SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY INCIDENTS AND EXERCISES by JOHN M. SOMERNDIKE 1915 AN BOARD OF PUBLICATION ABBATH SCHOOL WORK tibvavy of €he Cheoio^icd ^eminarp PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY PRESENTED BY The Estate of Harold McAfee Robinson, D.D BV 2063 .S72 1915 Somerndike, John M. , 1877- Sunday-school missionary incidents and recitations SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY INCIDENTS AND EXERCISES BY JOHN M. SOMERNDIKE Author of "On The Firing Line With the Sunday- School Missionary" and "By-Products of the Rural Sunday School" 1915 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION PHILADELPHIA Copyright, 1915 by the Trustees of The Presbyterian Board 01 7 Pubi - and Sabbath School Work CONTENTS i PAGE Missionary Education in the Sunday School 5 Why This Book? 7 New Emphasis on Missionary Education 7 Essential to a Standard School 8 Missionary Studies in the Graded Courses 9 Opportunities for Expression 9 Special Obj ects 10 Through the Eye Gate 11 Literature 11 II Stories from the Field 13 1. "Aren't You the Sunday-School Starter?" 15 2. How Aunt Sylvia Helped the Sunday-School Missionary 18 3. How the Missionary Took Christmas to Fair- view 20 4. He Walked One Hundred and Fifty Miles to Preach 23 5. How a Sunday-School Quarterly Brought Him Back 25 6. The Sky Pilot Who Could Not Be Frightened.. 28 7. Waited Thirty-Three Years for the Missionary. 30 8. A Recruit for the Ministry 33 9. The Gospel in Many Languages 35 3 4 CONTENTS PAGE 10. xA.mong the Gold Seekers 38 11. The Returned Emigrant a Missionary 40 12. Missionary Heroes in America .42 13. Only Ten Per Cent in Sunday Schools 43 14. Missionary Scouts and Pioneers 46 15. A Wild Mountain Boy Becomes a Sunday- School Missionary 49 16. Overcoming Difficulties in Organizing Sunday Schools 52 17. The Cowboy Who Became a Preacher 55 18. One Hundred Miles for a Preacher 59 III Fifteen-Minute Programs 61 1. The Southern Negro 63 2. The Southern Mountaineers 69 3. The Children of the Plains 78 4. Brothers of the Flag 84 5. Our Welcome to New Americans 91 IV How to Obtain Information 99 MISSIONARY EDUCATION IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL WHY THIS BOOK? The purpose of this book is twofold. It aims primarily to meet a demand repeatedly expressed in the correspondence which comes in a continu- ous stream to the headquarters of the Board for material that will be useful in promoting mis- sionary instruction in the Sunday school. It fur- ther aims to encourage in all the Sunday schools the larger consideration of the pioneer missionary work being performed by our Sunday-school mis- sionaries in behalf of the multitude of children and youth living in the outlying rural districts, boys and girls who are without the uplifting influence of the Sunday school and the Bible instruction which it is its purpose to impart. A work which is of such far-reaching impor- tance to the promotion of a better citizenship, and which is such a potent factor in determining the character and prosperity of the Church of the fu- ture, should have a prominent place in every plan of Sunday-school missionary education. It is a work which is vitally fundamental to all the other forms of missionary service. Its fruits are seen in missionary labors in the uttermost parts as well as in consecrated ministries in the home field. The appeal of neglected childhood never fails to awaken sympathy. This work presents the Mace- donian call of the unprivileged boys and girls of America for a share in the opportunities of Chris- tian training which are enjoyed by those who form the great Sunday-school army. NEW EMPHASIS ON MISSIONARY EDUCATION The emphasis which the Sunday-school world is placing upon the importance of imparting to 7 8 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY the pupils accurate information concerning- the great missionary enterprises in which the Church is engaged and which they are expected to sup- port with increasing liberality proportionate to their ability, has led to the appointment of a Mis- sionary Committee in many schools to take charge of this phase of the school's exercises. The Missionary Committee finds it difficult to obtain suitable material arranged in a satisfactory way and in sufficient quantity and variety to en- able them to present the different aspects of mis- sionary activity represented by all the Boards of the Church to which the work at home and abroad has been committed. They realize that in their plans and programs, every phase of missionary effort should have its proper share of considera- tion. Therefore, to aid Missionary Committees in their work, this collection of missionary stories and experiences, together with several fifteen- minute programs giving a comprehensive view of special fields where Sunday-school mission- aries are laboring, has been prepared. Two fifteen-minute programs referring to work among foreign immigrants are included because the Gen- eral Assembly has committed to the Sabbath- School Board the responsibility of taking the gospel to the foreigner in America through the publication and distribution of religious litera- ture. ESSENTIAL TO A STANDARD SCHOOL The Interdenominational Sunday-School Stand- ard calls for systematic missionary instruction as a requirement of a Standard School. The new Advance Standard requires individual system- atic giving toward the church benevolences, be- sides the active cooperation of the Sunday school MISSIONARY EDUCATION 9 and young people's organizations in mission Sun- day-school work. One of the ways by which these requirements may be met is to cultivate an inter- est throughout the school in the mission Sunday- school work which is being done through our own denominational agency or Board having this work in charge. MISSIONARY STUDIES IN THE GRADED COURSES The growing use of the graded courses, in which missionary lessons are included, has been the means of introducing missionary instruction into schools where previously, in the uniform lessons, it had been completely neglected. But even in these progressive schools where the graded sys- tem is thoroughly carried out, it has been found advisable to emphasize the missionary task in a more definite and concrete way by the use of special fifteen-minute exercises once a month, introducing missionary stories or field incidents, for five minutes during the opening exercises on each remaining Sunday of the month. OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPRESSION It is a fundamental principle of psychology that with every impression an opportunity should be provided for expression. Our work of mission- ary education would be but half accomplished if we should confine our efforts to the imparting of information. The pupil may easily become habit- uated to participating in missionary exercises without realizing his responsibility for a personal share in the efforts to extend Christ's kingdom that are being brought to his attention from time to time. It is important, therefore, that every 10 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY Sunday school should so arrange its financial methods as to provide for regular contributions to all forms of denominational missionary endeavor, not neglecting the offerings on the special days such as Children's Day, Rally Day, et cetera, for which special exercises are provided by the mis- sionary boards. The plan of systematic missionary giving was never intended to displace these spe- cial day offerings by means of which so much helpful missionary work is being accomplished. Some Sunday schools fall into the error of an- nouncing that, in view of the introduction of a systematic financial plan, "no special offerings will be taken." This reduces missionary giving to a mere mechanical process and leaves no room for the appeal to make its impress upon the heart and life by furnishing an opportunity to respond. It overlooks entirely the educational value of the inspiration to attempt and accomplish something worthy of a follower of Christ. SPECIAL OBJECTS One of the most effective methods of develop- ing missionary interest and giving is to have a specific field or object toward which the contri- butions to each particular cause are applied. In this way the Sunday-school pupils are brought into closer contact with the field and the worker. They look upon him as their representative from whom they receive regular reports and who has a large place in their sympathies and prayers. The adoption of a mission Sunday school in a needy locality requiring a contribution of but twenty-five dollars annually, thus furnishing it with needful literature and other supplies, has been the beginning from which a number of Sun- MISSIONARY EDUCATION n day schools have developed into large sharehold- ers in a Sunday-school missionary's support. THROUGH THE EYE GATE For the more intelligent consideration of Sun- day-school missions as set forth in this compila- tion of exercises, a map of the United States, size five by seven feet, may be obtained for one dol- lar upon application to Superintendent of Docu- ments, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. This should be hung on the wall of the Sunday-school room. Upon this map should be marked the field in which the Sunday-school mis- sionary in whose support the school has taken a share, is at work. Or, if the school is having its offerings applied toward the organization and maintenance of mission Sunday schools, red or blue stars or seals should be affixed to show the location of these schools. The work should be remembered and referred to regularly in the open- ing exercises, and especially in prayers. There is a decided advantage in focusing the attention upon a specific object which stands as a type of the work of one of the missionary boards, and in keeping this before the school as a responsibil- ity which the school is expected to meet with un- failing regularity. LITERATURE The use of the leaflets published by the Boards which describe the work that is being done on various fields is earnestly recommended. The chairman of the Missionary Committee should establish communication with the headquarters of the Boards, and should ask for copies of such leaflets as they issue for free distribution, and 12 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY order quantities of those that may be selected as being of special interest to the Sunday school for circulation among the pupils. This should be done at least three or four times a year. II STORIES FROM THE FIELD Note to tJie Leader: After the leader's introduction, the story for the week may be read by him, it may be told by some one se- lected for the purpose, or it may be recited as an impersonation. "AREN'T YOU THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL STARTER?" OPEN WITH PRAYER "Do you want a ride, mister?" It was the piping voice of a little boy, and I turned to see who gave the Sunday-school mis- sionary such a cordial invitation. For more than a mile back, as I struggled over the road on a fourteen-mile walk, I had noticed some one coming. The rig had caught up to me at last. A little boy eleven years old was the driver of a poor horse hitched to a rickety wagon, carry- ing a milk can. I was glad to get a lift, for the road was long and heavy ; it had been raining the night before. As I climbed into the wagon I took a look at the boy. He wore an old coat, many sizes too large for him, had long bushy hair and a dirty face, and two bright eyes. Altogether he had a wide-awake appearance. He looked at me and said, "Aren't you the Sun- day-school starter?" I confessed that I was, and then began to ask questions. "Aren't you a pretty small boy to carry milk to the creamery?" "No," he replied, "I have been doing this for over three years." "My, you are rather small to drive so far," I said. "I can do as much work as any man," he re- i5 16 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY plied. "I and my pa have done all of the haying this summer." I thought the boy must be either a remarkable worker or else the father was a very poor worker. The boy set me right by telling me that he did the loading and his father the pitching. Just then we passed a deserted farmhouse. Here were perhaps ten acres of cleared land. The boy said : "I and pa bought the hay on this place, too, and made it all alone. You see the four stacks of hay? I stacked them, and pa did the pitching." I asked the boy if he went to school. He said that he could not go to school. "I and pa have to hustle to pay the debts and make a living for the others," was his explanation. There were five children at home. Further conversation brought out the facts that he had never been to church or Sunday school, nor had any of the other members of the fam- ily, so far as he knew, for they had lived so far out in the woods that there was neither church nor Sunday school anywhere near his home. After visiting the people I found that the story the boy had told me was true, and I succeeded in organizing the first Sunday school in that re- gion. The report of the plan to organize a Sunday school reached the boy's home and Sunday brought them all out to the meeting. After the service, the boy came up and told me how many times he and the other members of the family had been out picking berries all day Sunday, and many other things about the conditions which had existed in that community. I had begun to doubt the wisdom of attempting to have a Sun- day school so far back in the woods and I feared STORIES FROM THE FIELD \y it would die. But the boy's story only empha- sized the crying need of the community, so I de- cided to do my best to keep the Sunday school going. Thus the light of the gospel through the Sun- da)^ school came into that community and to-day they have an organized church, a good Sunday school and an enthusiastic Christian Endeavor Society. HOW AUNT SYLVIA AND THE PREACHER HELPED THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY Scripture Selection: Acts 8:26-37 "We don't want no new religion here." Many times that day the Sunday-school mis- sionary had heard those words as he called at the doors of the little negro cabins on a large planta- tion in Georgia, in the effort to interest them in a Sunday school. At length he was directed to call upon old Aunt Sylvia, a leader in the neighborhood, who in- formed him that the only religious services they had were the "big meetings held out of doors in summer." The missionary found Aunt Sylvia in- terested in religions things, however, and finally proposed that a Sunday school be organized, to meet in her house. This she at once refused to permit, saying that she was the "mother of Noah's Ark Baptist Church," and therefore could not con- sider such a proposal. The missionary then began a careful canvass of the entire neighborhood in search of some one to take the lead in conducting the Sunday school. Finally he was directed to a "fine Baptist preacher" as being the man most likely to assist him. The missionary found him plowing, and after stating the object of his visit, he was informed that the man was not a "book-learnt preacher," but a "powerful Baptist gospel preacher." The plantation overseer interrupted their con- versation, attempting to drive the missionary 18 STORIES FROM THE FIELD 19 away, but he was not to be diverted so easily. He requested that he be permitted to help the preacher in his plowing. When the day's work was done the missionary accompanied the preacher to his humble home and, before retiring, asked him to read a portion of Scripture. He took up an old hymn book, in- stead of a Bible, opened it, and holding it up- side down, began to quote a passage of Scrip- ture as though he were reading it. By tactful reasoning the missionary finally suc- ceeded in securing the man's cooperation, and he promised to win Aunt Sylvia's assistance. The Sunday school was organized and met in Aunt Sylvia's little house. Boards were laid across chairs for seats, and at every meeting the room was overcrowded. Later a Presbyterian negro minister was assigned to preach occasion- ally for these people and the response was far beyond their highest hopes. The little company was soon compelled to move from Aunt Sylvia's home, and for some time the services were held in a bush arbor. From this beginning two good Presbyterian churches have grown, besides an academy where the boys and girls for miles around are being educated. Close with prayer that the light of the gospel may dispel the darkness of ignorance and superstition among our southern negroes. HOW THE MISSIONARY TOOK CHRISTMAS TO FAIRVIEW Leader: — Did you ever wonder what kind of Christmas some of the poor folks have out on the plains where it seldom rains, where the crops are so small that the people can hardly get a liv- ing, and where there are no evergreens to use for Christmas trees? A story comes to us from a Sunday-school missionary in western Kansas who was determined that some of the boys and girls from the little shacks and dugouts should have something to remind them of Christmas. "The most interesting position I have held dur- ing the past year was that of acting as a clearing house for Christmas," the missionary tells us. "Christmas, in some parts of the pioneer west, where they had no crops and where there was nothing with which to provide any sort of Christ- mas, has been a heartbreaking time for some peo- ple. I knew about what sort of Christmas some of the folks would have. Before Christmas I told some of the Sunday schools that were better off about some of the others. They were anxious to help. The result was that real Christmas cheer, generous gifts and liberal treats were provided for about five hundred people of all ages who otherwise would have had little or nothing. "Let me tell the story of one of the Christmas entertainments which, with modification, is the story of the rest. "In the fall I was talking with one of our best superintendents out west who was greatly dis- 20 STORIES FROM THE FIELD 21 couraged. The trouble was that the people had no crops that year and were discouraged about everything. Just before Christmas I wrote this superintendent that I thought we could see the Sunday school through with a Christmas. I told him to start something the next Sunday, but not to tell our secret until he heard from me again. "The next Sunday he proposed that they pre- pare a program and get ready for Christmas. Not they! They didn't have anything for a Christ- mas and they didn't know where they could get anything. They were so blue and so hard up that they did not want even to consider Christmas. They finally did make a beginning, but very re- luctantly. "When they heard from me later they started with enthusiasm. They prepared a fine program. Over a hundred people, gathered from miles around, assembled in the little schoolhouse at the service, and all received a Christmas remem- brance. The house was decorated, but it was pathetic to see their Christmas tree — a little tree with limbs bare of leaves, around which they wrapped white cloth. They hung as many of the presents on this as possible. Gifts and treats were sent to thirty people who could not be present. "Wasn't it worth while, to drive out the blues and bring in Christmas cheer? "But this is not all. Shortly after, the superin- tendent wrote me that more people were coming to Sunday school than before Christmas. A little later he wrote me that still more were coming. Later another letter said, 'There were more than fifty out last Sabbath/ The help we gave them at Christmas time had put heart into them and they had taken a new grip on things and were coming and enthusiastic. The whole atmosphere 22 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY of the neighborhood had changed. Wasn't it worth while?" Leader: — Could not our Sunday school help a poor little mission school, somewhere, to have a Christmas this year? How many would like to help pack a box of Christmas toys and dolls and warm caps and mittens, and other use- ful things, to send to a Sunday-school mission- ary? (Call for raised hands.) Very good; then bring your gifts, however small, not later than the last Sabbath in November, and we shall send them off in time to give a real Christmas treat to children who do not have the good things that we enjoy in such abundance. Prayer. Note: Write to the Sabbath-School and Missionary Department, Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, Pa., for the name and address of a Sunday-school mission- ary who will distribute your gifts among those who are needy and who will report to you how they were re- ceived. HE WALKED ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILES TO PREACH OPEN WITH PRAYER Leader: — What is a Sunday-school missionary? He is the gospel pioneer. He penetrates to the remotest parts, reaching the settlements back from the main lines of travel, far removed from railroads, where people are living in loneliness and spiritual destitution. One of these missionaries, working in the east- ern part of the State of Washington, has had strange experiences. Let him tell us of some of them in his own words : "It was a most unusual event to the people of an isolated mining camp when a preacher, the Sunday-school missionary, turned up in a cer- tain mining town. Politics and ore rested awhile in the hotels, saloons and lounging places, to dis- cuss the preacher. Certainly they were going to 'turn out' to hear the parson. There was no need of coaxing and wheedling people into service in this mountain neighborhood. All that was nec- essary was to pass the word along the line. And along it was passed from bar to bar, from shack to shack. So welcome was the preacher visitor that night that the Odd Fellows, who were to hold their annual memorial service, kindly gave up service and hall in order that the camp might hear the parson. Yes, better still, two of the bars closed and the bartenders attended service. "In one of the large lumber camps I visited, it was my unusual privilege to persuade the 'boys' 23 24 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY to give up the Saturday night dance so that the late hours would not interfere with the Sabbath service. This indeed is a rare instance of sacri- fice, especially where dancing is the rage and the only recreation. And yet this sacrifice is easily accounted for in their desire to hear the gospel. It did one good to see these hardy men of the forest take their lanterns that night and trudge through the woods in slush and mud to tell the fiddlers not to come to the hall that night, as there was going to be preachin' to-morrow, and a crowd there was on the morrow. All the benches of the mess house were taken to the hall and filled to the jamming point, and many peo- ple looked in through the windows. It was in- deed a red-letter day for the women and children of the camp, for a Sunday school was organized and the jacks or the bohunks, as they are called, bought and paid for the Sunday-school hymn books that night. "O how great the need of the Sunday school in this camp and scores of others just like it ! Would that I could minister to such places more often !" HOW A SUNDAY-SCHOOL QUARTERLY BROUGHT HIM BACK OPEN WITH PRAYER Leader: — Can you imagine what it means to a person who has lived for a number of years far away from all his relatives and friends, to receive a message or a reminder of some sort as- suring him that he is not forgotten? It brings back a flood of recollections of former days; and it shortens the distance between him and his loved ones. I wonder if we can appreciate the loneliness of some of the people who have gone into the remote rural districts of some of the western states, many of whom never hear from their old homes back East, and who feel that they have been completely forgotten? I have here a book called "By-Products of the Rural Sunday School," which tells us, among many other interesting things, how our Sunday- school missionaries are reaching many of these people, bringing new hope and cheer into their lives by making them feel that some one does care for them and is interested in their welfare. Here is a specimen of the good things which this book contains : "One of these missionaries in traveling over a section of country where he had been obliged to walk more than one hundred miles, saw a man some distance away slowly making his way down the rocky trail, leading his horse. As he came nearer, the missionary greeted him, calling him 25 26 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY by name, having seen it on the letter box which he had passed a short while before. He seemed startled and yet pleased at being addressed by a stranger. The missionary then introduced him- self. He found that the man was interested in better things. He said he had always attended Sunday school and church when he was 'at home in New York and Philadelphia.' He had home- steaded, and 'up there over the ridge' he was try- ing to build a home. His father had come out to live with him, but ill health overtook him, and he died. This man had been his father's nurse and undertaker. He had laid his companion to rest among the rocks of that isolated homestead. 'Yes, it gets lonely sometimes,' he said, but a smile crossed his lips as he changed his narrative. T had a strange thing happen to me the other day,' he continued. T came down for my mail and some one had sent me a magazine. It had a sphinx head on the cover. I opened it and found it was a Sun- day-school Quarterly. Don't you know it sort of got me for a few minutes. We fellows out here get careless and forget about Sunday — and I guess everything else that's good. I had not been read- ing my Bible. Well, it brought back to my mem- ory those dear old days in New York when I used to be a regular attendant at church and Sunday school. How did they know I was out here and lonely? How did they find out about me? I tell you I thought I was for- gotten — but some one must have cared. It helped me to get back into a little different way of living.' It was this very missionary to whom he was talking who had mailed the Quarterly to him." This book will be lent to the first one who asks for it after the school is dismissed to-dav. It STORIES FROM THE FIELD 27 will be added to our Sunday-school library and every member of the school ought to read it. It is full of stirring stories of frontier life and ex- periences. THE SKY PILOT WHO COULD NOT BE FRIGHTENED The Sunday-school missionary was visiting a remote neighborhood known as Three Creeks, back in the frontier regions of Idaho, which, un- til recently, had been inhabited almost exclusively by cattlemen. He called upon all the families within a radius of ten miles, inviting them to at- tend a gospel service at the schoolhouse. They all seemed glad to have the opportunity to hear the missionary and promised to come. Some cowboys, however, who heard of the proposed meeting, determined that they would break it up. They said they didn't want any sky pilots in that neck of the woods. They had secured a jug of whisky from one of the freighters and were preparing for trouble. They ran their horses up and down past the roadhouse, playing the cowboy, whooping and firing their revolvers, and making their boast of what they were going to do that evening to the Sky Pilot. Several of the people warned the mis- sionary that they were g'oing to make trouble and told him how they were going to shoot out the lights, break up the meeting, and run the Sky Pilot out of town. The missionary went to the schoolhouse about seven o'clock. People were beginning to gather, coming in wagons and on horseback. By eight o'clock every seat in the little schoolhouse was occupied. The cowboys were there ; a few were standing in the rear of the room, while others 28 STORIES FROM THE FIELD 29 were outside of the door. They sang several of the old familiar hymns, and the missionary invited everyone to help in the singing. He saw some of the cowboys singing, too. He prayed for them, and when he closed his prayer he saw that some of them were impressed. As he went on with his ad- dress, which was directed especially to them, they watched him closely. He saw that they were be- coming more and more interested, and before he was through it was evident there would be no disturbance. At the close of the service many pressed around him to express their gratitude. The mother of a large family said, "We have lived here sixteen years and this is the first gos- pel service we have had." A boy more than fif- teen years of age said, "I have lived here all my life; we have never had Sunday school and I didn't know what Sunday school was." The next day the leader of this band of cow- boys came to the missionary, humbly apologized for their actions, begging the missionary to re- main with them and to conduct evangelistic serv- ices. During these meetings several of the cow- boys were led to accept Christ as their Saviour. Close with prayer for our Sunday-school missionaries who, in the face of discouragements, difficulties and hardships, are taking gospel privileges to those who are destitute in these far-distant places. WAITED THIRTY-THREE YEARS FOR THE MISSIONARY Scripture Selection: Psalm 72 Leader: — Idaho is a frontier mission field. It contains single counties that are larger than some eastern states. The population is increasing rap- idly and hundreds of families may be found who are wholly destitute of any religious privileges. They are living in localities where churches could not be maintained, but where Sunday schools may be organized and successfully conducted, uniting the people for the common purpose of Bible study and the uplift of the moral and social ideals of the entire community. A Sunday-school missionary sends us an in- teresting story which illustrates a condition which he and other Sunday-school missionaries have frequently found in the course of their labors. "A year ago, I organized a school on one of my exploring trips where a ranchman, at whose home I stayed overnight, was indifferent toward anything religious. When leaving I went to his home to get my grip. He followed me in, and going to an old trunk he brought out an old leather-covered Bible and took from between its leaves a paper and handed it to me. It was his letter of dismission from his old church in Scotland to the Church in America. He had lived thirty-three years in that valley and this was the first gospel service held there in that period. 30 STORIES FROM THE FIELD 31 "A few weeks later, I received a letter from the superintendent of the school saying that this man was then teaching the Bible class. I visited that little school again this summer and received a warm welcome in the home of this ranchman. I found that the little school had continued every Sunday during the year and that its influence was far-reaching. There was no observance of the Sabbath in that valley on my first visit; but this year for miles up and down, the people were at the service; in some cases the entire family, father, mother and children. The old ranchman had recently bought an automobile, and before the service he went ten miles down the valley and gathered seven or eight children and adults, brought them to the service, and took them home after the service was over." During the following winter this missionary was addressing the First Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho, and he referred to this little school. At the close of his address a young woman in the audience rose and asked permission to speak; he at once recognized her as the young woman elected superintendent of the school. She cor- roborated what he had said. She had gone to Boise with a younger sister who wished to enter school there and had secured a posi- tion in one of the dry goods stores. Largely because of the instruction received in the little school in their country home, she and her sister were in the house of God that Sunday evening. Leader: — We who have all the advantages of church and Sunday school and Christian homes, ought to be sympathetic toward these people in the frontier regions of our own country; and we 32 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY ought to be glad for the opportunity of helping them by our gifts and our prayers. Close with prayer that means may be found to send more workers into such places, and that the boys and girls in these far-distant neighborhoods may be won to Christ and his service. A RECRUIT FOR THE MINISTRY The Sunday-school missionary, weary and dis- couraged, after a canvass of a neighborhood that extended over a district one hundred miles square, drove to the door of a homesteader's shack seek- ing lodging for the night. He found that its only occupants were a father and his twelve-year-old boy. In all the homes he had visited he had found but one mother who wanted the Sunday school. He was discouraged, but not defeated. That night as he thought of the boys and girls growing up in those prairie homes without the knowledge of God and his Word, he determined to organize a Sunday school even if he could get only a few of them to attend. In the morning he announced to the father that he had determined to attempt the organization of a Sunday school and that for that purpose he would hold a gospel service on the following Tuesday night. On the evening appointed, the twelve-year-old son of the house was the first to reach the school- house. He attended regularly as pupil for three years, and then became a teacher of a class of boys. Soon afterwards he was elected superin- tendent. About two years ago he went to Montana to visit a brother who was holding down a claim. While there, he gathered a small company around him each Sabbath and talked to them about the Sunday-school lesson, sometimes having as many as forty people present. His work soon devel- 33 34 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY oped into a Sunday school and, not long after- wards, a minister came to preach to the people. The young man did the work of a missionary among the people, and he is now looking for- ward to going into the ministry, to which he feels that the Lord has called him. THE GOSPEL IN MANY LANGUAGES Scripture Selection: Psalm 119 : 130 Leader : — It is related of Dr. Goodell that when, in 1832, he was passing through Nicodemia, hav- ing no time to stop, he left with a stranger a copy of "The Dairyman's Daughter," in the Armenian-Turkish language. Seventeen years afterwards he visited Nicodemia, and found a church of more than forty members, and a Prot- estant community of more than two hundred per- sons. That tract, with God's blessing, did the work. In like manner it has been found that the most effective way of evangelizing and Americanizing our large immigrant people who speak languages different from ours, is to give them the gospel by distributing Bibles, tracts and other religious literature in their native tongue among them. The Waldensian Church in Italy which, as Mil- ton says, "... Kept God's truth so pure of old While all our fathers worshiped stocks and stones," was able to maintain the light of the gospel burn- ing in the Middle Ages through the work of its colporteurs, who let the Word of God do the work which no preacher was allowed to do at that time. Whittier, in the immortal lines of his "Vaudois Teacher," well describes both their method and the results: 35 36 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY Have the following recited by a member of the school: THE VAUDOIS TEACHER O lady fair, I have yet a gem which a purer lustre flings, Than the diamond flash of the jewelled crown on the lofty brow of kings ; A wonderful pearl of exceeding price, whose virtue shall not decay, Whose light shall be as a spell to thee and a blessing on thy way ! The cloud went off from the pilgrim's brow, as a small and meagre book, Unchased with gold or gem of cost, from his folding robe he took ! "Here, lady fair, is the pearl of price, may it prove as such to thee! Nay — keep thy gold — I ask it not, for the Word of God is free IV The hoary traveler went his way, but the gift he left behind Hath had its pure and perfect work on that high- born maiden's mind, And she hath turned from the pride of sin to the lowliness of truth, And given her human heart to God in its beau- tiful hour of youth ! Leader: — The same method is being employed to-day. Colporteurs or "Bible-men" are being sent out as missionaries to visit among their fel- low countrymen, distributing Bibles, Testaments and other religious books and leaflets in various languages. The report of one year's effort shows : STORIES FROM THE FIELD 37 1. Forty-five thousand families visited with the gospel message. 2. Twenty thousand Bibles, Testaments and other religious books distributed by sale or gift, in at least twenty different languages. In addition, our Sabbath-School Board is pub- lishing six weekly religious papers published throughout the ) r ear in Bohemian, Hungarian, Italian, Polish and Ruthenian. One million copies of these papers are distributed each year besides eight hundred and fifty thousand Bible picture cards containing the gospel story printed on the back of each card. These cards were published in Bohemian, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Ruthen- ian and Spanish. 10 AMONG THE GOLD SEEKERS After a thirty-mile ride through the rolling, sagebrush country, the Sunday-school mission- ary reached a new mining camp. About one hundred and forty tents were already up. About three hundred men were on the ground, and the country for miles around had been staked off in mining claims. The missionary secured a bed in the only hotel in town, a tent twelve by sixteen feet and with accommodations for five guests. A saloon was kindly offered the missionary for the first church service, but a larger place was found, a tent used by the lumber company for storing hay and grain. The bales of hay were arranged about the walls of the tent and made very comfortable seats. The sacks of grain were piled to the peak of the tent, making a comfort- able gallery in which twenty young men sat. A violin teacher from Kansas City volunteered to assist with the music. The only violin in camp was secured. Some of the young men felt the need of a church bell. Going to the store they secured a piece of drill steel about ten feet long. A piece of wire was attached to each end. Two men held the bar while a third hammered on the middle of it with an ax. The noise sounded like a dozen church bells. Soon, from all directions, the peo- ple began to come; soon the tent was crowded. More than eighty persons were there. As the missionary, the violinist and the leader of the singing entered the tent, they were greeted 38 STORIES FROM THE FIELD 39 with a hearty round of applause, the customary greeting on social occasions in mining camps when the violinist appears. A minute later the company was standing and reverently singing "Praise God from whom all blessings flow." No nonsense now! Every head was reverently bowed during the invocation. The service was begun. For fifteen minutes they sang such hymns as "Joy to the world ! the Lord is come," "Abide with Me, fast falls the eventide," "Sun of my soul, thou Saviour dear." There was an hour of reverent worship. Monday morning a choice piece of land was given by the town-site company, one block from the proposed business center of town. The sage- brush was cut from the lot and a sign put up in- dicating the probable site of a Presbyterian church. Close with prayer. 11 THE RETURNED EMIGRANT A MISSIONARY Scripture Selection: Ecclesiastes n :6 A returned emigrant from America, who had been converted in a New York mission, brought some relatives and friends together and told them of New York. He said: "I learned that the priests cannot send you to hell or forgive your sins. Jesus only can do that; it says so here in this Bible, which is the same as the priests have, but will not let you have." Then, for some time, he explained portions from the Bible to his neighbors as best he could. Finally the parish priest, in self-defense, was forced to read from the Bible and preach from it on Sunday, a thing seldom done in Italian Roman Catholic churches. Some time ago, a Waldensian missionary came that way, and found an audience of over three hundred eager to hear him expound the Bible further. Many were con- verted, and the work is still going on. This is an illustration of the widespread influ- ence of the missionary efforts that are being put forth in America for the evangelization of the foreign immigrants. Recently a Bohemian who had purchased a Bible from one of our Bohemian colporteurs be- came so deeply interested that he purchased two more copies to send to relatives in his native town. These people are in darkness because they have been denied access to the Word of God. 40 STORIES FROM THE FIELD 41 Let us include the immigrant in our prayers and let us try to develop a sympathetic attitude to- ward him and his needs. If we extend to him the hand of Christian brotherliness, he will be a good American. Shall we not make a beginning here in our own town, by doing something for the for- eigners who are living among us? Prayer for the success of the efforts of our missionary colporteurs who are taking the gospel to the foreigners in America, in their native tongues. 12 MISSIONARY HEROES IN AMERICA Scripture Selection: Acts 20 : 17-24 We have a splendid illustration of self-sacrifice in service for Jesus in the lives of our pioneer Sunday-school missionaries. These men endure hardships which can only be borne by those who have reposed their entire confidence in Him. One of these missionaries was visiting a log- ging camp in northern Wisconsin. Traveling all day, without an opportunity to satisfy his hunger, he reached his destination at seven o'clock in the evening after a long, rough ride over a frozen roadway. He waited for two hours in the little log schoolhouse in zero weather until the people gathered for the meeting. Then, to a crowded house, eager for the gospel message, he preached the Word. Going to the home of one of the settlers to spend the night, he was given the best they had to offer, a bunk on the floor in the lean-to of the one-room log house where the father, mother and six children also slept on the floor. The next day he held three services, one in the Norwegian language, and then tramped for miles through the woods to his next appointment. This missionary has sixty mission stations un- der his care to which he is the only visiting min- ister. The day of missionary heroes has not passed. Here in our own land we may find many examples of self-denial in the Master's service. May they lead us to be more willing to make sacrifices in promoting the Master's kingdom ! 42 13 ONLY TEN PER CENT IN SUNDAY SCHOOLS Leader: — How would you like to live in a neighborhood where there were neither churches nor Sunday schools? Would such a neighbor- hood be likely to produce men and women of strong character who would be useful citizens? Strange as it may seem, there are many places in our land where the people are just as ignorant of the Bible and its truths as though they lived in the darkness of a heathen country. What may we expect of the boys and girls who live in such places? While we are thinking about them, let us sing two stanzas of "Rescue the Perishing." The following paragraph may be read or repeated from memory by the Leader or some one chosen for this part. In the mountains of our Southland we find thousands of boys and girls who are growing into manhood and womanhood without the refining and uplifting influence of Bible instruction. Word comes to us describing the condition of five moun- tain counties in Tennessee with a population of fifty-two thousand, less than one tenth of whom have ever attended a Sunday school. Very little of this section, except the county towns, have regular preaching. Poverty and spiritual destitution prevail everywhere. The white population is of North Carolina and Vir- ginia ancestry, and is engaged exclusively in lum- 43 44 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY bering and agricultural pursuits. The soil is thin except the creek and bottom lands, yet a fair sub- sistence is derived from the farms, although the methods of farming are old-fashioned. This sec- tion has no railroads and the public highways are very muddy in winter, but fairly good in sum- mer and fall. It is not uncommon to find families of from seven to eleven in a single home, and not a Chris- tian among them. Many boys and girls from five to twelve years old are found who never heard a prayer or attended a religious service of any kind. They are a people of strong natural endowments, frugal and industrious. The state provides only eighty days of free school annually. The aver- age daily attendance is fifty-three per cent out of a school population of nineteen thousand three hundred and ten. Of this number only seven hun- dred and forty-seven pupils in all five counties are higher than the fifth grade. Practically the only social life known in this section is "Sunday singing/' The people meet and spend the entire day, with dinner on the ground, in singing and social fellowship. The meetings are held in groves and schoolhouses, as there are few church buildings. The only religious workers outside the county towns are occasional circuit riders and a few old- time preachers of a bygone generation who boast of their lack of "book larnin' " and that texts for the day's sermon "pop" into their minds "jest as they walked up the steps." There are large neighborhoods where not over three or four are church members. Here is a field with no standard of life worthy of our race, decaying and starving spiritually for lack of the uplift and inspiration which the gos- STORIES FROM THE FIELD 45 pel gives to men and communities. Here lie buried the social, intellectual and spiritual forces only waiting to be awakened from their long slumber into quickening power by the Word of God. Leader: — Let us remember in our prayers the neglected boys and girls of the southern moun- tains to-day. Will Mr. lead us? 14 MISSIONARY SCOUTS AND PIONEERS Leader: — We have all read the thrilling stories of the early settlers of our country, and we al- ways like to hear about the experiences of pio- neer days. We look upon these sturdy pioneers as the people who have developed the vast stretches of territory in the West which now bear rich har- vests of grain, with thriving towns and cities as centers of commercial enterprise. Here is a book called "On the Firing Line," which tells us in a most interesting way, the story of the gospel pioneers, known as the Sabbath- school missionaries, who, for more than a quar- ter of a century have been following these new settlers as they penetrated farther and farther into the interior, taking the Word of God to them in their new homes and establishing Sunday schools for their children. The experiences of some of these men as related in this book form one of the most interesting chapters of mission- ary endeavor. I shall read a few paragraphs from it: "I visited a town with three hundred people that never had a Sunday school or church of any kind, but they did have seven saloons. When I saw the boys rolling beer kegs across the street and into the saloons, I shuddered to think of their future. "I visited the business men and explained my mission. They agreed that I could not do any- thing there. One gentleman took me aside and 46 STORIES FROM THE FIELD 47 said, 'I would dislike very much to see you leave town discouraged, so in my judgment the best thing for you to do is to leave town before you undertake to do anything.' I told him I would stay and fight it out. 'If you feel that way about it,' he said, 'you can depend on me, and I will do all I can to help you.' "We secured a place in which to hold a meet- ing, the hour of service was set, the homes, places of business and saloons included were visited and all invited to attend the service. After doing all this I felt that one thing more must be done to stir the people. So I took my stand on the street corner between two saloons and sang a gospel song. Then I invited all present to attend the meeting. The meeting was held. The attend- ance was not large, but we advertised services to continue every night for the remainder of the week. "The next day when visiting the homes, I was passing the blacksmith shop. I saw that the blacksmith could not hope to attend to the wants of all who were gathered there. They were quar- relling among themselves as to who should have first attention. Seeing my opportunity, I stepped up to the smith and offered to help him. 'Are you a blacksmith?' he asked. 'Yes,' I said. 'But you will soil your hands and clothing,' he urged. 'Never you mind that,' I replied, 'give me an apron and I will help you out.' He did so, and I stepped to an idle forge, built a fire and soon I was turning out work with the greatest ease and pleasure. "I think it would be safe to say that before evening every man in town came as far as the door of the shop. That night the congregation more than doubled, and we had — what we did not 4 8 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY have at the first service — a goodly number of men. Services were continued every night of the week with increasing interest. "On Sunday morning we met in the school- house for another service, and then the first Sun- day school in the town was organized. In the early winter a series of meetings was held in which a number were converted, a church was organized, and steps were taken to build a church." Leader: — This was the experience of a Min- nesota missionary who has done a great work among the mining and lumber camps in the north- ern part of that state. This book contains many other interesting stories. It is in our Sunday-school library and the first one who calls for it at the close of the session to-day may have it to read during this week. Some other member of the school will be asking for it next week, so the one who is for- tunate enough to get it to-day should be sure to return it on the coming Sunday. 15 A WILD MOUNTAIN BOY BECOMES A SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY Leader: — You have all heard of the boy who was raised in the southern mountains who learned to read by the light of the burning logs in the open fireplace, and who became one of the great- est and best beloved of the Presidents of the United States. Who was he? Why was Abra- ham Lincoln a great man? To-day we are to hear about a mountain boy who was notoriously wild and bad, but who be- came, under the transforming power of God's Spirit, a mighty force in leading others to Christ. One Sabbath night a company of mountain boys made their way to the little schoolhouse on the hillside near Clear Creek, where the Sunday- school missionary was holding a series of revival meetings. These boys did not come because they were interested in the gospel message of the mis- sionary; they cared nothing for such things. At the close of the service, however, when the Bible teacher asked all who wanted Christ as their Saviour to rise, they were surprised to see one of their number stand up with a look of deter- mination and say, "I do want to accept Christ, but it 'pears like sumthin' just keeps a holdin' of me back." But on the third Sunday afternoon, in spite of the jeers of the boys, he stayed after Sunday school to seek the Lord. He had waited for that "quawr feelin'," the assuring experience of the mountaineer, but finally came just as he was, took Christ at his word, and soon was prais- 49 50 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY ing God for saving his soul. At once he was filled with an overwhelming desire to know the Word of God and teach it. He said, "I want to get an education so that I can teach the true Word of God." He was given a class of boys in the Sun- day school and labored earnestly for the salvation of each of them. He learned to read chiefly from the Bible, spelling out the words as he went along. He worked at logging with an elder brother and two other wild fellows who tried in every way to get him to swear, to drink, or in some way to "break over," but the Lord kept him. Later he went to live with an uncle in Illinois, but before going he visited every home in that part of Clear Creek Valley, begging unsaved ones to accept Christ. From Illinois he wrote: "My uncle and aunt is awful kind to me. They didn't have nary Bible in their house when I came here. Uncle is a sinner, but she belongs to the Church. I am going to try awful hard to get uncle to give his self to the Lord. There has been just one meeting here since I came, and I get so lonesome when I can't 'tend meeting and Sunday school." But he went to work, and soon he wrote, "Well, we've got a prayer meeting started up here and a Sunday school, and I am a teacher." During this period, he attended a meeting of the Winona Assembly, working his way by wait- ing on the table and pumping the organ. At the close of an address by that eminent Bible ex- positor, Rev. J. G. Cunningham, D.D., of Edin- burgh, Scotland, this mountain boy came for- ward and said to him, "I hope some day to stand on the platform and teach the people the Word of God, just like you." Later, he entered Moody STORIES FROM THE FIELD 51 Bible Institute, where he studied nearly two years. Then he became a Sunday-school mis- sionary. This poor mountain boy, now an efficient Sun- day-school missionary, has organized scores of Sunday schools, has brought thousands of moun- tain boys and girls under Bible instruction, has won a multitude of souls to Christ, and has been the means of developing a number of Presby- terian churches. Close with prayer for the boys and girls in the little cabins in our southern mountains who are without the opportunity of Christian instruction and training. 16 OVERCOMING DIFFICULTIES IN ORGANIZING SUNDAY SCHOOLS Leader: — Here is a book which contains some of the best missionary stories I have ever read. It is called "Planting the Outposts," and is written by Robert F. Sulzer, the veteran pioneer Sunday-school missionary. It is the record of his own experiences in this form of missionary work in Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota. Some of his stories, while they touch our sym- pathies because of the conditions they depict, are very amusing by reason of Mr. Sulzer's unique manner of telling them. I will read you an in- cident; then the book will be lent to the first member of the school applying for it after Sun- day school closes. Be sure to return it next Sab- bath so that others may have it. He is telling about a new community which he had heard was without a Sunday school. He says: "I reached the town at daybreak, and as I went up the street I saw people peeping out of the windows from behind the curtains; evidently they were wondering what stranger was wander- ing around. I visited every house in town and invited them out to a meeting that night, and then visited for three or four miles out from the town, and all I saw promised to be present. "When I reached the town again, just at meet- ing time in the evening, the schoolhouse was 52 STORIES FROM THE FIELD 53 locked and I had to find the school-teacher in order to get the key. Then I found her kindling wood and built a fire, but when I attempted to light the lamps I found there were none to light. I went to a neighbor's and borrowed a lamp and I set it on the desk. By this time it was nearly nine o'clock. I looked up the street and down the street, but saw no one coming. "I waited a while, then took the front seat. And I kept on sitting there. Then I had a song serv- ice all to myself, and then I sat there some more. Then I had a prayer meeting. And still I sat there. By and by one of my German friends opened the door and I invited him in to help me sit there. After a while the door opened and eight or ten young people came — I suppose sim- ply to see me sit there. When they sat down near the door I took the lamp and put it near them. "I didn't have enough light to read the Scrip- tures by, but I quoted some the best I knew how and sang hymns that I knew, and by the time I had given a gospel talk I had a fair audience, as the people gradually came in. I talked Sun- day school and took a vote, then I made a mo- tion and seconded it, put the question and I voted for it. Next I called for nomination for super- intendent. No one said a word, so I nominated a certain man. I seconded the motion and then I elected him myself. I filled the rest of the offices in the same way. After I had elected the officers I asked the people to suggest a time for meeting the next Sunday. Again there was silence, so I moved that we meet at three o'clock. Then I seconded the motion, and voted 'Aye.' "It was about eleven o'clock when we got 54 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY through with the meeting. No one asked me to go home with him, so I was left alone." This is only a part of the story; you will find the remainder in Mr. Sulzer's book on page 70. There are many more stories just as interesting. 17 THE COWBOY WHO BECAME A PREACHER Scripture Selection: Hebrews 4 : 12 Leader: — In our pioneer Sunday-school work we see the truth of these words emphasized. To- day we have an interesting story from an Idaho Sunday-school missionary which shows the power of God's Word in convicting men of sin and leading them to Christ: "Some time ago I visited a new frontier set- tlement," says the missionary, "where the saloons seemed to be in full control. The town had been 'shot up' on several occasions by drunken cow- boys. A small building had just been erected for school and church purposes ; there were two or three Christian families in the community that were hoping for the time to come when they could have Sunday school and occasional preaching service. We held a few meetings and organized a Sunday school. Early one morning a man who conducted one of the stores, and who was inter- ested in our meetings, went to the depot to in- quire about some goods he was expecting. As he turned to go back to his place of business he saw two young men dressed in cowboy attire sit- ting on the depot steps. He stepped up to them and inquired if they would be in town overnight. The larger of the two replied that they came in yesterday from the cattle ranch, that they had spent all night in the saloons, and that they might go back that day and might not for two or three days. 55 56 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY " 'Well, boys/ said he, 'if you are in town to- night come up to the little chapel yonder. We are having gospel services there every night, the first we have ever had in this part of the coun- try, and everybody is coming. Where will you be this evening at 7:30?' " 'If in town, likely in the saloon/ said the cow- boy. "That evening before service the missionary went to the saloon and found them. " 'Now, boys/ said he, T have come after you, and I want you to come with me to the service/ "They tried to excuse themselves by saying that they had nothing but the cowboy clothing that they had on, and could not go in that con- dition. " 'Never mind your clothes/ said the business man. 'Throw off your cartridge belts and put your guns behind the bar, and come as you are; you will be welcome/ "I shall never forget that evening when that man came into the little chapel with the two cow- boys, taking a seat by their side on one of the wooden benches in the rear of the room. "As I preached that night I prayed. The older cowboy was restless at first; but soon after I began my address he turned his eyes upon me and never took them off until I was through. At the close of my address I saw that he was deeply interested and greatly agitated, and when I gave the invitation to all who would forsake their evil way and confess the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour from sin, a number arose. Among the first to stand was this cowboy. He came out from his seat and up the aisle to the platform and, with tears streaming down his cheeks, he put out his hand to me, saying, 'Parson, will you let me say a word?' "He turned to the audience and began to speak. STORIES FROM THE FIELD 57 In a moment it was evident that he was an edu- cated young man ; his grammar was perfect. He told of his boyhood home and his past life; he was the only child of well-to-do parents in old New England. His parents had given him a fine education. He had graduated with high honors from one of our greatest eastern colleges. His parents wanted him to enter the ministry. 'But/ said he, 'I was never converted ; my heart turned away from the ministry, and soon after my grad- uation I ran away from home and came out to this western country, and for years I have ridden the range, and gone to the depths of sin. For five years I have not written my mother, and she doesn't know but what her boy is dead.' "When he mentioned the name 'mother/ he broke down and cried, 'My God, have I killed my poor mother?' "I have witnessed many touching scenes in my twenty-eight years of pioneer mission life in this western country, but seldom have I witnessed a more touching scene than this. There wasn't a dry eye in that audience, and the Holy Spirit's power was wonderfully manifest. The cowboy fell on his knees in front of the platform, plead- ing with God for mercy, and asking forgive- ness. "The business man said to him, 'Come home with me to-night ; I want you to spend the night with me/ " 'Thank you/ said the cowboy, 'but no sleep for me until I know if mother is alive. If mother is dead, I never can forgive myself. I have killed her. God has forgiven me, but I can never for- give myself if mother is dead/ "He went to the little station, and this message flashed over the wire to the old New England 58 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY home: 'Your lost boy is found and saved. An- swer quickly. Charley/ "He walked the floor of the little station that night for the return message. About ten o'clock the next morning it came, and the first words of the message were these: 'Thank God, our boy still lives. Come home at once. Father, Mother/ "The next evening he came to the service nicely dressed. He brought with him to the service two young men, former companions whom he had helped to drag down in sin. 'In the after service that evening, he gave a testimony of wonderful power, and, getting his two companions on their knees in prayer, he would not let them rise until he had led them to Christ. The third day he took the train for the old New England home. "He remained at home for some time, entering with all his heart and soul into Christian work, and later, carrying out the desire of his parents, he began to prepare for the ministry. Already he has been the instrument under God of leading many souls to Christ." That godless frontier village is to-day a pros- perous town of more than two thousand popula- tion, a peace-loving and God-fearing people. That little Sunday school has grown to a strong, self-supporting church, sending out beneficent rays of blessing throughout all that region of country. This is the result of a little Sunday school in a rural settlement. ^ Close with prayer for God's blessing upon our mis- sionary efforts to reclaim those who have strayed from the ways of righteousness. 18 ONE HUNDRED MILES FOR A PREACHER THE EXPERIENCE OF AN ARIZONA MISSIONARY I visited a town of four hundred people and could find no religious work of any kind in the town. I could not find an out-and-out Christian man or woman there. It was here that a cowboy was killed in a saloon brawl. His friends sent for the nearest preacher, one hundred miles away, but he could not come. Finally the nineteen-year-old girl who was there teaching was forced to conduct the funeral in order to give the Christian burial requested by his parents in the East. This she did in the dance hall, in the presence of a crowd of saloon keepers, gamblers, cowboys and scarlet women. In another town the only Christian woman to be found told me she had conducted fourteen funerals in twelve months, and that only two of those deceased had died a natural death. She said, "We have no use for God out here till we get sick or some one dies, and then we think of the God our mothers knew back East." 59 Ill FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS THE SOUTHERN NEGRO Prayer. Scripture Selection: — The Parable of the Sower. Luke 8:4-15. Hymn : — "Sowing in the Morning/' et cetera. Leader: — We are to consider to-day, the needs of a people who form ten per cent of the total population of the United States. Ten millions of negroes ! And what are we doing for them ? In various ways we are assisting them upward, providing them with churches and ministers, be- sides educating the boys and girls and teaching them useful trades. But before they can have churches, faithful work must be done in prepar- ing the ground and sowing the seed of the gospel, nourishing it until it comes to fruition in souls won to Christ and gathered into his Church and in boys and girls filled with the desire to go forth and help in uplifting others of their own race. After a brief prayer by Mr. , we are to hear from several persons who will tell us how this work of seed-sowing is being done. First Speaker — Progress Since Emancipation: During the years of his freedom, the negro has made remarkable progress. In 1863 there were in all the United States only a few farms controlled by negroes. They now operate in the South 890,140 farms. Of this number twenty- five per cent are owned by negroes, the remain- ing seventy-five per cent being operated under the tenant system. 63 64 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY When, at the close of the Civil War, the ne- groes started on their career as farmers, they had no land and no experience as farm owners or tenants; none of them became farm owners by inheritance, nor did any of them inherit money with which to purchase land. The fact that the relative number of owners among the negro farmers in the South is now more than one half as great as the relative number of owners among white farmers, makes a very commendable show- ing. The negroes of this country now own 20,- 000,000 acres of land or 31,000 square miles. If all the land they own were in one place, its area would be greater than that of the State of South Carolina. In 1863 the total wealth of the ne- groes of this country was about $20,000,000. Now their total wealth is over $700,000,000. Second Speaker — Negro Education: One half of the negroes get no schooling what- ever. Careful analysis of the reports of state superintendents showing the attendance by grades, indicates that the average child, whites and blacks being reckoned together, who attends school at all stops with the third grade. In North Carolina the average citizen gets only 2.6 years; in South Carolina, 2.5 years; in Alabama, 2.4 years of schooling, both private and public. In the whole South the average citizen gets only three years of schooling of all kinds in his en- tire life ; and what schooling it is ! This is the way we are educating these citizens of the Re- public, the voters who will have to determine the destinies not only of this people, but of millions of others beyond the seas. But why is it that the children get so little education? Have we no schools in the country districts? Yes, but what FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS 65 kind of schools? In these states, in schoolhouses costing an average of $275 each, under teachers receiving an average salary of $25 a month, we have been giving the children in actual attend- ance five cents' worth of education a day for but eighty-seven days in the year. Third Speaker — Religious Conditions: Among the negroes the word "destitute" often means a community with plenty of churches of different creeds, but without Sunday schools, church members with no conception of the real Christlike religion. While these churches in such communities are numerous, the pastors, as you can imagine, are inferior men. Anyone who sees that he can have a comparatively easy life by being called to preach, "hears the call," takes charge of the church and becomes the leader of the community, which will rise no higher than he. Often they are bad men at heart, very ungodly in conduct and totally ignorant. It is alarming to find so many homes without a Bible. No effort whatever is made to learn what God would have them do. In one home the missionary inquired of the wife whether she had a Bible. She answered, "No." Glancing around, the missionary spied a Bible on the shelf, well covered with other books and papers, as well as dust. He asked about it and was promptly in- formed that it was a "Baptist Bible" and that it belonged to her husband ; but she was a Metho- dist and did not have a "Methodist Bible." The missionary was successful, after much discussion, in convincing her that the Bibles he carried were the same as the Bible on the shelf. 66 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY Fourth Speaker — One Remedy: Many solutions have been offered for the so- called "negro problem. " Educational, intellectual and industrial plans are good and important, but, above all things, the negro must be taught the principles of true religion. This can most ef- fectively be done by the planting of mission Sun- day schools in which regular instruction in re- ligious truth may be given them. This work is being efficiently performed by our negro Sun- day-school missionaries. If a Sunday school is not practicable, the mis- sionary organizes a Home Department, where the Bible is regularly studied in the home. Each home is visited by the missionary, the home life and habits are studied, their mistakes are pointed out to them by the fireside, and suggestions as to a better way of rearing children, keeping the Sabbath and caring for a home are given; and in many cases immediate improvement has been seen. While the missionary is making his daily visits to the homes, he is not content to leave a tract or a Bible, but he is on the alert for promising young people, signs of whom are often hidden away under insufficient clothes or a cloud of ignorance. Many such young people are sent to school, and marvelous results have followed. The finding of one girl and putting her in school brought to a community a day school which for years it had been without, a Presbyterian church, the bringing of the whole family of twelve to Christ and a revolutionized community. Fifth Speaker — How the Work Is Done: The negro Sunday-school missionaries have ^e experiences. One of these work- FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS 67 ers says: "I have just organized a school in one of our famous turpentine districts. Out of more than thirty present, only two girls and one mar- ried woman could read. In the entire settlement of more than twenty-five families, only two men could read. Our organization was a success. We met in an empty shanty with one seat, which was made by taking a board out of the floor. This was soon filled, and many, old and young, had to be seated on the floor. The anxious faces of the children, beside the dissipated faces and blank expressions of the parents presented a most pa- thetic contrast. This is a bad community; on Sabbath they drink and gamble and fight all day. The people do not take to strangers at once, especially if they think they come to help them. This sounds strange, but it is true. I made three visits before I could get any attention whatever. On my fourth visit the people flocked around me for tracts, cards and papers, as if I were dis- tributing bread and meat for their bodies." Sixth Speaker — More Experiences: Another missionary relates this incident: "I went fifteen miles through the country to Chats- worth, Georgia, and other sections of Murray County. My purpose was to look the field over and organize a Sunday school, if the way was clear. This section of Georgia is considered un- safe for colored strangers, but we went in God's name and came out unharmed. I found the peo- ple in very poor circumstances and in great need of both Sunday school and church. The boys and girls are growing up in sin, ignorance and superstition, and in great need of God's Word. Gathering the children together, I asked about Bible characters. After explaining the word 68 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY 'meek,' I asked, 'Who was the meekest man?' One answer was 'colored folks.' Several an- swers of this kind were given. When I told them 'Moses/ they were eager to know where he lived. Some then thought that I referred to 'Uncle Moses/ an old man in their community." Seventh Speaker — What Twenty-Five Dollars Will Do: " 'Little Edisto' Island, in South Carolina, has a population of five hundred colored families. These people lived here for years, without any Sunday school whatever, no services, no Bible training, no effort at a better life. Five hundred families without God ! Our missionary went to their rescue. He interested the white owner, who consented to give the land for a building for a mission Sunday school, and to-day a handsome little edifice stands open to these five hundred families with their little ones, where all day Sunday they come and go to worship our Master. Somebody's twenty-five dollars, given to organ- ize this Snndav school, changed the whole life of that little island." Hymn: — "Hark the Voice of Jesus Crying." (Tune, Disciple.) THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINEERS In connection with this program it would be helpful to have a map sketched on the blackboard or on heavy- paper, showing the states east of the Mississippi and south of the Mason and Dixon line. Begin with a brief description of the topography of the district on the eastern and western slopes of the Appalachian system, where the people whom we call the "southern moun- taineers" are found. Leader: — As we are to consider to-day a great mission field in our own America, and as the peo- ple we are to talk about are among the most loyal and patriotic Americans, it seems appro- priate that our opening hymn should be the one we all like to sing when we think about our love for our country and flag. What is this hymn? Yes, "America." Let us sing it from memory. Hymn: — "My Country, 'tis of Thee." (Tune, America.) Map Exercise: — The mountaineers present one of the most interesting mission studies in the homeland. They live on the hillsides and in the quiet valleys of the southern Appalachians, ex- tending through nine states from the southern border of Pennsylvania to the northern counties of Georgia and Alabama, covering a region about six hundred miles long and two hundred miles wide. In the more than two hundred counties in- cluded in this area about four millions of people are dwelling, a population seemingly large, but comparatively small, when the large territory is considered. 69 70 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY The tide of westward emigration flowed over the southern Appalachians, but ebbed away from them as the advancing flood flowed westward. Domestic emigration and foreign immigration alike pushed on toward the magic West. The Civil War served also to divert attention from the mountain ranges of the South. And so the nation went on about its toil and expansion, prac- tically oblivious of one of its most valuable pos- sessions. The mountaineer's horizon is limited by the summits that rise on every side, shutting him in from the rest of the nation and forcing him to find his world in his own small neighborhood. & 4 Scripture Lesson: — Isaiah, chapter 35. Leader: — The missionaries who come into the closest contact with these people and who know more about their home life, customs and religious tendencies, are our Sunday-school missionaries. They are constantly visiting them in their little cabin homes up and down the creeks and along the narrow valleys, organizing Sunday schools and bringing the opportunity of Bible study and instruction within their reach. Let us see how these men are doing this work. Without formal announcement, those who have been selected for the task recite or read the following para- graphs: A Journey With a Sunday-School Missionary Let us take a journey out through the country and visit some of these places, many miles away from the railroad, where the highways are al- most impassable, the streams unbridged, the FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS 71 school and church-houses in bad repair. The farms indicate that their owners have never heard of scientific farming-. They still use the old- time implements and transact their business just as their forefathers did many years ago. Some- times we travel for miles without seeing a painted dwelling. The old-time spinning wheel and loom are still considered necessities in many places and sometimes occupy the larger part of the one-room dwelling where the family resides, cooks, eats, sleeps and entertains company. Night overtakes us, tired and hungry. We call at the fence of a cabin home, but we do not go in because the watchdog makes it unsafe for us to approach nearer without protection. Our call is answered, and we are cordially invited to enter in. The "Old man" and the "boys" have just returned from their day's labor, the "gals" are preparing supper, and the "old woman" sits in the corner smoking a cob pipe. We try to ap- pear as homelike and comfortable as possible, for it would not do to appear otherwise. Soon we are acquainted with the family and all seem delighted that we have stopped to spend the night with them. The supper is soon prepared and served. It consists of corn bread, hog meat, cof- fee, milk, butter, beans, potatoes and such like. They take us into their confidence and give us the story of what is going on in the commun- ity. The news they impart runs something like this: "Had preaching over at the schoolhouse last Sunday, and a man 'got drunk and painted the thing red.' A wildcat still was 'cut up' in the community the other night, and one of the neigh- bors arrested for making and selling whisky." So goes the conversation until late bedtime. J2 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY Finally the beds are prepared, the lights are ex- tinguished and the whole family is in dreamland until about four o'clock in the morning, when we all arise, eat the hastily prepared breakfast, and after being cordially invited to stop again at an}^ time, we are soon on our journey, while the night's lodging has cost us nothing but good wishes and a promise to "come again." Leader: — Having heard something about how these people live, let us look for a moment at their educational opportunities : Their Education: The opportunities for getting an education are small, but — with few if any books, and no papers — the demand for an education is smaller, for the mountaineer can hoe corn, trade horses and even preach without 'iarnin'." One such thus an- nounced his services, "Come to meetin' to-night ; you'll hear the pure gospel, for the man who's goin' to preach hain't got a smidgen of Iarnin'." The whole country is divided into districts, and one-room schoolhouses are located at com- munity centers where "free schools" of short duration are taught in the fall of the year. The barefooted boys and girls from miles around as- semble at eight o'clock in the morning and spend the day more in play than study. The old log school house of twenty years ago, with a large fireplace in one end, a chink knocked out for a window, and backless split-log benches for desks is now almost a thing of the past; it is being rapidly replaced by better things. The one supreme incentive needed by these people is found in the Sunday school, which brings to the people the Bible and helps in its FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS 73 study, giving both the ideal life and the impulse toward it. Everybody, old and young, attends the Sunday school. It restores the sanctity of the Sabbath, it stirs the people to search the Scrip- tures for themselves, to discover its truths and to apply these truths to their lives. Now that there is something in their hands to be read, many of the older people learn to read. As a result, the day schools have a larger and more regular at- tendance. For these better teachers are de- manded ; the desire is for those who can help in the Sunday school. Now, in many places the "moonlight schools" are becoming popular and through this means many who previously have had no opportunity to obtain an education are learning at least to read and write. Leader: — Now we must not think of the moun- taineers as people who are without any knowl- edge of God or the Bible. On the contrary, they have a deep respect and reverence for the Bible and the religion that comes to them with the declaration that it is "founded upon the Word" is readily embraced. The Religion of the Mountaineer These people are simple in their religion. They are averse to any formality, and have little use for anything beyond a preaching service. The predominating churches are the Methodist, Bap- tist, Presbyterian and Christian or Campbellite. The country church is usually a one-room frame or log building centrally located, sur- rounded by a beautiful grove and accessible to water. This house often serves the double pur- pose of a schoolhouse during the week and a 74 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY church on the Sabbath. Sometimes two, three or four denominations organize churches in this same house, each claiming a Sabbath ; and it is sad to note the rivalry and strife that is thus generated among these deluded people of the Lord. Some of these churches pay their pastors no salary, others pay fifty cents to a dollar a month, while the average church — not including those in the towns — will pay the pastor about thirty dol- lars a year. Possibly fifty per cent of these churches have no Sunday school, prayer meet- ing or religious society. Some parts of this mountain territory are ab- solutely destitute of the means of grace. Many villages and communities are without a church of any denomination ; there is no Sunday school, prayer meeting or other religious influences of any kind. These mountaineers are very susceptible to gospel influences, and are very emotional in their worship. A sermon, to be enjoyed by them, must appeal to the emotional nature. The preacher who does not cry as he talks, occasion- ally at least, and the church member who does not shout during the "revival meeting," have lit- tle or no religion, in their estimation. The "revival season" is the fall of the year, and the parents look forward to this time in the hope that their children will "git religion and jine the Church." The announcement is made weeks before, and when the time arrives for the "protracted meeting" to begin, the people as- semble in great throngs. For many days they have been preparing for the occasion. Cooking, dressmaking, hat-buying, and "fixing" have been the order for a week or more. Manv of the FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS 75 smaller boys and girls, it is true, come barefooted, but those old enough to have a sweetheart are at their best. The people go into the church shaking hands and passing compliments until the preacher is in his place and a song is announced. They have no organ, as a rule, and some of them would consider it sinful to play an organ in church. The congregation proceeds to sing; fre- quently they "sing the notes" first, and then the words. After the "song service," the Scriptures are read, prayer is offered and the sermon is de- livered. You might not call it a sermon, though it lasts long enough for two or three sermons, about one hour being the rule with most of the preachers. Yet, at the conclusion of that exhor- tation, the preacher makes a proposition, and the people have a hearty handshake, followed by a "great revival." That is, a great number of the people "get happy," and make the hills echo with loud shouts of joy. But this is not all, for amid the confused voices of the rejoicing multi- tude an old-time song has been started by some one who felt the impulse, and the preacher in- vites the unsaved forward to the "mourners' bench." The shouting Christians go into the audience and exhort their friends to come. They come weeping and trembling; and, falling at the altar, they cry for mercy. Songs are sung, pray- ers are offered and exhortations are delivered promiscuously all over the house, and before the service closes the penitent friends are rejoicing with the others. Leader: — What can we do to improve the con- dition of these people of the purest American stock who are so greatly in need of the gospel? How can we give to the one million boys and girls y6 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY in the back mountain counties, an opportunity to develop Christian character? We can give them the Sunday school. In eighteen mountain counties covering 6,692 square miles, with a population of 250,000, there is but one Sunday school to each 1,200 persons. The total Sunday-school enrollment is 14,000, less than six per cent of the population. Let us hear one or two reports from the workers in this region. What the Sunday School Has Accomplished One Sunday-school missionary tells us : "The bare walls of the houses are decorated with Sun- day-school picture cards ; the people begin to dress better. One superintendent of a new school came five or six weeks in his shirtsleeves, over- alls and bare feet; the secretary, a woman of about forty, came in her bare feet, but soon the superintendent had on new shirt, new trousers and shoes, and the secretary had a new hat and a pair of new shoes." The Sunday school incites to better things in every direction. One old man said, "I'm mighty glad you come, you done a heap for my old woman (she was converted), and you've raised the price of land." Among the mountaineers, as elsewhere, the Sunday-school missionary has a distinct task which he can carry forward to the point where churches are organized and buildings are erected for them, and the way fully prepared for the home missionary. Through the labors of these workers twelve hundred mission Sunday schools have been organized in this vast region. Out of these schools seventy-two Presbyterian churches have developed. Another Sunday-school missionary says: FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS yy "When I think of the two hundred and eighty workers and seventeen hundred and fifty pupils in these neglected localities on my field, when I think of them located in little schoolhouses al- most without equipment, when I look into the bright, eager faces of those who are hungering and thirsting for the glad tidings, I say there is no work that pays such rich dividends as the work of the Sunday-school missionary — divi- dends in workers, men and women trained up for God and Christian citizenship." Leader: — As our hearts are full of sympathy for the neglected boys and girls of the southern mountains, let us join in a brief season of prayer for them, and for the consecration of men and means to the task of bringing them into the light of God's truth. Hymn: — "Our Country's Voice is Pleading." THE CHILDREN OF THE PLAINS Scripture Lesson: — Luke 10:1-12. Prayer. Leader: — Just as Christ sent out the seventy, as we read in our Scripture lesson, so the Church sends forth its missionaries, in obedience to the command of the Master "beginning at Jerusalem, . . . even unto the uttermost parts of the earth." To-day we are to hear about the work of the Sunday-school missionaries in the great stretches of territory from the Mississippi to the Pacific Coast and from Canada to Mexico. The char- acter of the service of the Sunday-school mission- aries bears a similarity to the commission which Christ gave to these seventy whom he sent forth. We are to hear from different parts of the field, showing the need for this work and how we are meeting the need. Before we hear from the first speaker let us sing "I Love to Tell the Story." (The Sunday-School Hymnal, "Alleluia," page 23 1 -) First Speaker — The Northwest: I represent the great State of Oregon where thousands of new settlers are taking up homes and by their toil are converting the barren wastes into fields of waving grain. But they do not take the Church and Sunday school with them when they move into these new regions. In the trials and hardships of frontier life these things are for- gotten, and, unless we send our Sunday-school 78 FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS 79 missionaries to them, the boys and girls will be allowed to grow up without any religious in- struction or training. East of the Cascades lies the great wheat- growing section and large stock ranges. Scat- tered far and wide over these broad tablelands and tucked far back among the mountains, are the homes of the people. Dotting the plains and hillsides are the schoolhouses where the state is giving its children a chance for a secular edu- cation, but has shut out from its curriculum the greatest Book of all, and forbidden the teaching of the things most fundamental in the develop- ment of character. With but a few exceptions, these schoolhouses are open for religious serv- ices, and the Sunday-school missionary is wel- come as he comes in the name of the Church with the message of life. He is the only man who comes into many of these districts far away from the towns to give the people, either old or young, a chance to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Again and again our missionaries have preached to young people of fifteen or more years of age who never before had heard a ser- mon, and it is not an infrequent thing to hear some one say, "That is the first sermon I have heard for ten (or fifteen or twenty) years." Second ' Speaker — Washington : The conditions in Washington are similar in many respects to those that have just been de- scribed. This state increased its population one hundred and sixty-six per cent in ten years. One of the missionaries gives us a view of the situa- tion in a recent letter. He writes : "My work calls me into the remote and out- lying districts sometimes ten, fifty, one hundred 80 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY miles away from the railways and beaten paths. It calls me into communities where the preacher and his message have not been heard for years, where children stand in wonder at the preacher 'talking to his plate' (saying grace) before meals ; where boys and girls in their teens have come to attend the Sunday school for the first time in their lives ; where young men and women have lived in the canons all their lives without am- bition enough to discover what lies beyond their circumscribed horizon ; where boys and girls are living absolutely destitute of all religious and moral training, and succumbing to immorality, vice and shame." Third Speaker — California and Nevada: This region is increasing in population so rapidly that our Sunday-school missionaries are unable to keep track of the new communities that are springing up everywhere. One California missionary tells us that he has been traveling at the rate of fifteen hundred miles a month and has not yet covered his entire field, which comprises but one presbytery. "So you see," he writes, ''that the first Sunday schools that I organized will have children in the primary grade, who were born since I organized the Sunday school, before I can get around to visit the school again. Talk about 'circuit riding' in the pioneer days of the Middle West ! Why, the Sunday-school mis- sionary in southern California has them all beaten. I take the railroad as far as it goes, then the stage as far as it reaches, then the pack train as far as it goes, and finally I take to my heels for the rest of the journey. And there is much heel work both on the plains and in the mountains." FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS 8l Fourth Speaker — The Rocky Mountain District: In one district in Colorado a recent investiga- tion revealed the startling fact that there are one hundred and thirty-three places ranging in popu- lation from one hundred and fifty to one thou- sand souls, without Protestant churches of any kind, one hundred of these being also without a Roman Catholic church. Some of these were rural communities, some were mining communi- ties scattered up and down a narrow valley, be- ing difficult to care for because thus scattered. In addition to these, there were four hundred and twenty-eight communities of sufficient im- portance to have post offices, but without any churches. Whole communities w r ere found with no adequate religious work. An Idaho mission- ary tells us about a prospecting trip which he re- cently made through two counties covering an area of ninety-one hundred and twenty-five square miles, with an estimated population of more than eleven thousand. In all this vast ter- ritory there are but ten Protestant churches with a membership of less than five hundred. The railroad facilities in these two counties cover a little more than one hundred miles. On that trip he traveled by stage, livery wagon, horseback and on foot about four hundred miles. He held several preaching services and organized four Sunday schools; two of these were organized where a gospel service was never before held. Fifth Speaker — The Southwest: County after county may be found without a single minister of the gospel. One correspondent writes of a section of Arkansas comprising six- teen counties with but five ministers. Seventeen 82 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY counties in eastern Texas have but ten active ministers. Amarillo Presbytery comprises forty- six counties in the state of Texas and covers forty thousand square miles. Think of a single Sunday-school missionary working that vast region ! In some of the older parts of Texas conditions are very primitive, and little or no attention has been given to the development of the religious life of the children. In one community where services were conducted, a native preacher had just closed a series of meetings in the school- house. The good man actually could not read the Scriptures in public, so ignorant was he. Yet, to use his words, "they had been swimming in glory for a week." The only light they had in the schoolhouse was one gasoline torch. There were always twice as many people present as the house would hold. Their religion runs to ex- treme emotionalism, still they listen with great eagerness to a man who, as they say, "can learn them something." Sixth Speaker— The Middle West: A Minnesota missionary gives us a picture of the needs of that state. He tells us that in one presbytery comprising ten counties in the north- ern part of the state unreached by railroads, there are forty thousand boys and girls under twenty- one years of age, and only seven thousand of them enrolled in Sunday schools. North and South Dakota are calling for Sunday-school mis- sionaries to reach the thousands of children and young people who are living in the rural districts without any Christian influences. Parts of Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska are still un- reached by the Church's messengers. A Kansas FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS 83 missionary tells this interesting story about a visit to a town of five hundred people in which there was no Sunday school or church. "At least one hundred and fifty young people came to the first service. Meetings were continued several evenings. In the meantime, the few Christians were constrained to take hold, literature was provided, and they are developing a flourishing work. Visiting this field on a recent Sabbath morning, bright-eyed, cheery-faced, neatly dressed children could be seen coming from all directions. At this place young people up to six- teen years old were found who had never at- tended a Sunday-school service. " Leader: — Having learned something of the needs of this work, we shall now hear a report of what has been accomplished. Speaker — Results: During the past twenty-eight years, more than twenty thousand Sunday schools have been organized and more than one million two hundred and fifty thousand persons have been gathered into them. From these lit- tle Sunday schools two thousand, three hundred churches have grown, and hundreds have gone forth as ministers, missionaries and teachers of the gospel. Leader: — We all realize that the future of the cause of Christianity and the future of our nation depends upon the Christian training of the boys and girls of to-day. As we sing the hymn, "I Think When I Read that Sweet Story of Old," let us remember how our Saviour cared for the children, and let us re- solve to follow his example in giving every boy and girl in America the opportunity to know him. BROTHERS OF THE FLAG The aliens represented by the various charac- ters taking part in the exercise, build an Ameri- can flag by fastening the different stripes by pins either to a curtain at the back of the platform, or to a light framework of wood which may be covered with green paper or vines, using thumb tacks to secure the red and white stripes, or con- structing the flag in any way which ingenuity may devise. No costumes are needed, but they may be used if desired. The children (boys and girls) may dress simply in white, the boys wearing white blouses if they do not have entire white suits. On the breast of each alien is pinned the flag of his country. A set of fourteen foreign and two United States flags, each 11x18 inches, for use in this exercise may be obtained for $1.00, post- paid. Address orders to the Board of Publica- tion and Sabbath School Work, Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, Pa. The flag of a coun- try should be represented, not the standard, for the standard is far more complicated than the flag and used only on special occasions. The two Americans also wear flags on the breast. Besides the flag on the breast, knotted around the waist of each pupil with ends hanging down at the side, are narrow ribbonlike strips of cambric representing the different national colors. The color selected for the gift to our flag should be broader than the others and of the right length to form the stripes of an American flag about 84 FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS 85 4x6 feet in size. The first six stripes, of course, will be longer than the other seven, and the flag is built from the bottom up. At the side of the Hollander with the red and white rib- bons, hangs a square of blue to be used for the field. The stars carried by the Hebrew should be small enough to allow for the requisite number, and may be cut out of gilt paper, each being pasted at the center to a frame work of parallel bars cut out of very narrow strips of cardboard which may be gilded also, and held together with brass-button paper fasteners. As each pupil recites, he or she should step back on the platform, the first to the right of the flag, the sec- ond to the left, etc., so when the Americans walk to the center for the last part of the exercise, the aliens coming forward will be evenly divided on either side. American Boy: — I am tired of giving, giving, to all the horde of strangers who press forever at our doors! Soon there'll be nothing left for us. They want a chance for this, a chance for that — education, liberty ! Soon we'll be crowded out of everything. American Girl: — I know we hear forever of their ills and wrongs. Still, they are sturdy peo- ple and I believe they do not do us harm. Soon they learn to love our flag and help themselves. And truly, does our land grow richer, stronger, better every day. American Boy: — You will have to prove that statement. What can these poor, down-trodden people who come forever asking, do for us? German Child (running on platform) : — I come to your gates as a worker. I earn my way on farm, in shop, as worker in the arts, and as a maker 86 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY of sweet music. Remember, Martin Luther, Beethoven and Schiller were my kin. These are the colors (lifting them) of my old Fatherland — black for strength, white for purity, red for cour- age. To your new land I'll give my patient courage. (Selects the red and stretches it across background and steps to one side.) Swiss Child (following the German imme- diately) : — The flag of Switzerland is red, with a single cross of purity upon it. The people of Switzerland are sturdy, skilled in handcrafts, truth-loving and virtuous. (Selecting white rib- bon.) From the old I'll bring the new a pledge of purity. (Stretches the white stripe above the red.) Italian Child: — Do I come with empty hands, a mere beggar to your shores? Not I! I seek religious freedom, a chance to grow and learn, but indeed I pay my way. I do the work you spurn to do. I build your subways, lay your rail- roads, and labor in a thousand useful ways. And see the gifts from centuries past I bring to you. The Latin language is studied by your high- school boys and girls, and Roman history and laws. Remember Christian art; Raphael and Angelo are ours. From the green, the white and red of the old flag, I'll pluck the red of high re- solve to help the new. (Stretches red band above the white.) French Child: — Do you think of me as a poor immigrant? I helped to give your land a flag when you were poor and small. Never let your boys and girls forget brave Lafayette. I'll help you in a thousand arts and crafts, and from the tricolor of ancient France I'll lend yon white, for singleness of purpose. (Stretches white above red.) FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS 87 Child from Great Britain: — From England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, we come to seek a place uncramped where we may earn an honest liv- ing. You are our kindred anyway, the sons of our forefathers, children of the first God-fearing immigrants from Britain's shores. We have a common literature and laws. From the colors of the Union Jack we'll give you courage doubly sure. (Stretches red above white.) Japanese Child : — In some states you look down upon us Japanese. But industry, frugality, a courteous grace and clever arts are the gifts we add to those of other nations. And from our banner's rising sun, we'll shed with humbleness a ray of light on yours. (Stretches band of white above red.) Syrian Child (with Turkish flag) : — From Syria I come seeking release from Turkey's cruel op- pression by tax, by soldiery and by a false re- ligion. Our rich rugs and skillful laces you highly prize. Something for your flag I have, and valiantly I'll love it ! (Stretches shorter red band above white.) Greek Child: — Do you think I come a beggar? You see me selling fruit upon your streets and think I have no gifts for your America? My ancient language, too, is studied in your schools. Greek sculpture, Greek history and philosophy are needed for your culture. From my old flag of blue and white I've something fair to give the new. (Stretches white band above the red.) Polish Child (with Russian flag) : — A Russian Pole, you do not welcome me, yet once it was not so. George Washington was grateful for brave Kosciusko's aid in the freeing of your land. The Poles love freedom, and by their blood will strengthen yours. I stretch this crimson band 88 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY in pledge of it. (Stretches red band above the white.) Danish Child: — I am from Denmark. I come quite boldly to this land, for Jacob Riis has helped to pave the way. America is proud of him — philanthropist and writer, the friend of all unfortunates and champion of every worthy cause. If you will give me half a chance I'll make you proud of me. In token of my pure re- solve, from Denmark's flag I'll place the white above this band of red. (Stretches white band above the red.) Scandinavian Child (with Norwegian flag) : — An ancient Norseman was the first to reach America, and well it might have been that I had welcomed you as immigrant. In lumbering and shipbuilding I'll work with you, and blend the courage of the Vikings bold with Yankee shrewd- ness. (Stretches a red band above the white.) Chinese Child: — Did you ever see a Chinese pauper? We always pay our way with work you cannot do as well as we. You think of us as laundrymen, but we have arts more ancient than your own. We invented gunpowder, the mariner's compass and the art of printing. We can make a rare enamel, and with tireless pa- tience work in beautiful mosaics. The Chinaman may teach you something of persistence and en- durance. (Stretches white band above red.) Hungarian Child (Austria-Hungary) : — Few dare to work in the dangerous black depths of coal mines like the Hungarian, or in the blazing iron ore furnace rooms, where I earn my bread in this new land. We Hungarians ever have been brave, and in the centuries past we saved all Europe from the Turk. Our John Hunyady was the shield of Christendom. I'll add the topmost FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS 89 bar of valor to your flag. (Stretches red band above the white.) Dutch Child: — I should be no alien to you, for 'twas Holland settled old New Amsterdam, and Holland blood runs in the veins of many. Blue stands for truth, fidelity to purpose, and sturdy Hollanders will help you keep your word (plac- ing blue field in flag). Hebrew Child: — The Hebrews come from Rus- sia, Austria and many other lands. We have no flag we call our own, and we are much despised. We spend long hours in the sweatshops, and toil for little wage. Still, remember, the Bible is our gift to you. We cannot add a color to your flag, but in our Bible there are principles of righteous- ness to guide your ship of state like stars at night. The God in whom you put your trust was first the Hebrew's God. We'll add the stars of heaven to your field of blue. (Attaches stars to flag.) American Boy (stepping with the American girl to the center of the platform, where each takes the hand of the nearest alien, each alien in turn taking his neighbor's hand) : — I see I have been selfish in grudging you a home among us, and a fair chance to live and grow and learn. American Girl: — Now I know you can repay a thousandfold the little that you ask of us — with gifts material and spiritual. (Pointing to the flag.) The colors of our country's flag are colors of the Christian flag as well. American Boy: — True Brothers of the Flag are you, and all of us together (joining hands again) like those first immigrants of old, will help maintain the glory of the Stars and Stripes for- ever ! 90 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY Hymn : — With hands still joined all sing "America." Additional copies of this program may be obtained free of charge upon application to the Sabbath-School and Missionary Department, Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, Pa. OUR WELCOME TO NEW AMERICANS 1 Characters Six to ten children as "American Children," in ordinary dress. Ten children as "Little Immi- grants," in costume, to represent: Polish Girl German Girl Syrian Boy Hungarian Boy Bohemian Girl Italian Girl Greek Boy Russian Jewish Boy Swedish Girl French Girl If costumes accurately representing the na- tions named can be secured, they should, of course, be used. As this will ordinarily be im- possible, the attempt should be made to im- provise costumes which will secure variety in color and general appearance. The ingenuity of the local committee will easily succeed in work- ing out the problem. The pictures of people of various nationalities found in dictionaries, en- cyclopedias, et cetera, will be of service. Avoid anything grotesque. Each immigrant child should carry the flag of the appropriate nation. These flags can be easily made from colored pic- tures to be found in any unabridged dictionary or purchased at small expense. The American children, each bearing a flag, march to the platform singing, "O God, Beneath Thy Guiding Hand," taking their places at the back of the platform. 1 Adapted from an exercise published by The Congre- gational Home Missionary Society. 91 9 2 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY O God, beneath thy guiding hand Our exiled fathers crossed the sea; And when they trod the wintry strand, With prayer and psalm they worshiped thee. Thou heard'st, well pleased, the song, the prayer : Thy blessing came; and still its power Shall onward, through all ages, bear The memory of that holy hour. Laws, freedom, truths, and faith in God Came with those exiles o'er the waves ; And, where their pilgrim feet have trod, The God they trusted guards their graves. And here thy Name, O God of love, Their children's children shall adore, Till these eternal hills remove, And spring adorns the earth no more. When in their places on the platform, let the "Immigrants" enter, bearing their flags (while the others are still singing), from two sides of the room, the two lines crossing each other on the platform. Let the "Immigrants" then take their places on either side of the platform. Let them stand so a moment after this song is fin- ished, then let the "Immigrants" repeat the fol- lowing, with the response by the "Americans" after each verse: Immigrant Children To a land of strangers Fearfully we come. For a far voice called us, Called us to your home. FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS 93 American Children Welcome, strangers, welcome, Welcome to our shores. You have come from lands afar, But our home is yours. Immigrant Children We have left behind us Many a loved one; And our hearts are lonely As to you we come. American Children (same as before). After this song let the "Immigrants," in turn, step to the center of the platform and give their recitations, telling why they have come to this country. RECITATIONS OF IMMIGRANTS Polish Girl (with Russian flag) : — I came with my father and mother from Poland. Our land is part of Russia, so I carry the Russian flag. We do not love it. My father says some day we will have our own flag again. It is hard for many people in Poland to make a living. So we came to America. My father works in a mine, so we do not see much of him. My sister works all day in a shop making petticoats, so we get along pretty well. We are glad we came to America. Syrian Boy (with Turkish flag) : — When my brother went to the mission school in Syria, a missionary told him he could learn much knowl- edge in America, so we came. He is going to work in my uncle's store, where they sell rugs and laces and all things like we have in Syria. 94 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY I am going to school, and he will go evenings, so we can learn to be smart like the missionary who came to help us. Then we will go back and tell the people there what we learned, because everybody in Syria can't come to America, you know. Bohemian Girl (with Austrian flag) : — I am glad now I came from Bohemia, because we found my father here, where he works in a stock- yard. My mother had to work hard for a long time to get money to come with, and my father sent us some, too. Then the ship was so crowded and dirty when we came that we were sick all the time and thought we would never reach America at all. But now my mother she is no more sad, but smiles on me and says, "Ah, Margarita, it is worth all the hard times we had to get money to come with." Greek Boy : — My brother work for my uncle in his candy store in America for a long time. He say America it is beautiful, so my father sold all our things in Greece and brought us to this coun- try. Now my father own a pushcart, and every day he sell his fruit and bring to my mother lots of money. He say that some day he will buy a store and sell candy and fruit, and when I am big I can help him sell. We love Greece and we are proud of it, too, because of its great books and great heroes, but we like America better. Swedish Girl: — Many people have come to America from the village where we lived in Sweden. We had good churches and schools there. But there was not a chance to get a home there as there is in this big land. Some- times the old people get homesick, but the chil- dren find so much fun in America that they would not like to go back. Of course, most of FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS 95 us work hard, but mother says that is good for us. German Girl: — I live with my aunt and am trying to earn money to help bring my mother and little Hans and Gretchen. It's pretty lone- some, but will be better when mother comes. I have a sister who works for a rich lady and gets big wages. I go to see her sometimes. We have a church near by where German is spoken, but I like better to use English. Hungarian Boy (with Austrian flag) : — Oh, this big America ! It is too strange here, and I am afraid of all these people because they do not look like the people in my country, and they wear such funny clothes. But my father says I would have to go in the army when I got old enough if we stayed in Hungary, and my brother died in the army. My father likes it here be- cause he feels free and can say and do just what he likes, so I must learn to love America. Italian Girl: — We have not been here long. We have to keep boarders in our few rooms, and all of us work many hours a day. I wish I could once go inside a fine house and see how it looks. My father says that soon I am going to school. It may be, though, that we will go back to Italy to live by and by. It is beautiful over there. We call it "sunny Italy." Russian Jewish Boy (any foreign flag) : — We came from Russia, but we hate the name because the Russians rob and kill the Jews. They say they are Christians, but they do not act like Christians do in America. Many more of our people would come here if they could. My father keeps a clothing store and I go to school. By and by I am going to college if I can. French Girl: — In France my father died and 96 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY my mother was very poor. We had to work very hard, and even then we could hardly get along. My sister knew how to make dresses, and one American lady told her she could find plenty of work in America, so my sister and I left France and came here. She was a long time finding good work, and she would come back to the room where we lived and cry every night and say she wished she had never left France. But now she has work in a store, and she says soon we will move to a better place, and then, when she has saved enough, we will send for my brothers, so they can come here, too. One of the "Americans" will then step for- ward and address the "Immigrants" with the following recitation : We are glad you have all come to America. We hope you will find in this beautiful land the happiness and success you are seeking. We hope that Zenos will have a store some day, and that Jakie will be able to go to college, and that it will not be long before Rosie can bring over her brothers. Our forefathers came from Europe many years ago, just as you are coming now. God's blessing rests upon our land because they were Christian men and women and built our nation upon the Bible and taught their chil- dren to love God and to keep his commandments. We want you to love America and America's God, and help us to make this more of a Chris- tian land than it is to-day. We are members of the Presbyterian Sunday School. There are about ten thousand of these schools scattered throughout our land. We hope each one of you will become members of the Sunday FIFTEEN-MINUTE PROGRAMS 97 school. We study the Bible, which teaches us about our Saviour and tells us how to live hon- est, true and upright lives. Our prayer is that God will bless you and make you a blessing to your newly chosen home. All will then sing "America," the entire Sun- day school joining with them. At the beginning of the third stanza all will march off the platform. Additional copies of this program may be obtained free of charge by writing to the Sabbath-School and Missionary Department, Witherspoon Building, Phila- delphia, Pa. IV HOW TO OBTAIN INFORMATION "HOW CAN OUR SUNDAY SCHOOL HAVE A SHARE IN SABBATH-SCHOOL MISSIONS?" The answer: Eight hundred to one thousand dollars pro- vides the salary of a Sunday-school missionary for one year, according to the location. Fifty dollars, or any multiple of that sum, will give you a proportionate share in a missionary's support. Twenty-five dollars will organize a mission Sunday school and furnish it with supplies for one year. Ten dollars will provide a mission Sunday school with a library, Bibles or hymn books. Birthday offerings may be applied toward a share in a Sunday-school missionary's support. Children's Day offerings, by direction of the General Assembly are applied toward the sup- port of Sabbath-school missionary work. Rally Day offerings are given for the support of missionary work among foreign immigrants. Special exercises for Children's Day (second Sabbath in June) and Rally Day (last Sabbath in September or early in October) are prepared by the Sabbath-School and Missionary Depart- ment, Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, and furnished free of charge, in the quantities de- sired, together with attractive literature for dis- tribution, offering boxes and envelopes, appro- priate recitations, et cetera. Children's Day supplies will be ready for dis- tribution after April first in each year. Rally Day supplies may be obtained after August first. IOI 102 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY CORRESPONDENCE Inquiries are invited concerning the needs of various fields, special objects toward which con- tributions may be made, mission schools which may be assisted, or any other matters pertain- ing: to this work. i & LANTERN SLIDES The Board of Publication and Sabbath School Work offers four sets of slides, illustrating its missionary work: 1. Covering the Entire Field. 74 slides. 2. The Mountaineers of the South. 76 slides. 3. In the Rocky Mountains. 71 slides. 4. Immigration, yy slides. Many of these slides are made from photo- graphs taken by the Sunday-school missionaries, and they illustrate in a graphic manner the ex- periences of these workers in taking gospel privi- leges to the neglected parts of our own land. Many of the slides are colored. Each set of slides is accompanied by a printed lecture, which may be read while the slides are being exhibited. Rental fee, $1.00, besides the expressage both ways. For full particulars, address Sabbath- School and Missionary Department, Wither- spoon Building, Philadelphia, Pa. FREE MISSIONARY LEAFLETS An assortment of leaflets containing informa- tion about the work of the Sunday-school mis- sionaries, descriptions of needy fields, and other items concerning Sunday-school missions, may be obtained singly or in quantities, free of HOW TO SECURE INFORMATION 103 charge, by writing to the Sabbath-School and Missionary Department, Witherspoon Building, Phiadelphia, Pa. FREE LEAFLETS ON SUNDAY-SCHOOL METHODS Literature describing Teacher Training work; Organized Bible Class activities for adult and teen-age pupils, Home Department, Cradle Roll, Graded Lessons, Plans for Membership Increase, and all the other ten points of the Interdemoni- national Sunday-school Standard, together with a wall chart showing the requirements of a standard Sunday school, may be obtained, free of charge, by writing to the Sabbath-School and Missionary Department, Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, Pa. BOOKS FOR THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL AND MISSIONARY LIBRARY ON THE FIRING LINE WITH THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY By John M. Somerndike Long and varied experience in dealing with the problems of Sunday-school missions has given Mr. Somerndike exceptional preparation for writing with authority on this theme. "On the Firing Line" presents the subject of Sunday- school missions in a masterly manner. The illus- trations add much to the value of the book. Problems connected with the evangelization of the Middle West and Far West, of the South and Southwest, of the mountaineers and the 104 SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY negroes, are fairly and graphically stated, and factors in their solution clearly presented in this fascinating volume, which is suitable for a course in mission study. No one can study this sug- gestive handbook without learning much about his country; no one ought to study it without having his interest in Sunday-school work broad- ened and deepened. — A. H. McKinney, in the Auburn Seminary Record. Illustrated; cloth, 6oc. net; paper, 40c. net. PLANTING THE OUTPOSTS By Robert Frederick Sulzer This is a delightful autobiography, although the work done by Mr. Sulzer for the people of the plains occupies more attention than his own adventures. But one who has spent twenty-five years on the prairies has had adventures and they are told here with spirit. America's heroes were not confined to the Civil War. They have been in her home mission service. We wish a good many boys could read the story of Mr. Sulzer's early days, and how he made himself the splendid servant of the Church and the na- tion. The book gives a fine picture of America in the making. — Christian Work and Evangelist. Illustrated ; cloth, 60c. net. BY-PRODUCTS OF THE RURAL SUNDAY SCHOOL By John M. Somerndike It is an exceedingly interesting story and packed full of material for illustration. A perusal of it stimulates a spirit for Christian service, as one reads of the way in which this institution HOW TO SECURE INFORMATION 105 has been the instrument for cleaning up de- graded communities, for preparing the way for strong churches, for supplying valued leaders for the kingdom and in the ministry, and for evangelism. Its adaptability makes it the ideal organization for pioneer Christian work in any community, and in some communities for per- manent Christian activity. The material used is drawn especially from the work of the Sunday- school missions of the Presbyterian Church, but the book will be found useful in any study of this important subject. — Christian Intelligencer. Illustrated ; cloth, 60c. net. Send orders to The Presbyterian Board of Publication Headquarters : PHILADELPHIA, Witherspoon Bldg. New York, 156 Fifth Ave. Chicago, 509 S. Wabash Ave. Cincinnati, 420 Elm St. Nashville, 415 Church St. St. Louis, 313 N. Tenth St. San Francisco, 400 Sutter St. Pittsburgh, 204 Fulton Bldg. Princeton Theological Seminary Libraries 1 1012 01234 0321 Date Due