to instruct and influence their children
80 ,
The Training of Parents 81
so. that they will take a kingdom view of things and
relate their lives unselfishly to the world. The books
given to the children, the talk around the table,
the division of the church offerings, the attending
of missionary meetings, correspondence with mis-
sionaries—these and other things give almost un-
limited opportunity to turn the children’s thoughts
toward the great needy world and to set the current
of their lives in the direction of unselfish mission-
ary service for their fellows everywhere. Some of
the ways in which the home can help in the mis-
sionary plan of the church are suggested in this
chapter.
How the Church Is Responsible
Parents have a great opportunity to give their
children a world outlook. But the church is re- .
sponsible for giving the parents themselves such |
a world outlook. And when you pause to consider
what an opportunity parents have, and how funda-
mental in importance is the home and its attitude,
you begin to realize what a responsibility the church
has to see that every home is pervaded by the mis-
sionary spirit and that every parent is well-in-
formed on the facts of missions. Every church
has a tendency to limit its plans and activities to
what goes on in the church building—the public
meetings of the church and its various departments
and organizations. As a matter of fact it should in- |
clude in its outreach all the relationships of all.
its members. This certainly takes in the homes.
Every pastor ought to consider the homes of the
church in all his missionary plans. The official
82 Making a Missionary Church
board—deacons, elders, stewards, etc.—should fre-
quently review the conditions in the homes as re- |
lated to the missionary objective of the church.
The Bible school ought to have a curriculum broad
enough to provide instruction for parents in the
training of their children in the whole purpose and
plan of Christianity. And organizations like the
women’s society and the men’s brotherhood have a
special opportunity for considering at first-hand the
problems and privileges of mothers and fathers. In
building a missionary church the full and adequate
training of parents for their task of missionary
leadership of the children must not be overlooked.
The Message of the Pulpit to Parents
This subject is considered more especially in the
next chapter, but a few words are in place here.
Most of a minister’s preaching is directed to grown-
ups, the majority of whom perhaps are parents.
Instead of preaching so exclusively on personal re-
ligion, why not take advantage of the presence of.
the parents and suggest to them their opportunities |
and responsibilities as leaders of their children in
the great world program of the church. In the
pulpit the preacher speaks with authority, and is
listened to with sympathetic attention, and he
should not let this chance pass to hold before the
fathers and mothers of his congregation their high
privilege and unique opportunity. He can point
out what the Bible teaches about the limitless appli-
cation of the gospel, the missionary objective of,
the church, the critical importance of childhood
and adolescence, and the accountability of parents,
The Training of Parents 83
and he can make practical suggestions for applying
these principles in the home. By all means let no
minister neglect to speak a missionary message to
the parents from his pulpit and do his utmost there
to lay a foundation for their training in the great
cause for which supremely the church exists.
The Pastor’s Message in the Home
In his visits to the homes of his people, the pastor
has the opportunity of enforcing and applying the
teachings he has presented in his sermons on Sun-
day. He can turn the conversation in almost any
direction—why not toward missions and the re- |
lation of father and mother to this greatest work
of the church? To do this he must himself be well
informed on the missionaries and missionary facts.
A reference can easily be brought in to some inci-
dent or some missionary, and a story well told
will stick in the minds of his hearers. This may
readily open the way for a few words about the
church’s world mission and some suggestions for
practical work. An attractive folder or pamphlet
bearing on some phase of the world situation or
relating to some part of the denominational pro-
gram can be carried in the pocket and used effec-
tively. And both young and old will be interested
to read a good missionary book if well described
and recommended by the pastor. The personal
word of the minister in his visits to the homes of
his people or in his conversations with his mem-
bers on the street or elsewhere are likely to go
farther than anything he says to the whole con-
gregation from the pulpit. Here he has an oppor-
84 Making a Missionary Church
tunity not to be lost. He does not need to preach
to those whom he visits, but he can make every —
parish call count in the education and training of
those in the home, and especially the parents. Suit-
ing the method to the need, he can greatly reen-
force and extend the influence of his public teach-
ing on the subject of missions. 7
The Bible School, the Brotherhood and the Women’s
Society |
Not to duplicate here what is said in other chap-
ters, we must not fail to mention the relation of
some of the organizations in the church to this
question of how parents can be trained for their
part in the missionary program. The particular
needs and duties of parents are largely overlooked
in the Bible-school curriculum. Children of various.
grades, and adults, have lessons suited to them, but
a school that provides for all in an adequate way —
will give some well-planned religious and mission-
ary training to parents. A good many are sure to
be in the school, in Bible class or women’s class or
men’s brotherhood, and somewhere in the course
of study a place should be found for this subject.
The women’s society or the mission circle has a
specially good opportunity to reach the mothers.
Occasional interesting addresses on the missionary
privilege of a mother, distribution of well-selected
literature, discussion of practical plans for mission-
ary training in the home, will bring to the mothers
what most of them will welcome as a help in making .
their homes centers of world influence for Christ.
1 See Chapters VII and XV.
The Training of Parents 85
Fathers, too, should not be forgotten. They should
be shown their opportunity to train the boys at
home to look at the world’s news from the point of
view of Christ’s kingdom, and to think of Chris-
tianity in big terms.
Using Literature
Printed matter has a large part to play in the
missionary training of parents. Most people do not.
have much time to read, but most people have more
time to read than they realize. And a well-printed,
attractive booklet or an interesting book will secure
a reading in the busiest home. Here is an oppor-
tunity for the pastor or the missionary committee
or the literature committee, or the secretary of
literature. If the denomination has a reading
course, a good many parents can be enrolled; or a
special reading course can be made up. A timely
folder or pamphlet sent through the mail will re-
ceive attention, especially if it tells of child life and
gives suggestions for interesting the children. The
denomination’s missionary magazine should be in-
troduced into the home. Its very presence on the
table will have an influence, but special plans may
be needed on the part of the missionary committee
or literature secretary to interest the parents to
read the magazine. Some of these plans are sug-
gested in the chapter on Keeping Informed.
Books for the Children
Parents, as such, are related to the missionary
enterprise and to the missionary plans of the church
through what they do to implant and develop mis-
86 Making a Missionary Church
sionary interest in their children. So an important
element in their missionary training is becoming
acquainted with the materials for creating that in-
terest. One of the most important of these is books.
Most children love to read, and most young peo-
ple are omnivorous readers. It is not a question
of getting them to read, but of getting them to read
the books most worth while. Some of the great
library of fascinating books that will awaken in-
terest in the people of other lands, and in those who
have gone to those lands to tell about God, should
by all means be brought to the attention of the
parents in the church. There are life-stories of mis-
sionaries, stories of life in mission lands, tales of
missionary adventure and romance, and fine stories
of boys and girls and men and women of other
nationalities. Of course, there is a right and a
wrong way of trying to get missionary books read
by children and young people. You can loan a book
to your boy, tell him it is a missionary book, and
say that he ought to read it. Ten chances to one he
won't. Or you can make him a gift of the book,
mention with enthusiasm one or two interesting
incidents from it, and leave him with his appetite
whetted, eager to read his new book. Choose books
suited to the ages of the children. And to the older
ones give books attractively bound, as good as the
best they have. Most of them are low in price,
and there are few parents who cannot afford to
make such a gift once in a while. The influence of
a good book is incalculable, and one book such as.
has been mentioned may give a boy or girl a life- |
long interest in those of other lands or other races
The Training of Parents 87
and an understanding of the world meaning of
Christ’s teachings and promises. There are books
not labeled “ missionary,’ but brimful of mission-
ary facts and missionary spirit, which are as fas-
cinating as any that are written. Parents have
not learned all they should know as those responsi-
ble for the Christian life and spirit of their children
who are not acquainted with many of these.
Games and Puzzles
All children like games and most enjoy puzzles.
A new game always is received with exciting in-
terest. Why not occasionally introduce a Chinese
game like ‘‘ Skin the Snake,” or “ Cow’s Tail,” or
others such as are described in “The Chinese Boy
and Girl ” by I. T. Headland, and ‘‘ Children at Play
in Many Lands ” by Katherine Stanley Hall? Games
about missions and missionaries may sometimes be
suggested, like those Margaret Applegarth tells
about in “ The School of Mother’s Knee.” And puz-
zles are to be found in the missionary magazines and
elsewhere. Ingenious parents who are well-in-
formed missionary-wise can invent other games and
puzzles.
Pictures
There are plenty of missionary pictures, but not
very many that are suitable for the walls of a
home. There are some, however. Fine portraits
can be secured of a few great missionaries, such
as Livingstone, Judson, and others. An occasional
snap-shot can be had from a missionary or a
traveler which is good enough and _ interesting
88 Making a Missionary Church
enough to justify enlarging. Mission boards could
help greatly by making pictures available for this -
purpose. But scenes from foreign lands—not
strictly missionary—can be secured easily. Many
of these are works of art. And seeing these upon
the wall makes a continual impression upon all in
the home, parents and children, which cannot fail
to awaken a broadening interest in those who live
in other parts of the world and make the teaching
of missions easy.
Good-night Talks
Happy is the child who can look forward through
the day to a few minutes with mother or father at —
bedtime. Here is the chance for good-night talks.
A good story is a fine way to close the day. And
you can make Sunday afternoon the choice time
of the week by having an extra good story to tell
the children. There are plenty of stories to be
told of a Japanese boy or a Chinese girl or some
boy who has come from Russia or Italy to find a
new home in the Promised Land of America. You
will have no difficulty in finding stories. Books
and magazines are full of them. It is worth while
for parents to read a good book on story-telling,
such as “ How to Tell Stories to Children ” by Sara
Cone Bryant. No parent who wants her children
to be missionary in spirit—to have Christ’s world
interest and love—can afford to neglect the oppor-
tunities to tell missionary stories to children. She
should have one or two ready all the time. There,
is nothing equal to this for interesting the younger
children in missions. Simple dramatizations of
The Training of Parents 89
missionary stories can help to make a rainy day
bright or give Sunday afternoon a special interest.
This is not difficult. The children can do it them-
selves with a little coaching if the story is vividly
told.
Letters to Missionaries
As the children grow older they can write to some
missionary, and if the right one is selected a very
fruitful correspondence and acquaintance will re-
sult. Some missionaries make a point of carrying
on a very wide correspondence with boys and girls
—not long letters, of course, but interesting ones,
that are eagerly cherished by their recipients.
Such missionaries can be found in all denominations,
and a little inquiry will bring the right name. The
letters from the missionary will prove quite as
interesting to parents as to the children, and the
writing of the letters by the children will give them
a keen interest in those to whom they write, their
life and work.
Family Devotions
Fortunate is the family that finds time—or makes
time—for family worship. The influence of the
brief home service is far greater than many imagine,
especially on the children. Where such a devotional
service is held the prayer should always take the
world into its sweep. Mention the missionaries,
sometimes by name. Remember the boys and girls
of those lands. Pray for those in heathen countries
and in our own who do not know Christ. Read
outstanding missionary passages from the Bible.
90 Making a Missionary Church
A pastor who preaches on family devotions should
not fail to lay emphasis on the missionary possibili-
ties of the brief religious service in the home.
Participation and leadership in such a fellowship
service is a part of the missionary training of
parents. This is the active side of such training.
Growing with the Children
The church should encourage parents to grow
with their children. If fathers and mothers can
lead their children into a large view of the king-
dom, it is just as much to be expected that some
children can teach their parents something about
the broader world in which they live. In their
studies and their reading they may become familiar
with peoples who are known to their parents only
by name. And as they read and study they will
grow in knowledge of the world and tend to catch
something of the international spirit which is at the
heart of missions. The Bible school, too, is likely
to give the children and young people missionary
teaching which their elders have not had, for mis-
sions is coming to have a larger place in the curri-
culum, and the beginnings are naturally in the
lower grades and departments. Pastors, officers,
and teachers should plan to take advantage of this
potential missionary interest in the younger mem-
bers of a family to open the eyes of the fathers
and mothers to the mental and spiritual growth of
their children and to urge them to grow with the
latter. By no means all children can lead their .
parents in this way, but the church should be alert
to notice the opportunities that may open in this
The Training of Parents 91
direction to develop the missionary outlook and in-
terest of the parents in the home.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
R. E. Diffendorfer, ‘‘ Missionary Education in Home
and School.”’ Methodist Book Con. $2.00.
Tyler Dennett, “ A Better World.” Missionary Edu-
cation Movement. $1.50.
S. M. Fahs, “ Uganda’s White Man of Work.” Mis-
sionary Education Movement. 75 cents.
E. D. Hubbard, “ Ann of Ava.” Missionary Educa-
tion Movement. 50 and 75 cents.
Basil Mathews, “ Livingstone the Pathfinder.” Mis-
sionary Education Movement. 75 cents.
J. M. Hull, “ Judson the Pioneer.”” The American
Baptist Publication Society. 60 cents.
Jean Cochran, “ Foreign Magic.” Missionary Edu-
cation Movement. $1.50.
Frances Little, “ The Lady of the Decoration.” Cen-
tury Co. $1.25.
E. R. Young, “ By Canoe and Dog Train.”’ Methodist
Book Con. $1.00.
I. T. Headland, “‘ The Chinese Boy and Girl.” F. H.
Revell Co. $1.75.
K. S. Hall, “ Children at Play in Many Lands.” Mis-
sionary Education Movement. 175 cents.
S. C. Bryant, ‘‘ How to Tell Stories to Children.”
Houghton Mifflin Co. $1.50.
Marian Keith, “The Black Bearded Barbarian.”
Missionary Education Movement. 175 cents.
Dillon Wallace, “ The Story of Grenfell of the Labra-
dor.” F.H. Revell Co. $1.50.
92 Making a Missionary Church
Jean Cochran, “The Bells of the Blue Pagoda.”
Presbyterian Board Pub. $1.75. © | 7
Margaret Applegarth, ‘‘ Missionary Stories for Lit-
tle Folks.” George H. Doran Co. $1.75.
Margaret Applegarth, “Some Boys and Girls in
America.” George H. Doran Co. $1.50.
VI
THE MESSAGE OF THE PULPIT
The Missionary Spirit of the Pulpit
The public addresses of the pastor furnish of
course the best opportunity for proclaiming the
missionary message of the gospel. That does not
only mean missionary sermons. These there should |
be, but the missionary message given by the pulpit \
should be much broader than this. The whole spirit
of the pastor ought to be missionary. If he is
training himself constantly for his task of mis-
sionary leadership, his missionary interest and mis-
sionary spirit will be constantly evident, and will
appear continually in his public services. His
sermons will show his missionary spirit, his prayers
will be missionary in petition and outlook, his selec-
tion of Scripture will reveal the missionary mean-
ing of the book, and his congregation will inevitably
feel his broad kingdom spirit. This missionary
spirit and attitude is fundamental in the message
of the pulpit. On the one hand it is quite likely
that without this interest there will be very little
missions in his prayers or sermons, and on the
other any missionary sermons he may preach will
probably be cold and fruitless and occasioned at
best only by the appeal of denominational loyalty.
But granted the missionary spirit, and the pastor’s |
whole pulpit message—sermon, Scripture lesson,
prayer, hymns—will be surcharged with the mis-
93
94, Making a Missionary Church
sionary spirit. His prayers will sweep the whole
horizon of human need, his Scripture reading will —
again and again bring to his people the great ‘‘ who-
soever ” messages of the Bible, the hymns he selects
will lift the congregation in song to the heights of
a world outlook, and his sermons will deal with the
large themes of Christ’s universal gospel and will
be full of interesting illustrations from the great
world field.
Missionary Interpretation of the Bible
w The Bible is a missionary book. No one who has
studied it or read it thoughtfully could fail to note
this. Jesus’ gospel has its individualistic side, of
course, but he was profoundly concerned that every
last man, woman, and child “ to the uttermost parts
of the earth ” should know him and enjoy the bene-
fits of his kingdom. “ As the Father hath sent me,
even so send I you,” said the Master, passing on’
to every one who claims discipleship the very mis-
sion that was his. Naturally one who had such
an ambition would embody the ideal in his teach-
ing. Jesus seemed to have the needs of all men in
mind; his great promises are offered to “all,”
“every one,” “ whosoever ’’; he loved to call him-
self “Son of man’—the representative of all
humanity, all nations, all races; his commission to
his followers was a world-encircling one. It was
significant that Gentiles (the Magi) came to his
cradle and that Gentiles also (the Greeks) came to
him just before he went to the cross. Peter’s °
vision and its resulting acceptance of Gentiles as
followers of Christ, and Paul’s great mission to
The Message of the Pulpit 95
the heathen world, show how those closest to Christ
in time and thought understood his gospel and its
scope. Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Luke, Timothy, John,
Mark, those familiar to us from New Testament
life, were almost all missionaries. Mark’s Gospel
was written, we are told, for the Romans, Luke’s
for the Greeks, that of John to bring out the uni-
versal elements in Christianity. The Book of
Acts is a story of missionary effort and achieve-
ment. Paul’s thirteen epistles were written to mis-
sionaries or to missionary churches. Other New
Testament books breathe the missionary message,
and the Bible closes with the great sweeping vision
of Revelation—“ a great multitude, which no man
could number, out of every nation and of all tribes
and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne
and before the Lamb.” The minister who would
faithfully teach the gospel of Christ and of the
New Testament cannot overlook its universal ele-
ment, for this is its chief characteristic.
The Old Testament, too, is not without its mis-
sionary teaching. From Genesis to Malachi there’
is a continuous stream of missionary appeal, even
though interspersed with narrow nationalism. The
promise to Abraham was that in him should all
nations of the earth be blessed. Israel was to be
God’s messenger to the world. Jehovah is the
God not of the Jews only but of all mankind. The
messianic kingdom, in which all men should be in-
cluded, was vividly foretold. Genesis gives the
missionary message. Ruth was a protest against ’
the idea that God loved only the Israelite. The
Psalms are full of ascriptions of praise to the
96 Making a Missionary Church
universal love and power of God. The prophets,
especially the later parts of Isaiah, Micah, Zech- -
ariah, and Malachi, give a stirring summons to mis-
sionary outlook and service. Jonah is as much a
missionary book as the Book of Acts or the “ Life
of John G. Paton.” The whole Bible deals with
the great universal themes, the things common to
all humanity. Its basic thesis is the fact that all
mankind is one. Our faith that Christ’s salvation
is for us and that we can claim his great promises
and accept his precepts, rests upon his ‘* whoso-
ever,’ and that includes the Chinese as much as
the Americans. Clearly God has through all the
ages wanted all peoples to know him, and the
message of the Bible, through prophets, historians,
psalmists, evangelists, apostles, and the Christ him-
self, is that God loves the world and gives himself
to save the whole world.
The pastor who wants to build up a missionary
church, then, will surely take advantage of the _
supreme opportunity given him by his sermons and
interpret the Bible as a missionary message. This
does not mean that he will preach a “ missionary
sermon” every Sunday. There are a multitude
of texts on which he will preach which are clearly
personal in their application. Yet in a sense every
sermon will be a missionary sermon, shot through\
with the missionary spirit, expressing the longing’
of Christ that every one shall know him. With
compelling aim, and the background of missionary
hope, it will be found that there are few subjects, .
however personal and individual, that do not sug-
gest the most far-reaching sympathies and re-
The Message of the Pulpit 97
sponsibilities; and almost all kinds of sermons,
upon almost any theme, can be effectively illus-
trated from the lives, the experiences, the problems ©
of missionaries and their converts. Such refer-
ences will be fresh and new to most of the hearers,
and will come with a convincing force that illus-
trations from life nearer home will often not have.
In other words, the Bible has a missionary mes-
sage on every page, and the minister who wants to
develop his church as an effective missionary force
must not forget it. God’s message to the world
is a missionary message. Christ’s challenge to his
disciples is a missionary challenge. A pastor who
is faithful to the Bible and faithful to his people,
will not fail to impress upon them so strongly that
they will thoroughly believe it the fact that the
gospel of Christ is a missionary message and God’s
book a missionary book.
Missionary Application of the Sermon
There are some themes—a good many—on which .,)
the minister will preach that readily suggest their
missionary teaching. ‘‘ The Love of God,” for ex-
ample, suggests the duty of our making that love
known to every creature. “ The Kingdom of God ”
is a subject which cannot be presented adequately
without reference to the need of bringing all peo-
ples into its sway. “ Christian Citizenship ” takes
in the evangelization of the New Americans and
the possibilities of Christian Americanization. On
the other hand, a theme that is more personal, like
sorrow, or suffering, may bring new comfort and
courage by the call to minister to those of foreign
98 Making a Missionary Church
tongue in the community and those in foreign lands
who sorrow or suffer. “Prayer” will gain im- \
mensely in its appeal if the far-reaching possibili-
ties of a world-wide prayer fellowship with Chris-
tians of every land are shown. So with many other
themes. If a pastor is imbued with the missionary
spirit and views his ministry and the Christian life
of his people in the light of the missionary pur-
pose of God, he will see a missionary meaning in
very many of the themes on which he preaches. A
minister needs to be on his guard against allowing
provincial habits of thought and the appeal of things
close at hand to keep him from bringing to his peo- |
ple those broader applications of Scripture which
will give the larger view of the kingdom and the
exhilarating far look which all Christians need.
Missionary Illustrations
On the other hand there are many subjects on
which a minister will preach which cannot be di-
rectly applied in a missionary way, but which offer
attractive possibilities of missionary illustration. |
“ Faith ” finds striking illustration in the story of
missionary pioneers like Judson or Morrison.
* Joy ” can be made full of meaning by the recital
of the happiness of a Christian convert brought out
of the hopelessness of heathenism into the gladness
of the Christian hope. “ Home” gathers new sig-
nificance by the contrast between a home in non-
Christian India or Africa and a Christian home in
America. ‘ Be strong in the Lord” is a text which’
can be strikingly illustrated from the character of
strong missionary leaders and missionary converts.
The Message of the Pulpit 99
Evangelistic themes can be illustrated by stories
of heroic decision from the mission field that come
with a peculiar appeal. There is hardly a sermon
that a minister can preach that cannot be illus-
trated effectively from the world of missions at
home and abroad. One value of missionary illus-
trations is that they come with a welcome and at-
tractive freshness to one’s hearers. They deal with
experiences that are common to all humanity, while
they bring the truth to bear on one’s life from a
new angle. Another value of frequent missionary
illustrations is that they keep the subject of mis-
sions before the people in an unobtrusive way. The
missionary reference is quite indirect, but it re-
minds of those “ other sheep ” for whom Christ died
and for whose evangelization the hearers are re-
sponsible. As a means of teaching missions and
their results and of impressing the value of mis-
sionary work, the simple use of missionary illus-
trations is invaluable.
Where find such illustrations? They are not
brought together ready made in books of illustra-
tions. But they are found galore in denominational
missionary magazines and in the pamphlet litera-
ture published by the mission boards. There is
an almost unlimited and rapidly growing variety of
books from which missionary illustrations can be
secured: biography, travel, etc.t Every live
preacher is on the alert for illustrations. His mis-
sionary reading, and even the daily press, will pro-
vide him with the finest sort of telling illustrations
which will make his sermons more interesting and
1On this subject see Chapter IX.
100 Making a Missionary Church
will help him in his work of developing a missionary
church. | | :
Missionary Talks to the Children
Many pastors preface their sermons by a brief talk
to the children. Some give such a sermonette every
Sunday, others occasionally. Generally a story is
told, and lessons are drawn from it, or the story is
left to teach its own lessons. In some form or other
the plan has proved helpful to a large number of
pastors. The problem is to get suitable stories, in-
teresting, fresh, having a lesson that is evident
without explanation. Missionary stories solve they.
problem. ‘There are stories of adventure, stories —
of heroes and heroines, stories of child life, stories
of how the gospel of Christ can lighten dark homes
and dark hearts, love stories, stories of giving,
stories of praying, stories of hymns, stories of war
and stories of peace, stories of Christmas and
stories of Easter, stories of home and stories of
patriotism—an endless number and variety of sto-
ries, from every land and every mission field, for-
eign and home. None of them, probably, the boys
and girls of your congregation have ever heard;
and the chances are good that most of them will be
new to the grown-ups as well. No stories will prove
more interesting.
Where get the stories? Read your missionary
magazine, and you will find plenty of them. Your
mission boards also publish some in brief folders.
But many of the best are in such books as are listed:
at the close of this chapter. If you read some of the
missionary books that are constantly appearing you
The Message of the Pulpit 101
will pick up many a good tale that your a and
girls will be eager to hear.
Missionary Sermons and Addresses
On occasion every minister should preach a mis- y
sionary sermon. Missionary illustrations, mission-
ary applications of the text, and missionary stories
to the children are all valuable means of awakening
interest and imparting some measure of informa-_
tion, but nothing can take the place of a well-thought-’
out, thoroughly prepared missionary sermon. Its
directness and frankness will carry conviction. The
minister’s sermon is his chief public message, and
to give this a missionary theme will convince the
people of the importance of the subject. A special
reason for missionary sermons is the need for more
time for developing a theme than can be had in just
a missionary application. There are great mission-
ary ideas in the gospel that need full and clear
exposition, and a half hour is little enough for
setting any of them in an interesting and convinc-
ing way before the congregation.
Among the missionary themes upon which a
minister may well preach are The Missionary Pur-
pose of the Church, The Universal Gospel, The World
Fellowship of Christians, The Universal Response
to Christ, The Contribution of the Races to Chris-
tian Thought and Experience, The Missionary Call,
The Stewardship of Missionary Prayer, Money and
the Kingdom, etc. A multitude of texts are avail-
able to the preacher for missionary sermons. The
following are only a few of the immense number
that can be chosen:
102
Genesis 12: 1-3
Genesis 22 : 15-18
2 Kings 5: 2,3
Psalm 2
Sam 22202 say oO
Psalm 24: 1-6
Psalm 33 : 5-8
Psalm 46: 10
Psalm 47
Psalm 66: 1-4
Psalm 67
Psalm 96
Psalm 97: 1,2
Psalm 117
Psalm 145: 138
Isaiah 2: 2,3
Isaiah 11: 9
Isaiah 11: 10
Isaiah 384: 1
Isaiah 42: 1-4
Isaiah 48: 6
Isaiah 44: 6
Isaiah 45 : 22
Isaiah 49: 5-7
Isaiah 52: 10
Isaiah 66: 18,19
Jeremiah 22 : 29
Micah 4: 1-5
Habakkuk 2: 18-20
Habakkuk 2: 14
Zechariah 2:3 11
Zechariah 9: 9,10
Malachi 1: 11
Making a Missionary Church
Matthew 6: 10
Matthew 28 : 18-20
Luke 2: 32
Luke 4: 25-27
Luke 19: 10
Luke 24: 46, 47.
JoOnn 1 tag
John 1
John 1
JONN Voss elo
gohn 4:
John 10: 16
John 20: 21
Acts 1: 8
Acts 10: 34, 35
Acts 112A8
Acts 13: 1-4°
Acts 17: 24-31 -
Romans 1: 16
Romans 3: 29
Romans 10: 11-15
1 Corinthians 1 : 24
2 Corinthians 5: 19
Ephesians 2 : 13-16
ZUP CLE tees
3 John 5-7
Revelation 5: 9
Revelation 7 : 9, 10
The Message of the Pulpit 103
Missionary sermons should be preached more or,
less regularly, but not on any fixed Sundays. Nor |
should they very often be connected with appeals
for money. Sometimes they may be thus used, but
more often with an educational or inspirational pur-
pose. Christians must be taught the “ wideness
in God’s mercy,” and the responsibility that rests
upon them as Christ’s followers to see that the last
man at the ends of the earth knows that a Saviour
has come. When this foundation is solidly and se- |
curely laid the financial appeal will have weight.
So give the people the conception of the greatness
of the gospel and of the kingdom that the Bible
teaches; then apply it to money and prayer and
service. |
An occasional missionary address of a more in-
formal character may well be given, perhaps Sun-
day night or on other evenings of the week. This
may be devoted to a description of one of the mis-
sion fields of the denomination, or the life-story of
a great missionary. A series of such addresses is
often profitable, and interest is often added by the
use of good lantern-slides.
Prayer-meeting Addresses
Opportunity is afforded by the mid-week service |
for a more informal and intimate presentation of ©
missions. Here the devotional side of the subject
can be emphasized. For instance, the history of
missions is one continued illustration of Christian
faith, and a study of this theme from the point
of view of missions will be inspiring and at the
same time will present it in a fresh way. A study
104 Making a Missionary Church
of the missionary journeys of Paul in the light of
modern missionary work will both illuminate the -
New Testament story and give a sympathetic under-
standing of present-day missionary methods and
problems. Scarcely anything will be more interest-
ing or suggestive than a series of studies of the
character of great missionaries in the light of
Christ’s character.
Of still more informal nature is a series of pro-
grams on various missionary themes, geographical,
biographical, or topical. ‘These can be presented
under the direction of the church missionary com-
mittee, or the Woman’s Missionary Society. Parti- —
cipation should not be limited to the women, how-
ever, but all groups should be enlisted. Different
organizations may in turn present a program.
Care needs to be taken that every program be well
prepared, with nothing read, and that new features
be introduced into each succeeding meeting. Maps
should be freely used. Indeed a missionary map
of the world should hang in every church. Stere-
opticon lectures may be used effectively, and a wise
selection and use of pamphlet literature will
strengthen and continue the impression made.
Interpreting World Events
Every minister ought to be an interpreter to his, |
people of the meaning of the great events contin- \
ually occurring in the world. Every one reads the
newspaper and knows the important happenings
chronicled from South America and Asia and Africa
as well as in Europe and our own country. But
people think of the world’s events mostly in their
The Message of the Pulpit 105
relation to politics, or business, or social conditions.
They do not think of their relation to the kingdom
of God. That side is not suggested in news items
or editorials. It is the opportunity of the minister
to point this out to them—to interpret events in
the Near East, in China or India or the Philippines,
in South America or Africa, in terms of Christ’s
advancing kingdom. He will need to know some-
thing of the historical background of the events,
and especially the religious and missionary back-
ground. If he keeps himself informed and takes
advantage of his opportunities, he can render an
incalculable service to his people. The missionary :
interpretation of current world events will be a new
angle from which to view them, and will be welcomed
as a fresh and new contribution to the understand-
ing of them. Too few of the minister’s congrega-
tion read a missionary periodical, and still fewer
read missionary books, but he can make the news-
paper a live, up-to-date missionary daily if he will.?
Interpreting the Denominational Program
Every pastor receives requests to preach on special
subjects or to observe special seasons or follow
special programs, enough to fill up all his Sundays
and take up all his attention. Such requests come
from the Red Cross, the Associated Charities, the
hospitals, the Anti-Saloon League, independent mis-
sions, and a host of other worthy and unworthy
organizations. But there is one program that every
minister ought to follow, and that is the program
of his denomination. To the requests of his denomi-
2See Chapter IX.
106 Making a Missionary Church
nation and its leaders he ought to give heed, and
so far as local conditions permit. he ought to ob-
serve the program suggested. The missionary part
of the year’s program will call for public presenta-
tion of many themes. The preacher ought not to
think of himself as hampered by this, but rather
to welcome the missionary opportunity it brings.
He does not need to apologize for presenting a
missionary theme; he is just being loyal to the
church and the denomination. Moreover, the series
of subjects on which he is asked to speak are likely
to have a logical relation, so that his people will get
something constructive. The program of the de-
nomination will call for activities in other direc- —
tions, but by all means let him not neglect to pre-
sent the program in his pulpit messages.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
H. T. Kerr, ‘Children’s Missionary Story-Ser-
mons.” F. H. Revell Co. $1.25.
H. B. Montgomery, ‘The Bible and Missions.”
Missionary Education Movement. 40 and 60 cents.
Coe Hayne, “‘ By-Paths to Forgotten Folks.” The
American Baptist Publication Society. $1.25.
Margaret Applegarth, ‘“ Next Door Neighbors.”
F. H. Revell Co. $1.25.
J. M. Serrell, “ Tales of Great Missionaries for
Young People.” F. H. Revell Co. $1.25.
A. H. Clark, “India on the March.” Missionary
Education Movement. 50 and 75 cents.
L. H. Hammond, “ In the Vanguard of a Race.” Mis-
sionary Education Movement. 50 and 75 cents.
The Message of the Pulpit 107
H. A. Musser, “ Jungle Tales.” George H. Doran Co.
$1.50.
H. A. Musser, “More Jungle Tales.” George H.
Doran Co. $1.50.
James Paton, “ Story of John G. Paton.” A. L. Burt
Co. 75 cents.
E. R. Young, “Stories from Indian Wigwam and
Northern Campfire.” Methodist Book Con. $1.00.
D. F. Giles, ‘‘ Adventures in Brotherhood.” Mission-
ary Education Movement. 50 and 75 cents.
B. Mathews, “ Torchbearers in China.” Missionary
Education Movement. 50 and 75 cents.
VII
THE CHURCH-SCHOOL CURRICULUM
The Most Important Place for Missionary Training _
It is in the church school that the children and
young people of the church get their ruling ideas
regarding Christianity and the Christian life and
Christian service. Even if they do not study very
much they hear a good deal. They absorb the ideas ;
of the teacher and the spirit of the superintendent, ©
and readily assume their attitude. Whether the
Sunday-school pupils’ conception of the kingdom
of God is to be provincial and narrow, or broad as
the world, whether they are to think of God as
having a special interest in Americans or as being
ambitious equally for all peoples and races, whether
their feeling of Christian responsibility is to be
limited to members of their own congregation and
community or is to take in every person in every
land, will be largely determined for their life by
what is taught in the church school—the Sunday
school. What Christ and Christianity mean to them ,
depends on what they learn in the church school. |
Here they get a true idea of the gospel or they get
a false one. The minister’s preaching may be
true, but that will not matter much to the children
and young people; they don’t hear many of his
sermons, and those they hear are generally not di«
rected to them but to the older folks. They get their .
religious ideas in the Sunday school or in the home. |
108
The Church School Curriculum 109
In view of the formative influence of the church
school it is passing strange that its importance from
a missionary standpoint has received so little at-
tention, comparatively. It is in fact the place of ©
supreme importance for teaching missions and for
training in missionary service. There has been a
great increase in the efforts for missionary educa-
tion in the church school, but what has been done
has searcely scratched the surface yet. If the re-
ligion of Christ is a missionary religion and the
supreme purpose of every Christian and of the
church is to establish the reign of Christ through-
out all the world, then this ought to be taught in
the church school to every child and young man
and young woman, and the most earnest efforts
should be put forth to train them in the obligations
and methods of missionary service.
Missions Should Be Central in the Course of Study
This follows from the fact that missions is cen-
tral in Christianity. If missionary teaching is left
out, the heart of the gospel is left out. Somebody
objected to having missions taught in the Bible
school, saying, “The Bible school is the place to *
teach the Bible.” But if any teachers do not know
that the great message that sweeps through all
Scripture is the missionary purpose of God and the
missionary responsibility of his people, they need
to sit down to a serious study of what the Bible
really teaches and what the gospel of Christ really
is. And most teachers need just such a study.
Teaching missions means most emphatically teach-
ing the Bible. Nor is personal religion to be left
110 Making a Missionary Church
out of the teaching. Rather does missions give an
added reason for emphasizing the development of ©
a strong Christian character, for it gives an ob-
jective, a use, for Christian character and its in-
fluence and power. Nor is evangelism crowded
out by making missionary teaching central in the
school course of study. Evangelism is missions,
limited to one’s friends and neighbors. Social and
community service should of course be retained also;
these are missions in the sphere of one’s neighbor-
hood.
Indeed the spirit of missions is the spirit of all
unselfish Christian service. And in its more special
and more definite sense it is the expression of the -
limitless reach of the gospel, the logical goal of all
Christian service. Without the teaching of mis-
sions it is only a limited gospel which is taught. But
making missions central in the teaching of the
school holds before the pupils all the time the two
great compelling truths of Christianity around
which everything else centers: that Christ died for
all men, and that it is the business of every Chris-
tian to give the gospel to all men. No church that
wants to be true to the gospel of Jesus can neglect
to impress these truths upon the children and young
people in the church school. Make these truths
vital and give them meaning by teaching their ap-
plication to missionary work, illustrate them by the
stories of missionary life, and you will develop a
missionary generation and make a missionary
church. Beyond all comparison, the strategic oppor-
tunity for missionary education is among the chil-
dren and young people,
The Church School Curriculum lll
Few Study Courses Give Proper Place to Missions
In general, the curriculum of a church school is
built up around one of two ideas. On the one hand,
there is the study of Biblical material strictly, the
Bible being divided into sections to make a cycle
of courses, as in the International Uniform Lessons.
In this plan subjects are usually not the basis of
study, but whatever teachings may suggest them-
selves are drawn from the verse or verses under con-
sideration. The interest is primarily on personal
religion. Missions generally receives little attention.
On the other hand there is the study of subjects, the Y
curriculum consisting of a series of courses, histori-
cal, biographical, and practical, all of course based
on the Bible. Makers of such a system of study have
the widest opportunity, and as this plan is coming
more and more. into use, in graded lesson courses, ,,
it is natural that missions should be given a place’
with other subjects. An increasing attention, in-
deed, is being given to missions by those preparing
Sunday-school courses for the various denomina-
tions, and practically every grade in the school now
finds references made to missions in the courses
studied.
Nevertheless, few series of lessons provide an
adequate place for missions. Missionary illustrations
are given and a few missionary biographies may
appear, but little serious attention is paid to the
basic importance of missions. For example, pro-
vision should be made somewhere in the curriculum
for a study of the missionary nature of Christianity,
showing how it is fundamental in the teachings and
112 Making a Missionary Church
spirit of Christ and obligatory upon all his follow-
ers. What missionaries do, who the missionaries of -
the denomination are and where they work, and
other similar subjects, should be studied. In fact
the church-school curriculum should give a fairly
complete view of the principles and work of mis-
sions. It is a serious reflection upon any school
that its pupils can grow to manhood and woman-
hood without learning what Christ is doing through
his church in making his prophetic words a reality:
“T, if I be lifted up from earth, will draw all men
unto myself’; learning, in other words, how the
kingdom of Christ is advancing throughout the
earth. Without such a course no church-school cur-
riculum can be considered complete.
What Should a Christian Know of Missions? —
Consider what a well-informed Christian ought
to know about the missionary enterprise of Christ.
He ought to be familiar with the following: (1)
New Testament principles of missions; the teach-
ing and practise of Jesus, Paul’s missionary work,
and their meaning for Christians today. (2) The
expansion of Christianity; the story of the growth
of the kingdom through Paul and other later mis-
sionaries down to our own time. (3) What mission-
aries do; forms of missionary work and how a mis-
sionary lives. (4) Who and where the missionaries
of the church are; the various missions and the
names of more prominent workers. (5) Some re-
sults of missions; concrete instances of transforma- :
tion in personal life, influence of missions on na-
tions, numerical growth of the church. (6) The
The Church School Curriculum 113
missionary obligation upon every Christian ; Christ’s
claim upon our life, our prayers, our money; what
constitutes a missionary call.
These by no means include all the missionary
knowledge which any one who continues to read and
study may learn, nor is it to be expected that any
of these subjects will be studied exhaustively in the
Sunday school. Only a very general survey can be
made in the regular course, but all the above topics
should be included in such a survey. Surely no one
can claim a knowledge and understanding of the
New Testament without knowing what it teaches //
about missions, the subject of Christ’s last Great
Commission, and the work of the great missionary-
apostle Paul. If we are to understand the teachings
of Christ about the growth of the kingdom, and if
the book of the Acts is to be something more than
an isolated history of a few decades of first-cen-
tury events, unrelated to present-day history, the ,,
acts of twentieth-century missionary apostles must /\
be studied, in the expansion of the kingdom of
Christ. If Christ’s command to us, his followers, to
go and make disciples of all the nations, even to the
uttermost parts of the earth, is to have any really
practical meaning in our purposes, prayers, and acts
we must know what this missionary obligation
means which Christ has laid upon us. Emphatically
it must be said that every Christian ought to have
some fair knowledge of the meaning and facts of
the missionary enterprise of Christ and his church,
as outlined above, and no Christian can think of him-
self as well informed who does not have at least the
minimum of knowledge suggested.
114 Making a Missionary Church
A Course in Missions in the Church-school Curriculum _
Clearly such a well-ordered knowledge of mis-
sions as is suggested above cannot be gained simply
by casual references to the subject in connection
with other courses. The missionary teachings of
Christ, the missionary work of Paul, present-day
missionary apostles, all these and other missionary
themes will be touched upon more or less in ap-
plication or illustration. But to secure an adequate
grasp of the subject requires a regular course of
study, distinct from other courses and complete in
itself. It should not be an optional course, but —
should have a place in the curriculum on a par
with other courses. We are not speaking of an
adult course, but a course for older boys and girls
or young men and women. A suitable place in the
schedule is the senior or high-school department.
Pupils at that age are finding their interest broad-
ening and are likely to be somewhat impatient with
studies along the lines of previous courses. They
are in just the mood and the intellectual and spiri-
tual attitude for a study of The World Adventure
of Christ. Frame the title as may be desired, only
keep away from anything hackneyed and uninter-
esting, and express the big and adventurous in the
program of Christ and his followers.
There is at present no satisfactory course avail-
able for most churches, simple yet comprehensive.
Very few denominational publishing boards have
worked along this line in preparing their Sunday-°
school material, but are still mostly following the
beaten tracks; so perhaps a new trail will have to
“en
The Church School Curriculum 115
be blazed in many schools. You may have to work
out your own course. But it will not prove a diffi-
cult matter except in securing suitable text-books.
Perhaps the following outline will help:
SUGGESTED MISSIONARY COURSE FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
KINDERGARTEN AND PRIMARY ©
Aim: To show that God loves all his children.
Time: A few minutes each Sunday in assembly period.
Subject: God’s love for his world-family.
Method: Study of a foreign boy or girl in United States
and one in a foreign land as projects illustrating life
of others in God’s great family.
Contributions to work relating to definite object chosen
as project.
Missionary prayers and songs.
Service: Send story papers to other children. Make scrap-
books of Bible pictures for children in home missions
or abroad.
Collect picture post-cards to send abroad.
JUNIOR
Aim: To develop a spirit of world interest and world
friendship.
Time: Assembly period, occasional meetings of classes
during week.
Subject: Boys and girls of other lands and races.
Method: Stories of foreign boys and girls in United States
and boys and girls of other lands.
Two or three projects—e. g., mission schools, as con-
crete illustrations.
Dramatization of stories.
Games of foreign children.
Missionary prayers and hymns.
Contributions to definite work studied as projects.
116 Making a Missionary Church
Service: (Through Junior Society or other organization
if advisable, but in coordination with Sd
program.)
Friendly service to foreign children in Sean aitee
Collecting curios and photos.
Making scrap-books.
Dressing dolls.
Summer Christmas-tree.
White Cross work.
Picture post-cards.
INTERMEDIATE
Aim: To develop spirit of Christian heroism and unselfish
service.
Time: Assembly period, also few minutes each Sunday in
class sessions, supplemented by occasional outside meet-
ings of classes.
Subject: Heroes of missions at home and abroad.
Method: Biographical studies of heroic Christians of other
lands and races. ANTE
Lives of great missionaries, medieval and modern.
Study of three or four projects.
Dramatization of missionary stories.
Missionary prayers and hymns.
Contributions to definite work studied as projects.
Service: (Through Young People’s Society if advisable,
but in coordination with Sunday-school program.)
Friendly service to foreign homes in community.
White Cross work.
Collect curios and photos.
Correspond with students in foreign lands.
Make puzzles and picture-books for a home mission.
Dress dolls for home or foreign mission children.
SENIOR
Aim: To give connected view of missionary history and _
methods and appreciation of missionary obligation.
Time: Full year course of study as part of curriculum, also
outside meetings of classes.
The Church School Curriculum 117
Subject: The why and how of missions.
Method: Christian basis of missions.
Story of the expansion of Christianity.
What a missionary does.
The missionary obligation, including missionary call
and principles of stewardship.
Service: (Through Young People’s Society or other or-
ganization if advisable, but in coordination with Sun-
day-school program.) .
Friendly service to foreigners.
White Cross work.
Correspond with foreign students and missionaries
(home and foreign).
Entertain foreign students from near-by colleges.
Provide special articles needed by missionaries.
Collect photos and curios.
Make maps and posters.
Supply literature for foreign Sunday school.
Give social for foreign young people.
Volunteer for Christian life service.
Contribute through church treasury.
ADULT
Aim: To discover the relation of the church and the de-
nomination to the present-day missionary task.
Time: Three-months’ course each year. Also outside meet-
ings of classes.
Subject: Missions of the denomination; present-day mis-
sionary problems.
Method: Missions and missionaries of the denomination.
Problems of present-day missions.
The unfinished task.
Missionary meaning of current world events.
The missionary obligation, including principles of
stewardship and the missionary call.
Service: Christian Americanization work.
White Cross work.
118 Making a Missionary Church
Entertain foreigners of community and foreign stu-
dents from near-by college.
Provide articles specially needed by missionaries.
Contribute through church treasury.
Material for such a course as that outlined can be
found in pamphlets, books, letters, pictures, maps,
etc., which can be secured through the mission
boards. Above all, the Bible should be the main
text-book.
Supplemental Teaching
As a beginning, one of the easiest methods of
introducing the teaching of missions into a church.
school is to add missionary instruction to the regular. /
curriculum as supplementary material. For ex-
ample, a brief missionary talk may be given to the
school or to the different departments before the
lesson period. This may be a story, or a map
demonstration, or something else that is simple,
direct, brief, and interesting. Some denominations
publish a series of stories for such use, illustrated
with posters. Another similar method is to teach
a supplemental missionary lesson once a month in ©
connection with the regular lesson, or every Sun-
day for a regular period. Such a supplémental
course can be made up by the school itself if no
suitable material is published by the denomination.
The important thing is to have even so limited a
course as a supplemental course must be, as com-
prehensive as possible, even though it extend over
a long period of time.
There are two main difficulties, however, with
supplemental courses. One is the limited amount
The Church School Curriculum 119
of time that can be given to a lesson. Five or ten
minutes, or fifteen at the outside, is all that can be
expected for the missionary lesson, if the regular
lesson is to be taught also, and this is very inade-
quate and unsatisfactory in the intermediate and
senior grades. Another difficulty is the very fact
that the missionary study is supplemental. Not
being a part of the regular curriculum it is looked
upon as less important. Missions tends to be
thought of as optional rather than essential. If
the supplemental lesson is taught in the separate
classes it is likely to be slighted by many teachers
for the same reason. The unfortunate results of
presenting missions in a way to make it seem op-
tional with a Christian, to practise or not as he
desires, have been serious and wide-spread, and
just as soon as possible the subject should be given
a place in the regular curriculum, even though at
first the place given be small. Nevertheless, if no
- other way can be found, supplemental missionary
lessons of some sort are an excellent way of be-
ginning.
Director of Missionary Education
So important is missionary education and so
liable is it to be neglected in the church school
that some one should be charged with the over-. /
sight and direction of this part of the teaching and °
activity of the school. Every school should have
a director of missionary education elected or ap-\
pointed as one of the officers, the same as the
superintendents, treasurer, etc. The director of
missionary education can be either a man or a
120 Making a Missionary Church
woman, but should be most carefully chosen. The
school should have the most capable leader possible
for this work. Some one with education and a
broad outlook should be found, interested in the
educational side of the church work and with as
good acquaintance as possible with missions at
home and abroad—though a willingness to learn
may quite readily take the place of this last quali-
fication. It may be found advisable to have a com-
mittee or assistants in the several departments
to help the director of missionary education, and
the school should provide such material as is neces-
sary, the same as for other departments of work.
Missionary Dramatization
A word should be said here regarding the edu-
cational value of dramatization in developing a
knowledge of missions. The subject will be men-
tioned again in connection with the social life of the
church (Chapter VIII), as plays and pageants are
most likely to be presented on social occasions or
be themselves a feature of the social life of the
young people. But they are more than entertain- ©
ments. You can have a missionary drama for the
sake of the spectators or you can have it for the
sake of the participants. In the former case it
is presented for the entertainment or instruction
of the people who look on or for the purpose of
making money by interesting them. In the second
case, while the occasion may be the same, and the
hope of giving missionary information to the
spectators may be cherished, the principal objec-
tive is the instructing and interesting of those who
The Church School Curriculum LE
take part. This must be kept in mind by those in
charge of dramatizations in connection with the
educational curriculum of the church, whether
they be given as a part of the Sunday-school studies
or by any of the young people’s societies.
The children should work up their own drama-
tizations of missionary stories. Do not deprive
them of the educational value and the tremendous
interest of doing this themselves by thinking over-
much of how the dramatized story will look when
given in public. As a matter of fact, public per-
formance is entirely secondary. Most of the drama-
tizations should be given in the department or class
meeting alone, and only an occasional one pre-
sented in public. At one session tell the mission-
ary story, assign the parts, and have the story acted
out at the next session. This is the simplest way.
And only the simplest way is practicable in most
Sunday schools. In schools with better organiza-
tion or with sessions of more than the usual hour
and a quarter, more time and attention can be given
to preparation. ‘‘The Dramatization of Bible
Stories,” by Elizabeth E. Miller, while dealing es-
pecially with Scripture stories, will be found equally
helpful in dramatizing missionary stories and
scenes. Another helpful book is ‘‘ Missionary Edu-
cation through Missionary Dramatics,” by Helen
L. Willcox.
The work of the director of missionary educa-
tion, or missionary superintendent, consists in or-
ganizing, under the supervision of the superinten-
dent, of course, the missionary studies and activity
of the various departments and classes. If the
122 Making a Missionary Church
teaching of missions is supplemental the missionary
superintendent will provide the material, suited to
the grade or class in which it is used, and suggest
methods for teaching. Any platform talks or les-
sons will be arranged by him. If a missionary
course is to be provided for the curriculum he may
be entrusted with the responsibility of planning
this, using as a basis such similar courses as may
be available. Or better, the educational committee
of the church, if there is one, should plan the mis-
sionary course. Perhaps the most important part
of his work is to show the teachers the mission-
ary implication of the regular lessons of the cur-
riculum, to suggest missionary applications, and to
provide missionary illustrations. Here is an un-
limited field. It requires a great deal of study and
reading on the part of the director of missionary
education, and he should be relieved of all other
church duties in order to do full justice to this
work. But it is richly worth while. Nothing else
in all the work of the church is more important
than this—leading the teachers of the children and
young people to teach the Bible as a missionary ©
book and Christ’s gospel as a missionary gospel.
The depth of the missionary interest of the teachers
and their effectiveness in developing the missionary
spirit in their pupils, depends on the work of the
director of missionary education.
The director of missionary education is some-
times a special teacher of missions. Instead of hav-
ing the missionary teaching done by the regular
teachers, the classes in turn come to him for mis-
sions, either for one Sunday or for a regular term
The Church School Curriculum 123
of study. The advantage of this plan is that the
missionary instruction is given by one who is an
expert in the subject and who is recognized as such.
The disadvantage is that the regular teachers will
think of missions as something outside the regular
course, an extra, and will pay little or no attention
to it in their studies or the teaching of their les-
sons. They themselves will fail to be imbued with
the missionary passion, and their pupils will prob-
ably have something of their spirit. This is a
serious objection, for as we have pointed out, any
plan that places missions in a subordinate position
or makes it merely an extra, not a part of the reg-
ular recognized interest of the school or the church,
gives a false and distorted view of Christianity and
the Bible. The better plan, though perhaps not the
easier one, is for the director of missionary edu-
cation to work through the regular teachers and
classes, helping the teachers to teach Christian mis-
sions.
An important opportunity for the director of
missionary education is offered by outside activities.
Missions can be learned not less effectively by doing
than by listening. A wide range of such activities
will suggest themselves, such as correspondence with
missionaries and with foreign boys and girls, col-
lecting curios for the missionary museum, making
models of native houses, implements, and clothing,
gathering pictures of life in mission lands, provid-
ing special helps needed by missionaries, etc. This
is covered in detail in Chapter X. Offerings for
missionary purposes need not be discussed here, as
this subject is considered fully in Chapter XIII.
124. Making a Missionary Church
Missions in the Devotional Service
An important place for missions is in the dewvo-
tional service of the Sunday-school session. t
S
comes naturally into the prayers, the Scripture A
reading, and the hymns. It is easy, also, to bring
in references to missions, for example, prayers for
those who have not heard of the Christ we love, |
and for the missionaries who are telling them the
good news. From this it is not difficult to pass to
more concrete missionary petitions. Missionary
references in the devotional service are exceedingly
effective, as the serious nature of that part of the
program makes everything that is said and done
then leave an impression of importance. (See also
Chapter XIV.)
Missions should have frequent place in the songs
and hymns that are sung by the school.’ The book
used should be one that contains an adequate num-
ber of good missionary hymns. There are plenty
in this class, singable and inspiring. The following
are some of those that should be known:
Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life
There’s a Light Upon the Mountains
Watchman, Tell Us of the Night
Light of the World, We Hail Thee
O Beautiful for Spacious Skies
Lead On, O King Eternal
Fling Out the Banner
Christ for the World We Sing
Hail to the Brightness of Zion’s Glad Morning
We’ve a Story To Tell To the Nations
y
The Church School Curriculum 125
Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun
The Morning Light Is Breaking
From Greenland’s Icy Mountains
The Whole Wide World for Jesus
Send Thou, O Lord, To Every Place
O God of Mercy, God of Might
Love Thyself Last
O Zion, Haste, Thy Mission High Fulfilling
Look From Thy Sphere of Endless Day
Ye Christian Heralds, Go Proclaim
There’s a Fight To Be Fought
Hark, The Bugle Call of God
Rise, Crowned With Light, Imperial Salem, Rise
The Son of God Goes Forth To War
God’s Trumpet Wakes the Slumb’ring World
It May Not Be On the Mountain’s Height
I Hear Ten Thousand Voices Singing
In Christ There Is No East or West
The Church’s One Foundation
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
Hasten, Lord, the Glorious Time
If the church has a stereopticon a missionary
hymn may occasionally be illustrated with lantern-
slides while being sung. This is perfectly possible
even in the daytime without darkening the room.
Such hymn sets can be secured from the denomina-
tional agencies.
If the Uniform Lessons are not used, and the
lesson text does not have to be read as the Scrip-
ture in the devotional service, the superintendent
has wide choice, and some of the missionary pas- ,
sages from the Old and New Testaments should fre- —
126 Making a Missionary Church
quently be read.1. Among the passages memorized,
and occasionally repeated by various classes in the
devotional service, these missionary chapters and
verses ought to find a place.
A valuable feature which can occasionally be in-
troduced is the telling of a missionary story as an > Si
introduction to a hymn or prayer, or as an ‘ilietraee
tion of the Scripture lesson. These can be made
most telling and effective if well prepared and well
told, and if not too frequent. Fine collections of
such stories, brief enough to be very usable, are
found in “ Five Missionary Minutes,” First and
Second Series, by Trull. A live superintendent, who |
reads missionary books and other literature, will
have little difficulty in finding such illustrations for
himself, or the director of missionary education can
provide them.
Training the Superintendent and Teachers
Not every superintendent reads missionary books.
Too many, indeed, are not really interested in the
missionary enterprise of the church, or have only
a very moderate interest. Teachers may be classi-
fied in the same way. It is a tragedy that any who ¥
teach the religion of Christ to boys and girls should
fail to present it in all its bigness and breadth and
its spirit of world conquest. A teacher who is not in-
terested in the missionary aspect of the gospel will
give only a one-sided, imperfect, and probably in-
dividualistic view, and the inspiring ideal of a world
won to Christ, with all the possibilities of such am
ideal in the lives of the boys and girls and young
1See Chapter VI.
The Church School Curriculum 127
people, will be overlooked. The difficulty with
both superintendent and teachers in such a case is
lack of knowledge, lack of training. What is said
in Chapter IV regarding the training of church
officers applies with great force to the officers and
teachers of the Sunday school, and one of the most
important elements in the pastor’s work of build-
ing up a missionary church may be informing and
interesting the superintendent along missionary
lines, or developing and enlarging his interest and
knowledge.
The Workers’ Conference
This is the gathering of all the officers and
teachers of the school, at which month by month
all the various interests and problems connected
with the work are considered. Among these ques-
tions the subject of missionary instruction and mis-
sionary activity should have a prominent place.
Here is an opportunity for the superintendent to
make clear and positive the world-embracing pro-
eram of Jesus and the ideals and aims of the school
in relation to that program. Here the director of
missionary education can explain plans, illustrate
methods, offer suggestions, and answer questions.
Here, too, it may be possible occasionally, say for
half an hour at the beginning of the session for
four or five successive meetings, to introduce a
rapid survey of the principal mission fields of the
denomination, or an outline of some of the methods
of mission work, or a study of the Biblical teach-
- ings concerning the principles of missions. This
will need to be presented in a live, bright, interest-
128 Making a Missionary Church
ing way, by the best-qualified person to be found,
and should be kept strictly within the time limit.
The specific question how to organize the school
for missions is considered in Chapter XV, “‘ Organ-
izing a Missionary Church.” On the general sub-
ject of this chapter reference should be had to some
of the books listed at the close of the chapter.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
W. A. Brown, “ The Why and How of Missions in the
Sunday School.” F.H. Revell Co. 60 cents.
Frederica Beard, *‘ Graded Missionary Education in —
the Church School.” The American Baptist Pub-
lication Society. 75 cents. | |
G. H. Trull and J. S. Stowell, ‘The Sunday School
Teacher and the Program of Jesus.” Presbyterian
Board Pub. 175 cents. if
J. S. Stowell, ‘“‘Story-Worship Programs for the ©
Church School Year.” George H. Doran Co.
$1.50.
G. H. Trull, “ Five Missionary Minutes.” _Mission-
ary Education Movement. 75 cents.
E. E. Miller, ‘‘ Dramatization in Religious Educa-
tion.”” University of Chicago Press. $1.25.
G. J. Hutton, “ The Missionary Education of Jun-
iors.” Missionary Education Movement. 60 cents.
S. C. Bryant, “ How to Tell Stories to Children.”
Houghton Mifflin Co. $1.50.
G. H. Trull, “ Missionary Methods for Sunday School
Workers.” Sunday School Times. 75 cents.
R. E. Diffendorfer, ‘‘ Missionary Education in Home
and School.”’ Methodist Book Con. $2.00.
The Church School Curriculum 129
Gilbert Loveland, “ Training World Christians.”
Methodist Book Con. $1.25.
W. 8S. Athearn, “The Church School.” Pilgrim
Press. $1.00.
J. L. Lobingier, “World Friendship Through the
Church School.” University of Chicago Press.
o1.25.
E. E. Miller, “ The Dramatization of Bible Stories.”
University of Chicago Press. $1.25.
H. L. Willcox, ‘‘ Missionary Education Through Mis-
sionary Dramatics.” Missionary Education Move-
ment. 25 cents.
M. M. Russell, “How to Produce Plays and Pag-
eants.” George H. Doran Co. $1.50.
Vill
YOUNG PEOPLE AND THE SOCIAL LIFE
Coordination with Unified Church Plan
The young people are a part of the church. But
a good many of them do not realize it, and in
plenty of churches no effort is made to bring them
into the life and plans of the church as a whole.
They have their own organizations, they hold their
own meetings, they make their own plans, and often
their plans are not at all related to the plans of
the church. But the church plans ought to include
every organization, every group, and every age in
the church. Certainly the unified missionary plan, /
of the church should be comprehensive enough to’
provide for the interests and needs of the young
people. When the missionary plan and program
of the church are being made up, the young people, ,
should be represented in the discussion, and the plan *
adopted should make full provision for them. More-
over, the church plan should be so unified that the
same general subject or subjects will be the basis of
class study or programs or reading both in the young
people’s societies and among the older members of
the church. Or if the church plan is a progressive,
graded one, those parts relating to the young peo- »
ple’s organizations should fit in with the others as
an integral portion of the whole. Of course the,
young people should be consulted. Let them be in
“on the ground floor.” It should be their plan and
130
Young People and the Social Life 131
not only the church’s plan. On the other hand, make
them feel that they are a part of the church and
that their missionary program is a part of the whole
church plan.
The Importance of Missions for the Young People
All that we have said about the importance of
missionary instruction in the Sunday school applies
with equal force to the young people’s organizations.
Youth is the time for the fixing of ideas and ideals, |
and it is of supreme importance that these be true, ~
in harmony with Christ’s teachings. And missions
is at the heart of those teachings. Youth, too, is
the time of adventure. Anything that savors of
heroism appeals to them. Here missions has its ,
opportunity, for it is one great story of adventure
and heroism. Youth, also, is attracted by the big
things, and nothing is bigger than the world-winning
project that we call missions. It is not necessary to
announce “ missionary ” meetings, ‘ missionary ”
programs, “ missionary ”’ classes, or “ missionary ”
reading-courses. The Young Women’s Christian
Association speaks of its “ fellowship work,” and
the Young Men’s Christian Association has its
“foreign work,” its “extension work.” The col-
leges have their “Yale in China,” “Brown in
China,” etc. You can avoid the handicap of a
familiar and uninteresting word by calling the |
missionary work for your young people their “ fel- ‘
lowship work” or their “‘ kingdom work,” or you
can speak of ‘‘ Peekskill in India” or “ Columbus
in Japan.” Put the subject before them in the
right way, and you will not fail to enlist their en-
132 Making a Missionary Church
thusiastic interest and cooperation. It is worth
thought and planning, for youth is the critical age —
for the kingdom. Enlist your young people for the
world adventure of Christ while they are young,._
and you have pretty nearly solved the missionary |
problem of the church. But do not forget that this
means education, well-planned, continuous educa-
tion, so work out your church missionary program
in a comprehensive way, including all the organiza-
tions of young people in a program of education
and activity.
Give Every Society and Club Its Part in the Missionary
Program |
We are talking here, not only of the Christian
Endeavor Society or the Epworth League or the
Baptist Young People’s Union or similar societies,
but of all the organizations for young people and
boys and girls—Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, Girl
Scouts, Knights of King Arthur, and every other
club or society of or for the boys and girls and
young people outside the Sunday school. Every
group ought to think of themselves as related to
boys or girls or young people elsewhere in our coun-
try and other countries, of their own race and of
other races. That is the only attitude for any one,
young or old. It is certainly the only Christian at-
titude, and a church that calls itself Christian ought
to make it its business to see that this attitude and
spirit are inculcated in the life and activity of
every organization connected with the church. The’
business of the church is to Christianize the world.
And no organization has any place in the church
Young People and the Social Life 133
that does not relate itself in some way to that pro-
gram. An organization does not have to be labeled y,
“missionary ” to have the missionary spirit. The
possible expressions of the missionary spirit are
multiform, almost infinite in number. There is no
society or club in the church that cannot find ways
of expressing this outgoing spirit of Christ, and
this not in a haphazard way, but as a part of the
unified missionary plan of the church. We shall
see how this can be done in some of the well-known
organizations for young people and children.
The Young People’s Society
This book is intended as a handbook for church
leaders, not as an exhaustive treatise on missionary
methods. So that what is said about missions in
the young people’s society must be confined to a
few paragraphs. What we emphasize in this section
is the place of the young people’s society (Chris-
tian Endeavor Society, Epworth League, Baptist
Young People’s Union, etc.) in the unified mission-
ary plan of the church and to suggest how the so-
ciety can be effectively related to the church as a
whole in its missionary plans and work. For
methods of organization, plans for committee work,
programs for meetings, courses for study, and other
phases of missionary work in the young people’s
society, reference should be had to the suggestions
given from the headquarters of the organizations
and by the denominational departments of educa-
tion or other boards, and to the books mentioned
at the close of this chapter.
Let it be emphasized again that youth is pre-
134 Making a Missionary Church
eminently the time for developing an interest in
people outside one’s own circle or community or
country and for forming habits of world thought— _
for making missionary Christians, world Christians. /»
Therefore let nothing prevent full and adequate pro-
vision for the young people’s society in the making
and working out of the church’s missionary plan.
The society should have a missionary committee
or department, whose chairman should be a mem- }
ber of the missionary committee of the church. It
should take its work seriously, and with earnest-
ness, prayerfulness, great enthusiasm, persistence,
and patience do its best to make its part of the
society’s work the best of all. The knowledge that
the members of the society have of the world-
conquering work of Christ, and the extent of their
cooperation in that work through the church’s
missionaries, depends mostly on how well the com-
mittee does its work.
The plans of the society and its missionary com-
mittee should be intimately related to the mission- X
ary plan of the church. In fact they should be an
integral part of it. This applies, for example, to —
the topics for the missionary meetings. These
should be chosen with reference to the general sub-
ject of study in the church or the course of study
adopted for the various departments and ages. The
national young people’s organizations suggest mis-
Sionary topics in their yearly lists, and these are
a great contribution to societies in churches having
no unified missionary plan. But when a church does
adopt such a plan the young people’s society should
not slavishly follow the suggested topics, but if
a
Young People and the Social Life 135
necessary substitute other topics in harmony with
the church plan. For example, if the foreign-
mission topic adopted by the church for the year is
Japan and the home-mission topic is the children
of America, the topics for the missionary meetings
of the society for the season should be based on
these subjects. Or if the church has a more compre-
hensive plan of graded missionary study, the topics
used by the society should be based on the subjects
for the young people in that plan, as suggested in
Chapter II. The same applies to a study class or
reading-course, and to missionary activities such
as those suggested in Chapter X. The members of
the young people’s society should be enlisted in the
church reading-course, which should include well-
chosen books suitable for young people. All this
close coordination of plans can be readily effected
if the chairman: of the missionary committee of the
society is a member of a live, working church mis-
sionary committee.
The missionary plans of the young people’s so-
ciety should include one or more study classes. (See
Chapter IX.) These may be held on some week-
night, or Sunday afternoon, or the Sunday-evening
young people’s service may be given to the class
for a limited period. Or if the church has a school
of missions, a young people’s class should be a
part of the program. Missionary programs may
be given in the society’s meetings occasionally. Take
care, however, that these are not the ordinary,
stereotyped kind that are so often dull and unin-
teresting. The last thing you can afford to do is to
prejudice the young people against missions, the
136 Making a Missionary Church
supreme objective of the church. Have impersona-
tions and simple dramatizations. Have a debate
once in a while. Get a native of some foreign coun-
try to talk to the society. Use the stereopticon. Have
a travelog, with maps, photographs and other pic-
tures, posters, etc. Get away from the ordinary
kind of a program, and create a spirit of expectancy
in the minds of the members, so that they will
look forward with anticipation to the program of
the missionary committee. | ,
It should be remembered that the young people ,
are in training for service, and selected members ~
should be sent to institutes and conferences. Es-
pecially should advantage be taken of the young
people’s summer conferences and assemblies. The
conferences held by the Missionary Education Move-
ment at various places throughout the country dur-
ing the summer are of inestimable value. Many
young people have there seen a new vision of the
possibilities of their lives and have gone home to
transform their societies and become leaders for
Christ in the church and even in distant lands. By
all means send a delegate to one of these or similar .
conferences every summer. If a missionary insti-
tute is held within reach during the winter, be repre-
sented there also. The young people should be
brought into any missionary conferences held for
the local church and should have their own place
in the program.
Mission Circle and Junior Society
It is not necessary to say anything here about
missionary plans for young people’s and children’s
Young People and the Social Life 137
societies devoted specially to missions in the various
denominations, for there is plenty of material pro-
vided for these, and a request to the denominational
offices will bring suggestions. The important point
to mention is that the plans for these societies should
be made in conjunction with those for the whole
church, that is, the church’s unified missionary
plan. This by no means involves rejecting the plans
suggested by the denominational leaders for these
organizations, for the whole church plan should
take fully into consideration the general plans of
the denomination and should be coordinated with
them. Yet it may be necessary to adapt somewhat
the plans suggested from headquarters.
The junior society, such as the Junior League,
Junior Christian Endeavor Society, etc., is a some-
what different proposition. Here the responsibility
rests principally upon the person in charge. There
are relatively few plans and suggestions handed
down from national leaders, and what is done along
missionary lines is largely dependent on the in-
terest, vision, and knowledge of the leader. On the
other hand the opportunity is correspondingly more
free. Pastors or others choosing one to take charge
of the junior society should see that no one is
selected who is indifferent to missions. The im-
portance of starting the children out into life with
a broad, Christlike view of the world and the king-
dom and with a feeling of responsibility for helping
people everywhere should not be forgotten, and one
should be selected who has love for others and in-
terest in other peoples and a great desire to make
Christ king over all lands, as well as other quali-
138 Making a Missionary Church
ties naturally looked for in those to be connected
with children’s work. If it is important that
teachers in the Sunday school have the missionary
spirit and an interest in the missionary teachings
of the Bible, this is equally important for all others
who are given responsibility for training and
teaching and guiding the children. What children
are and what they become depend on their leaders.
The missionary teaching given the members of
the junior society should be closely coordinated with
that given in the Sunday school. If the latter is
thorough and comprehensive, there will be little
need of extensive instruction in the society; though
the subject should have an occasional place in the
devotional meetings, to prevent any one-sided pres-
entation of Christianity. The society is the place,
however, for special missionary activities like those
mentioned in Chapter X. There is a good deal along
that line which cannot be undertaken very easily
by Sunday-school classes but which can very readily
be made a part of the junior society program, and
add very greatly to the interest of the latter. One
very simple but very interesting and fruitful plan —
which any society can undertake as supplementary
to the missionary information given in Sunday
school or otherwise is the enlisting of the boys
and girls in the reading of missionary books. Many
denominations issue reading-courses, and these may
be followed. Or selected books may be put in the
hands of individual members with a time limit for
reading. Or the society may be divided into groups
for a reading-contest, group against group, or girls
against boys. Whatever the plans in the junior so-
Young People and the Social Life 139
ciety, they should be a part of the unified mission-
ary plan of the church, taken into consideration in
the making of that plan, and made in connection
with that plan.
Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, Girl Scouts
Missions in these organizations? Certainly. Why
not? They area part of the church, and should have
the same objective as the rest of the church. Of
course they have a special purpose, in that they are
related to a special group, the boys and girls, in
their social activities. But they have an educational
objective. A merely cursory reading of their
manuals will convince any one of that. The edu-
cational methods employed differ from those of the
church school, inasmuch as it is the out-of-school
activities which these organizations are trying to
organize for educational ends. But as organizations
in the church they have, or should have if they are
made a part of the church’s activities, the same
objective as all other organizations in the church,
namely, the development of a normal, well-rounded
Christian character, and the formation of habits
of Christian service. Here is the missionary ideal
in a nutshell. And a few suggestions will make
clear how the ideal may be made a practical reality
in the work of Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, and similar
clubs and societies.
One of the promises in the Scout oath, for ex-
ample, is “ to do my duty to God and my country.”
From the Christian point of view one cannot do
one’s duty to God without a full loyalty to God’s
program for the redemption of the world—in other
140 Making a Missionary Church
words, missions. Scouts should be shown that we
are all of one great world family in God, and that
one’s duty to God involves doing one’s best for all
the family of God, in China, Africa, and Europe, as
in America. For a Christian, to do one’s duty to
one’s country is certainly to try to make the coun-
try Christian. Here is home missions. Scouts are
urged to ‘“‘do a good turn to some one every day.”
Among those who surely need good turns are the
foreign people in the community, and there is a
fine opportunity for Christian scout-masters to de-
velop the unselfish spirit in their charges by en-
couraging service to these. ‘‘ No boy can grow into
the best kind of citizenship without recognizing
his obligation to God,” says the Scout ‘ Handbook,”
which further states that the church with which a
troop is connected is expected to train the boys in
all things that pertain to allegiance to Ged. Clearly
it is not lugging in something that does not belong
in the Scout program to teach how other boys live,
what are their handicaps and what their possibili-
ties, and to enlist the boys of the troop in service
to them. And among the inspiring tales of adven- |
ture and achievement which they should know are
the stories of such great Christian scouts as Living-
stone and Judson+ and others like them that have
blazed a trail through the wilderness for God.
The program of the Camp Fire Girls fits into the
church missionary program even more readily. The
slogan is ‘‘ Give Service.” The Firemaker’s Desire,
expressing the ideal of one of the three ranks, is
distinctly missionary.
1See ‘“ Livingstone the Pathfinder,’ ‘‘ Judson the Pioneer.”
Young People and the Social Life 141
As fuel is brought to the fire
So I purpose to bring
My strength
My ambition
My heart’s desire
My joy
And my sorrow
To the fire
Of humankind.
For I will tend
As my fathers have tended
And my fathers’ fathers
Since time began
The fire that is called
The love of man for man
The love of man for God.
So also the Torch Bearer’s Desire: “‘ That light
which has been given to me I desire to pass un-
dimmed to others.” One of the functions of the
Camp Fire program is to tie the school and the
church to the life of the community, and the at-
tempt is always made to carry the teachings of
the church into practise. That this ideal includes
missionary knowledge and service is clear from the
Desires quoted. And this is emphasized very con-
cretely in the list of activities for which honors are
awarded. Among these are seventeen under the
heading ‘‘ What the American Born Can Do for
Americanization,” such as ‘‘ Learn five facts about
the country and customs of five immigrant races,”
“Take two foreign-born girls to an art museum,”
“Invite a child from foreign section to your Christ-
mas or Thanksgiving dinner,” etc. Church honors
are given for the following, among others:
Know the names and chief responsibilities of the
142 Making a Missionary Church
leading missionary organizations, home and foreign,
of your denomination.
Know and tell two classic missionary stories.
Become a member of a mission study class.
Attend a summer conference.
Lead a mission study class.
Have charge of your church missionary bulletin-
board.
Be responsible for the production of a missionary
play or pageant.
Besides all these, local honors are provided for,
chosen by the local Camp Fire, and some of these
may readily be given for missionary service.
Both Scouts and Camp Fire Girls are world-wide
organizations, their ideals are missionary, and it is
natural and proper to bring missionary teachings
and missionary service into their meetings and
life. The same applies to other similar organiza-
tions. It need hardly be said that there is no
thought of turning them into mission bands. They
have their distinctive social and educational pur-
pose. But as part of the church organization their
purpose should harmonize with the supreme mis-
sionary objective of the church, and they ought
to be fitted into the plans of the church, including
the missionary plans. Tact and common sense and
appreciation of true proportions are needed in this.
as in all things. But the opportunities for broad
Christian training are unlimited.
An Educational Plan for the Whole Church
It must be clear from the above that the educa-
tional plans of the church include more than the
Young People and the Social Life 143
church school. It is a mistake for a church to limit
its thought of its educational work to the school.
All the young people’s and children’s societies, clubs,
and other organizations should be included in its
educational plans. In fact every organization in
the church, whether for young or for old, should
have a place in the educational work and plan.
There should be no duplication, and on the other
hand the full needs of all groups should be provided
for. The necessity of a comprehensive missionary
plan for the whole church is thus seen. And this
plan should be a part of the general educational
plan for the whole church.
Social Life in the Church
What about the social life of the young people?
This is a natural and proper expression of life, young
and old. All phases of life ought to be touched
by Christian influence, and all be so directed as to
make their contribution to the development of a
normal, symmetrical, and well-rounded Christian
life and to the establishment and growth of the
kingdom of God throughout the world. The social
life of the church should be utilized toward the
achieving of the purpose of the church. That pur-
pose, as we have seen, is to make the world, the
whole world, Christian. So that the social life of
the church has relation to the church’s missionary
plan, and should be so directed as a part of that plan
that it may in some measure help in missionary
education and service. This gives the social life
of the church a positive meaning, instead of the
negative one appearing in the preventive idea so
144 Making a Missionary Church
common in the minds of church-members in rela-
tion to the church’s social activities. The sugges-
tions given in the following paragraphs will indicate
some of the ways that are open.
Missions Must Not Be Lugged In
But first let it be said with emphasis that mis-
sions must not be “ lugged in.” An overenthusiastic
member can do a good deal of damage by lack of
tact. It will not do to bring missions into your
social plans in such a way as to create a prejudice
against the subject. It must be brought in naturally,
in such form as fits the occasion and the partici-
pants. This means careful planning, almost more
careful planning than for any other missionary
work. But nothing is so important as to capture
the interest of the young people for the missionary
enterprise, and it is worth any amount of thought
and planning to accomplish this result. It should
be observed, too, that what is done along missionary
lines in connection with social occasions must be
done from the inside, by those who are to partici-
pate, not by the missionary committee or any other |
group or individual officially related to missionary
plans or work. Members of the committee will
perhaps have to suggest plans, but they must do it
informally and unofficially. The pastor, of course,
can do most in this direction.
Plays and Dramas
Nothing is welcomed more in an entertainment
than a good play. And it has the advantage of pro-
viding plenty of fun for the participants at re-
Young People and the Social Life 145
hearsals. Why not occasionally use a play that has
a missionary message? Of course you will not call
it a missionary play. And perhaps there will be
nothing in it that many would think of as mission-
ary. Perhaps it will be a Japanese wedding. Or
perhaps a sketch of Chinese life. Or it may be a
very carefully selected presentation of immigrant
characters (but no burlesque). These will help to
interest participants and audience in people of
other races, which is the basis of missions. On
occasion a distinctively missionary play can be given,
especially at a social or entertainment of the young
people’s society. If a mission study class is holding
sessions, let the members of the class present publicly
at the end of their course, perhaps at some social
gathering, a play dealing with the country or subject
they have been studying. This will fix in their
minds the things they have been reading and dis-
cussing and will give a good excuse for the pres-
entation of a missionary play. (See Chapter VII.)
For more serious work a pageant can be given,
with costumes and music. If well done nothing is
more effective than this, though the number of avail-
able missionary pageants is limited.
Write to the mission board or literature head-
quarters of your denomination for advice regard-
ing plays and pageants.
Foreign Games
For children’s gatherings, when something new is
wanted, introduce some games played by boys or
girls in other countries. The children will welcome
these as something novel and new. Some of the
146 Making a Missionary Church
games will appeal to them and will prove very
interesting and amusing. Descriptions of foreign
games can be found in “‘ The Chinese Boy and Girl,”
by Headland, and “Children at Play in Many
Lands,” by Katherine Hall. Or hunt up some fam-
ilies of foreign birth in your community and get
them to teach you some games. Perhaps you can
induce some of them to come to your children’s
party and teach the games to the children them-
selves. That will be a good piece of missionary
work and will put meaning into the games that you,
as an American, cannot give them.
Travel Talks
Get hold of a Christian traveler and have him tell
at a social some of his experiences in foreign coun-
tries. Travel is so common now that it is not diffi-
cult in a fair-sized place to find some one who has
been in Japan or India or in South America or in
the Near East. Only be sure he is a good speaker,
an interesting story-teller. If he has had some un-
usual adventures, so much the better. Perhaps you
can secure a missionary for the occasion. Induce ©
him to leave out everything about his work for that
night, and just tell some of the thousand and one
unusual experiences that most missionaries can tell.
Here again the caution, be sure you get an inter-
esting talker. Some people have a lot of interesting
experiences but cannot tell about them interest-
ingly. You want to attract the hearers to the people
and country about which he talks, so make certain
the speaker can talk. Many missionaries have some
thrilling adventures, or some ludicrous experiences,
Young People and the Social Life 147
which they will tell your young people if you
urge them hard enough. Try it.
Evenings with Foreign Nationalities
Introduce to your members some of the foreign
peoples represented in your own community. Have
an Italian Night, a Polish Night, a Spanish Night,
or a Swedish Night. Have a supper served in the
native style, with waitresses in native costume.
Then have an address, or one or two brief talks, by
some one of the race represented, about the people,
their customs, life, achievements, etc. Have plenty
of singing, folk-songs and other selections, with
instrumental music. An exhibit of pictures, either
photographs or stereopticon views, will add to the
interest. You will not have difficulty in getting the
help of people of the nationality you are presenting,
if you explain what you are trying to do. An en-
tertainment like this will be quite a novelty and
will be greatly enjoyed. As a social feature it will
be a success, and at the same time it will make your
members acquainted with some of the New Amer-
icans in their midst and will bring the latter into
touch with the church.
Private Social Gatherings
Many of the suggestions given above can be
adapted to home gatherings and parties. Games,
impersonations, playlets, music, can all bring in
other nationalities, and besides being novel will
teach a missionary lesson. You can introduce a
novelty into your evenings with your friends by in-
148 Making a Missionary Church
viting them to a meal served in a foreign style, with
foreign dishes and decorations.
Do not overlook the value of picture post-cards.
Some of the mission boards have very beautiful ones,
hand-colored, representing scenes and life in mis-
sion lands. Others can be secured in stores or from
friends or elsewhere. They are fine for use in send-
ing a'brief message, particularly a notice, and need
not be limited to notices of missionary meetings.
You can send them in private correspondence, and
they can be used effectively by teachers in birthday
congratulations, or by officers of societies in their
brief communications. |
These are but suggestions. Interest your social
leaders in the missionary purpose of the church,
and they will be able to suggest innumerable ways
in which missions can be brought naturally into the
social life of the young people and of the church.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
K.S. Hall, ‘‘ Children at Play in Many Lands.” Mis-
sionary Education Movement. 175 cents.
M. M. Russell, ‘‘ Dramatized Missionary Stories.”
George H. Doran Co. $1.00.
“Folk Songs of Many Peoples.”
Elizabeth Wilson, “The Road Ahead.” The Wo-
man’s Press. 50 cents.
K. D. Hubbard, ‘‘ The Moffats.” Missionary Educa-
tion Movement. 50 and 75 cents.
F. G. Detweiler, ‘‘ Baptist Young People at Work.”
The American Baptist Publication Society. 75
cents.
Young People and the Social Life 149
‘The Book of the Camp Fire Girls.”
“ Boy Scout Manual.”
Margaret Applegarth, “Short Missionary Plays.”
George H. Doran Co. $1.50.
Margaret Applegarth, ‘‘ More Short Missionary
Plays.” George H. Doran Co. $1.50.
M. M. Russell, “ How to Produce Plays and Pag-
eants.” George H. Doran Co. $1.50.
IX
KEEPING INFORMED
A Continuous Education
The emphasis is on “ keeping.” The process is
a continuous one. No one ever becomes educated.
Finishing-schools are a misnomer as far as educa-
tion is concerned. You never complete your edu-
cation. Most people continue to learn. They read,
at least the newspapers and perhaps magazines and
some books, they talk with others who know, and
they do some thinking. Perhaps it is exaggeration
to call this education; education is a more serious
and systematic process. But it is at least learning, ©
and this we are all doing. We never learn all there
is to learn. This is true even in the trade or busi- —
ness or profession or occupation to which we may
be devoting our lives. Some one is discovering
something, or inventing something, or suggesting
a new line of work, or describing what he has done,
and if we are to be proficient we must keep in-
formed. We feel the necessity of that, and we read
books and take magazines and attend lectures in
order to keep up in our line of work. And we
think this important for our children, and we have
books and other reading matter in our homes.
Neither their education nor ours is ever ended.
There is always a great deal to learn if we are to
be anything like one hundred per cent. efficient in
our work.
150
Keeping Informed 151
Missionary Education a Continuous Process
There is no difference when you come to the work
of the church, local or missionary. We are not able
to do our work as well as we ought to do it unless
we are informed and keep informed. And there is
a good deal to learn. If your church school in-
cludes in its curriculum such missionary courses as
we have mentioned, you have not learned all there
is to learn about missions when you have com-
pleted the school course. You have only laid the
foundation for further study. The New Testament
has a good deal more to teach you about missions,
there are fascinating stories that you have not
heard of adventure for Christ crowding the long
centuries since Paul’s day, missionaries are con-
stantly doing new things of which you have not
read, the results of missions have been piling up
in ways innumerable, and the meaning of it all to
you in terms of prayer and money and service con-
tinually needs reckoning anew. Clearly every-
thing you learned yesterday about missions needs
supplementing today. In fact a good deal has hap-
pened since yesterday, and you must know about
that if you are to be well fitted to take your part in
the church’s greatest task. There are new stories
of absorbing interest that the missionaries are
telling, there are new lines of work far different
from past methods, and whole peoples and civiliza-
tions are being changed by what the missionaries
are doing. Do you know about these things? Do
the officers and the members of your church know
about them? There are plenty of church-members
152 Making a Missionary Church
who do not know much more now about the great
apostolic work of missions than they knew ten
years ago. Or what they have learned is: very
meager and fragmentary. But the missionary work
of the church is too important to be the subject
of hit-or-miss or occasional information. We must
keep informed.
Direction Needed
There are plenty of people in the church who
would like to know about missions who do not know
where to find the information. And there are
plenty of others who keep pretty well informed on
some parts of the enterprise, but who are not in-
formed at all on other parts. Some one who knows
must teach them. This “ some one” is in most cases
the pastor. Unfortunately there are some pastors
who are not themselves keeping informed. Then
few in the church get much information. Perhaps
the missionary committee of the church has the —
responsibilty under the pastor’s leadership. But
at any rate some one must lead the church in the
securing of information about missions. That one.
must himself keep informed. He must educate
himself systematically, and must have a systematic
plan for informing the church. The general mis-
sionary plan of the church must be kept in mind,
and all he does must be in harmony with that plan.
He must know how much the church or various
members or groups know, and must supplement
their knowledge. And he must know where to get
hold of the information that will interest those who
know practically nothing about the missionary en-
Keeping Informed 153
terprise. The one who does this has plenty to do,
but he has a great opportunity. Nothing in the
church offers greater possibilities in the lives of the
members or in the work of the church than this
task of directing the general education of the church
in missionary knowledge.
There Is Plenty of Missionary News
The task of the pastor or missionary committee
in keeping the church informed regarding the things
of missions and the progress of the missionary en- —
terprise, is one of organizing the material and of
setting it before the different groups in the church
in interesting form. There is no lack of missionary
news. There are books amply interpreting the mis-
sionary message of the New and Old Testaments,
explanations of the new forms of missionary work
are available, the modern problems of missions are
given wide publicity, the results of missions are
published fully and frequently, stories of missionary
heroism and of native Christian loyalty are con-
stantly being written, and every denomination is
ready with the latest arguments on missionary ob-
ligation and the needs of the work at home and
abroad. There is plenty of news. Where to find
it? Stories and incidents are to be found in folders
published by the mission boards, in your denomina-
tional missionary periodicals and in books of mis-
sionary biography and missionary sketches. The
results of mission work are in the reports and fold-
ers of the societies and boards, and are given in a
broader way in interdenominational periodicals.
Notable is the series of articles on “‘ The Mission-
154 Making a Missionary Church
ary Significance of the Last Ten Years: A Survey,”
in the quarterly numbers of The International Re-
view of Missions for 1922 and 1923. The latter
magazine presents the problems of modern missions,
as do the annual reports of some of the mission
boards and the adult study books published each
year by the Missionary Education Movement. The
missionary interpretation of the Bible is best out-
lined in books, many excellent ones being now avail-
able. If one has a plan and is on the lookout for
missionary news, it is easy to find the material.
Some mission boards have a subscription plan for
new pamphlet literature, one annual payment of
fifty cents or a dollar bringing to the subscriber a
copy of every publication as issued. Political, social,
and athletic news is plenty enough to fill a big news-
paper every morning. And missionary news is just
as plentiful if you look for it. eh
The Church Calendar and Bulletin-board
We have pointed out in Chapter VI the opportu-
nity a minister has in his sermons to bring to his
people news of the victorious fight the advance
armies of the church are waging in missionary en-
deavor against the forces of heathenism and irre-
ligion. He can be a publicity agent for kingdom
extension almost every Sunday if he is alert and
tactful. But there is another possible means which
in some ways is quite as valuable as his sermons.
That is the church calendar and the church bulletin-
board, to which may be added the literature table.
See the advantage you have with the calendar: it is
placed in the hands of the people every Sunday,
Keeping Informed 155
practically every one present reads every word of it,
many copies are taken home for others to read,
something different in the way of news can appear
every week, and whatever is on the calendar has
the stamp of the church’s approval. Almost any
church that has a calendar can give space for a
paragraph or a few lines with an item of news ora
short missionary incident or some missionary facts
or a strong missionary appeal. Some one on the
church missionary committee should be delegated to
provide the brief paragraph each week for the editor
of the calendar. The items should be varied in
character, all fields should be represented in turn—
community, State, home, foreign—and they should
be as well written as possible, every one with a
“punch ” in it. Do not overlook the calendar as a
publicity organ for missions and the kingdom of
God.
Not every church can afford to have a calendar,
but every church can have a bulletin-board—not a
fancy one nor elaborate, but a neat board, made
without charge, perhaps, by a member of the church,
or one of its friends. On this can be placed not
only church notices but missionary posters, mis-
sionary advertisements and appeals cut from the
church papers, hand-made posters prepared by the
young people, and similar material selected by the
one made responsible for this. The board can be
used effectively in advertising a new missionary
folder or an interesting book by posting on it a copy
of the folder or the jacket of the book, with a good
striking line of advertising suggesting something
interesting about it and telling from whom it can
156 Making a Missionary Church
be secured. Missionary pictures—good ones that
tell their own story, not too many details, not too
small—ought frequently to find a place on the bulle-
tin-board. By cooperation with the editor of the
calendar a line can occasionally or regularly appear
in this, such as: “ See the bulletin-board today for
—_____—”’: ““Do you know ‘about ——+——+?, | ‘See
the bulletin-board ’”’; “‘ We welcome an African chief
this morning. See the bulletin-board.” (Referring
to a picture.) Or if there is no calendar the pastor
can call attention to the special feature for the day.
Be sure that a notice appears on the board like “ Do
not place any notice on this board. Hand it to
—_—_——.”’ Many church bulletin-boards are a dis-
grace to the church. No one is in charge, they are
a catch-all for notices and advertising of all sorts
fastened up on the board in any old way, important
things are left off, and unimportant things not at all
related to the church are put on (and then often left ~
on until they are long out of date), and the fine
opportunity which the bulletin-board offers for edu-
cational publicity is entirely overlooked. One of the
best ways of keeping the church informed on mis-
sions is a regular, well-planned use of the bulletin-
board.
How to Use Missionary Pamphlets
Churches make too little use of literature. Noth-
ing can take the place of the spoken word, but the
sermon or the personal appeal can be powerfully
reenforced by a good piece of printed matter. Then
too, folders and books can go where the spoken mes-
sage is not heard. The fathers used “ tracts ” widely
Keeping Informed 157
and effectively. The day for that form of literature
is past, but in better style, modern in appeal, attrac-
tive in appearance, there is plenty of printed matter
which can be used with great effectiveness. Every
pastor and every missionary committee ought to
keep themselves familiar with the missionary
pamphlets issued by their mission boards. Various
plans are followed in different denominations, and
the pastor and other missionary ieaders should find
out how to secure a copy of each publication. It
must be admitted that most boards issue too many
different pamphlets, and that some are not very
attractive. They would do better to issue a smaller
variety and to make them better in quality. Some
publications the pastor and members of the mis-
sionary committee will need to do little but glance
at. But there are others of great importance, very
attractive and very valuable, and these should
receive careful attention. ‘Too few of these first-
class pamphlets are used in many churches, and an
important work for the missionary committee is to
plan ways of circulating them among the different
groups in the church.
The most important thing is to have a definite
plan in the distribution. Sometimes the literature
may be placed in the pews at a Sunday service or
handed to members of. the congregation as they leave.
But either plan is ineffective and gives the impres-
sion of little importance. The distribution should
be very carefully planned to make the literature as
effective as possible. Make every piece given out
or sent out strike twelve. Do not distribute a quan-
tity indiscriminately in the vague hope that some
158 Making a Missionary Church >
people may be influenced in some way in favor of
missions. Decide just what you want to accomplish,
select just the piece or pieces of literature you want,
and then choose the most effective way of using that
literature to accomplish your purpose. Have no hit-
or-miss distribution. |
An effective method is to send occasionally (the
time or occasion being carefully chosen) a well-
selected pamphlet or folder to every member of the
church. This may be varied by sending to the
men a folder specially fitted to them, another to the
young people, etc. Or groups with particular inter-
ests may be selected, teachers for example, and just
the right piece of literature sent to them. A letter
should accompany the pamphlet or folder, calling
attention to some feature of it, and relating it to an
item in the missionary program of the church.
Generally this letter should be over the signature
of the pastor; occasionally a valuable variation is
a letter from one of the members of the church to ~
his fellow members. Cumulative effect can be had
by sending a series of folders at regular intervals,
the folders being all related to a definite theme, and.
the distribution having a definite end in view.
The Literature Table
A literature table can be used very effectively if
it is conducted according to a carefully prepared
plan. Somewhere in every church there is space for
such a table or a literature rack. There ought to
be room in the vestibule. That is the best place.
Perhaps there is a prominent corner in the rear of
the church. Or some other place can be found.
Keeping Informed 159
Some churches make the mistake of having a large
table; a small one is better. A large table has so
much on it that people are not interested, the same
literature is there most of the time, and the table
easily gets mussy. A small table is not in the way,
a place can be found for it more readily, only a few
titles appear at a time, and it can be kept looking
neat. The table should contain a supply of one or
two good folders for use in evangelism, one or two
good devotional folders or pamphlets for general use,
and a few well-selected pieces of missionary litera-
ture. Some one should be definitely in charge, and
the table should not be allowed to become a place
where any one or every one may display announce-
ments of entertainments or advertise his pet scheme.
It should be kept strictly for its real purpose asa part
of the educational work of the church. It should be
put in order before every service, and the mission-
ary literature should be changed frequently, every
two or three weeks. While only a few titles should
be displayed at a time, there should be something
for all classes in the church—a story, an illustrated
folder describing some form or field of mission work,
a general folder outlining the missionary program
of the denomination or presenting a financial appeal.
There should be something for the women, something
for the men, and something for the children and
young people. Those engaged in educational work
should occasionally find on the table a description
of a mission school, physicians and nurses should
be attracted by a story of medical work once in a
while, and other groups should be provided for in a
similar way. Especially take advantage of current
160 Making a Missionary Church
events, or visits of special speakers, or themes pre-
sented by the pastor in sermon or midweek address,
or subjects considered in women’s society or young
people’s society meetings, or lectures in town, or
other timely happenings, and have on the table
literature related in some way to these subjects. In
other words, tie up missions to the things in which
the various members of the church are interested.
Keep the literature table up to date, and make it a
center of interest for the whole church. A good
book may be placed on the table occasionally, with
the price marked and the name of the person to
whom orders can be given. Call attention in the
calendar or on the bulletin-board to special literature
displayed on the literature table. In general the
literature should be free, but as there are many
folders and pamphlets which must be bought if they
are to be had, the church or the woman’s society may
well provide a small fund for this purpose, or a —
small box can be placed on the table with some such -
notice as: “‘ This literature is free to all. Take what
you can use. The church pays for it, but if you want
to help pay for what you take put the money in this
box.” The literature table has unlimited possibili-
ties; we have suggested only a few.
Other Literature Plans
A useful method of distributing pamphlet litera-
ture to the women is by giving ten minutes at each
meeting of the woman’s society to the woman re-
sponsible for literature to describe one or two new
publications. She should have copies at hand, and
show a copy to the society, while she tells part of
Keeping Informed 161
the contents in such a way as to whet the appetite
for more. If it isa priced folder, so much the better,
as it will be appreciated more if it costs a little.
Sales may be made immediately, or after the meet-
ing. Ifa luncheon is held, a good piece of free litera-
ture can be placed at each plate. Another way of
advertising literature is by an interesting descrip-
tion of one folder in the midweek service, copies
being distributed or sold at the close. This is es-
pecially effective if the pastor gives the description.
An occasional distribution of an appropriate folder
can be made with good results in the meeting of the
brotherhood or men’s Bible class. Other plans will
suggest themselves. The important thing is to have
a plan, and to make that plan a part of the unified
missionary plan of the church.
Using Missionary Books
Here is another field of missionary knowledge and
inspiration whose possibilities are largely unrealized
in most churches. Missionary books are of two
classes, text-books and books for general reading.
Many of the former may also be included in the
second class as well. The use of study books is
considered below (‘‘ Study Classes’’); we are in-
terested here in the promotion of general missionary
reading. There is an abundance of such books,
adapted to all ages and all classes, books for chil-
dren, for men, and for women. They deal with all
fields of missions and with all phases of missionary
work. Many of them are of thrilling interest. The
question is, How to get them read? If you are pastor
or a missionary leader, the first answer is, Get ac-
162 Making a Missionary Church
quainted with them yourself. You will not interest
others in what does not interest you, and you cer-
tainly cannot get others to read many books that you
yourself do not know. So read missionary books to
keep informed on what to recommend to others in
the church. We have spoken (Chapter III) of the
importance of a minister’s reading missionary books
for training himself in his task of missionary leader-
ship. But he should read books, or get acquainted
with them in a general way, as a means of leading
his church to read for themselves. Some member
of the church missionary committee should also be
charged with the responsibility of becoming familiar
with the best books and of keeping informed on new
publications.
If some one is definitely responsible for getting
books read, he will find ways of doing this. The
easiest plan is to begin with the boys and girls. A
good boys’ book, like “The Black-Bearded Bar-
barian,” can be put into a boys’ class, and a good
girls’ book like “* Ann of Ava” into a girls’ class, and
be read and passed around from boy to boy or girl
to girl, allowing the book to be kept a week. Stir
up enthusiasm in the class over the reading. A con-
test between classes may be helpful, with a prize,
such as a picture or a curio, to the class reporting ~
the most readers in a given time. A Baptist school
gave a Judson Centennial Medal to every boy and
girl reading “‘ Ann of Ava” and “ Judson the Pio-
neer.” In the young people’s society and the wo-
man’s society the reading of a good book is often
secured by showing a copy in a meeting, describing
its contents and perhaps telling an incident from it—
Keeping Informed 163
leaving it unfinished, then getting orders for copies
after the meeting or loaning the one copy to some
one for a definite period, taking the names of others
who want to read it in order. The same plan is
occasionally followed in men’s clubs and classes.
Probably no one else can do as much to secure the
reading of missionary books as the pastor, within
the limitations of time and other duties. One way
in which he can do this is by describing and showing
a good book in the midweek service, like the plan
suggested for the young people’s society and wo-
man’s society, recommending it to his people and
saying that orders can be given to a member of the
missionary committee whom he names. Many
ministers do a work of immeasurable value by carry-
ing an attractive book with them in their pastoral
calls, and as they have opportunity showing it and
recommending its reading. Others, without taking
a book with them, mention it in the various homes
they visit. So that it has been said of some minis-
ters that their people always know what books they
have been reading by the books they talk about in
their pastoral calls. That makes pastoral calling
count to a degree that in the case of many ministers
is unthought of. Among the books a pastor recom-
mends in this way, should be some well-chosen books
on missions, suiting the book to those whom he visits,
such a volume as “ The Social Aspects of Foreign
Missions,” by Faunce, for men, or an exciting story
like “ The Bells of the Blue Pagoda,” by Cochran, for
young people. Many will read books recommended
by their pastor when they would not respond to the
suggestion of others. But this method of individual
164 Making a Missionary Church
enlistment in missionary reading can be worked
with good results by others, and a member of the
missionary committee of the church should be re-
sponsible for getting books read, sometimes having
some one other than himself promote the circulation
and reading of a book in a particular group. Still
another effective way of advertising missionary
books is through the literature table and the calendar
as described above. The important thing here is
not to overwork the plan, and to make sure that in
every case the book announced and exhibited is one
of unusual interest and attractiveness.
Missionary Reading-courses
There is always more interest in any plan when a
number take part in it. That is the value of the
missionary reading-courses which are promoted by
many denominations. A list is selected, or different
lists for adults, young people, children, etc., and —
points are given for the reading of each book, with.
special recognition to the church or organization
securing the most points. The reading-course is
closely related to the subjects of mission study
recommended by the mission boards of the denomi-
nation, so that the reading has a definite aim, and
the whole church can join in one plan and one inter-
est. The church’s missionary plan should take this -
denominational plan into consideration, but in any
case the reading-course chosen should fit into the
local church plan. If there is no such reading-course
recommended by the denominational boards, the
missionary committee of the church can make up its
own course, or join with churches of other denomina-
Keeping Informed 165
tions in the community in a community-wide read-
ing-course. The books should if possible be pur-
chased by the church, or by organizations in the
church, and kept in circulation by the missionary
committee. The element of rivalry can be introduced
by the formation of two or more reading-groups in
the church or in the young people’s society or the
woman’s society, with a contest between them to
secure the most points.
Using the Library
The Sunday-school library used to be a great insti-
tution. All the boys and girls, and many of the older
members, took books out regularly. It was mostly
a collection of stories and novels and other general
books, usually not of very high grade. In towns and
cities the public library has now mostly taken the
place of the library of the Sunday school, though in
smaller places this department of the school still has
a place.
If your school has a library, how many missionary
books are in it? Are they being read? The Sunday-
school library ought to contain some of the fine
stories of missionary adventure, the biographies of
the great pioneers, and other general books on mis-
sions, including a few works of reference. If your
school has no general library, the church or school
should have one for missionary and educational pur-
poses, containing, besides books for the help of
teachers and other books on the Bible for general
use, a good selection of missionary books. Of course,
just having missionary books in the church library
will not get them read, but they can be kept in cir-
166 Making a Missionary Church
culation by the missionary committee, and one mem-
ber of the committee should be responsible to see
that all the missionary books are constantly in ser-
vice. They can not only be used in general reading
but be made available for all who are taking part in
missionary programs, or studying in mission-study
classes, or serving as officers or leaders in mission-
ary organizations. It is not necessary to have a
large library, but it should be a good one, up-to-date
and well cared for. Current missionary magazines
can be kept on file, with occasional numbers of gen-
eral magazines containing articles relating to life in
mission lands or to missionary problems. Pamphlets
published by the mission boards should also be filed
in the library, for here is much of the special infor-
mation needed for programs and classes. But great
care should be taken to keep these up-to-date, sorting
them and discarding old pamphlets frequently.
Such a library every church can have. None is too
small. The cost is very little. The essential is an.
efficient librarian, interested in missions, and ener-
getic and tactful in circulating the books, pamphlets,
and magazines. The librarian may be a member of
the missionary committee or some one else chosen by
the committee.
Not half as much use of the public library is made
by most churches as ought to be made. Most libra- —
ries contain some books on the Bible and religion,
and would gladly respond to suggestions and requests
for other books related to the work of the churches.
What books does the library in your community
contain that are related to missions? There may be
some good ones, that some other more wide-awake
Keeping Informed 167
church has asked to have placed on the shelves. List
these for recommendation to the folks in your
church. And then add to the list books of travel or
description, and stories of immigrant life. Perhaps
you will find a good novel or two, also, with scene laid
in a mission land, or in our own land in what is a
mission field. Cultivate the public library as a means
of missionary education.
Missions in the Newspapers
The daily newspaper is the most up-to-date mis-
slonary magazine that is published. Most people
read the news from the point of view of business, or
politics, or just “ happenings.” But if you will think
of it in its relation to the kingdom of God, you will
find the newspaper tremendously suggestive. Pick
up the morning paper, run your eye down the
columns, and see how your thought is carried from
country to country around the globe. Then ask
yourself, What does this or that event mean for the
kingdom of Christ, for the church, for me as a
Christian? Look at it from this standpoint, and the
daily news takes on a new interest and importance.
You are studying the world history of the kingdom
in its latest chapters.
American newspapers have given more space to
foreign news since the World War, though there is
still vast room for improvement. Most papers give
too little space to events outside the locality and the
country, but you will find in almost any daily paper
some of the larger events of the world’s life. Think
of some familiar events in their relation to the
kingdom of God and to missions: The Washing-
168 Making a Missionary Church
ton Conference; Japan had a leading part. What is
it to mean to the kingdom and to the world that
Japan is the leader of the Orient and is to be reck-
oned with in all world plans? Is its influence to be
Christian, heathen, or agnostic? In the face of the
aggressiveness of the military party consider the
significance of the prominence of Christian leaders,
in parliament, in the navy, in education, in business.
Consider the special features of missionary work in
Japan. Are we doing our utmost, in proportion to
what we are doing in other countries and in the
methods we are employing, to make Japan’s impact
upon the world’s life uplifting and Christian? The
Washington Conference was a missionary event.
The Near East is a perennial topic. But you can-
not discuss it intelligently without a knowledge of
the religious and missionary background. Why do
the Turks persecute the Armenians? There are so-
cial and political reasons, but the fundamental rea-
son is religious. Who is James L. Barton, who has ~
figured continually with the diplomats? Head of
the foreign mission society that has poured millions
of money and hundreds of men and women into the
Christianizing of the Near East. Consider the influ-—
ence on the remaking of that part of the world that
the Christian colleges are to have, as they have had
in the past—Robert College, Beirut, and others.
The whole problem in lands predominantly Moham-
medan is primarily a religious one—that is, a mis-
sionary one.
The recent Pan-American Congress emphasized
in our minds again our relation to the Latin-Ameri-
can countries to the south. How do you think of that
Keeping Informed 169
relation? Asa political one? Or as a business one?
But what about the religious side? What did the
gathering of the American nations mean to the king-
dom of God, to the Christianizing of Central and
South America? What is our growing contact with
these great neighbors to mean to that kingdom? In
other words, what is the missionary significance?
You need to be able to compare the religious history
of those countries and our own to understand it fully.
The meaning of political strength to the kingdom de-
pends on the religious background. Study the Pan-
American situation from this point of view.
Illustrations like these can be multiplied from the
newspapers every day. They tell of events that have
a profound missionary significance. One important
way of keeping informed is to read the newspaper
with God’s missionary purpose in mind. Nothing is
more interesting to all classes in the church than the
interpretation of current events. Let the minister
interpret them to his people frequently—from the
missionary standpoint, of course, avoiding political
entanglements. A discussion course on this subject
in the church school of missions will attract many,
particularly the men. Such a course is a fine study
for men’s classes. Get the people in your church into
the habit of reading the newspapers from the point
of view of the kingdom. The result will be a broader
and more intelligent Christianity, a new interest in
missions, and an increased eagerness for service.
The pastor can usually do most here, but if you can
draft the right layman, intelligent, broad-minded,
and earnestly Christian, it will be a fine thing to
give him the responsibility of keeping before the
170 Making a Missionary Church
church in various ways and in various departments
the missionary significance of current events.
Mission Study Classes
Besides the larger number who can be interested
in the reading of missionary literature, there are
some in every church who can be enlisted in the in-
tensive study of some particular field or form of
work for a limited period. These can be brought
together in a mission-study class. The number of
classes is steadily growing and the number engaged
in study is increasing rapidly. Almost all denomina-
tions are promoting the plan, and in some the num-
ber of classes reaches into the thousands each year.
Text-books are prepared and published cooperatively
by many of the denominations, and others put out
their own, all graded to different ages or sexes.
Helps are provided by the mission boards, and man-
uals for the teachers are available. It would seem
that no church, large or small, need feel that a mis-
sion-study class is impossible for them. A class does —
not have to be large; in fact a large class is not so
successful as a small one. Even four or five can
make up a fine class. The missionary committee
should include in their plans every year one or more
classes. One can generally be formed in the young
people’s society and one also in the woman’s society. |
The men respond less readily, but the effort put forth
to form a class or “ discussion group ” among them
will yield large results. In smaller churches a gen-
eral class is often all that is practicable. The class
can be made a social feature that adds to its attrac-
tiveness and value. In one village church the wife
Keeping Informed Lire
of the pastor organized a mission-study class whose
meetings were the social feature of the whole village.
A country pastor got his people together on Satur-
day nights throughout the winter for informal study
and a good time. Generally six or eight weeks should
be the limit. Then start a new course if it seems
' desirable to continue. But have a class each year,
either in your own church or in cooperation with
other churches as a community project.
The Church School of Missions
If there is encouragement and enthusiasm in the
joint study of missions in class rather than sepa-
rately, it is equally true that a number of classes
make the study more interesting than having just
one or two. If you can get a large number of the
members of your church to join study classes, meet-
ing on the same night at the church, and link these
classes to other features of the church life, very much
more is to be hoped from the study. That is what the
church school of missions is and does. It is a group
of study classes, organized according to a definite
plan, all meeting at the same place (preferably the
church) on the same night. Usually the night chosen
is that of the midweek service, when more can usu-
ally be brought out than on any other night. Where
possible the evening begins with a supper, followed
by the classes, then the prayer-meeting, shortened
somewhat but intensified in interest by the prepara-
tion the people have received in the study classes.
The classes all begin on the same night and continue
for the same number of weeks. The school should be
thoroughly advertised, enthusiasm aroused among
172 Making a Missionary Church
the various groups—which should include the whole
church—and all be made to feel that this is a church
affair. Get the stewards or the deacons or the ses-
sion to adopt the plan and recommend it to the
church, so that it will be the church’s plan, not sim-
ply that of the missionary committee. Nevertheless
the committee will plan and direct it, for the respon-
sibility for its success rests with them. No plan
works itself. The pastor, of course, must be thor-
oughly in sympathy with the school of missions if it
is to be fully successful, and must talk it up and lead
his people in this as in all other work. If thought
wise, examinations may be given at the close of the
course, and certificates granted to those successfully
completing the work. See that teachers are secured
well in advance, to allow time for full preparation,
and if possible provide classes for different groups,
for example, young people, women, and men; though
in smaller churches naturally a smaller number of |
classes is possible than in larger churches. Many |
churches have two schools, one on home missions in
the fall, one on foreign missions in the later winter.
The advantages of the plan are its definiteness, the
limited time for the course, the esprit de corps that
results from enlisting the church as a whole in the
study, and the holding of all classes on prayer-meet-
ing night, which becomes “church night.” If a |
supper is held, this introduces also a social feature
which is valuable. The plan is being adopted WidEty
with large success.
Let this chapter end as it began: missionary edu-
cation is a continuous process; we must keep cur-
selves informed.
Keeping Informed Lis
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The denominational missionary magazine.
The daily newspaper.
“The Missionary Review of the World” (monthly).
New York. $2.50.
“The International Review of Missions” (quar-
terly). New York. $2.50.
“The Moslem World.” New York. $1.25.
T. H. P. Sailer, ‘“‘ The Mission Study Class Leader.”
Missionary Education Movement. 175 cents.
Xx
MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES
The Educational Value of Activity
This is not a theoretical question, but a very prac-
~ tical one with which we are all familiar. The best
way to learn to swim is to swim. You cannot learn
carpentry from books but by using a hammer and
a saw. If you hope to be a pianist you must work
hard on the piano itself. Of course there are theo-
retical studies that are necessary. Helpful articles
on swimming are published in magazines, and books
on carpentry and piano-playing are valuable. But
if you really want to understand how to swim or
how to play the piano you must actually swim or
play. The same principle is being applied in all
education, and pupils from earliest years are learn-
ing by doing.
It is not different in missions: all cannot be
learned by reading or by listening. Missionary ac-
tivity is needed. The ideal activity is mission work.
itself. But any activity that helps the missionaries
is valuable. You cannot build a missionary church
with lectures and books. These are indispensable,
but activity, service, is indispensable too.
Service the Purpose of Education
We are emphasizing today as never before that
the purpose of education is service. We learn so as
to be of use to others, to the world. This we surely
174
Missionary Activities 175
must keep in mind in studying missions, the supreme
example of Christian activity and service. The pur-
pose of all our reading and discussion, of all the mis-
sionary sermons and pictures and pamphlets and
books, is to increase the amount and effectiveness of .
actual missionary work. What we know of missions
will not help to make the world Christian. But how
we apply our knowledge, what actual missionary
work we do in our community, how we help the mis-
sionaries home and foreign in various ways, what
money we give, and what prayer we offer, how much
we stir up others to share likewise in the work the
missionaries are doing—these will fulfil the purpose
of our missionary education. That ought to be the »
end and aim which we keep before ourselves as we
store up missionary information, and the end and
aim which the pastor and other church leaders hold
before the church.
Making Missions Real and Interesting
There is nothing like having part in a thing to
make it interesting. That is the way to make mis-
sions interesting: be a missionary yourself right at ~
home, or share the work of the missionaries on the
frontier or in the Orient by practical work for them,
or help to interest others at home in what the mis-
sionaries are doing. There is no way of enlisting
the boys and girls in missions comparable to this.
And older members find the same enjoyment in mis-
sionary activity when the right things are suggested
to them. Actually doing missionary work, actually
making something for a missionary, or actually tak-
ing part in a program makes missionary work real.
f
176 Making a Missionary Church
It is no theoretical, far-away thing, but something
tangible and intelligible, something interesting.
Missionary Work in the Community
Those who live in cities, and thousands of those
who live in the country, have a mission field at their
very doors. If it is an industrial community there
are people from Southern and Eastern Europe,
knowing nothing of true, vital Christianity. If it is
an agricultural section there may be families from
other parts of Europe, who have no personal experi-
ence of Christ. In communities all along the Pacific
Coast there are Japanese and Chinese, and in the
South and in scores of the great cities of the North
there are the Negroes. Plenty of Christian work is
to be done among all of these.
First of all there is the ministry of friendliness.
The greatest longing and the greatest need of most»
of the foreign people among us is simple friendliness.
The mothers, who cannot get out much and do not
have the opportunity of getting into American life ©
as much as their children or even their husbands,
feel this with special keenness. There is no commu-
nity where there are foreigners where friendly visit-
ing in the homes is not possible. The women want
to learn English. They will respond to suggestions
regarding the care of their children. They will wel-
come invitations for auto rides that will show them —
the city where they live but which they have not
seen, or that will take them out into the country and
let them see the trees and the flowers and the grass. |
Often you will find children who are musical, and
music lessons will be a gladly welcomed expression
CO EE a ae
Missionary Activities L177
of your friendliness. Sickness always gives a chance
for friendly help. And somewhere in the developing
friendship there is the opportunity to tell of the
great Friend. There are many ways of reaching the
children. A daily vacation Bible school during part
of the summer is one. Help in studies or work is
another. Some can be brought into the church
school. And if you win the children you have a
powerful opening wedge into the hearts of the
parents. Christian Americanization work is possi-
ble in any community where there are foreign homes.
Christian friendliness is possible anywhere. Sus-
picion may be met, and sometimes rebuff. There
may be priestly opposition also. But much of this
can be avoided or dispelled by tactfulness. Do not
forget that Christ’s ministry was very largely taken
up with acts of simple friendliness. That is Chris-
tian service, true missionary work.
Every church that can find a family of alien na- ‘x
tionality or religion in the community or anywhere
within reach has its opportunity of home mission
work. A survey will generally be surprising. Often
there are families, even in small places, that were
unknown. Every church ought regularly to make a
survey of its community, and from the standpoint
of missionary service it is the first thing to do. Find
out what foreign homes there are, and what na-
tionalities and religions. Then arrange for quiet,
tactful, friendly visiting. Do not try a big program
at first, but choose one or two to do the simple work
you decide upon. Later a small committee should
have charge, either a subcommittee of the mission-
ary committee or a separate committee whose chair-
178 Making a Missionary Church
man shall be a member ex-officio of the missionary
committee. A complete program should gradually
be evolved, which will include all ages in the church
and school. The children should be enlisted as well
asthe women. Certainly the men should be included.
Friendly service from some of the business and pro-
fessional men in the church will come as a peculiarly
welcome change from the ordinary impersonal rela-
tions they have had with the American men who are
their employers. Your men may be met with sus-
picion at first, and their approaches not understood,
but persistent efforts to establish friendly relation-
ships will meet with success and bring large reward.
It is in part the indifference of American Christian
men to the foreigners of their community that has
driven many into the I. W. W. and similar revolu-
tionary organizations. We ought not to admit to
our country men and women from other lands, and
then leave them without the best thing we can give
them, true Christianity, simple Christian friendli- |
ness. There is a large unoccupied field of service
to these neighbors who have come from outside that
ought to receive the eager attention of the churches.
It is a real missionary service. |
The same principles should be applied to service ©
for Negroes and Orientals. Wherever there are
either of these in the community a way should be
found to serve them in the Christian spirit. Racial
antagonisms are looming large in these days, and
grave danger stalks in such antagonisms. The only
salvation lies in Christianity, as practised in Chris-
tian service by the churches. This does not mean
social or even economic equality. The solution of the
Missionary Activities 179
problem lies along the way of friendliness and co-
operation, and every church can find that way. If
there is a Negro church in the community, establish
friendly relations with it. If there is none, see that
religious opportunities are provided. Is anything
being done for the Japanese? Or for the Chinese
students? Remember the basic principle, friendli-
ness in the name and spirit of Christ, and see that
they feel the touch of your hand and heart. There
is plenty of actual missionary work right at the
doors of many churches, perhaps at those of your
church. It is ashame and a disgrace for any church
to be indifferent to these neighbors at home who
need Christ.
Getting Acquainted with Missionaries
The missionary activities in the home church have _
a twofold objective: to make missions real and to /\
help in the missionary work itself. For either pur-
pose the missionaries must be not “ missionaries ”
in a vague, general sense, but concrete individuals,
known by name, their faces familiar, some degree of
acquaintanceship established. So it is important
that as many members of the church as possible get
acquainted with some missionaries. It is the ab-
sence of the personal ties that makes missionary ac-
tivities go haltingly in some churches. The pastor
and other missionary leaders should make definite
plans for cultivating such acquaintanceship con-
tinually. Some definite suggestions are given else-
where.t By all means know the missionaries of your
denomination.
1See Chapter XI.
180 Making a Missionary Church
Relieving Definite Needs
The question of “specifics,” gifts for special ob-
jects, is considered elsewhere.? Here we are con-
sidering minor gifts, usually largely personal, in
addition to the regular contributions of the members
and of the church and its various departments.
Almost all missionaries need articles of different
kinds which are not provided for in regular appro-
priations. Such things are typewriters, organs,
victrolas and records, kindergarten materials, and
similar things for use in the work. Then there are
numerous gifts which are strictly personal, such
as books, magazines, home decorations and conve-
niences, etc. We do not refer to home mission bar-
rels. The practise of sending these is fortunately
growing less common, yet is widely prevalent. The
missionary barrel is an insult to the missionary and
a disgrace to the mission board. Boards ought to
pay their representatives sufficient salaries so that
they need not be dependent upon charity. But gifts —
like those mentioned, for personal use or for mission
work, are friendly gifts which greatly aid in the
work. They need not be large nor many, but occa-.
sional gifts of this sort by young people’s societies
or the church itself help to make missions concrete
and to make the donors feel they are taking part
actually in the work. The danger to be guarded
against very carefully is that offerings and funds
that should be given to the support of the regular
work be diverted to these special needs. Chapter
XIII should be read in this connection.
2See Chapter XIII,
Missionary Activities 181
White Cross Service
We may mention also what is sometimes called
“white cross”? work, the making of hospital sup-
plies for the foreign field and the securing of articles
needed in Christian social centers and other similar
work in the home field. All sorts of supplies are
needed, such as bandages, dressings, sheets, towels,
etc., for hospitals, and almost everything from patch-
work to bean-bags and soap for the home mission
centers. Full information as to needs can be Se-
cured from the mission board. These materials and
supplies are easily made and cost little or nothing,
and many can be enlisted in this form of missionary
activity to their own profit as well as to that of the
work.
Pictures, Scrap-books, etc.
What can the children do to help in the work of
the missionaries? One way is to collect post-cards
and other picture-cards. Almost every missionary
likes to get these; many write a Scripture verse on
them in the native language and give them out in
Sunday school or homes, and the card preaches for
them. Picture-cards used in school are always use-
ful, and the children who give these of course make
some sacrifice, which increases the value of their
gift, to themselves as well as to the work. Scrap-
books of pictures can also be made. These are the
simplest suggestions for the children. Other plans
for varying ages will suggest themselves, such as
dressing dolls, making paper dolls, making simple
games and puzzles, etc.
182 Making a Missionary Church
The Missionary Museum
An extremely valuable piece of missionary activity
is the building up of a missionary museum. This
appeals especially to the older boys and girls, though
all ages are interested and gladly help. The mis-
sionary museum is something that is possible for all
churches. It can be large or small, elaborate or sim-
ple. But it is bound to be effective, whatever its
form, stimulating missionary interest and educating
the members of church and school. The collecting
of articles for the museum interests those who par-
ticipate in the peoples represented by the articles
and in the work being done for them by the mis-
sionaries, and both the collectors and those who see
the things in the museum receive missionary infor-
mation and education. The museum may be housed
on shelves or in a cabinet, or a small room may be
given to it. Some one appointed by the missionary
committee should be in charge as director, and en- —
couragement and help should be provided by the
committee as needed; select some one to take charge
who is interested and who will push the work of
collecting materials. The director should read and
otherwise be continually informing himself on the
life of various peoples in whom the church is or might
be interested, and on the methods of work of mis-
sionaries. Both home and foreign missions should -
be included in the scope of the museum. The direc-
tor should make plans for developing the collection
and enlist all classes in the school and all ages in
the church. He will usually have no difficulty in
securing a favorable response from all.
Missionary Activities 183
What should go into the museum? First of all,
articles used by peoples of various countries and
races, such as can be secured from missionaries and
travelers—anything from wearing apparel and home
furnishings to books and idols. Then models of
houses, temples, agricultural implements, household
utensils, chapels, etc.; these can be made by the boys
and perhaps the girls, and the surest way of interest-
ing them is by getting them to make things just
like those actually used in mission lands. Photo-
graphs should also have a place, and these can be
secured in increasing numbers from missionary Visi-
tors and correspondents. Maps, charts, and posters
should be hung on the wall of the museum room, or,
if only a cabinet is available, should be kept in a
drawer or in a frame on the side of the cabinet, to
be drawn upon as needed by teachers and program-
makers. In fact the missionary museum should in-
clude everything that is of interest in connection
with mission lands, missionary work, or mission-
aries, aS well as peoples among whom work is done
in this country, the Indians, the Negroes, and the
New Americans. All articles should be carefully
labeled, and should be arranged systematically on
the shelves. As it grows larger a card catalog should
be prepared to assist in practical use. Churches
which have a stereopticon can have this set up in
the museum room when not in use elsewhere, to be
utilized by mission-study classes, Sunday-school
groups, church officers, and others, missionary pic-
tures being thrown on the wall or screen across the
room.
Of what use is the museum in the developing of
184 Making a Missionary Church
a missionary church? First of all, it cannot fail to
interest large numbers of the people. They will look
at it again and again, with increasing profit. That
is, if it is well located and well arranged, with the
articles not crowded. Do not tuck it away in an
obscure corner or lock it up in a room never used,
and expect any one to see it or be interested. Put
it where people can see it and arrange the articles
so they can be seen well. Hold a missionary exhibit
occasionally in the museum room or around the
museum cabinet, on different subjects like “ Japan,”
“ Boys and Girls of the Philippines,” ‘‘ Some New
Americans,” “‘ The Near East,” etc. The curios,
models, and photographs ought to be used as aids
in connection with missionary education. ‘Teachers
and superintendents can greatly increase the inter-
est of their missionary teaching by showing some-
thing from the museum by way of illustration. Or
classes may visit the museum, to be instructed by
their teachers and the museum director. In mission-
study classes, missionary meetings, and missionary
programs curios can be effectively used. The pastor
can use them as the text of talks to the children.
Numberless ways of making them effective helps in >
the missionary education of young and old will sug-
gest themselves. It is the business of the director
of the museum to keep it before the attention of all
the teachers and the leaders of all other organiza-
tions, offering suggestions and in every way making
his missionary museum as valuable and effective as
possible. Its opportunities are untold. Care should
be taken, however, to ‘avoid anything that may make
foreign peoples appear ludicrous.
Missionary Activities 185
Maps, Posters, and Charts
Missionary work for the members of the home
church is needed badly, and the boys and girls and
young people can find a fascinating form of mission-
ary activity along this line by making posters, maps,
and charts. Their ingenuity and originality can be
put to full use in the designing of posters. These can
always be used to advertise missionary meetings and
programs, and will get people out when ordinary
announcements fail. Posters make also a very effec-
tive way of appealing for offerings, reminding the
members of their pledges, advertising missionary
books, and even calling people to prayer. There are
large possibilities in the use of posters, and the best
thing about them is that it is fun to make them. No
difficulty is found in getting the young people to do
the work, and they are learning and growing in mis-
sionary interest themselves while they interest
others. A contest in poster-making, followed by an
exhibit and award of prizes, will stimulate interest.
Maps and charts are always useful. Study classes
need them, and hand-made ones are often better than
those bought because of the reflexive value of the
work put into them. The pastor can make good use
of them, especially using charts to present in strik-
ing ways some of the facts he wants to bring out in
addresses. They add greatly to the interest and
effectiveness of the missionary meetings of the young
people’s society and the woman’s society. And like
posters, they can be used in general ways, as on the
church bulletin-board, to make a powerful appeal
for missionary knowledge, gifts, and prayer.
186 Making a Missionary Church
Special Places of Service
We have not spoken of the missionary activities
of those holding official positions. Their work is
covered in Chapters IV and VII. But the reflexive
value of their activities should not be forgotten.
There are many fine opportunities in every church
to give young men and young women a permanent
interest in this great missionary enterprise by
placing them on missionary committees, or electing
them to offices with missionary responsibility, or
giving them special tasks such as are suggested in
this chapter. Older members are often kept in
office when they should give place to younger men
or women in order to interest them: It is usually
not wise to force the older office-holders out, but
when an office becomes vacant or a place on the mis-
sionary committee is open or some one is needed for
some special task, an effort should be made to tie up
to the work a new recruit, to enlarge the circle of
active leaders in the world enterprise of the church. —
Participating in Every-member Canvass
A practical missionary activity in which the men
of the church can be enlisted is the annual every-
member canvass. They should be asked to partici-
pate as a piece of service to the church and to Christ,
and the missionary side should be strongly empha-
sized. The current expense needs of the church are
likely to be talked about more than the missionary
needs; finance committees and trustees often do not
recognize their responsibility for missionary funds
as well as expense funds. In the training of the
Missionary Activities 187
canvassers, therefore, emphasis should be laid upon
the missionary service they are rendering. This is
a real and a very important missionary activity.®
BIBLIOGRAPHY
W.N. Hutchins, “‘ Graded Social Service for the Sun-
day School.”’ University of Chicago Press. $1.00.
Gilbert Loveland, “ Training World Christians.”
Methodist Book Con. $1.25.
P. Roberts, “English for Coming Americans.”
F’. H. Revell Co. 20 cents.
M. C. Barnes, “ Neighboring New Americans.”
F. H. Revell Co. 75 cents.
C. A. Brooks, “ Christian Americanization.” Mis-
sionary Education Movement. 50 and 75 cents.
“A Christian Code for the City.”” Home Missions
Council. 10 cents.
=See Chapter XIII.
XI
THE MISSIONARIES AND THE
MISSION BOARDS
The Church and the IMaaaionarirs
The missionaries are the representatives of the
churches. Most churches could not support the mis-
sionaries and their work at even a single station, so
for the sake of efficiency and economy we have mis-
sion boards to conduct our missionary work for us.
But it is our work, the work of our own church, and
the missionaries are ours, the representatives of our | }
local church. We talk so much about “the board” \
and “ their missionaries,” and we ordinarily have so
little contact with these men and women, that it is
not very strongly settled in the consciousness of a
great many members that every missionary of their
——,
denomination belongs to them, at least those whose -
salaries are not paid by individual churches. The
personal acquaintance which was emphasized in
Chapter X is valuable in cultivating just this feel-
ing of personal relationship and ownership which
should exist between every church and the mission-
aries of its denomination. Pastors can do much to_
establish this feeling of a direct relationship between ™
the church and its missionaries. Let it be remem-
bered that the responsibility for the outreach of the
church to lives and peoples not touched by Chris-
tianity rests upon each church and every individual
Christian. It does not belong to any board, save’as —
188
The Missionaries and the Mission Boards 189
this is an agent of the churches. So that everything
that can be done to emphasize and develop this per-
sonal, direct relation to the missionaries, and the
feeling of responsibility for them, should be encour-
aged.
Relation of Missionaries to the Church
On the other hand missionaries should cultivate
direct relations with local churches. They are ap-
pointed by the board, and they receive their salary
and the money for their equipment and work through
the board, but they should look on the board as sim-
ply the agent and representative of the churches and
think of their ultimate responsibility as being to the
churches. The more they can do, therefore, to de-
velop personal ties to people in the churches, and to
help churches to feel that they belong to them, the
better for the missionary interest so indispensable
to the support of the work to which they are giving
their lives. The mission boards can help by instruct-
ing their missionaries when they are appointed, and
advising and directing them during their service on
the field and on furlough. But the churches can also...
develop the right attitude in the missionaries by de- —
veloping the right attitude in themselves. For exam-
ple, if they have young people looking forward to
missionary service, they can show a deep, con-
tinuous, personal interest in them and in their plans,
and not discourage them as is so common by trying
to make them think that their talents are needed
more right at home. Enter heartily into their sacri-
ficial plans. Enter heartily also into the experiences
of the missionaries themselves. When missionaries
190 Making a Missionary Church
visit the church an enthusiastic, overflowing welcome
will make them feel that they belong to the church
and are not simply visitors. Expressions of inter-
est, questions about their work, discussion of the
church’s missionary plans with them, and a mutual
comparison of problems will all help in creating and
strengthening the feeling of mutual responsibility,
the consciousness that each is the representative of
the other.
Making Missionaries Individual
The first thing is to make the missionaries in-
dividual men and women, with names and faces and ~
personal characteristics like other folks. To most
people they are just “the missionaries,” a group,
that could be described in a few very general terms,
but without bringing up in the mind any particular
persons. All the illustration and information sug-
gested elsewhere in this volume is of value in in-
dividualizing the missionaries. But there is more
that can be done along this line. Pastors can help,
greatly by frequent mention of definite missionaries. ~
Instead of quoting “a missionary,” mention him by
name and give a word of characterization or descrip-
tion of his surroundings. If you speak of a mission- |
ary problem, describe some particular situation,
naming the missionary or some missionary who
might face such conditions as you describe. Teach-
ers can show the picture of a missionary when they
speak in their classes of mission work and of mis-
sionaries. A missionary program can be enlivened,
and much be done towards making missionaries real
and individual, by impersonating definite missiona-
The Missionaries and the Mission Boards 191
ries or by giving descriptions of certain ones.
Stereopticon pictures help also.
But a more valuable way of individualizing the
missionaries is by arranging for their visits to they
church, planning such visits first of all to secure
personal acquaintance. There are always foreign
missionaries at home on furlough who can be
brought to the church on a visit. Home missionaries
at work near by can be invited occasionally, and
others going to their fields or returning from them
can stop over with the church. These visits can be
arranged directly or with the mission board. Visit-
ing missionaries should always have the opportunity
to speak in public. That does not always mean a
Sunday service, however, for many excellent mis-
sionaries are but very ordinary speakers and only
the best speakers should be asked to give their mes-
sage at the Sunday-morning or evening service.
This is for the sake of the missionary work, which
should not be handicapped by being presented to
people in a way that will not interest them. But
there are plenty of other opportunities to introduce
the missionary. There is the midweek service, the
woman’s society meeting, the various departments of
the church school, the young people’s society, the
men’s club, etc. Find out to what group and to
what kind of public service each missionary invited
is fitted. Inquire of the mission board and of
churches they have previously visited and give them
the best opportunity for forming a favorable ac-
quaintance. The most important thing to stress in , ;
asking a missionary to speak is that he shall not
preach, but tell about his work. Especially let him
=~.
192 Making a Missionary Church
tell stories that illustrate concretely what he wants
you to know. He cannot preach as well as the
church’s pastor, but he has something to tell that >
only he can tell. Insist that he tell this and leave the
sermonizing to the pastor. In that way many very
ordinary speakers can give a powerful message, just
the message that is wanted. But notice that the
thing especially to be aimed at is to form acquain- ’.
tance. Very seldom, therefore, invite a missionary
just for a single service. Keep him with you for a
few days. Let him get acquainted with as many as
possible. See that he is invited to some of the homes
for a meal. If there is a social occasion in the church
have him there, or make such an occasion. Cultivate
personal relations with missionaries continually in
this way. There will be large reward in definiteness
of interest and missionary enthusiasm.
Keeping in Touch with Missionaries
Another way to cultivate acquaintance with mis-
sionaries aS individual persons, known as we nels
e
others, is by correspondence, especially with thos
who have visited the church. This can very readily
be worked up, especially among the young people.
Ask definite persons to write to definite missionaries.
You will need to use care in selecting the missiona-
ries whom you seek to introduce, suiting the mission-
ary and the member to each other. Moreover, some .
missionaries give more attention to letter-writing
than others, and these should be discovered and in-
cluded in the church’s acquaintance. One mission- |
ary who has been a missionary for over forty years
corresponds with scores of young people, to their
:
,
:
The Missionaries and the Mission Boards 193
great delight. Of course both home and foreign
workers should be in this circle of letter-acquain-
tance. This plan needs to be followed up continually
by the missionary committee, but it should not be
emphasized to the exclusion of other acquaintance
plans, like personal visits.
Ask missionaries to send snap-shots showing their
life and work. Send the money once in a while to
pay for the pictures. Photographs can sometimes
be secured from the mission board. Half-tones can
be cut from the missionary magazines and mounted
on cards or pasted on photo mounts. An exhibit of
pictures showing the home and work of a mission-
ary who is to visit the church is a fine introduction
for him. Or such an exhibit can be given relating to
a visitor recently with the church, which will help
to keep up the acquaintance. These exhibits can be
arranged in connection with the missionary museum.
You can also remind people of missionaries who have
visited the church by calling attention on the bulle-
tin-board or in the calendar to articles about them
or by them in the missionary magazines.
The Church’s Own Missionary
Larger churches often have their own missionary,
at least to the extent of paying his salary. The great /
advantage of this plan is the feeling of definite in- |
terest and responsibility which it creates. It gives
a point of contact with “ missions ” and “ missiona-
ries,” and makes these terms concrete and personal.
In some denominations this arrangement has spread
rapidly among the larger churches as the advantages
have become known. The result of its adoption is
pe
194, Making a Missionary Church
usually a very great increase in missionary interest
and a corresponding increase in the amount of money
contributed. The author went to China as the mis-
sionary pastor of one of the churches at home, and
immediately there was a quadrupling of missionary
offerings. A steady and rapid growth followed, and
now the church has six missionaries at home and
abroad. That is a common experience. Inquiry of
the mission board will bring information as to con-
ditions involved in the plan, and names of available
missionaries.
It is the business of pastor and missionary com-
mittee to keep the church informed about their mis-
sionary and in every way to make them feel that they
are continually interested in him. His name should
appear on the church calendar. He should very
often be mentioned in the pastor’s prayer and those
of the superintendents of the Bible school and its
departments. A map of the world should hang in a
prominent place showing the location of the mission-
ary station. A ribbon stretching from his station —
to the place of the home church helps to make the
connection real. A flag of the country where your
missionary is working, crossed with that of our own,
is effective. His portrait should hang on the wall,
and photographs showing his home, his life, and his
work should be exhibited. These should be changed
from time to time, attention being called to the new |
pictures. A regular correspondence should be kept
up with your missionary, different members being
asked to write him each month. Some will write on
their own initiative, but the missionary committee
should keep track of the correspondence, to see that
The Missionaries and the Mission Boards 195
it is carried on regularly as suggested. A Christmas
gift and a shower of birthday greetings will be de-
lightful proofs to your missionary that he is not
forgotten. Many other plans will suggest them-
selves. Enlist the young people and the children.
There is danger that after the missionary has been
gone a few years he will gradually be forgotten, and
the relationship become merely a formal one, unless
it is fostered and encouraged. New plans are needed
frequently, and every effort should be made to keep
the relations between the home church and the mis-
sionary warm and close.
Then when furlough comes there should be a great
welcome home. A good visit of several weeks should
be arranged for, or preferably several shorter visits.
Enough time should be given to allow everybody in
the church to get thoroughly acquainted with their
representative. Entertain him in the homes of the
members, give him a reception, have him speak fre-
quently to different organizations. In every possi-
ble way utilize his furlough to strengthen and deepen
the acquaintance and love between him and the
church.
But most churches are too small to pay the entire
salary of a missionary. Some are in small towns.
Some are in the country. How can they have the
benefits of having their own missionary? By join-
ing with other churches and having a missionary
together as a group. The churches of an Associa-
tion or a conference or a presbytery or a county can
have their own missionary. A special committee of
the group is needed, to see that plans like those sug-
gested above are carried out in the different
196 Making a Missionary Church
churches, and to be a medium of communication be-
tween the churches and the mission board. A group
of country churches can follow this plan, having
their group missionary even when there is a city
church in the Association or conference supporting
its own missionary.
The Missionary or the Mission
There is one disadvantage in the plan of having
the church’s own missionary, and that is that the
missionary may resign his work and the interest of
the church be dulled by the loss of the personal rela-
tionship. The immediate way out of this difficulty
when it arises is to secure a new missionary without
delay, having him visit the church and become ac-
quainted, just as a new pastor would take the place
of a former one. It helps in establishing the new
relationship if the former missionary can introduce
his successor, either in person or by letter. Buta
better way to avoid the difficulty occasioned by a
change in missionary representatives is to stress the |
mission as well as the missionary. In place of talk-
ing always of “ our missionary ” speak of ‘‘ our mis-
sion.” Emphasize the work, the local church, the
preacher, and the evangelists, learn the problems of
the churches in your mission field, get pictures show-
ing the mission work, and in every way see that your
church gets acquainted with the mission as well as »
with the missionary. Then if the church changes
missionaries it will not find that its interest has been
only personal, but that the needs and problems of the
work itself have gripped them and a permanent mis-
sionary interest has been built into the church’s life.
The Missionaries and the Mission Boards 197
On the other hand, if another missionary is chosen
in another country, the personal tie will prevent
loss of interest in the transfer of relationship to a
new mission. If the missionary is not succeeded by
another, a foundation has been laid for permanent
missionary interest that will be definite and concrete.
Knowing the Mission Boards
It is well to know about the missionaries and to be
acquainted with some of them. But church-members
ought also to know the denominational leaders, their
policies and their methods. Where are the offices
of the various mission boards of your denomination?
Who are the secretaries, and what is the particular
work of each? How are the boards constituted, who
compose them, and what sort of men and women are
they? What is the occupation of each, that is, what
is the special contribution of each, in training and
experience, to their work as members of the board?
How are the boards organized? Do any members
live near you? Knowledge of the boards such as
these questions suggest makes them more than sim-
ply “ boards,” makes them living men and women.
It increases interest in the work for which they are
responsible. It gives confidence in their ability and
wisdom. It makes for loyalty to their suggestions
and programs. The annual reports of the mission
boards or societies should be familiar to every pastor.
Copies should be on his desk and be consulted freely.
The chairman of the missionary committee should
have copies also, and refer to them often. Reports
have a reputation for being dull, but there are mis-
sionary reports that are thrilling in their interest.
198 Making a Missionary Church
Knowledge of the mission boards can be utilized
to increase the missionary interest in the church.
The educational plan of the church should include
instruction regarding the boards and the secretaries
quite as much as regarding the missionaries. For
both are engaged in the same missionary work.
Missionary secretaries are as truly missionaries as
a worker in a far outpost,in Central Africa, and both
are essential to the accomplishment of the work. To
be familiar with the work of the boards and to know
their methods and their personnel helps to make the
missionary work seem “ our work” instead of “ the
work of the board.” One can pray more intelligently
and give more willingly if one knows those who are
administering the work and the funds. After all,
the boards and their officers are only servants of the
churches, representatives of the members as the
missionaries are. |
So every possible effort should be made to acquaint
the church with all the mission boards of the denomi- —
nation. A course in the curriculum of the Sunday.
school, or of the church school of missions, on “‘ How
Our Missionary Work is Administered,” will prove
illuminating and will appeal to the business men of
the church. An occasional address in the midweek
service by the pastor, explaining some of the prob-
lems the boards are facing, can be followed by a call
for prayer for the board members and its officers ©
that will bring a good response. A chart showing
the organization of the denomination and its boards
may well be a part of the missionary exhibit. The
missionary library should always have on file copies
of the denominational reports and other handbooks,
The Missionaries and the Mission Boards 199
and the librarian should have such familiarity with
the boards and their organizations that he can an-
swer questions and direct to sources of information.
Once in a while one of the board secretaries can visit
the church. Occasionally get a member of the board
to come; he will speak from a different point of view
from the secretaries and a very valuable one; some-
times critical church-members will listen to a mem-
ber of the board, as one of themselves, when the
words of a paid officer would not be accepted. In
these and other ways make the church as familiar
as possible with the mission boards and their
workings.
Criticisms of the Board
Most adverse criticisms are due largely to lack of
knowledge. This is true of much of the criticism
you hear from time to time of the church’s mission
boards and societies. If those who criticize knew
both sides or all sides of a question in which the
board’s action is involved they would often recognize
the reasonableness of the board’s decision and plan.
And if they know who make up the board, what kind
of men they are and what they have done in life,
those who are tempted to criticize are likely to feel
that the board members are men and women of
judgment and perhaps have some good ground for
what they have done. Hence the value of getting
acquainted with the boards of the denomination.
A perennial criticism one hears is the high cost
of administration. It sometimes takes the familiar
form, “ It takes a dollar to send a dollar.” There are
two difficulties with this statement: the first is that
200 Making a Missionary Church
it is ridiculously false, the second is that money is
not sent but the gospel. Of course there is no excuse
for extravagance anywhere, in one’s private busi-
ness or one’s home, or in the business of the church
and of the kingdom. And the more that can be saved
in the work of informing and stimulating the church
at home, the more there is available for the distribu-
tion of Bibles on the frontier or paying the salaries
of preachers in India. But this expense at home,
what is commonly called the cost of administration,
is not high as compared with the proportion of cost
in most lines of business, or the cost of collecting .
money for charity or other organizations. The per-
centage runs in general from eight to fifteen per
cent., varying according to what is included in ad-
ministrative expense, or the proportion of adminis-
tration conducted from America in the case of for-
elgn missions, or the payment of some expenses from
special funds or by special personal gift. But the
fact is, practically all missionary work is administra-
tion and practically all administration is missionary —
work. Most foreign missionaries do comparatively
little preaching; the bulk of their work is training
native preachers, directing their work, superintend-
ing schools and teachers, studying the problems of
the native Christians and their churches, meeting
with committees of the mission, overseeing the erec-
tion of mission buildings, keeping mission accounts, —
and conducting a voluminous correspondence with
the board and with the churches at home. All this
of course is missionary work. But how does it differ
from what the secretaries and their assistants are
doing at home? The difficulty of determining just
he a
The Missionaries and the Mission Boards 201
what should be called administrative expenses ap-
pears when you discover that one denomination di-
rects all its foreign mission work from the office of
the board in America, a second has a bishop on the
field who has the direction of the work, a third leaves
practically the whole administration of the mission
to the missionaries and the native associates.
Another illustration of this same difficulty is the
inclusion in the expense of missionary work of the
salaries of the missionaries while on the field and
the including of their salaries in home expense while
on furlough. Manifestly there is no agreement on
what is administration and what is missionary work.
As a matter of fact it makes no difference what pro-
portion is spent for one part of the work or for
another part, so long as the evangelization and
Christianization of the world is effected in the larg-
est measure. We do not send money to the heathen,
we send the gospel, and the question is, not how little
money we can spend in this country but how strong
and effective we can make the impact of the Chris-
tian forces at our disposal on the life we want to
reach with Christianity. The end in view is the prin-
cipal thing, not the details of method or expenditure.
There is no criticism of missionary policies and
methods that needs clearer elucidating than this, and
pastors can greatly aid, not by joining in the criti-
cism, but by securing the facts from the board and
passing them on to the church.
Another criticism is the supposed overlordship of
the boards. “ They want to run our church and tell
us what to do.” Of course they don’t want to do
anything of the kind. When a criticism like this is
202 Making a Missionary Church
given it is usually due to reading into a communica-
tion what is not there, or taking an ambiguous state-
ment in the worse of two ways. The boards realize
that they are the agents of the churches and that
the money they have must come from the churches.
Manifestly they will not intentionally antagonize the
churches. But on the other hand they also realize
that they have the duty and responsibility. of point-
ing out to the churches the needs of the work for
which they have been made responsible, and of mak-
ing suggestions as to how best the churches can
cooperate. They understand that all their sugges-
tions may not be practicable, and that none of the
plans they propose can be worked everywhere, with-
out modification. But they offer their suggestions
to aid the pastors and the churches, with the under-
standing that they may need change or adjustment
according to local needs. And they urge most
strongly and earnestly the cooperation of the
churches in the suggested plans, so far as possible.
Cooperation is necessary to success, and the boards
would be failing in their duty if they did not keep
before the churches the needs and possibilities of the
work the churches have committed to them. But
they have no desire to “ run ” the churches. .
So with other criticisms of the boards. Get the
facts, and see that the members of your church have
them. And always have an attitude of sympathy and -
cooperation toward the boards and their problems.
The Problems of the Mission Boards
{t helps very much in developing the spirit of sym-
pathetic cooperation that is necessary in developing
The Missionaries and the Mission Boards 203
i
an intelligent, thoroughly efficient missionary \
church, if we understand and appreciate some of
the problems which face the mission boards. And
they are many. (1) One is the ever-present finan- ™
cial problem. There are pathetic calls for reenforce-
ments for sorely overburdened workers; there are
whole villages asking for teachers and preachers who
cannot be sent; there are opportunities for schools,
and needs for hospitals, for which there is no money
available; there are Christians who have not been
visited in years, and whole sections that the mis-
sionaries have never visited; there are unsanitary
shacks occupied by missionaries which should be
replaced by real homes to conserve the health of the
workers; there are great territories where Christ
has not been preached. What would you do if these
appeals came to you as a member of the board to
which the church has given the responsibility for
that work? You would figure and plan, and cut here
and adjust there, and then you would appeal with
all your vigor and earnestness and persistence for
larger offerings, just as the boards do now.
The fact is, we do not appreciate what the finan-
cial problems of the boards mean. They mean just
these things we have mentioned. We who give our
money for missions think of it very often as just so
much cash. The board members reckon dollars in
terms of lives saved in hospitals, villages visited by
missionaries, churches organized for the spread of
Christian life, Christless souls won to the Saviour.
No wonder the board is persistent in its appeals for
funds. Stand where you can see what they see, and
you will feel the tremendous urge they feel. The
204 Making a Missionary Church
financial problem is a tremendous one, for humanly
speaking everything depends on it. Read the finan-
cial appeals and suggestions which come from the
boards in the light of this and other problems and
opportunities they face, and you will not criticize but
sympathize.
When this great problem has been mentioned
scarcely a beginning has been made on the problems
of the mission boards. The list is a long one. We
can only catalog a few. (2) How to do what the
board clearly sees needs to be done without alienating
those who are inclined to be critical. It is very often
impossible to go ahead as fast or as soon as they
should because of the importance of keeping the con-
stituency united. (8) The selection of new mission-
ary appointees. Only the best available can be sent;
considering the many needs and the qualifications
of the men or women applying, which should be
chosen? (4) The most statesmanlike development
of the work in various fields. All sorts of questions
arise. Which stations give most promise? What
forms of work are most needed? What changes in
policy or organization would best meet changing
conditions? (5) Relations with missions of other
denominations. Fields overlap, adjoining sections
are untouched; friction has developed locally, united
effort might strengthen the Christian impact; many
questions arise calling for Christian courtesy, for- .
bearance, and statesmanship. (6) Personal ques-
tions. Missionaries do not always get along well
together—how can their relations be adjusted so as
to maintain harmony and secure the greatest effi-
ciency in the work? Missionaries prove unsuccess-
The Missionaries and the Mission Boards 205
ful—how close their service without doing injustice
to them and arousing loud opposition from their
friends? The boards face hundreds of such ques-
tions every month. Not one in a hundred of their
constituency knows of these problems. If the mem-
bers of the churches could appreciate some of them,
have them explained to them, and be brought into
sympathy with the difficulties the boards have to
solve, their interest and cooperation would be very
greatly increased.
Making Use of the Boards
There are helps of all sorts being provided by the
boards continually for developing a missionary
church, but few churches make as full use of the
facilities offered to them as they might. Some real-
ize, however, that an answer to almost every kind of
question relating to plans of their church can be had
from the home or foreign mission board. An in-
creasing number are writing to headquarters for
information about various forms of work, different
stations and missionaries. Most of this information
is in printed form, folders, pamphlets, books, and
pictures. Smaller publications are free, larger ones
have a small price to help pay cost of printing.
Books are often in paper as well as cloth binding
and are sold as cheaply as possible. Every one
should have the latest catalog of literature carried by
the mission boards and keep informed on the latest
publications.
Another form of correspondence is more general:
“ What suggestions can you give me for a program
on kindergarten work in Japan?” ‘“TI/‘am to take
206 Making a Missionary Church
part in a debate on the relative importance of medi-
eal and educational work; can you tell me where I
can get information?” Such questions call for
thought and research, and some boards have a sec-
retary or assistant whose main business is to answer
just such general questions, passing on to others the
successful plans reported from some churches, mak-
ing suggestions for programs and methods, and
giving to correspondents the information they seek.
If you are to have a part in a missionary program,
or if you are an officer of a missionary society, or.a
member of a missionary committee, or a teacher in
the church school, or leader of a boys’ club, or
superintendent of the church school, or a deacon or
elder, or.pastor of the church, write to the mission-
ary and educational boards of your denomination
for suggestions. |
Still another form of help provided by the boards
is the furnishing of missionary speakers. Some
churches call often, but there are a great many
churches where a missionary or a missionary secre-.
tary or other board representative is never seen or
heard. Particularly is this true of smaller churches,
and those off the main lines of travel. Such churches
ought to appeal to the boards for speakers once in
a while, arranging perhaps an itinerary among the
smaller churches. For local speakers, e. g., laymen,
women, or pastors, the boards are ready to supply -
help in the latest facts, suggestions as to points to
be emphasized, and in some cases outlines of brief
addresses. Cultivate relations with the boards and
the secretaries and many lines of helpfulness will
open from them to you and your church.
The Missionaries and the Mission Boards 207
Denominational Meetings
The boards and their officers are continually ar-
ranging conferences, rallies, conventions, institutes,
and other group meetings to help the churches in
realizing and fulfilling their missionary task. The
best speakers are provided, the latest literature is
distributed, the plans that have proved most effective
are explained, and long and careful thought is given
to making the meeting as informing and stimulating
as possible. Unfortunately it very often happens
that many churches are not represented, and that
those who most need the help are not present. Of
course some are not present because they are not
interested. But other churches are not represented
because the pastor or missionary committee do not
realize the great help to be gained by attendance.
Of course there are plenty of reasons to keep them
away—business, study, etc.—but it is a serious mis-
take not to be present or have the church represented
by some strong leaders. In the first place, one gets
acquainted with the denominational leaders, the
board secretaries, and the missionaries. In the
second place, the denominational plans are explained,
and difficulties and objections are ironed out. In the
third place, the practical suggestions are brought
out which every church needs in order to make its
missionary work up-to-date, fresh, and interesting.
And lastly, the addresses and discussions stimulate
to new endeavor by revealing what other churches
are doing—perhaps some neighbors of your church
—and by showing the opportunities of service and
the resources of God. By all argument it is worth
208 Making a Missionary Church
while for your church to be well represented at such
meetings. The pastor ought to attend unless it is
a conference for a special group—but do not expect
him to pay his expenses out of his own pocket. See
that it is taken care of by the church; the expendi-
ture will more than come back. The chairman and
other members of the missionary committee should
attend. See that other leaders are present, like the
Sunday-school superintendent, the deacons or trus-
tees or elders. Especially make the effort to have
leading laymen go to such meetings, or if it is a
women’s gathering see that some capable women
who are not active in the missionary society are sent,
including some of the younger women. Too often
churches appoint as delegates any who happen to be
going, or those who always go, or those whose names
first come to mind. On the contrary, most careful
thought should be given to the choice of representa-
tives, to secure those who on their return will be
able to contribute most to the work of the church. If
care like this is taken in choosing delegates, it is —
often possible to induce some to go who would not
think it important if the ordinary careless method
of appointment is followed. What is true of special
institutes and conventions is true also of official
denominational gatherings. So far as denomina-
tional organization permits, every church should
have members present, in order to have first-hand
knowledge of the workings of the denomination and
its missionary boards and to have a voice, as far
as possible, in determining their policy. Careful
attention to representation at denominational meet-
ings will bring large returns.
The Missionaries and the Mission Boards 209
The Denominational Program First
Loyalty to one’s own denomination and its pro-
gram is the best assurance of loyalty to the great
cause of Christ everywhere. Denominational di-
visiveness is not such an ominous problem as some
think. Almost all denominations are coming to have
close relations with one another in conferences and
increasingly in actual work. This is particularly
true of missionary work, both at home and in the
foreign field. Home mission boards are federated
in the Home Missions Council and the Council of
Women for Home Missions, and foreign mission
boards are united in the Foreign Missions Confer-
ence of North America and the Federation of Wo-
men’s Boards of Foreign Missions, and plans and
programs are largely made in common. So that in
being loyal to one’s own denominational program one
is not disloyal to the larger program of the church as
a whole. No chain is stronger than its weakest link,
and the strength and effectiveness of this united
program of the church depends on the strength of
the programs of the several denominations. How
effective your denominational program is depends
on the strength of the support given by the churches
of the denomination. In earlier chapters we have
laid emphasis on having a missionary program in
the church suited to the church’s needs and interests.
What we are now saying about the loyalty a church
should show to the program of the denomination is
not out of harmony with that emphasis. No pro-
gram for a whole denomination, with hundreds or
thousands of churches, in cities and the open coun-
210 Making a Missionary Church
try, in East and West, can fit into the life of all the
churches in all its details. Some of the details need
to be modified to suit local conditions; some have to
be given more importance than the plan calls for,
others less. But the main objectives of the program
can be adopted by every church throughout the de-
nomination. These should be a part of the mission-
ary plan of the church; the details also should be
followed so far'as possible, though as suggested
some modification not affecting the main objectives
may be wise.
The difficulty with many programs set forth by
the denominational bodies is that they are too often
concerned with immediate results, to the exclusion
of education for the future. Most boards make their
work of securing funds far more difficult than it
should be by working for the money needed this year
or during this set period, without at the same time
laying a strong foundation for the work of next year
or the next period. It is natural that the great sums
of money needed should loom so large that the task .
of getting them becomes the big, all-absorbing ob-
jective. But the getting of the money will be a
vastly easier matter when all boards realize, as some
do, the importance of knowledge as a basis for
giving, and lay more emphasis on missionary infor-
mation and education in their denominational pro-
grams. The local church ought to make its educa-
tional program primary, carrying this on steadily
year after year. Then into this program bring the
program of the denomination, adopting its great
objectives as the great objectives of the church.
Modify the details as you will, but be loyal to the
The Missionaries and the Mission Boards 211
program. This counsel cuts athwart the attractive
habit many churches have of putting some indepen-
dent missionary work or some unrelated local proj-
ect into the foremost place in their financial plans,
to the exclusion of the great fields for which as a
part of the denomination they are responsible. Here
the principle may well be applied, “ This ye ought
to have done, and not to have left the other undone.”
Special objects should not be excluded, but the main
objective ought always to be the knowledge and
support of the denomination’s own work. Loyalty
to the denominational program first!
A Denominational Esprit de Corps
This denominational loyalty is more than simply
accepting the leadership and direction of the denomi-
national boards or officers. It means a denomina-
tional esprit de corps, a denominational enthusiasm,
based on thorough knowledge of the denomination,
its organization, its leaders, its policies. Let us say
again that denominational loyalty of this sort does
not mean disloyalty to the larger fellowship which
includes all Christians. But whatever the larger
loyalty may mean, now or in the future, the cultiva-
tion of an intelligent denominational enthusiasm is
primal. Develop this denominational consciousness,
and you have a strong force in pushing forward the
work for which the denomination and the whole
church are responsible. There is no wiser or more
effective way to arouse denominational spirit than
through knowledge and appreciation of the achieve-
ments of the denomination and its representatives
on the mission field. The heroic story of missions
212 Making a Missionary Church
in Turkey ought to arouse every Congregational
church. The recital of the travels and hardships and
successes of Archdeacon Stuck and his associates
in Alaska should stir the hearts of all Episcopalians.
A vivid portrayal of the pioneer work of Judson
and his noble young wife and of the great develop-
ments that have resulted in Burma ought to make
Baptists enthusiastic. The history of Methodist
missions all over the world may well arouse every
member of that church to larger activity and gener-
osity. The story of Dye of Central Africa and that
of Shelton of Tibet are a precious legacy to all Disci-
ples. And so we might go on through all denomina-
tions. There is no monopoly of heroism or states-
manship or of the overflowing blessing of God.
Every denomination has a story, and a hundred
stories, in its missionary endeavors, that can be used
powerfully to stir up a proper pride and to develop
a consciousness of power and resources and to de-
velop a will to do and to sacrifice. The great trou-
ble is, too many churches and too many members
know very little about these exploits of the pioneers. —
Here is a great asset which is in large part unused.
Pastor, deacons, elders, missionary committee, ought
to set themselves to make the great history of their
denomination, in its tale of missionary heroism,
familiar to the whole church. Then they will havea
denominational esprit de corps with which they can
do almost anything,
XII
RECRUITING FOR THE FIELD
The Church a Recruiting Agency
Recruits for the ministry and for missionary ser-
vice come from the churches. Yet a good many ear-
nest Christians never give this a thought. There are
some churches that have sent into religious work
scores of fine young people, and are doing this con-
tinuously. There are others, however, that have
never given a single recruit to the leadership of the
church. Let us emphasize, therefore, the fact that
every church is, or should be, a recruiting agency. ;
The only source for the securing of new mission-\.
aries is the Christian young people of the churches.
They do not come from outside the churches, nor
from some particular group or kind of churches.
The churches that furnish the advance workers of
the kingdom are not different from yours, so far as
its make-up is concerned. It is from just the same
kind of young people that you have in your church
that the new recruits for the mission field come, and
from just the same kind of homes as you have. And
it is the business of your church and of all churches
to be training young people continually for the places
of leadership as missionaries at home and abroad.
We leave this matter too much to the young people
themselves. True, they must not be forced, but
the church should be continually holding before the. ;
young people the need for missionaries and the
213
214, Making a Missionary Church
worthiness of this service, and be praying that God
will honor them by choosing missionaries from
among their number. Just as truly as that the
church has a responsibility for educating the mem-
bers in the facts of missions, for praying for mis-
sions, and for giving to missions, the church should
recognize its responsibility for seeking out those
whom the Lord may be choosing for missionary
leadership at the front. Recruits are always needed,
even if in varying numbers. Moreover the prepara-
tion takes many years, and every one whom God calls
to this work will be needed by the time he is ready
to enter it. So that constant cultivation should be
given to the enlistment of recruits, that they may
be ready when prepared. Asa part of its missionary _
plan every church should include proper efforts to —
interest suitable young people in missions as a life-
work, and pastor, missionary committee, deacons,
and Bible-school superintendent should set them-
selves seriously to the securing of worthy results
along this line.
What Is a Missionary Call?
There are some good Christians who think that
it is an interference with God’s plans to set the needs. |
for missionary service before young people and to ~
make any efforts to influence them to offer them-
selves for such work. Their idea is that if God
wants any one as a missionary he will speak to that
one and definitely “ call’? him, and the one who is
called will have a peculiar sense and feeling of
being God’s choice for a definite work. No one
should undertake missionary work without a clear
Recruiting for the Field 215
confidence that that is what he ought to do for
God, but the conviction will not be just a feeling; it
will be grounded on definite facts, and the decision
will come as the result of considering those facts.
As a matter of record, missionaries have always
gone out because they have deliberated over needs,
conditions, and circumstances, with the teachings
and call of Christ to every Christian, and in the light
of the facts have quietly and intelligently decided to
give their lives to missions. William Carey pored
over the Bible, read Cook’s “ Voyages,” and studied
a map of the world. Robert Moffat listened to the
stories of bold Moravian missionaries in Greenland
and Labrador from the lips of his mother. David
Livingstone read the lives of Henry Martyn and
Carl Giitzlaff, and heard Robert Moffat describe how
he had “ sometimes seen in the morning sun the
smoke of a thousand villages where no missionary
had ever been.” Adoniram Judson read a mission-
ary sermon on ‘‘ The Star in the East” by a chap-
lain of the East India Company. In the case of every
one of these it was the facts of need combined with
their own opportunity that constituted God’s call.
That is the way God still calls young men and women
to missionary service. The author has talked with
scores of young men who have felt themselves called
to the mission field and has read hundreds of letters
recounting their experience and explaining their de-
cision, and with hardly an exception the story was
this: They wanted to use their lives as fully as
possible for God, they believed the place of greatest
need was the mission field, and they believed that
they could in some measure meet that need.
216 Making a Missionary Church
A missionary call consists of three things:
J (1) Knowledge. Men and women do not give their
' lives to something they have never heard about. A
missionary decision is based on knowledge of the
world, the comparative need of peoples in different
parts of it, what has been done for them, what can
be done, what ought to be done. A young man or
young woman reads and studies and comes to be-
lieve that the greatest need for Christian service is
in non-Christian lands, or in unevangelized sections
of our own land. This is fundamental. No one ever
' decides .to.be.a missionary without first learning the
~ need of the missionary world for Christ and Chris-
tian service. (2) Consecration—a loving desire for
the enthronement of Christ in the hearts of all men
and a purpose to use one’s life to that end. No one
will be a missionary unless he thinks the most im-
portant thing for all men is to know Christ, and
naturally he will never give his own life to the mis-
sion cause unless he is eager for Christ to come to
his own. (3) Opportunity. The possession, in some.
measure, of the necessary qualifications is a strong
reason for believing God wants the man where such
qualifications are most needed. As Ion Keith-Fal-
coner put it: .
While vast continents are shrouded in almost utter darkness
and hundreds of millions are suffering the horrors of heathen- —
ism or of Islam, the burden of proof rests upon you to show
that the circumstances in which God has placed you were
meant by him to keep you out of the foreign mission field.
A knowledge of the greater need of the mission field,
a desire to fulfil the need, and the opportunity to have
4
Recruiting for the Field 217
a part in fulfilling the need—these constitute a mis-
sionary call.
Qualifications for Missionary Service “>
What kind of young men and women should be
encouraged to consider missionary service in making
their life plans? In other words, just what is meant
by “opportunity”? (1) Youth. Ordinarily one
who goes to the foreign field ought to be under
thirty. Mastery of the language, becoming’ accli-
mated, and adjusting one’s self to new conditions
of life are very difficult after that age. Special posi-
tions in foreign lands and work in this country con-
stitute exceptions, but in general youth is a neces-
sary qualification. (2) Education. The demands of
missionary work are such in these days that thor-
ough educational training is necessary in order to
handle the tasks and problems that are involved.
Education is spreading all over the world, and poorly
educated missionaries are not welcomed. (3) Health.
The hardships of the early days have largely gone,
but conditions of physical life and the nervous strain
of the work and associations make it impossible for
any but those in perfect health to be successful,
though some who could not work in one climate can
do so in others. (4) Leadership. No matter how
good a man or woman may be, more is necessary to
fit for missionary service. A missionary in these
days, especially a foreign missionary, is first of all
a leader. He is an administrator, a teacher, an ad-
visor. Many native workers, and perhaps other mis-
sionaries, are under his direction. The best young
men and young women, who have ability in some
218 Making a Missionary Church
directions as leaders, are the only ones who should
be encouraged to look forward to missionary work.
(5) Tact. More missionaries fail because they lack
tact and common sense than for almost any other
reason. No one who cannot get along with others
at home can hope to get along with others, even other
missionaries, on the mission field. (6) Freedom
from home responsibilities. This does not mean
ordinary home ties. Because one is an only child is
no proof that God does not want that one to serve him
in China. But occasionally there are home responsi-
bilities that constitute a valid reason for not con-
sidering missionary service. (7) Character. This
is mentioned last simply because it is assumed, not
because it is less important. Proved Christian char-
acter is the first essential for success as a missionary.
Clearly not all the young people of any church are
called to missionary work, either at home or abroad.
But in almost every church there are earnest, sensi-
ble young men and young women with strong bodies
and qualities of leadership, who can get the requisite
education and other training, if attention is given to
them early enough. The responsibility rests heavily
upon the church, especially upon the pastor and other
missionary leaders, to educate the young people in
missions and to choose out those who seem to have
the native fitness and the opportunity and to lead
them into a frank and fair facing of the missionary |
call of God for their own lives.
Various Kinds of Missionaries
Just here it should be made clear that there are a
great many different forms of missionary work. The
Recruiting for the Field 219
young men who are sent out are not limited to
preachers, nor the young women to evangelistic
workers. There are teachers of all subjects, both ,
men and women, physicians, nurses, dentists, build- \/
ers, industrial managers, musicians, forestry ex-
perts, directors of community centers, kindergart-
ners, matrons of day nurseries, Americanization
visitors, bookkeepers, business managers and mis-
sion treasurers. Almost every kind of worker is
needed, either in the home mission field or in the
foreign mission field. For the purpose of missions
is to build a Christian civilization, beginning with ,
Christian lives and reaching out from them and >
through them into the whole life of the community
and of the nation, to make it all Christian. You
can tell a young man or young woman with almost
any bent or talent that that talent can be used in
the mission field, and there is increasing call for the
unusual forms of work, though in small numbers. It
would be well, however, in the case of a promising
young man or woman, to bring him into touch with
the secretary of the mission board early, so that his
training may be wisely directed. This is true, in-
deed, regarding every one who may be considering
missionary service, especially work abroad. The
boards welcome an early acquaintance with possible
candidates. Of course such communication does not
commit either to future action. Finally, let it be
remembered that every one who is to enter mission-
ary service needs thorough training. No short-
course man or woman is needed. The best is none
too good to offer God for his service anywhere, in
the home church or the missionary field.
220 Making a Missionary Church
The Missionary Call from the Pulpit
Every pastor should sound a clear, bold call from ¥
the pulpit for missionary volunteers. He may
preach on the principles of missions and may pray
for the missionaries and their work, but if he does
not make a definite personal application there are
young men and women in his congregation who
ought to hear the voice of God asking for the gift
of their lives who will never hear it because this
personal application is wanting. The fact is, many
ministers are a little afraid to be very direct in such
an appeal, partly because they fear the opposition
of the parents, partly because they have a mistaken
desire that their young people shall have a comfort-
able life, partly because of a lack of the sense of the
heroic in the service of Christ, and partly because
of lack of missionary interest. Parents need to be
faced with their missionary responsibility for their
children, and the young men and young women need
to be confronted squarely with the need of God for
their lives where the need is greatest. If they do not
hear the summons from the pastor they are quite
likely not to have the matter enter their minds, or
to feel that it is not important as the pastor never
mentions it. Moreover, it is easy to shift one’s re-
sponsibility to others, to feel that one’s situation is
peculiar and that others can go more easily. Only ~
a clear picture of the needs of the mission fields, a
bold and revealing description of the qualifications
of the young people of the church, and a frank chal-
lenge to them to prove their loyalty to Christ and to
make their lives of the highest use to the world ‘by
IN
Recruiting for the Field 221
heroic service, will bring some face to face with the
question of volunteering for missions. The question
of values should be presented frankly, the real mean-
ing and purpose of life should be set forth, the com-
pensations of missionary life should be recounted,
and it should be made clear that there are some of
the young people of the church who ought to con-
sider the question. This personal appeal ought to
be presented by the pastor at regular intervals. His
people ought not to be permitted to assume that the
normal business for them or their children is to
make money, or that the natural life for them or
their children is a comfortable life at home. The
normal thing for a Christian is to find the place of
greatest need, the hardest task, and the most heroic
service. The trouble is, there are too many abnormal
Christians. And one reason for it is that the pulpit
does not sound forth vigorously and fearlessly
enough the heroic call to self-denying, daring ser-
vice for Christ.
The Pastor and His Young People
But it is not only in the pulpit that the pastor can
be a recruiting agent for the mission field. The
minister who is in touch with his young people as a
minister should be, and who has their sympathy and
confidence, can find numerous ways of bringing the
question of missionary service before those who he
believes should consider it. An_occasional talk in
the meeting of the young people’s society will help.
A series of life-work addresses by himself and others
will give opportunity to present missions for con-
sideration equally with business, teaching, and other
222 Making a Missionary Church
vocations. A visit to the church by a well-chosen
missionary can be made an occasion for carefully
prepared interviews on this subject. Letters to some
of the young people away in college can suggest the
question. And especially the ordinary conversation
of the pastor with young people can be directed
into a consideration of the claims of missionary ser-
vice. Ministers ought to interest themselves in the
plans their young people are making for life. It is
not a matter for indifference what a young man or a
young woman with opportunity to choose decides to
do with the life and talents God has given. An en-
tirely false idea of success is abroad in the world,
among Christians as among those not professing to
hold the Christian ideal, and a pastor should take
every opportunity to get all his young people, and
especially those who have the qualifications for
leadership, to realize that success means fulfilling
the purpose of one’s life in service to one’s fellow
men; then. to raise the question whether there may
not be need for his service as a missionary admin-
istrator, teacher, or physician. Occasional sugges--
tions of this sort can be thrown out in conversa-
tion, but opportunity should be sought for special
conversation on the subject with those who seem
most promising. Pastors should feel their clear re-
sponsibility for recruiting workers for the difficult
places in the work of the kingdom. They should
study their young people, watch their development, |
know what their talents and interests are, and dili-
gently and prayerfully seek out those who may prop-
erly be asked to face the missionary calling as a
possible field of life service and to ask whether God
Recruiting for the Field 223
does not want them to serve him there, where the
need is greatest and the fewest have the opportunity
of working.
The Responsibility of Parents
Without doubt the greatest obstacle in the way of
securing recruits for missionary service is the oppo-
sition of parents. Of course parents who are not
Christians may naturally be expected to oppose such
plans for their children, but the strange thing is that
fathers and mothers who are Christians, often very
active in the church, should set themselves in opposi-
tion to their sons or daughters undertaking a difficult
task for Christ. Such an attitude is a strange com-
mentary on their Christianity. The trouble is,
Christian parents as well as those who are not Chris-
tian are too generally imbued with the idea that a
successful life means affluence and comfort. They
talk of these things before their children, instance
this one or that one as successful when what they
have in mind is their money and comfortable life,
and their plans for their sons and daughters center
around the securing of a paying position that will
bring ease. Any parent can sympathize with the
desire that one’s children may be spared discomfort
and have plenty, with a home among old friends and
with all the enjoyments of culture. And yet as
Christians we have to remember that there is some-
thing better and bigger to strive for than any of
these things. We have to remember that wealth and
comfort are not success; that success is the accom-
plishing of the purpose for which God has sent us
into the world; and that the great thing for the
224 Making a Missionary Church
Christian is to undertake the hardest task, go where
Christ needs him most, and do the utmost possible
to help make Christ king over all the world. That
is Christian success, and Christian parents should
hold this ideal before their children continually. The
ideal of success that is common in the world is not
a Christian ideal, but thoroughly unchristian, and
fathers and mothers who are Christians ought to be
eoncerned greatly lest their children yield to the
influence of this unchristian ideal and seek a false
success. Christian parents wrong their sons and
daughters, instead of blessing them, when they turn
their lives and talents toward pursuit of any ideal
but that of Christ. If you want to give your boy or
girl the greatest happiness and make it possible for
them to look back upon life with the greatest satis-
faction, urge upon them the planning of their lives
in such a way as to do the most for Christ and to
help the world most where it needs help most. Not
every young man or young woman can'be a mission- |
ary, or should be one, but parents need not fear to
let their children face the question of missionary ser-
vice, knowing that Christ gives the richest blessings
to those who use their lives most freely for him.
Christ’s word remains true for every Christian, “ A
man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the
things which he possesseth.”” The ideal for Chris-
tian parents and for their children is his, “ Not to .
be ministered unto, but to minister.”
The Opportunity of Teachers
Teachers of young people’s classes in the church .
school have a unique opportunity to bring the claims \
Recruiting for the Field 225
of missionary service to the attention of their pupils.
If the world’s needs have been adequately presented
and the missionary principles of Christianity have
been clearly taught, with conviction in the mind of
the teacher, a foundation has been laid for the per-
sonal appeal which must surely be made if the teach-
ing is to issue in action, as all teaching ought to do.
The general question of one’s own duty in view of
the situation in non-Christian lands and the un-
evangelized groups in America should be frankly dis-
cussed, and this is the opportunity of the teacher to
press home the question whether God may not want
the service of some of those in the class as home
missionaries or foreign missionaries. Point out the
qualifications and the preparation needed, making
it clear that there is no place for second-rate young
men or women in this work on the frontier of Chris-
tianity, but that to establish a Christian civilization,
with all that includes, calls for the strongest, wisest,
best-trained, and most earnest Christians to be
found. The class teaching should be followed up by
personal conversation on the subject with any who ~
seem specially qualified by native gifts or opportu-
nity, perhaps putting in their hands such a pamphlet
as Speer’s “‘ What Constitutes a Missionary Call,” or
Eddy’s “‘The Supreme Decision of the Christian
Student.” While frankly setting forth the condi-
tions of life, etc., which missionary work involves,
do not emphasize the sacrifice but the privilege.
Urge the honor of being given the opportunity of
doing the hard task for Christ and being trusted
with such a big undertaking as the missionary has.
Pray for reapers, and get the class to praying for
ve
A eID
226 Making a Missionary Church
them. At the same time seek wisely and persistently
to lead those best qualified to face frankly the ques-
tion of being themselves reapers in the great mis-
sionary harvest-field.
The Appeal of the Heroic
The great decisions of life are most often made in
the teens or early twenties. These are the ages when
the heroic most appeals to the imagination. Older |
boys and girls and young men and women want to do
things. They are stirred by the deeds of those who
have accomplished things against heavy odds. They
are not afraid of difficulties, and laugh at things
called impossible. They are loyal to ideals, and
dream of the best and the highest. Enlist them in
loyalty to Christ, and you can appeal to the heroic
to stir them to great decisions and difficult tasks.
Here is an opportunity that should be made the most
of. Appeal to the heroic in behalf of missionary ser-
vice. Do not encourage the idea of an easy life. Life
is not given to be got through as easily as possible
but to use in accomplishing the most for God of
which life is capable. So show the difficulties of
missionary work. Tell of the hard tasks great lead-
ers in the world’s conquest have performed, of the
sacrifices they made and the satisfactions they had
in the achievement of great things for the kingdom
of Christ. Describe the things needing to be done ~
in foreign lands and in mission fields at home and
make clear the difficulties and obstacles. Point out
that the great things, the things worth while, are not
easy, and that the easy life never accomplished the
biggest things for God. Appeal to the heroic, tell the
Recruiting for the Field PPA
story of the missionary heroes, and stir the ambition
and purpose of the young men and young women
to undertake the hardest tasks for Christ. So you
will enlist for the missionary enterprise the kind of
recruits that are needed.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
R. E. Speer, “ What Constitutes a Missionary Call? ”
Student Volunteer Movement. 10 cents.
F. P. Turner, “ Who is Qualified to Prepare for For-
eign Missionary Service?” Student Volunteer
Movement. 5 cents.
Publications of Board of Missionary Preparation
and of Student Fellowship for Christian Life-
Service.
Sherwood Eddy, ‘The Supreme Decision of the
Christian.” Student Volunteer Movement. 10
cents.
XII
MONEY FOR MISSIONS
A Missionary Church Gives
Giving is the essence of missions. That.is what
missions is—giving what we have to supply the need .
of those who have not. If one says, “‘ Missions is
giving the gospel, not money,” we may reply, Chris-
tian giving knows no limit. If money is needed in
Christ’s work for the world, a Christian cannot say,
‘““T will preach the gospel, I will give my moral sup-
port and sympathy to the missionaries, I will pray
for missionary success, but I will not give my
money.” Such an attitude would be absurd. A
Christian gives, gives unreservedly, gives every- \
oe
thing, that Christ may win the world. This giving |
includes money. Soa church that is genuinely Chris-
tian gives, and gives liberally, for missions. / Taking
into account the financial ability of the members, a
true gage of its missionary interest is the amount
given for missions,_(\Giving of money is an insepara-
ble part of the missionary life of a church. It is not
something to be distinguished from the church’s
spiritual life and activities, but is an integral part
of that life, as much so as prayer or evangelism. It .
is not a meaningless custom that an offering is a
part of the service of worship; we give not just to
pay expenses but as an act of worship and Christian
service. So giving is an essential part of the mis-
sionary life of every church.
228
'
Money for Missions 229
The Principles of Stewardship
We give our money as an expression of our love
to God and in recognition of God’s ownership of our
possessions. We are all stewards of God. There are
three simple stewardship principles: (1) God is the
owner of.all things. This scarcely needs argument.
The Bible teaches it clearly in such passages as
“Every beast of the forest 1s mine, and the cattle
upon a thousand hills” (Ps. 50: 10); “ The silver
is mine, and the gold is mine, saith Jehovah of hosts ”
(Hag. 2: 8). (2) We hold what we have as God’s
stewards. This is not so readily recognized by us,
but is just as clearly taught in the Bible. For exam-
ple, consider the meaning of the parable of the tal-
ents (Matt. 25 : 14-30), the parable of the pounds
(Luke 19 : 12-27); and verses like 1 Corinthians
4: 1, “ Let a man so account of us as of the minis-
ters of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of
God,” and others. Indeed, this follows logically from
the fact of God’s ownership of all we have. (3) The
acknowledgment of our stewardship requires the
setting apart regularly of a definite portion of our
income for the Lord’s work. The classic scripture
here is 1 Corinthians 16 : 2, “ Upon the first day of
the week let every one of you lay by him in store
as God hath prospered him,” expressing in Christian
terms the spirit of the Old Testament tithe.
Making and using money in accordance with these
stewardship principles puts a value upon money that
cannot be reckoned by its purchasing power. It be-
comes a part of ourselves. When we give; we give
ourselves. How we give expresses ourselves. Giv-
230 Making a Missionary Church
ing becomes a Christian act. Unlimited possibilities
are contained in it. Giving is as much a spiritual
service aS praying or preaching. So our ‘giving is
an act of missionary service.
Why Money Is Needed
The extension of the kingdom of our Lord is im-
possible without money. Money is needed to trans-
port missionaries to their fields, to pay their salaries,
to erect their homes, to build chapels and schools and
hospitals and orphanages, to pay the salaries of na-
tive pastors, evangelists, teachers, Bible-women, and
other workers, to meet the cost of evangelistic tour-
ing, to buy supplies for schools and hospitals, to pro-
vide Scriptures and other Christian literature, to
help weak home-mission churches, and administer
the work and disseminate information at home. All
these things cost money. You can pray just as ear-
nestly as you like for the conversion of the heathen,
for the Christianization of New Americans in our
cities, for the evangelization of unreached villages —
and towns in non-Christian lands, for the relief of
the people from ignorance, poverty, and suffering,
for the health of the missionaries, and for the spread
of missionary interest among the home churches, }
but unless you or others pay the cost in dollars and
cents, you might as well stop praying. The world
will never be evangelized or Christianized without
money. Of course God could do it without our co-
operation, but he never works that way. If we want
the world evangelized, civilization made Christian,
and Christ crowned King in the hearts of men ever
where, we must give our money.
Money for Missions 231
How that enhances the value of money and en-
nobles and spiritualizes it! It is not so much gold or
silver or paper, but so much spiritual power, so much
of God that we carry “around in our pocket or hold in
our hand. It is this which we can put into the life
of our community or send into the lives of people in|
the uttermost parts of the earth. Use your money |
for yourself, selfishly, and it loses its divine char-
acter and power and becomes just plain, hard coin.
But use it for Christ, and it is the noblest and most
powerful thing for good and for God that you have.
It is an inestimable privilege that has been given us,
in making our money teach and preach and work for
him.
Education in Giving
It does not need much consideration to make it
evident that most churches need to be educated in \ /
giving, in fact, need such education all the time. By
this we do not mean simply developing a spirit of
generosity. Many Christians are generous with
money who nevertheless give very unintelligently
and very unwisely. Education is necessary in \
(1) the principles of giving, or stewardship; (2) the “|
objects of giving, to what we should give and in what |
proportion; (3) the methods of giving, the wisest
and most efficient ways of using our money for God.
Church-members need to be taught pretty clearly
the principles of giving. Money is so generally
sought after as an individual possession that most
Christians give very little thought to the application
of Christ’s lordship to money. Every pastor ought
to preach regularly on these principles, presenting
232 Making a Missionary Church
the subject in different ways, using different texts
and fresh illustrations. An occasional series of ser-
mons can be made effective. The subject may well
be presented in the midweek service, where greater
informality is possible and the subject can be opened
for discussion. Questions can be invited, and thus
difficulties can be answered. The devotional atmos-
phere of the prayer-meeting is the right atmosphere
in which to consider so practical a question as the
use of money. However, more important than try-
ing to teach grown-ups, who have their habits of
giving pretty well settled, is the instruction of the
children and young people. At some point in the
Bible-school curriculum there should be a study of
money in relation to God’s kingdom, what money is,
whose it is, how to use it, and how to give it. In
fact, the right use of one’s money is so important
that teachers should use every opportunity in con-
nection with lessons on more general subjects to im-
press on their pupils the meaning of money, one’s
responsibility for one’s money, and the possibilities
of money in helping the work of Christ.
Careful education is needed also in the objects of
giving. Too much of our giving is indiscriminate,
with little consideration of the relative importance.
of different objects and little thought of our special
responsibility for particular objects. Giving is often
unintelligent. People give for ‘‘ missions” or
*“ benevolences,” without much knowledge of where
or how or by whom the money is to be used. The
result is smaller offerings than would be the case
with intelligent giving, and lack of the spirit of |
worship with the gift. A church should know how
Money for Missions 233
its money is used; in fact, it should decide intelli-
gently how its missionary budget shall be made up
and to what objects and organizations the money
shall be given. The same applies to the Bible school
and all other organizations in the church. Full infor-
mation should be given on the work of the societies
or boards to which money is given, using incidents,
pictures, maps, and literature to help make this
clear; and a regular report should be given on what
has actually been accomplished. If any of the mis-
sion boards or other organizations publishes a brief
statement, in a folder or pamphlet, showing the re-
sults of the year, it is a good idea to send a copy of
this to every member of the church, with a letter
from the pastor calling attention to it as a report to
them on the use of their gifts. An intensely inter-
esting method of reporting the results of the church’s
missionary giving is a sermon or address by the
pastor showing what their gifts have accomplished
during the year in proportion to the total gifts of
the denomination. For example, suppose the whole
denomination has given $1,000,000 for foreign mis-
sions, with the result that 8,000 native workers have
been supported, 10,000 baptized, 2,000 Sunday
schools carried on, 3,000 schools conducted, 75,000
pupils given a Christian education, 400,000 medical
treatments given, and $100,000 contributed by the
native Christians; if the church has given for for-
eign missions $1,000, or one one-thousandth of the
$1,000,000, the church by its thousand dollars has
secured 10 baptisms, supported 8 native workers,
conducted 2 Sunday schools and 3 day-schools, given
75 boys and girls a Christian education, provided 100
234 Making a Missionary Church
medical treatments, and brought $100 into the Lord’s
treasury besides. The same method can be used to
show what the church has done in home missions,
education, etc. This is of course arbitrary, but it
is an exceedingly graphic and concrete way of show-
ing what the church’s money has accomplished. It
can be kept from being mechanical by giving inci-
dents and making the story personal and human
throughout, and is certain to arouse keen interest.
Education is needed in proper and effective
methods of giving. This needs to be undertaken
first of all with leaders individually, then with the
official board of the church, then with the church
itself. If weekly giving to both local expenses and
missions is not the method, with a yearly every-mem-
ber canvass, a monthly or quarterly follow-up, and
monthly or quarterly reports by the treasurer of
missions, Show what the custom that is followed does
and does not do, point out what Christian principles
and New Testament teachings require, and compare
results with possibilities and with what others are
doing who use better methods. We speak more in
detail regarding this in the section on the every-
member canvass. The point to be emphasized here
is the necessity of thorough education in the most
effective methods of giving, in view of the impor-
tance of money and in view of our responsibility for
what God has entrusted to us and of the unlimited .
possibilities of money in the work of the kingdom.
For What Shall the Church Give?
In the multiplicity of causes needing money, what
shall the church choose as the objects of its benefi-
Money for Missions ab
cence? First of all, the work represented by the de- X
nominational missionary, educational and benevolent’ —
boards or societies. Denominational loyalty was
emphasized in Chapter XI. The most practical evi-
dence of such loyalty is our giving. This is loyalty
that costs something—and this is the only loyalty
that counts. ‘‘ If any provideth not for his own, and
specially his own household, he hath denied the faith,
and is worse than:an unbeliever ” (1 Tim. 5: 8).
The missionaries of your denomination and their
coworkers are of your own household, and their
work is yours. The first obligation is to support them
and that work. Who else will take care of the work
of the denomination if the members of the denomi-
nation do not? This is a day of mission comity,
when each denomination is recognized as having
definite fields of work, in many of which no other
denomination is at work. Other denominations
recognize that the responsibility for those fields be-
longs to the churches of that denomination, and un-
less those churches support the work it will not be
supported. Then besides the missions of the de-
nomination there are special lines of work that are
distinctly denominational, such as the support of
the denominational schools and the care of super-
annuated ministers. The whole financial program ,
of one’s own denomination should be the first care “
of every church of that denomination. This work
has been begun by those churches, and no other
churches will continue it and support it. It belongs
to those churches, and the responsibility for support-
ing it is theirs; just as the support of the schools and
police and fire departments of a community is the
236 Making a Missionary Church
responsibility of the people of that community. In
one case the responsibility is moral and in the other
it is legal, but is the moral less obligatory pial
Christians than the legal?
Second, give to the regular, established work
rather than to new and special objects. There is
more interest sometimes in a new proposition, like
a new school or a new station, or an automobile, or
an electric lighting plant, and often such things are
very greatly needed. But always the thing most
needed and most important is the work already in
operation, the work to which these extra things
would be additions or accessories. The mission
boards are not arbitrary in urging the regular work
as the first claim upon the churches’ gifts. This is
the attitude of the missionaries themselves. Their —
annual financial requests put first the support of the
work already in operation and the continuance of
appropriations for that work, and if they were asked
whether they would prefer that a church should give —
to their station or withdraw its gifts from that.
station and open another, they would unhesitatingly
say, ‘‘ Open the new one if you can, but at any rate
support this one strongly.” Of course the extra
needs should be met if possible, but first let the
church continue its gifts to the work already estab-
lished. ‘
_Third, include in the church’s missionary budget -
some interdenominational object to foster the fellow-
ship with Christians of other churches. Many of
the denominational budgets already include such
items, such as the union women’s colleges in the
Orient, the union churches in Oriental ports and’ in
Money for Missions 237
the Canal Zone, the work of the Federal Council of
the Churches of Christ in America, etc. Where any
of these is included there is a fine opportunity for
pastors to call attention to these items and stress
the larger fellowship of the churches. If the mis-
sionary budgets of the denomination do not take in
interdenominational objects, the church should in-
clude in its own budget a certain amount for some
interdenominational or undenominational cause,
such as those mentioned, or the American Bible So-
ciety, the Canton Christian College, or the local visit-
ing nurses’ association.
Fourth, an emergency item should be in the
church’s missionary budget, which can be voted by
the proper body to meet special needs that arise
locally or in other parts of the country or in foreign
lands. :
How to Give: the Every-member Canvass
Every church needs to study the best method of
giving. And the only method that fully meets the
situation is the every-member canvass, coupled with / *
the weekly offering for missions and local expenses
through the double envelope. The rapidly increasing
number of churches using this plan, and the large
results, financial and spiritual, that follow the thor-
ough working of the plan, are sufficient evidence of
its value. In brief the every-member canvass is a
simultaneous visitation of all the members of the
church on a given day to secure pledges for both
missions and local expenses. Complete information
on how to organize an every-member canvass is pro-
vided for the asking by the proper board or depart-
>
Sa
as
~
238 Making a Missionary Church
ment of any denomination; we give here only a very
brief summary: (1) Selection of a day for the can-
vass—this should be a Sunday, to emphasize the
spiritual nature and meaning of giving; (2) tenta-
- tive adoption of a budget for missions and local ex-
penses; (3) full preparation of the church by the
pastor in a series of midweek services and Sunday
morning sermons; (4) definite enlistment ofa group
of members—about ten per cent. of the membership
—for the work of canvassing; (5) training of the
canvassers in one or two meetings; (6) letter from
the church to every member, signed by pastor and
chairman of finance committee, explaining the can-
vass, giving details of the budget and requesting all
who are not canvassers to be at home on Sunday
afternoon to welcome the church’s messengers;
(7) sermon by the pastor on the morning of the can-
vass on the spiritual side of giving and the meaning
of the every-member canvass, after which the can-
vassers are dedicated to their work in prayer;
(8) meeting of the canvassers in early afternoon ~
for prayer and for canvass of one another; (9) a
thorough canvass of all members by teams of two,
according to lists prepared by finance committee;
(10) report by all canvassers to committee before
evening service, when a tentative report is given to
the church; (11) reassignment of those not pledging,
and recanvass during following week, with final
report the next Sunday; (12) distribution of carton
of double envelopes to every one who has pledged;
(13) final adoption of budget by church; (14) quar-
terly statement sent to each member, to vere
account and remind of pledge.
Money for Missions 239
No plan will work itself; but the every-member
canvass always brings full spiritual and financial
results when it is fully worked. In cases where suc-
cess is not attained, one or more of the following
causes for failure are sure to be found: Use of letters
or taking of pledges in church service instead of
personal visit, overemphasis on current expense bud- |
get, too extended a period of visitation, failure to
train canvassers, insufficient education of the church
before the canvass, failure to make the canvass an
annual event, lack of adequate follow-up work.
Following Up the Canvass
The greatest essential in securing a successful
every-member canvass is full preparation. But the
canvass will fail of permanent results, financial and
educational, unless it is followed up adequately. In
the first place the canvass should be made complete
by visiting during the next week those not seen on
Sunday. Then non-resident members should be can-
vassed by a strong letter sending the greetings of
the church, enclosing a subscription card and point-
ing out their responsibility for cooperating through
their offerings in the work of the church of which
they are members, but also raising the question
whether they should not transfer their membership
to a church in the place where they live. Once a
quarter a letter should go from the finance commit-
tee to every member, pointing out some of the spiri-
tual results that have been made possible through the
money that has been contributed, enclosing a state-
ment of the member’s account in both local expenses
and missions, and expressing the warmest interest
240 Making a Missionary Church
in all that concerns the member. The letter should
explain that the financial statement is sent, first, in
order to correct any errors in the church’s accounts,
and second, to remind the member of his pledge, if
he has subscribed, and of the need of the Lord’s work
for the gifts of his followers. A further statement
should be added making it clear that the letter is
sent to every member, that it is in no sense a dun,
and that if the member has found it necessary for
any reason to delay payment on his pledge it is sug-
gested that he tell the pastor so that the matter may
be understood. In the latter case a notation should
be made in connection with his name on the books,
so that no further statements will be sent him until
the pastor, who should quietly and sympathetically
keep in touch with the situation, notifies the finance
committee that the member’s financial difficulty is
relieved. All this should of course be kept in con-
fidence. Following the above procedure avoids the
difficulty that makes the quarterly statement objec-
tionable to some, and at the same time makes it pos-
sible for the pastor to learn of any need among the ~
members and for the church to act sympathetically
in relation to the members.
The every-member canvass should also be followed)
up continually throughout the year with informa- \
tion, not only a regular financial report monthly or
quarterly, but a report from time to time on what -
has been done on the mission field with the money the
church has given. This of course is a part of the
general program of missionary education. But the
information should be tied up to the money gifts of
the members in such a way that they will think of
Money for Missions 24.1
the achievements of the missionaries as made possi-
ble in part by their offerings, as is quite true, and
hence as their achievements, the work of their
church. Current missionary information, especially
from the missionary periodicals, can be presented by
the pastor and others in this way so as to be very per-
sonal and interesting. The point is that those whose
interest has been aroused in order to secure their
pledges for the missionary work of the church should
not be allowed to let their interest lapse by the
neglect of the church. A follow-up of interest as
well as of pledges is necessary.
What About the Tithe?
In conclusion, a brief paragraph may be given to
this question, a very live one today in relation to mis-
sionary plans and methods. Old Testament giving
began with the tithe; a tenth of all income was re-
quired of every Israelite. This was law. One had
no option. Free gifts were called for also, but the
tithe was the required acknowledgment of God’s
ownership and man’s stewardship. There is by no
means agreement among Christians as to whether
the Jewish requirement is also a Christian duty.
But the New Testament nowhere definitely states
this to be true, and the spirit of Christ’s teachings,
which are entirely free from the legalistic require-
ments of the old dispensation, is quite opposed to
considering the tithe—the tenth—as a binding law
upon Christians. The Christian principle of giving
is better expressed by Paul’s injunction in 1 Corin-
thians 16: 2. God calls for a regular acknowledg-
ment of him by free-will offerings proportioned to
242 Making a Missionary Church
the gifts he has bestowed upon us. But this involves
proportionate giving—the regular giving of a defi-
nite proportion of our income, carefully determined
in the light of the needs of Christ’s work and our
responsibility for those whom God has entrusted to
our care. The simplest proportion is a tenth; it is
easy to reckon and is on the average a normal pro-
portion to give. It has been estimated that if every
Christian gave a tenth of his net income to the Lord’s
work, all needs at home and abroad would be cared
for. The appeal for proportionate giving, to pro-
vide for missions and local work, may well suggest
a tenth as an average gift. It is easier to get people
to accept this than to get them at first to work out a
proportion for themselves, and experience has shown
that most people can give a tenth of their income.
But others can give more, and some must give less.
_No hard rule should be urged. The spirit of Christ
calls for the free-will gift, sacrificial but willing and
glad. And in all giving we need to rémember our ~
stewardship and Christ’s example. Emphasize the |
lordship of Christ, and the tithe will find its proper
place, and sufficient will be given for the needs of
the Master’s work at home and abroad.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bert Wilson, “The Christian and His Money .
Problem.” George H. Doran Co. $1.50.
G. L. Morrill, “ You and Yours.” F. H. Revell Co.
60 cents and $1.00.
C. A. Cook, “‘ The Larger Stewardship.” The Ameri-
can Baptist Publication Society. $1.00.
Money for Missions 243
H. R. Calkins, ‘‘ A Man and His Money.” Methodist
Book Con. $1.00.
F. A. Agar, “‘ Modern Money Methods.” The Ameri-
can Baptist Publication Society. $1.00.
R. S. Cushman, ‘“ Adventures in Stewardship.”
Methodist Book Con. 50 cents.
XIV
PRAYER FOR MISSIONS
Why Pray?
This question is fundamental. Why pray for any-
thing? In view of the great number of books on
prayer we need not give large space here to the
consideration of the meaning and importance of
prayer. But it is a subject that demands the most
earnest study on the part of every minister and
church leader. Prayer was central in the life and 4
teaching of Jesus. It has a place in every service of ©
worship. Christian workers, including missionaries,
pray much and ask others to pray for them and their
work. Clearly prayer has an importance that cannot
be overlooked or neglected. And if it has any value
at all, it must have some importance with regard to
missions, the largest and most difficult task of the |
church. Even if prayer has only a reflexive mean-
ing, and affects only the one who prays, to pray for
missionaries and for native workers and for their
work is worth while for its broadening influence
alone. To think of other peoples and nations widens
our horizon; to pray for those engaged in hard tasks
elsewhere broadens our sympathy as we recall our .
own difficulties; to face in the quiet of the deep
places of our life the problems that missionaries are
giving their lives to solve, quickens our interest and
makes us realize afresh our need for God’s power
and help. But if prayer is more than mental and
244
Prayer for Missions 245
emotional in its influence, if it is objective as well
as subjective, if it really does things and accom-
plishes results in the lives of the men and women
for whom we pray, then it is a weapon of tremendous
power, and every member of the church ought to be
taught how to use it.
What Missionaries Think of Prayer
It is well to consider what missionaries themselves
and missionary leaders at home think of prayer.
Read what some of them have said:
Unprayed for, I feel like a diver at the bottom of a river
with no air to breathe, or like a fireman on a blazing building
with an empty hose (James Gilmour, of Mongolia). Prayer
and pains through faith in Jesus Christ will do anything
(John Eliot, missionary to the Indians). Whoever prays
most, helps most (William Goodell). He who faithfully prays
at home does as much for foreign missions as the man on the
field, for the nearest way to the heart of a Hindu or China-
man is by way of the throne of God (Eugene Stock of the
Church Missionary Society). Every element in the mission-
ary problem depends for its solution upon ah ae (Robert
E. Speer).
The missionaries believe in prayer. John Hunt’s
deathbed cry was, “‘ Oh, let me pray for Fiji! Lord,
save Fiji!” Adoniram Judson of Burma testified,
“TI never was deeply interested in any object, I
never prayed sincerely and earnestly for anything,
but it came at some time.” David Livingstone
records his prayers again and again in his diary:
“Help me to be more profitable during this year.”
“My Jesus, my King, my Life, my All, I again dedi-
cate my whole self to Thee.” And when his faithful
246 Making a Missionary Church
friends entered his tent on that last morning, he was
on his knees in prayer.
What Prayer Has Accomplished
It is a long story, and a library of books would be
needed to tell it in brief outline. You can go back to
Peter’s missionary vision on the housetop, and from
that event down to our own time trace the connec-\,
tion between prayer and the organization of missions —
and of missionary agencies. The beginnings of
Carey’s mission to India can be traced back to John
Ryland’s address to the churches, urging prayer for
“the spread of the gospel to the most distant parts
of the habitable globe.” The results of the Haystack
Prayer-meeting at Williams College are well known,
including the formation of the American Board of
Commissioners for Foreign Missions, the American
Baptist Foreign Mission Society, the Foreign Mis-
sion Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, the
American Bible Society, and other missionary and
benevolent organizations. Revivals on the mission |
field have been the direct result of definite prayer.
The upheaval in the training-school at Kyoto, Japan, March
16, 1883, whose influence has perhaps shaped the whole subse-
quent Christian development of Japan, the outpoured floods
in the Lone Star Mission among the Telugus, the movement
among the Mahrattas in India on the first Monday in Jan-
uary, 1833, the incidents of 1846 in Miss Fiske’s school at ~
Urumia, the work of Michaelis of the Gossner Society in Java,
and the revival wave that swept over Turkey in 1888—all
these had no sufficient explanation save that supplied by the —
power of definite and believing prayer.’
2Speer, ‘‘ Missionary Principles and Practice.”
Prayer for Missions 247
The Church Missionary Society of England set a day
for prayer for new missionaries in 1885, and on the
evening before the appointed day one hundred uni-
versity graduates offered themselves. The China In-
land Mission prayed for one hundred new recruits to
the missionary force in 1887, and exactly one hun-
dred were secured. John G. Paton’s parents dedicated
him at his birth “ to be consecrated, if God saw fit,
as a missionary of the cross,” and they prayed con-
stantly that he might be prepared, qualified, and led
to decide for that service. Pastor Gossner sent out
144 foreign missionaries, securing the money for
their support through prayer. And so the story goes.
These are but instances chosen almost at random.
Clearly there is a power in prayer which can achieve
mighty things in the extension of God’s kingdom.
Education in Missionary Prayer
Is education in missionary praying necessary?
Ask yourself ‘these questions: Who are these “ mis-
sionaries ” for whom I am to pray? What doI know
about them? Where do they live? How do they
live? Just what is “missionary work’? That is,
what do missionaries do? What specific problems do
missionaries face in these days, particularly the mis-
sionaries of my own denomination? How does the
missionary task differ in India, China, Mexico,
Arabia, and other countries? What are some of the
things that have been accomplished and what is
there definitely yet to be done? Are there mission-
aries enough? What are the qualifications of a mis-
sionary? What are the “ idols ” that the ‘“ heathen ”’
worship, and in just what respects is Christianity
248 Making a Missionary Church
superior? Where in this country are the mission-
aries of my denomination working? Among what
peoples? With what success? Who are the secreta-
ries in charge of my missionary work, and what are
the problems they and the boards are facing? What
has prayer accomplished in missions? For what
objects do the missionaries ask us to pray?
Of course any one can pray for missions and for
missionaries even if he cannot answer any of these
questions. But clearly the more you know of the.
things these questions suggest, the more intelligently
and definitely you will pray. And this means more
interest in your praying, more earnestness when
you pray, more frequent mention of missionary
workers and their needs in your petitions, and
probably more practical cooperation on your part
as a result of your knowledge and your praying. |
There would be a great deal more prayer if Chris-*,
tians knew more about the persons and objects for
which they pray. Prayer is what the missionary
enterprise needs most of all, and everything that
will make praying more attractive, and encourage
more people to pray, is of the greatest importance.
Surely, then, it is worth while for a minister to give
some attention to the education of his members in >
everything that will make for more and better and
more intelligent praying for missions. And apart
from the objective results of their prayers on the
work itself, the development of their prayer life will _
of course react upon their own character, and be a |
potent factor in their personal spiritual development.
Here, then, is an attractive opportunity for the
pastor.
Prayer for Missions 249
Some Great Examples of Prayer
One thing that a minister can do to develop the
missionary praying of his people is to remind them
from time to time of some of those who have been
great in prayer for missions. Try to induce them
to such an experience as that which David Brainerd,
missionary to the Indians, relates in his diary:
God enabled me so to agonize in prayer that I was quite wet
with perspiration, though in the shade and in the cool wind.
My soul was drawn out very much from the world for multi-
tudes of souls.
The autobiography of John G. Paton of the New
Hebrides is full of incidents like the following, show-
ing Paton’s trust in prayer. His home had been de-
stroyed by the savages and they were searching dili-
gently for him to kill him. And the chief who had
been protecting him refused to take the risk any
longer and told him to go out and climb a certain
chestnut tree and wait till the moon rose.
I climbed into the tree, and was left there alone in the bush.
I heard the frequent discharging of muskets and the yells of
the savages. Yet I sat there among the branches, as safe in
the arms of Jesus. Never, in all my sorrows, did my Lord
draw nearer to me, and speak more soothingly in my soul,
than when the moonlight flickered among these chestnut
leaves, and the night air played on my throbbing brow, as I
told all my heart to Jesus.
How Educate the Church in Missionary Prayer
There are at least three ways in which a church
can be educated to pray, and to pray intelligently and
with interest, for missions:
250 Making a Missionary Church
1. The Pastor’s Public Prayers. The most forceful
way by which a pastor can teach his people to pray
for the extension of the kingdom is by his own exam-
ple. It would be well for every pastor to check him-
self up once in a while and ask himself how often he
brings missionary petitions into his pulpit prayers,
what missionary objects he does mention, and how
definite his missionary petitions are. Unfortunately,
there are many live and earnest ministers who en-
tirely overlook the opportunity their public prayers
give them to bring the greatness of the Christian
enterprise before their people and to suggest by
their own example the importance of praying for
its world-wide extension. No Sunday ought to pass
without a prayer for the missionaries, mentioning
some special needs of their own life or their work,
or a prayer that Christians at home may realize their
supreme mission to win the whole world to Christ,
or an expression of thanksgiving and praise for the
work God has done in turning the hearts and life
of men of all races to himself, making the prayer
concrete by the mention of one or two definite evi-
dences of his advancing conquest. To a larger
degree than many ministers realize, the outlook of
the members of the congregation is determined by —
what they hear their pastor pray for. They follow
his leadership, and they note, almost unconsciously,
the objects and the persons that he thinks worth
including in the circle of his interest and petition,
and their interest and prayers are largely limited to
these. Definite missionary praying like this requires
preparation, but preparation should be given to the
prayers of a service as truly as to the sermon. And
Prayer for Missions 251
enough preparation to give definiteness and variety
to the missionary portion of the prayer is abundantly
worth while. The pastor will reap the rewards in
broader Christian interest on the part of the people,
increased prayer by them for their representatives
in the missionary work of the church, and more ear-
nest and more active Christian service. |
Many of the great missionary prayers and other
striking sayings of missionaries can be quoted in
public prayer with great effectiveness, expressing
the strong feelings of the minister, and turning the
thought and interest of the people toward those other
parts of the world and other nations that may be
mentioned. Here are some of the quotations that
may be culled from almost any missionary biog-
raphy:
While God gives me strength, failure shall not daunt me
(Capt. Allen Gardiner). Let me fail in trying to do some-
thing rather than to sit still and do nothing (Cyrus Ham-
lin). The prospects are as bright as the promises of God
(Adoniram Judson). We can do it if we will (Samuel J.
Mills). Rock, Rock, when wilt thou open to my Saviour?
(Francis Xavier before China). If America fail the world
will fail (Edwards A. Park). If I had a thousand lives to
live, Africa should have them all (Chas. F. Mackenzie). I
have one passion; it is He, He alone (Count Zinzendorf). He
who loves not, lives not; he who lives by the Life cannot die
(Raymund Lull). Your love has a broken wing if it can-
not fly across the ocean (Maltbie D. Babcock). Expect great
things from God; attempt great things for God (William
Carey). If you want to serve your race, go where no one
else will go and do what no one else will do (Mary Lyon).
These quotations can be multiplied a hundred times.
They may be used effectively not only in prayer, but
252 Making a Missionary Church
in sermons, on the church calendar, in letters, in
teaching, and in other ways.
2. Instruction and Suggestions by the Pastor. A
second means open to a church for securing an edu-
cation in prayer is by definite instruction by the~,
pastor. The midweek service offers a special oppor-s.
tunity for this. It is traditionally a prayer-meeting.
The spirit of the service is generally devotional. The
pastor has the widest freedom in the selection of
subjects and in the conducting of the service. | How
to pray, and what to pray for, are natural topics for
this service. A course of subjects on some such
general theme as “ Kingdom Prayers,” or ‘‘ Thy
Kingdom Come,” can be taken up, with such topics as
these in succeeding weeks: What Jesus Prayed For,
Some Great Results of Prayer, Prayer and the Ex-
tension of the Kingdom, For Whom Shall We Pray,
How to Pray Intelligently, How to Make Prayer
Interesting. Or a series can be had on “ Great Men
and Women of Prayer,” studying the prayer life of
great leaders in the world’s conquest. Another sub-
ject is “ A Practical Prayer Program,” considering
different phases of the work of the kingdom which
should be included in prayer.
The best way to learn to walk is to walk. The best —
way to learn to swim is to swim. And the best way,
to learn to pray is to pray. The pastor can be as
earnest as he likes in talking about prayer, and he
can tell the most thrilling incidents he can find about
the power of prayer, but unless he can actually enlist
individuals in praying, he has failed. General exhor-
tations and suggestions will accomplish little in this
direction. His suggestions must be very definite.
;
Prayer for Missions 253
For example, the pastor can occasionally mention
in the midweek service a definite subject, or mission
field, or missionary, give some concrete explanation,
pointing out the location on the map, perhaps, or in
some other way make the subject or person real,
and ask for several prayers. The plan has been tried
successfully of having a missionary prayer topic
regularly each week. Sometimes it may be well to
ask certain persons beforehand to be prepared to
offer prayer for the missionary object. Printing the
topic on the church calendar is helpful. A simple
missionary cycle of prayer has been widely effective
in enlisting members in definite missionary prayer.
Some denominations or mission boards publish a
prayer cycle or prayer almanac. These are very
valuable. The best cycle of prayer is one that the
local church itself puts out, which should include the
pastor, the local work of the church, a few definite
needs in the community, the names of any members
who are missionaries, a few selected mission fields,
which are in some way related to the church or some
of its members, and certain definite missionary sub-
jects that fit into the local interests, as educational
work, medical work, missionary cooperation, etc.
Make the appeal for missionary prayer as definite
and concrete as possible and closely tied up to the
things that already interest the members. Do not
be satisfied with talking about prayer, but take prac-
tical measures to get the people, a few at first, then
others, actually praying for the great interests of
God’s world-wide kingdom.
\ 3. Brble-school Teaching. A third principal means
for the church’s education in missionary prayer is
254 Making a Missionary Church
offered by the Bible school. Instruction in prayer
may be assumed to be a part of the curriculum. Does
this include instruction in missionary praying? It
ought to, surely. For unless the teaching includes
the most effective force for establishing the kingdom
of Christ and presents to the pupils the possibilities
of its far-flung influence in the widest ranges of the
kingdom, it is seriously incomplete. Does. every
school actually have a study of prayer? How many
give their pupils any adequate conception of the mis-
sionary value of prayer? For example, how many
have a study of the teachings of Jesus regarding
prayer for the kingdom? How many present con-
cretely some of the great results of prayer in the
extension of the kingdom? Or show how modern
apostles to the Gentiles have prayed? Or suggest
some of the peoples and some of the missionaries and
some of the objects for which to pray? Or point out
the problems in the building of the kingdom that
baffle human wisdom and call for the divine help that
is made available as God’s people pray? These
things ought not to be left to the minister’s sermons,
or the testimonies of a few of the faithful at the mid-
week service. Most of the children and young people
will not hear these. Moreover, to teach how to pray, —
and how to pray large prayers, is surely a duty the
church owes its children, and the obvious place for
such teaching, like every other teaching concerning
the Christian life, is the Bible school. It would bea
surprising experience to most pastors and superin-
tendents to examine the courses of study in their
school with this subject in mind, and to find how
little attention is paid to prayer, and especially how
Prayer for Missions 255
limited and narrow is the view of the objects and
reach of prayer. The curriculum of the church
school is defective at a vital point if it does not give
full place to a study of prayer as a means of helping
Christ to win the world.
But actions speak louder than words, and learning
by doing is the most effective way of learning. The
world-kingdom ought to find frequent mention in the
devotional service of the school and of every depart-
ment. The prayer hymn should often be a mission-
ary one. The prayers ought to bring the subject to
the pupils’ attention. The missionary petitions
should be concrete and definite. Different countries
and varying forms of work should be brought into
view. References to Christ’s missionary prayer,
“Thy kingdom come,” his Great Commission ‘‘ Go
ye,” his promises with a “ whosoever,’’ Paul the mis-
sionary, the Gentiles or heathen of today, these help
to tie up missions to the Bible, and give authority to
the missionary enterprise in the minds of the pupils
as they hear these things mentioned in prayer. And
the example of the leader in praying for missionaries
and the missionary enterprise is bound to stimulate
the praying of the pupils in that direction. ‘ Like
priest, like people ”’; like superintendent, like pupils.
Then, too, do not forget the value of learning to
pray by praying. If the devotional service of your
school or its departments provides for participation
by the various classes, as it should, you have the
opportunity, if you are pastor or superintendent or
teacher, to suggest a few of the great missionary
themes for including in the prayers of classes. If
the classes have prayer in their classrooms, teachers
256 Making a Missionary Church
can teach missionary praying with unequaled effec-
tiveness by leading the class to remember different
objects of need in extending the kingdom to “the ut-
termost parts of the earth.” And for the private pray-
ing of the pupils every teacher should make sugges-
tions, giving practical help in making their prayers
interesting, concrete, unselfish, and missionary.
For example, teachers who read the newspapers with
a thought of the meaning of events to the kingdom
of God can effectively suggest to their pupils situa-
tions and events in the world as matters for prayer.
This can be done informally at the beginning of the
class session. The church school offers very wide
opportunities for education in missionary prayer,
the more effective because the school reaches those
whose ideas and Christian habits are in the forma-
tive stage, and because it has a definite, systematic,
thoroughgoing task of educating in the Christian
life. :
Growing Prayer
There is one other thing to be said. Pastors, su-
perintendents, teachers, and other leaders, should be
on the lookout continually to see that in their teach-
ing and example prayer is ever growing to be
a bigger thing. It should have an ever-widening
horizon. Its outreach should be continually growing.
New needs, new persons, new peoples, new experi-
ences, should be coming within the reach of its inter-
ests and feeling the touch of its power. How many
people pray for the same things every day and every
year—the same folks, the same work! You can
recognize some public prayers as those you heard
Prayer for Missions 257
years and years ago. But prayer ought to be an
expanding life, ever larger, ever broader, ever
more inclusive. See that your church, your school,
your class, prays for new objects each year. Test
them occasionally, and thus test yourself. See
whether they have become interested in new needs
and new missionaries. And introduce those whom
you have under your care to others in the enlarging
fellowship of prayer and need. All this means that
your own prayers should grow. Read, study, think,
do anything that will help you to make the power of
your prayers reach more people and transform more
life. Prayer is a mighty force that God has made
available to us, and we must use it to the full and
to the widest extent.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
R. E. Diffendorfer, ‘“‘ Thy Kingdom Come ” (Prayers
by Christians of Many Lands). Missionary Edu-
cation Movement. 25 cents.
XV
ORGANIZING A MISSIONARY CHURCH
The Church Itself a Missionary Society
It was shown in the first chapter that the purpose
of the church, of every local church, is missionary.
That makes every church a missionary organization.
If it is properly organized it does not need much
special machinery in caring for its missionary work.
The chief problem is not erecting efficient missionary
organization, but getting the church, or its leaders,
to see that the main business of the church is mis-
sions; that missionary education, missionary giving,
missionary prayer, missionary activity, are an inte-
gral part of the church’s work, to be planned for
as seriously and intelligently as worship, or evan- _
gelism, or community service. The less special mis- %
sionary organization the better. Missionary socie- —
ties suggest that missions is a subject of optional —
interest, something additional to the regular work
of the church, a concern of some of the members, but
not an essential thing, like worship or evangelism.
There is no special organization for these; the
church as a whole engages in them. ‘So the more the
regular organization and departments of the church
can be utilized in the missionary work of the church
the better.) And most churches have organization
enough for all their work, local and missionary. The
pastor and his board of deacons, elders, or stewards
should make the general missionary plans, as they
258
Organizing a Missionary Church 259
plan for other phases of the church’s work. The
plans can be worked out in Bible school, children’s
clubs, young people’s and woman’s societies, men’s
brotherhood and the church at large. Details of the
general plan, coordinating of the missionary educa-
tion and activities of the various departments of the
church, and oversight of the missionary work as a \
whole, needs a missionary committee of the church.
This committee is really the only special missionary
organization that most churches need. The denomi-
national plans, however, in many cases, call for cer-
tain special missionary societies, and a church should
usually fall in with the plans of the denomination.
Nevertheless, organizing a special society for the
development of missionary interest and the carrying
on of missionary activities, while intensifying these
for the limited: number participating in them, shuts
out from missionary knowledge and activity those
who for any reason do not join, and develops the im-
pression, as already pointed out, that missions is a
matter quite optional, belonging only to those who
are interested in the subject. It is far better to have
a woman’s society that includes missions as one of
several activities than to have a woman’s mission-
ary society ; it is better to include missions in the cur-
riculum and work of the church school and of the
young people’s society than to have special mission-
ary circles for the children and young people. What
we said at the beginning of this section should be
kept in mind: The less special organization the bet-
ter; use the regular organization of the church as
far as possible; make missions an integral part of
the church program.
260 Making a Missionary Church
The Church Board a Missionary Committee
Whatever special organization seems necessary,
the church board, deacons, elders, stewards, should \
think of themselves as a missionary committee for
the whole church. This is not affected by the fact \
that the church has a missionary committee. The
latter works out in detail the policies which the
church board decides upon; the church board has
the responsibility for determining these policies,
under the direction of the church, and of caring for
the missionary interests of the church as it cares
for all other interests. The missionary plan of the
church should be formulated under the board’s
direction;! the various communications of the de-
nominational missionary boards should be brought
before it for consideration ; the detailed plans of the
missionary committee should be discussed by the —
board from time to time; and the whole missionary
situation in the church, as to education, offerings,
prayer, activities, should be reviewed regularly, once -
a month or once in two months. The members of
the board should feel themselves related to the work
of the church in the largest way, and should recog-
nize their responsibility for this most far-reaching
part of the church’s task, not allowing themselves to
suppose that because there are missionary societies
in the church this part of the work belongs to those
societies. Let the members of the church board,
whatever its name, think of themselves as a com-
mittee on missions, as they think of themselves as a
committee on devotional life, church services, and
1 See Chapter II. :
Organizing a Missionary Church 261
evangelism, and the church is bound to be a mis-
Sionary church.
Success Depends on the Pastor
The attitude of the church board toward the
church’s missionary work depends upon the attitude
of the pastor. And as the missionary development
of the church depends on the plans and leadership
of the board, the pastor, here as elsewhere, is the
key to the situation. He largely determines what
will be considered at the meetings of the board. And
these meetings are too important to be left to chance
thought as to what shall be brought up for discus-
sion. At the board meetings all phases of the
church’s work and life should regularly be con-
sidered, and the pastor should survey the whole field
and bring into each meeting a program of various
phases and departments of the church’s work.
Among these is the church’s missionary work. It
is the pastor’s responsibility first of all to bring his
deacons, or elders, to a realization of the importance
of the missionary plans of the church, and of the
central relation they hold toward the success of those
plans and the kingdom-wide relation of the church.
This he can do in his conduct of the meetings of the
board. What we said in Chapter IV regarding the
training of the church officers applies here. Tact-
ful but energetic and persistent efforts must be made
by the pastor until the board sees and feels its re-
sponsibility and opportunity toward the great world-
wide work of their church. Not till this is achieved
can the church hope for full success in its mission-
ary organization and missionary development.
262 Making a Missionary Church
The Church Missionary Committee
To work out in details the missionary policy and
plan of the church, and to carry these plans into
execution, there should be a missionary committee.
This committee should be a regular standing commit-
tee of the church, appointed annually like other
officers and committees. It should consist of a chair-
man, with the chairman of the missionary commit-
tees of the Sunday school and of the young people’s
society, the president of the woman’s missionary
society, or the presidents of both home and foreign
societies if there are two, and one or two members-
at-large. If there is one woman’s society represent-
ing all phases of woman’s work in the church, the
chairman of the missionary section or committee
should be a member of the church missionary com-
mittee. If the school has a missionary superinten-
dent or a director of missionary activities, he or she
should be the representative of the school on the
committee. In brief, all missionary interests should
be represented ex officio in the committee’s member-
ship, together with a chairman and one or two others
representing the church as a whole. The members
should include both men and women, and the chair- |
man may be either a man ora woman. The careful
selection of the chairman is of the greatest impor-
tance. He should not be one of the ex-officio mem-
bers, but should be able to represent all departments
and all groups. He should be interested in the mis-
sionary work of the kingdom, though he may not
previously have been active in missionary work. He
should be a good organizer and executive, able to lead
Organizing a Missionary Church 263
the committee in planning and able to enlist the
members and others in specific tasks. It is not at all
necessary for him to be a good speaker; his work is
to be done in committee, not on the platform. Above
all he must be one who can be depended upon, not
easily discouraged, one who will stick to his task,
give time and thought to it, and work harmoniously
with the pastor and his fellow committeemen. Of
course, perfection is not to be expected, but the suc-
cess or failure of the missionary program of the
church hinges, next to the pastor, upon the chairman
of the missionary committee; hence the greatest
care is necessary in choosing this important leader.
It will not do to appoint some one who is just “ in-
terested,” or simply a good talker, or one who under-
takes a piece of work and then lies down on his job.
Get the very best man or woman in the whole church
for this most important position.
The committee should meet at least monthly, on
a regular date, and every member should set this
date apart sacredly for this meeting. The chairman,
if he is wise, can readily get his committee to feel
this sense of responsibility. To do so he will need
to make it worth while for the members to attend.
Do not meet after prayer-meeting; you will need a
whole evening if your committee is doing what it
ought to be doing. The chairman should plan each
meeting carefully. Some of the most hopeful things
in the church’s missionary development should be
presented at the beginning of the meeting, with a
very brief review of a few outstanding missionary
events reported during the month in the missionary
magazines or the daily papers. Then each phase of
264. Making a Missionary Church
the committee’s work should be discussed and defi-
nite plans made for the succeeding month. Do not
let any difficulty pass without trying to find a solu-
tion, and see that every member of the committee
goes away encouraged and optimistic.
Each member of the committee should have some
definite responsibility. Of course those who officially
represent various organizations are responsible for
those parts of the missionary plans which affect
those organizations, but the plans for other depart-
ments and groups not represented and for the church
as a whole should also be put in charge of different
members of the committee. Make plans which will
eventually cover the whole field, but do not begin
with too much. Undertake a few things that you can
surely carry through, then add others from time to
time as needs and opportunities appear. It is not
necessary to go into detail regarding the work of the
committee. Suggestions have been made elsewhere
in this book, and here we only list some of the differ-
ent things that the committee should plan for: co-
ordination of missionary plans of various groups in
the church according to the church’s unified mission-
ary plan; missionary courses as an integral part of
the Bible-school curriculum; missionary reading- |
courses or contests; mission-study classes and dis-
cussion groups; a church school of missions; mis-
sionary library; missionary museum; missionary
information in the church calendar; missionary pic-
tures and announcements on the bulletin-board;
missionary literature table; correspondence with
missionaries; missionary recruits; missions in social
gatherings; subscriptions to missionary magazine
Organizing a Missionary Church 265
and promotion of its reading; promotion of general
missionary reading; enlistment of parents in mis-
sionary education at home; community missionary
work; cooperation with finance committee in arrang-
ing every-member canvass; development of mission-
ary prayer. These and other plans are outlined in
various chapters of this book. It is clear that the
missionary committee has plenty to do. No commit-
tee in the church should take itself more seriously.
There is no limit to the plans and possibilities of the
committee and its work.
Organizing the Church School for Missions
The missionary plans of the church school should
be worked out in coordination with those of other
departments and organizations and with those of the
church as a whole. Its missionary organization
should be coordinated with the church missionary
organization. The school should have a missionary
committee, or a missionary superintendent or direc-
tor of missionary activities; all of these are used
effectively by successful schools. The chairman of
the committee, or whoever is immediately respon-
sible for missions in the school, should be ex officio a
member of the church missionary committee, sub-
mitting the school missionary plans to that commit-
tee from time to time and taking part with other
members in the responsibilities, plans, and activities
of the committee.
The missionary plans for the school should be
worked out by the Sunday-school missionary com-
mittee or director and should include education, wor-
ship, and service. They should be in harmony with
266 Making a Missionary Church
the general missionary plans of the church and
should have the approval of the superintendent.
The principal educational plans in the Sunday school
should be directed toward the inclusion of missionary
teaching as a regular, integral part of the school
curriculum. Where that is not yet possible the mis-
sionary director can introduce supplemental instruc-
tion, such as a missionary story told from the plat-
form; but the director or committee should not be
satisfied until missions is not regarded as an extra but
recognized as a vital part of the religious education
of the pupils. Suggestions regarding the place of
missions in the curriculum are given in Chapter VII.
More than simply including missions as one of the
subjects studied is necessary, however, if the boys
and girls and young people are to be imbued with
the missionary spirit. The teachers must be mis-
sionary. They must understand and recognize the
fundamental place of missions in the Bible and in
Christianity, and must be in earnest in trying to in-
culcate in their pupils the missionary spirit of Jesus. —
Otherwise their missionary instructions will be
limited to missionary courses and their teaching of
those courses will be more or less formal. Perhaps
the most important task to be undertaken by the mis-
sionary director or missionary committee, as it may
be the most difficult, is the missionary training of the
teachers of the school, so that they will bring out the
missionary application of other lessons than those
labeled “‘ missionary ’’and will use missionary illus-
trations in their teaching; in other words, make
missions the big thing in their own Christian experi-
ence and in their teaching, as it is the big thing in
Organizing a Missionary Church 267
Christianity. There are various ways of doing this.
One is by an occasional talk to the teachers in the
teachers’ meeting or workers’ conference, by the
missionary director or chairman or by an outside
speaker. If this can take the form of a conference
or forum it will be more effective. If the superin-
tendent is thoroughly interested, he can put in a per-
suasive word now and then. Another plan is a mis-
sionary-study class for teachers in the church school
of missions.
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