266 v.6 61-19258
,l _ -- *l JJ (?_.
266 v.6 61-19258
World Missionary Conference
A he Home Base of Missions
PUBLIC LIBRARY
REPORT OF COMMISSION VI
World Missionary Conference, 1910
(To consider Missionary Problems in relation to the Non-Christian World)
REPORT OF COMMISSION VI
THE HOME BASE OF
MISSIONS
With Supplement : Presentation
and Discussion of the Report In
the Conference on 23rd June 1910
PUBLISHED FOR THE WORLD MISSIONARY CONFERENCE BY
OLIPHANT, ANDERSON & FERRIER
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
NEW YORK, CHICAGO, AND TORONTO
CONTENTS
PAGE
LIST OF MEMBERS OF COMMISSION . . vii
LIST OF CORRESPONDENTS . . . ix
INTRODUCTION ...... i
CHAP.
I. THE SPIRITUAL RESOURCES OF THE CHURCH . 6
II. THE PROMOTION OF MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
THROUGH REGULAR CHURCH SERVICES AND
AGENCIES . . . . . .17
III. THE PROMOTION OF MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
THROUGH NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS . . 43
IV. THE PROMOTION OF MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
THROUGH SPECIAL LITERATURE . . -55
V. THE PROMOTION OF MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
THROUGH MISSION STUDY CLASSES . . .64
VI. THE PROMOTION OF MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
THROUGH INSTRUCTION IN EDUCATIONAL IN-
STITUTIONS . ..... 79
VII. THE PROMOTION OF MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
THROUGH VISITS TO MISSION FIELDS . . 96
VIII. THE PROMOTION OF MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
THROUGH CONFERENCES, EXHIBITIONS, AND OTHER
METHODS . . . . . .104
IX. THE ENLISTMENT OF AN ADEQUATE FORCE OF MIS-
SIONARIES
1. Demand and Supply of Candidates , ,120
2. Methods Employed . . . ,125
3. Motives. . . . . .133
4. The Student Volunteer Movement . , 137
vi CONTENTS
CHAP, PAGE
X. THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE MISSIONARY
ENTERPRISE . . . . .146
XI. HOME LEADERSHIP , . . . .161
1. The Ministry . . . .162
2. Laymen . . . . .181
3. Women . . . . .201
XII. PROBLEMS OF ADMINISTRATION
Relation of Needs Abroad and Receipts at
Home .... . , 207
XIII. PROBLEMS OF ADMINISTRATION
Women's Boards and General Church Societies 222
XIV. PROBLEMS OF ADMINISTRATION
Missionaries at Home on Furlough . . 235
XV. PROBLEMS OF ADMINISTRATION
Native Missionaries .... 246
XVI. THE SCIENCE OF MISSIONARY SOCIETIES . . 249
XVII. THE FUNDAMENTAL VALUE OF MISSIONS TO THE
CHURCH ...... 258
XVIII. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . 269
APPENDIX
Proceedings of Medical Missionary Conference
in Edinburgh . . . . .285
SUPPLEMENT
Presentation and Discussion of the Report in
the Conference . . . .291
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . 331
GENERAL INDEX ..... 559
INDEX OF SPEAKERS WHO TOOK PART IN THE DIS-
CUSSION ...... 567
MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION
Chairman
The Rev, JAMES L. BARTON, D.D., Foreign Secretary of
the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions, Boston, Mass., U.S.A.
Vice -Chairmen
Herr Missionsinspektor F. WURZ, Evangelische Missions-
gesellschaft, Basel, Switzerland.
Sir GEORGE W. MACALPINE, Chairman of the Baptist
Missionary Society, London.
The Rev. J. P. MAUD, St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol,
England.
The Rev. J. FAIRLEY DALY, B.D., Honorary Secretary of
the Livingstonia Mission, United Free Church of
Scotland.
Dr. KARL FRIES, Chairman of the World's Student
Christian Federation, Stockholm, Sweden.
The Rev. R. T. GARDNER, Honorary Secretary of the
Central Board of Missions of the Church of England.
The Rev. A. WOODRUFF HALSEY, D.D., Secretary of the
Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church
In the U.S.A., New York.
The Rev. A. N. JOHNSON, M.A., Home Secretary of the
London Missionary Society.
Dr. HERBERT LANKESTER, Lay Secretary of the Church
Missionary Society, London.
viii MEMBERS OF COMMISSION
The Rev. J. SCOTT LIDGETT, D.D., Ex-President of the
Wesleyan Methodist Conference, London.
Mrs. WILLIAM A, MONTGOMERY, Women's Baptist
Foreign Missionary Society, Boston, Mass., U.S.A.
Mr. J. LOVELL MURRAY, M.A., Educational Secretary,
Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions,
New York.
Mr. J. R. PEPPER, President of the Laymen's Missionary
Movement of the Methodist Episcopal Church
(South), Memphis, Tenn., U.S.A.
The Rev. W. H. RANKINE, Titwood, Glasgow, Scotland.
Mr. N. W. ROWELL, K.C., Toronto, Canada.
Mr. L. H. SEVERANCE, New York.
The Rev. Canon BULLOCK- WEBSTER, Parkstone, Dorset,
England.
Mr. J. CAMPBELL WHITE, General Secretary of the Lay-
men's Missionary Movement, U.S.A., New York.
Mrs. ROBERT WHYTE, Hampstead, London,
Mr. JOHN W. WOOD, Corresponding Secretary of the
Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the
Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.
CORRESPONDENTS OF THE
COMMISSION
The Commission has received valuable and important
papers from nearly all the leading Missionary Societies
in Europe and America, and from many hundreds of
individual ministers, laymen, and women workers. The
list of correspondents is so extensive that it is impossible
to print it in full, and the Commission must be content
with a general acknowledgment of its immense debt to
the many correspondents whose help has made its work
possible. Those whose names are given below have not
only supplied information, but have carried out special
investigations with regard to some particular depart-
ment of the subject entrusted to the Commission, and have
prepared material which the Commission has made use
of in this Report
The Rev, Enoch F. Bell, Assistant Secretary, American
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions,
Boston, Mass.
The Rev. F. G. Benskin, M.A., Baptist Missionary Society,
London.
Professor R. P, Bowles, Victoria University, Toronto,
Canada,
Mr. E. C. Carter, New York City.
Mr. W. E. Cule, Baptist Missionary Society, London*
Mr. Morris W. Ehnes, New York City.
Professor Charles R. Erdman, D.D., Presbyterian Church
in the U.S.A.
x COBKESPONDENIS OF COMMISSION
The Rev. Principal A. Gaudier, D.D., Presbyterian
Church in Canada.
Monsieur A. Grand jean, Secretaire de la Mission Romande,
Lausanne, Switzerland.
Mr. Charles A. Gunn, Laymen's Missionary Movement,
New York City.
Missionsdirektor J. W. Gunning, Nederlandsche Zendeling
Genootschap, Rotterdam, Holland.
Mr. T. R. W. Lunt, Church Missionary Society, London.
Mr. David M f Conaughy, Presbyterian Board of Foreign
Missions, New York City.
The Rev. G. T. Manley, M.A., Church Missionary Society,
London.
Mrs. Janet M'GiUivray, Toronto, Canada.
Mr. S. J. Moore, Baptist Foreign Mission Board in Canada,
The Rev. Cornelius H. Pattern, D.D., American Board of
Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Boston, Mass,
Mr. Delavan L, Pierson, Editor, Missionary Review of the
World, New York City.
Pastor F. Rader, Hermannsburgher Missionsgesellscliaft,
Germany.
Mr. T. H. P. Sailer, Ph.D., Presbyterian Church in the
U.S.A.
Missionsdirektor A. W. Schreiber, Norddeutsche Missions-
gesellschaft, Germany.
Mr. E. D, Soper, Methodist Episcopal Church, New York
City,
The Rev. John Timothy Stone, D.D., Presbyterian Church
in the U.SJL
Mr. S. R. Warburton, Secretary, Baptist Missionary
Union, Boston, Mass.
The Rev. Stanley White, D.D,, Secretary, Presbyterian
Board of Foreign Missions, New York City.
Missionsinspektor M. Wilde, Berliner Missionsgesellscliaft,
Germany.
Mrs. J. B. Willmott, Toronto, Canada,
THE HOME BASE OF
MISSIONS
INTRODUCTION
THE foreign missionary enterprise, as its name implies,
aims at carrying the Christian Gospel to foreign lands.
In order to accomplish this, there must be an organisation
at home which will secure the formation of a constituency
upon which dependence for support can be placed ; the
creation and circulation of a literature that shall keep
interest alive and at the same time broaden and deepen
it ; the training of the young people in the Church, that
reinforcements may not be lacking ; and above all else,
the creation and perpetuation of such a spiritual atmo-
sphere throughout the Church and among all classes, that
the very temper and spirit of Jesus Christ shall live
anew in the hearts of all His followers, and that through
them His life may flow forth to the world lying in
darkness.
Without this HOME BASE there could be no permanent
foreign missions. The Home Base is the widely extend-
ing organisation in Christendom through which foreign
missions are supported and directed, and this statement
must stand as true until the foreign missions of the Church
in Christian lands are absorbed into home missions in
the countries at present non-Christian.
We have, therefore, for our consideration the organisa-
tion of Missionary Societies with their Boards of Directors,
COM. VI. I
2 INTRODUCTION
secretaries, treasurers, and editors; agencies both de-
nominational and inter-denominational, auxiliary to the
work of these Missionary Societies ; and the problem
of bringing the whole of the home Church to give
the cause of foreign missions a central place in its life
and work.
SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
It was early manifest that this Commission, in the time
at its disposal and the space allotted, would not be able
to investigate all of the principal questions of methods,
policies, and problems of administration which almost
daily confront the executive officers of Missionary
Societies. Neither was it possible, even if desirable, to
endeavour to make this Report a handbook upon home
administration. There is, no doubt, a place for such a
handbook which would be of great value to administrators
of missionary organisations, but while much valuable
material for such a work has been collected by this Com-
mission, it must be largely excluded from the final Report.
The Commission, after careful deliberation, decided
to pursue its investigations primarily along the line
of fundamental principles and policies. In order to
accomplish this with thoroughness the investigation
necessarily covered a vast area and produced a large
amount of material which was not used in the Report ;
in some cases because it belonged to what might be
called methods of administration, in others because it
was too exceptional to be of general value, and yet in
many others because the limits set for the Report made the
elimination even of some most valuable matter imperative.
Let no one expect, therefore, to find all questions and
problems connected with the Home Base of Missions
considered in the following pages. At the same time,
the great home questions* that lie at the centre and
foundation of the missionary enterprise of the Christian
Church have been extensively pursued, and are here
fundamentally and practically treated.
INTRODUCTION 3
The amount of correspondence involved In the collection
of data for this Report will be apparent when it is re-
membered that the entire ground covered by the subject
of this Commission has necessarily been gone over many
times once each for Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden,
Germany, Switzerland, France, Holland, Scotland,
England, and North America. Nine languages have
been involved. The Commission naturally divided
itself into two principal parts, the European and the
American sections. The former, under the general
direction of the three vice-chairmen, undertook the
collection of the material from Europe, while the latter
gave its attention to North America.
This Commission, compelled to deal with its subject
in relation to the very different conditions prevailing in
America and the countries of Europe, has been beset
with peculiar difficulties. At first it seemed necessary
that there should be separate Reports for America, Great
Britain, and the Continent of Europe, but it was seen
that in spite of the different conditions there was a great
deal that was common to the work in all countries, and
that to offer three separate Reports would involve a large
amount of repetition, and would greatly increase the
total length of the Report. The decision to aim at
producing one common Report, however, was attended
with great and almost insuperable difficulties, especially
in view of the shortness of time for the preparation of the
Report. It was found to be impossible for the different
sections of the Commission so to keep in close touch with
one another that equally full data upon all topics could
be obtained from Europe and America, although much
was gained from a visit paid to Great Britain by the
Chairman of the Commission in December 1909. Inas-
much as the Executive Committee of the Commission
was in America, and the initiative lay with the American
members, it was almost inevitable that the investigations
should have been more thorough upon that side of the
Atlantic, and that the dominant tone and standpoint of
the Report should be American. While the European
4 INTRODUCTION
members of the Commission regret that more information
regarding the operations of the Missionary Societies in
the countries which they represent was not provided,
they desire it to be stated that in their judgment the
predominance of data from America and the American
point of view in the Report is not without compensating
advantages, inasmuch as the Missionary Societies in
Europe have much to learn from some of the methods
which have been so successfully developed by the Mission
Boards in America.
Since it was impossible for the twenty members of the
Commission to cover personally all departments of these
wide investigations in all these countries, experts in the
various departments under consideration were drafted
into the service. These have given themselves to the
task with an enthusiasm, and have taken up the work
with a thoroughness, that is beyond all praise. Some of
these specialists have each sent out hundreds of enquiries
to those who, in turn, were specialists in a narrower
sphere, and have obtained, in many instances, data and
opinions of exceptional worth. These returns, after
careful comparison and selection, have been compressed
into reports rendered by these corresponding members
to the Commission as a whole. Not a few of the lines
of research have never before been attempted, and the
returns obtained, which, in many instances, reveal
conditions and situations that are most surprising,
cannot fail to be of permanent value to Missionary
Societies and Boards. This is the only Commission
which has not been largely dependent for accurate
information upon returns from missionaries and experts
in the mission fields. In only a few instances have we
been able to appeal to missionaries for aid in our work.
The information to be secured was so completely connected
with the home offices, and had to deal so exclusively
with home constituencies, that the sources from whicli
data must be sought were at home and not abroad.
There is another phase of this Report which needs
to be explained and safeguarded, that is the large
INTRODUCTION 5
amount of space given to material ways and means of
extending information, securing candidates, raising up
effective leaders in the Churches, and administering the
Societies at home, as contrasted with the comparatively
brief references to the Holy Spirit and His perpetual
guidance and aid, without which all the plans and
devices of men must come to nought. It is taken for
granted by the Commission that everything must depend
upon Divine guidance, wisdom, and power. Whoever
neglects to grasp this truth, and to act in accordance
therewith, must fail. In the preparation of missionary
literature, in the promotion of missionary study, in all
endeavour to enlist the hearts of young people in the
cause of personal service, in the details of administration
of the Societies and Boards, and in the appeal to the wide
constituencies for financial support, every plan must be
made, and every step taken as the Holy Spirit shall
direct. All, in order to succeed, must begin, continue,
and end in waiting upon God, and everything must be
bound to the throne by that golden chain of prayer and
intercession, which makes us partners with the Father,
Son, and Spirit in the Divine task of redeeming the world.
CHAPTER I
THE SPIRITUAL RESOURCES OF THE
CHURCH
IN dealing with, the Home Base of Missions, the Commis-
sion is concerned with the whole subject of the means
by which the Church at home may adequately discharge
its responsibility for the evangelisation of the world.
It is evident that this problem is not one of machinery,
but of life. The mere multiplication of machinery does
not necessarily increase power. The subject which has
been entrusted to the Commission to investigate drives us
back at every turn to the question of the spiritual con-
dition of the home Church, Has that Church sufficient
vitality for the tremendous task to which it is called ?
Wherever a belief is intensely and passionately held it
naturally and inevitably propagates itself. It does not
need wealth or numbers to cause it to spread. Re-
peatedly in history one man with a conviction has been
more powerful than a mighty host. The Christian
Church, if it were possessed, mastered, and dominated
by the faith which it professes, could easily evangelise
the world. When, therefore, we direct out attention to
the Home Base of Missions, we realise that the funda-
mental problem is that of the depth and sincerity of the
religious experience of the Church, the quality of its
obedience, the intensity and daring of its faith.
It is certain that the spiritual resources of the Church
are more than sufficient for the accomplishment of the
work if the Church will avail itself of them. To be con-
vinced of this we have only to take time to reflect upon
SPIRITUAL RESOURCES 7
what we mean when we speak of GOD. Can God be
defeated ? Can His purpose fail ? Nineteen centuries
have passed, yet the Church has not put fully to the
test of experience the words of Christ : " Have faith in
God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto
this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea ;
and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what
he saith cometh to pass ; he shall have it." For the
early Christians the resurrection of Christ signified the
breaking in upon human life of a new world of triumph
and hope. They were conscious of a spiritual experience
which they described in such terms as these : " We know
that we have passed from death unto life." The " power
of His resurrection "is a spiritual reality, the full
meaning of which Christian faith has yet to discover.
Nor have we yet proved in sufficient measure the power
and influence of the Holy Spirit, as the indwelling and
vitalising energy of a new, abundant, and constantly
expanding life.
It is not necessary for us to dwell at length on these
things, for they lie at the foundation of the whole Con-
ference and do not belong to the sphere of any single
Commission. It is necessary, however, that we should
recall them to our minds, at the outset of our considera-
tion of the subject entrusted to us, to which they
stand in a vital and fundamental relation.
While it would be outside the scope of this Report to
dwell at length on the means by which the Christian
Church may learn to avail itself more fully of the spiritual
resources open to it, one aspect of the subject demands
our special consideration, viz., the promotion of prayer
for missions.
This is not the place to enter into the grounds for
believing that prayer is an irresistible force. It is sufficient
to say that any view of the conduct of the work of the
Church that does not place supreme reliance upon prayer
is at variance with the entire teaching of the New Testa-
ment. No thoughtful reader of the Gospels can fail to
recognise the pre-eminent place which Jesus Christ gave
8 THE HOME BASE
to prayer both in His teaching and in the practice of His
own life. The greatest leaders of the missionary enter-
prise have been men of prayer. The volume of testimony
is overwhelming that " Prayer is power ; the place of
prayer is the place of power ; the man of prayer is the
man of power."
The need of prayer for missions is evident when we
give thought to the circumstances under which missionary
work is carried on. Were missionaries to go forth, a
company of strangers and foreigners, to ask the peoples
of Asia and Africa to change some habit of dress or social
custom, their task might seem almost impossible. How
infinitely more difficult it is to ask these peoples to accept
a teaching that will revolutionise their whole life ! There
is nothing magical in the crossing of the seas that renders
missionaries immune from the temptations, the weaknesses
of character, the unbelief that deadens the life of the
Church that sends them forth. The project might well
seem hopeless, unless we believed in the spiritual resource
of prayer. The neglect of prayer by the Church at home
means defeat at the front of the battle. " We know not/'
it has been truly said, "when the missionary stands
before his greatest opportunity. We know not when
fierce temptation may sweep in upon him like a flood.' 1
If he is to be victorious in his great adventure, he needs
the prayers of the Church at home. Not less great is
the need of the native Church for prayer. The battle
with the world, the flesh, and the devil is at least as stern
and difficult for the members of that Church as it is for
those who live in Christian lands. They are without the
traditions and sacred associations and Christian atmo-
sphere that aid the building of character in Western
countries. In many instances their lives have been
wrenched from their old moorings and from social supports
on which men naturally lean. Beset by difficulties
without and within, the Christians of these lands are
called to the gigantic and humanly impossible task of
winning their own nation for Christ. Without the help
of prayer how can they be sufficient for these things ?
SPIRITUAL RESOURCES 9
The widespread enquiries of the Commission on this
topic have shown that the use of special forms of missionary
intercession, in the shape of manuals and cycles and
calendars, is very general. Every missionary agency has
come to regard it as a first concern in organisation to
gather together bands of praying men and women, and
to supply these with helps to regular and intelligent
intercession. The American section of the Commission
has gone further and has given considerable attention to
the possibility of organising " A Common Prayer Cycle
for all the World," in order that all those who are engaged
in the missionary enterprise should be united, not only
in one heart, but in one voice in promoting the cause. It
is possible that this Conference may prove to be the
origin of some such prayer cycle, though it does not seem
desirable, at the present juncture, to do more than
mention the proposal.
Experience would seem to show that if prayer cycles
and calendars are to be of the greatest service "to those
who use them, they should contain, in addition to the
suggestion of special subjects for prayer, explanatory
notes designed to make prayer more intelligent and to
help prayer by making the subjects appeal more vividly
and powerfully to the imagination. It is further worthy
of consideration whether the issue of a fresh prayer
calendar annually, monthly, or quarterly is not of ad-
vantage, giving newness and variety in place of a stereo-
typed list of subjects, which is in danger of losing, through
familiarity, its power to stimulate. The form in which
such prayer calendars or intercession papers are issued
needs careful attention. Their use may be furthered or
hindered according to the ease or difficulty with which
they can be kept constantly at hand in a Bible or Prayer
Book. We would, moreover, emphasise the fact that the
encouragement and direction of the prayers of Christian
people is one of the highest and most difficult forms of
Christian service, and constitutes a special vocation. It
is important that those to whom this work is entrusted
should be chosen on account of their special gifts and
10 THE HOME BASE
aptitudes, as those are who are called to organising,
administrative, or editorial work in connection with the
missionary enterprise. It may be doubted whether the
whole subject of the best and most helpful means of
promoting systematic prayer for missions has yet received
the careful thought and serious investigation that its
importance deserves,
EDUCATION IN PRAYER
To have arrived at the universal recognition of the
necessity of intercession, and of securing a widespread
and intelligent scheme of intercession based on knowledge,
such as is evidenced by the prayer cycles now so commonly
in use, is to have made very substantial advance ; but it
needs to be borne in mind that, after all, the issue of aids
to prayer, however numerous, and of incentives, how-
ever excellent, is not thereby to have created a body of
praying men and women. The free distribution of
musical instruments does not create a body of musicians,
nor can the free circulation of missionary prayer manuals
and cycles make missionary interceders. These are
only aids to those who can and who desire to intercede,
and only those will experience this desire and power
who have learned something, not only of the value,
but also of the art of prayer. This leads to a final con-
viction that none can pray their best few can pray
with any fulness of effect who have not received some
careful training in the practice of prayer, and who have
not acquired as well the grace of holy perseverance in it.
Professor Gustav Warneck of Halle reminds us in his
paper on Prayer for Missions of a truth which we are
in constant danger of overlooking, viz., that " it is much
more difficult to pray for missions than to give to them.
We can only really pray for missions if we habitually
lead a life of prayer, and a life of prayer can only
be led if we have entered into a life of communion with
God."
The question then which -calls for the serious attention
SPIRITUAL RESOURCES 11
of the Church seems to be how best to develop and train
in the Christian soul the desire and the capacity for
prayer. The Commission would lay special emphasis
on the fact that the real problem is not the increase
or the improvement of aids to prayer or the multi-
plication of exhortations to prayer, but the securing
of a body of Christian people who by earnest and
sustained effort have become proficient in the practice
of prayer.
The Catholic Church has from the earliest ages recog-
nised this vital need for her children and has endeavoured
to supply it by forms of prayer. The Day Hours of the
Church, consisting of Psalms, Bible lections, and prayer
devotions, have from the earliest times formed part of
the Church's daily worship and devotions. These in
many branches and provinces of the Catholic Church
have remained in their unaltered form from time im-
memorial. In the Church of England they have in
recent centuries been united into the present offices
of Morning and Evening Prayer, which are enjoined to
be used daily throughout the year. These devotions
serve a double purpose. They are not only a daily prayer
meeting, morning by morning, and evening by evening,
where praise and thanksgiving, supplication and inter-
cession all find a place, but they are at the same time
the training schools of the Christian soul in the holy art
of prayer. The constant part which the people are called
upon to take in versicle and response, in united repetition
of the Psalms, and in the joint devotions by minister
and people, all have as their object the training and
cultivating of the soul in the practice of prayer ; while
the intercessions which form a not inconspicuous part of
the daily offices, serve in developing in the worshipper
the habit of intercession.
Further, the Holy Communion has from apostolic
times formed part of the weekly, frequently the daily,
worship of the Catholic Church, and the liturgies of
East and West which enshrine this Holy Sacrament,
abounding as they do in petition, supplication, adora-
12 THE HOME BASE
tion, and intercession, have reared up countless souls in
the habit and practice of prayer.
But forms of prayer have their serious dangers, and
the formalism of forms has produced in many cases a
not unnatural reaction. The majority of those taking
part in the Conference are probably connected with
branches of the Christian Church which eschew forms
of prayer and seek for free and spontaneous expression
in the systematic habit of extemporary prayer. There
are dangers, it is readily recognised, along this course too,
and while those who have in the past laid special stress
on extemporary prayer are not indisposed at times to
use time-honoured forms, those who have clung perhaps
too tenaciously to forms of prayer are recognising the
value also of more inspirational and spontaneous
devotions.
Where public worship is conducted independently of
prescribed forms of prayer, greater freedom and variety
are possible in leading the thoughts of the congregation
in prayer for missions. It is the experience of many
pastors that a genuine missionary spirit in their people
can be cultivated by directing their thoughts in prayer
to the great missionary task of the Church more than in
any other way. If this education is to be successfully
carried out, the pastor himself must be possessed of a
missionary spirit, and must give special thought to the
preparation of his prayers so that he may avoid mere
formal petitions and make his people feel that he is giving
utterance to a deep and real and urgent need. Whether the
form of service be liturgical or follows no prescribed form,
there should be, Sunday by Sunday, definite remembrance
in prayer of the missionary work of the Christian
Church.
Prayer gatherings for intercession on behalf of the
missionary work of the Church, whether held monthly or
weekly, or at more frequent intervals, serve an invaluable
purpose. They are useful occasions for the regular use
of the missionary prayer cycles and prayer topics which
are now so numerously issued. But more than this,
SPIRITUAL RESOURCES 1$
they are the training schools of prayer, where prayer
habits may be fostered, prayer exercises may be prac-
tised, and prayer lessons may be learned.
There can be no doubt that side by side with the
issue of prayer leaflets, with prayer teachings and prayer
exhortations from the pulpit, with the daily services
and devotions of the Church, should go the united
prayer practice, and the united prayer offerings of
weekly prayer meetings. The time has plainly shown
itself to be ripe for increasing and developing such
gatherings.
The growing conviction of the necessity of prayer
as the one victorious force in the great campaign, the
daily calls which come from the advance guards for the
reinforcements of prayer, the extreme difficulty and
many obstacles which are experienced by all who seek
to advance in the holy art, and the inspiration and in-
centive to be derived from such united acts all
these point to the pressing importance of maintaining,
developing, and enlarging as occasion offers, these prayer
meetings of the Church. Prayer Conventions, whole
day prayer gatherings, annual weeks of prayer, all
these are possible enlargements and outgrowths which
have already been tried, and already proved fruitful
in blessing.
It is often forgotten by those who are responsible for
the conduct of prayer meetings for missions that careful
preparation is needed on the part of those in charge.
Prayer is never easy, and cannot be entered into without
definite preparation of mind and heart. This is necessary
not only for the leader of the meeting, but for all present,
if they are to participate in the ministry of intercession.
The whole plan of the meetings needs careful thought.
The subjects for prayer must be explained and set before
the people, so that they feel inwardly stirred to pray,
and preparatory exercises are necessary to make vivid
to the mind the privilege of prayer and to awaken a
sense of God's presence. Pains need to be taken to make
all realise that it is a serious business in which they are
14 THE HOME BASE
engaged, and that in Christ's teaching prayer is
not the utterance of vague aspirations, but has been
divinely ordained to receive definite and unmistakable
answers.
It is an advantage when on special occasions Christian
people can join unitedly in intercession for the missionary
work of the Church. In the Church of England, a day
of intercession for foreign missions was inaugurated
in 1872 at the suggestion of the Society for the Propaga-
tion of the Gospel, which was then suffering from a lack
of recruits, and the Church Missionary Society cordially
accepted an invitation to co-operate. In the first few
months following its first observance, both Societies
received a large number of offers of service. The move-
ment has been observed with regularity ever since, a.nd
has been fruitful in almost every parish in increasing
the volume of prayer for foreign missions.
A special opportunity for remembering the world-wide
work of the Church is afforded by daily family worship.
The use of a missionary prayer cycle at family prayers
will daily bring the needs of the world before the house-
hold, and will both prove a spiritual education to those
who assemble for worship, and afford help and strength
to those who are toiling at the front.
That those who love this work and bear it upon their
hands and hearts will follow the scriptural injunction to
pray unceasingly for its triumph, we take for granted.
To such, not only the morning watch and the hours of
stated devotions, but all times and seasons will witness
an attitude of intercession that refuses to let God go until
He crown His workers with victory. Such praying souls
impart their life of faith to those with whom they come
into contact, and thus the circle of devout and faithful
disciples will widen, until all who believe and labour
and wait will also pray.
For the accomplishment of the evangelisation of the
world the supremely important thing is not a great
number of missionaries, nor an unlimited amount of
financial support, but spiritual power in the Church.
SPIRITUAL RESOURCES 15
The Church is not straitened in God. It is implied in
our very thought of Him that with Him all things are
possible. What paralyses the energies of the Church
and allows it to suffer defeat is its own unbelief. The
work of evangelising the non- Christian world cannot be
done until the Church learns again to believe in the living
God to believe with childlike simplicity and unfaltering
trust.
Therefore, as in this Conference the Christian Church
ooks with a greater seriousness than ever before at the
problem of the non-Christian world, the call that is most
urgent and most insistent is that Christian men and
women should deeply resolve to venture out and make
trial of the unexplored depths of the character and the
resources of God. The missionary enterprise has led
many adventurous spirits to explore unknown territories
and tread unbeaten paths. The same spirit of adventure
is needed to discover the wealth and resources of life
in God. The work of evangelisation must wait
until Christian people resolutely set themselves to
put to the proof the availability of God for faith.
Many who cannot go to the mission field may have
a real share in the missionary labours of the Church
if they will give themselves to the mighty ministry
of prayer.
It is not sufficient in an hour of vision and aspiration
to dedicate ourselves to the work of intercession. Prayer
is the putting forth of vital energy. It is the highest
effort of which the human spirit is capable. Proficiency
and power in prayer cannot be attained without patient
continuance and much practice. As has already been
urged, the primary need is not the multiplication of
prayer meetings or the more extensive circulation of
prayer calendars, but that individual Christians should
learn to pray. If this work is to be taken seriously,
the hour of prayer must be definitely set apart and
jealously guarded in spite of weariness and many dis-
tractions. The secret and art of prayer can only be
learned from the teaching of the Master Himself, and by
16 THE HOME BASE
patient study of the best books on the subject. 1 If the
Conference in Edinburgh should lead some resolutely
and irrevocably to enter into the school of prayer, the
spiritual power of the Church for the accomplishment of
its great task would be immeasurably increased.
When the Church sets itself to pray with the same
seriousness and strength of purpose that it has devoted
to other forms of Christian effort, it will see the Kingdom
of God come with power.
1 Special reference may be made to : Andrew Murray, With
Christ in the School of Prayer (Nisbet, is. ; F. H. Revell Co.).
M'Clure, A Mighty Means of Usefulness (F. H. Revell Co., 50
cents) ; Austin Phelps, The Still Hour (Gardner, Paisley ; Lothrop
and Lee and Shepard Co., 60 cents); Moule, Secret Prayer. Two
pamphlets also deserve attention : Warneck, Prayer for Missions ;
Speer, Prayer and Missions (both published by the Student
Volunteer Missionary Union and the Student Volunteer Move-
ment, 5 cents each).
CHAPTER II
THE PROMOTION OF MISSIONARY IN-
TELLIGENCE THROUGH REGULAR
CHURCH SERVICES AND AGENCIES
THE Church itself as an organisation is fundamentally a
Missionary Society. It prays " Thy Kingdom come," and
its commission is to "preach the Gospel to every creature/'
While the formation of organised societies is essential to
the proper conduct of the business of missions, the Church
itself in all its branches is by right and commission
responsible for the dissemination of a true missionary
spirit among its members. There is no society or
organisation that can do the work of the Church in
this respect. Outside organisations may aid the Church
in the performance of her functions through her
regular officers and leaders in the promotion of mission-
ary knowledge and interest, but it is the Church itself,
alert and aggressive, that is the legitimate and true
director. In all this work /the pastor is the proper
and recognised leader.
I. THE WORK OF THE PASTOR
In the work of the home ministry is found the secret
of the real condition existing in the Church. If the pastor
is a missionary enthusiast, his people are sure to gain
much of the same spirit and become a missionary force.
If, on the other hand, he is indifferent and thoughtless,
nothing by way of organisation can make up for the lack,
COM. VI. 2
18 ~ THE HOME BASE
And if his interest is simply the result of a perfunctory sense
of duty to present the subject without the real inspiration
that comes from an intelligent understanding and know-
ledge of the world field, the result is superficial and forced.
One of our ablest students of the subject writes : " The
real lack with the pulpit is not in the intention or willing-
ness of the pastor, but in the genuine enthusiasm which
grows out of a thorough knowledge and heart touch with the
fields and with the cause"
Where there is a wealth of information there is always
force in the presentation of the subject, and the people
become aroused and actively responsive. Many pastors
preach regularly missionary sermons, and a still greater
number preach missionary sermons on special occasions.
Many others report that such sermons are preached about
the time of the annual or special offerings. From some
of our correspondents we learn that many pastors have
found large results from giving missions a place in their
public prayers.
A very general influence in awakening enthusiasm is
found in the continued use of missionary illustrations
in pulpit work. The pastors who keep in living touch
with the present missionary literature and regularly read
some of the new missionary books constantly use incidents
in the mission field for purposes of illustration, and
without relegating the presentation of missions to one or
two sermons during the year are continually giving to their
people the facts of missionary work without any professed
treatment of the subject. The result is that the people
are being reached and convinced without their recognising
it, which is certainly one of the favourable conditions for
securing results. Some pastors are giving missionary
travel talks on week nights, as well as on Sunday
evenings.
Some are trying to break down the unreasonable
prejudice which has arisen from the fact that missionary
addresses are usually connected with an appeal for an
offering. The people should be accustomed to the idea
that it is a part of the Christian's daily thought and
REGULAR CHURCH AGENCIES 19
responsibility, and that the gift of money though of
large importance is but one part of the responsibility
of the Christian steward. The influence of the missionary
sermon printed and distributed by the pastor through the
post to each member of the congregation is always very
great.
The conclusion as to the influence of the pulpit is
summed up in a sentence by a prominent American
pastor: " I am becoming persuaded that the simpler
the methods the better, and that no amount of machinery
can take the place of an earnest and passionate de-
termination that Jesus Christ may reign in the hearts
of men."
As a suggestion of some of the methods employed by
pastors to arouse the interest of their congregation in the
cause of missions, we would add that frequently many
pastors allude from the pulpit to particular articles which
have appeared in periodicals, magazines, and books as
of special interest. Many of the leaflets especially pre-
pared by Missionary Societies are enclosed by pastors
in personal letters to friends whom they wish to interest.
Some pastors find means of approach to their congrega-
tion in the church and parish papers, as well as local
denominational papers in some of the larger cities.
Through these papers, letters received from missionaries
supported by the local churches are printed and find
a wide reading because of the local personal interest
in the writer.
Church calendars and announcement sheets have been
used calling attention to certain articles of general as well
as personal interest in the wide field. Many pastors use
printed personal letters addressed to every member of
the congregation, frequently signed with their own hand,
calling attention to articles, tracts, and books upon the
subject of missions. Investigation shows that the alert
pastor is able to discover a multitude of personal avenues
of approach to his congregation through which he can turn
their thought and attention to the great world missionary
problem.
20 THE HOME BASE
II. THE MISSIONARY AWAKENING OF
BOYS AND GIRLS
As the promotion of mission study among young men and
young women by means of mission study classes is dealt
with in a separate division of our Report (see pp. 64-78),
that phase of the work will not be especially treated here.
It has seemed to the Commission that any attempt to
combine the careful Reports which have been prepared in
Great Britain and America on the question of promoting
missionary knowledge among boys and girls would be
beset with difficulties and would destroy the unity which
each report possessed. It has been decided, therefore,
to present separate Reports on this subject dealing with
the two countries, although each will be found to contain
matter that is of general interest and value.
(a) THE IMPORTANCE OF WORK AMONG CHILDREN
The leaders of the missionary enterprise are unanimous
in their judgment as to the imperative importance of
interesting the boyhood and girlhood of the Churches
in the work of foreign missions, although the extent to
which they have been able as yet to give expression
to their convictions considerably varies. It is coming to
be recognised as a scientific fact that the future depends
upon the education of the childhood of the race, in
missionary matters as in all others.
In recent years psychologists and religious educationists
have introduced another factor which has reinforced
their arguments as to the profound importance of mis-
sionary teaching in education. They have shown not
only that a comprehensive policy of missionary education
of the young is a necessity to missionary propaganda,
but that the missionary ideal has a unique contribution
to make to religious education, and is, in fact, a necessity
for the building of true Christian character.
REGULAK CHURCH AGENCIES 21
These arguments do not need any further development
here. We would only point out : (j) That, in the opinion
of many of those best able to judge, the present inability
and ineffectiveness of the Church, in view of her great
opportunities, is directly traceable to the lack of any
policy of missionary education of her children in the
past. (2) That the very greatness of the demands made
upon the Church at the opening of the twentieth century
constitutes an imperious necessity for comprehensive
and scientific propaganda for reaching the rising genera-
tion with the inspiration of the missionary idea.
It is taken for granted that in order to reach children,
teachers must be especially trained. Any plan for effect-
ively bringing to the attention of children the great
work of missions cannot fail to make provision for the
proper training of those who are to be the children's
teachers. At present practically nothing is done in this
direction.
(b) THE DANGERS
In laying the result of our enquiries before the Confer-
ence, we feel that we must insist from the first upon one
thing that has stood out in tremendous proportion from
all our investigations, viz. : that the work of interesting
boys and girls in foreign missions is not only full of hope
and possibilities, but fraught with very serious dangers.
Two of these demand a special emphasis.
(1) It is as easy in our well-meaning efforts to make
children dislike the whole thing as like it. In the mis-
sionary appeal we are handling what educationists agree
is in itself the most forceful religious appeal that can
come to a child, and if it fail to grip, the injury
to its faith and personal religion may be serious.
Success or failure depends, from the educational point
of view, upon the personality of the teacher and the
degree to which the methods adopted are suited to the
children.
(2) In other branches of education the teacher has
studied the child, and learnt to relate his subjects to those
22 THE HOME BASE
instincts, interests, and activities which are most alive
at each stage of the child's development. The secular
educationist has learnt to capture children's imagination
by suiting his methods and grading his teaching to
their capacity and instincts, from the kindergarten to
the sixth form. If we do less in missionary propaganda
we must fail accordingly.
In the face of these serious, and, we believe, imminent
dangers, we would point out that it is inadvisable
to carry out any missionary propaganda among boys
and girls apart from the study of the child and the
laws of education. To attempt to transfer adult mis-
sionary ideas into the thoughts of a child is courting
failure. Hence it is most desirable that the leadership
in work among young people should be entrusted by the
Missionary Societies to workers who have time and
opportunity to specialise upon child study.
With the above facts in our minds, we have set ourselves
not so much to count as to weigh what is at present
being done throughout the Churches to interest young
people in foreign missions. We have tried to discover
what methods are being employed by the various Societies,
\vhat methods have been most successful in the past,
and what methods they consider promise to be most
fruitful in the future. We have also consulted with those
who are acknowledged experts of the Churches upon the
religious education of children, with a view to unite their
judgment with the experience of the Societies^ in an
outline which we venture to put forward as indicating
the lines of a sound and worthy policy for the future.
(c) SUNDAY SCHOOLS OF AMERICA
One of the most encouraging features of missionary
advance is the rapid development of the work in the
Sunday School field during the last five years. The
unique opportunity in the Sunday School lies both in
\vhat it can do for missions at the present time, and also
for the effect of this work of education on the Church
REGULAR CHURCH AGENCIES 23
of the future. It has developed from two main sources
the activities of the Mission Boards and of those
organisations distinctly connected with Sunday Schools.
The Activities of Mission Boards
(1) The Young People's Missionary Movement.
Through this movement there has been in the United
States a federation of the Mission Boards for the work
of missionary education. To this movement probably
more than to any other agency is due the credit of awaken-
ing the Sunday Schools of America. Four special summer
conferences have been held for the consideration of this
subject, and it has received attention at all of the numerous
conferences and institutes of the Movement.
Probably the greatest contribution of the Movement
has been the preparation and publication of a high grade
literature for the use of the local Sunday School.
Libraries, study books, pictures, maps, charts, and pro-
grammes are provided for any and every use.
(2) The Denominational Societies. There are now
in America nearly thirty salaried officers in almost as
many Mission Boards, giving their time to the work
of missionary education among young people. The
Sunday School has a large claim on their efforts. Several
of the Missionary Societies have special Sunday School
secretaries.
Education in denominational work both at home and
abroad, with appeals for offerings, both systematic and
occasional, is a part of the activities of the educational
departments of the missionary organisations.
The Missionary Activities of the Sunday School
Organisations
(i)" The last three triennial conventions of the World's
Sunday School Association, held respectively in Jerusalem,
Rome, and Washington, D.C., have emphasised the im-
portance of the Sunday School in mission work* and the
24 THE HOME BASE
corresponding obligation upon the Sunday Schools at
home to know about it and contribute to it.
(2) The International Sunday School Association,
adopting a far-sighted missionary policy, has created a
missionary department and appointed a missionary
superintendent. Through these agencies the missionary
message will be brought to the attention of all the Sunday
School leaders.
(3) Following the example of the International
Association, about one-half of the States and provinces
of North America have created missionary departments,
and hundreds of counties have fallen into line.
(4) The denominational Sunday School Associations
have begun to create a missionary literature, and are
supplementing the denominational work of the Mission
Boards.
(5) The study of missions is finding a larger place
in the many lesson systems now offered to Sunday Schools.
The old International Uniform Lessons are now selected
with a view to giving more opportunity for the study
of the missionary message of the Bible. The new Inter-
national Graded Lessons are providing for the study of
missions "in course," in the Primary, Junior, Intermediate,
and Senior grades.
(6) The Sunday School Editorial Association of North
America has created a missionary department for the
purpose of studying the place of missions in the Sunday
School literature of all denominations. In both the
Lesson Helps and the Story Papers the missionary
message is finding prominent place.
Such great Churches as the Methodist-Episcopal
have organised all their Sunday Schools as Missionary
Societies. This has done much to increase missionary
interest and intelligence in their schools ; and although
this method has not been adopted by many other de-
nominations, still the general study of missions in the
Sunday School has become a matter of fact and of re-
cognised worth.
Some few schools have devised ways and means of
REGULAR CHURCH AGENCIES 25
their own to study particular portions of the work,
forming courses adapted to their own use. Recent
publications have done very much in this line. Our
correspondence reveals the fact that the Sunday School
feels to-day the need of just the stimulus and incentive
which will come from a world- wide study of the kingdom.
The various denominations both in Europe and in America
seem alive to the importance of emphasising this depart-
ment.
(d) SUNDAY SCHOOLS OF GREAT BRITAIN
We have been in correspondence with the secretaries
of Sunday School and Young People's Departments
of the various Churches, and the inter- denominational
Sunday School Unions. The place that is given to
foreign missionary work varies very greatly among them.
It cannot be denied that the three great inter- denomina-
tional Associations which perhaps command the greatest
expert opinion are far in advance of most of the de-
nominational Unions.
One of the fundamental aims of the World's Sunday
School Association is " to keep the world view of
Sunday School work before school officers and teachers,
and, further, to extend such work by co-operation with
missionary and Sunday School organisations in different
parts of the world."
The Sunday School Union keeps the idea of missions
to the front in its conferences, and to some extent in the
syllabuses it issues. Among its literature is a very valu-
able pamphlet entitled, How a Sunday School hetys
Foreign Missions, showing "how an individual school
of 900 scholars by systematising and vitalising its methods
increased its giving to missions from 80 ($392) per year
to an average of over 387 ($1896) per year." The Union
also, no doubt, gains fresh inspiration from the similar
Unions with which it is linked, and which it helps to
support in some parts of the mission field.
The Scottish National Sabbath School Union includes
missionary subjects in the programme for its Convention,
26 THE HOME BASE
and its syllabus provides more material, perhaps, than
any other upon missionary teaching. The leaders in
these associations place emphasis on the fact that the
missionary idea is necessary to a complete religious
education.
With this lead it is surprising to find how very small
a place most of the denominational Sunday School
organisations give to foreign missions, and that in many
of their syllabuses and outline lessons there is practically
no distinct teaching on foreign missions whatever.
This they would justify, in many cases, by saying that
they " leave it to the Societies/' The result seems to be
better than the theory, for in a very large number of
Sunday Schools the outline missionary lessons issued by
the Societies are used on several Sundays in the year*
and seem to be greatly valued.
The position is one that should be recognised in the
Sunday School world, and as long as the Sunday School
syllabuses in the various denominations do not provide
for adequate teaching concerning the primary duty of
the Church of Christ, superintendents and teachers
should set aside certain Sundays for this teaching (al-
though they have to break in upon a " course " to do so),
and apply for outline lessons to the Missionary Societies
of their denominations.
At the same time, we would point out that a great change
of attitude in the Sunday Schools with regard to foreign
missions may be expected when the missionary teaching
of the Bible finds its place in the syllabuses, when missions
are an essential and normal part of every Sunday School
curriculum, and the meaning and necessity of world
evangelisation is clearly taught. Even if a great deal
more were done than at present to give missions a place
in the Sunday School, this alone would not be sufficient
to train the Church of to-morrow for the task that lies
before it. In the nature of the case it is the function of
true religious teaching to lay the foundations of missionary
building.
REGULAR CHURCH AGENCIES 27
(e) WORK AMONG BOYS AND GIRLS IN GREAT
BRITAIN OUTSIDE THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
It can hardly be expected that a school curriculum
should include, for instance, systematic teaching about
non-Christian faiths, or attempt to give that accurate
knowledge of missionary problems, methods, and results
that makes a properly equipped home worker, or gives
a sound preparation for work in the foreign field. Nor is
it generally possible within school hours to draw out
those activities of children, the exercise of which teach
the deepest and most lasting lessons.
Limitations to school teaching are also imposed by the
facts as they are to-day, and of these the most important
feature is the character equipment of the teachers. The
teacher cannot lead children beyond the point which he
has himself reached. This imposes a limit to missionary
teaching in the Sunday School. A teacher can teach
purity and truth only if he is pure and true himself ; and,
similarly, he can teach missionary duty effectively only if
he be himself in some sense a worker for foreign missions.
Our correspondence has revealed the fact that in a great
number of instances in Sunday Schools, the most serious
hindrance to missionary teaching, and its severest limit,
lies in the apathy of nominally Christian teachers to
their own responsibility as regards foreign missions.
Within the last few years there has been a great advance
in the policy of the Missionary Societies as regards Young
People's work. A few have appointed secretaries to give
their whole thought and energy to it, have established
Young People's Departments, and have a thought-out
policy as regards it. But, considering that the whole
future of the missionary enterprise is bound up with the
training of our young people, it is a most serious thing
that in a large number of Churches the whole responsi-
bility of missionary work among children is left to an
already overworked official, who has no opportunity to
specialise upon children or time to study education ;
and that not a few Societies trust to the holding of an
28 THE HOME BASE
occasional missionary meeting, or the unco-ordinated
efforts of local friends, to train up the rising generation
for the evangelisation of the world.
The true missionary motive, namely, loyalty and
obedience to the Master in reference to His great resur-
rection command, should be kept prominently before
children at the time when their moral character and
religious life are developing. It would seem to be a
policy of the worst extravagance to impair, for the reasons
of supposed economy, the efficiency of missionary work
among children of the Churches at this time.
Methods of Enlisting the Interest and Service of Children
A series of questions were sent out to those who are
responsible for the work that is done among boys and girls
in connection with the larger Missionary Societies of
Great Britain, and also to representative successful workers
among children nominated by them.
The first two questions were aimed at eliciting what
they considered the most efficient methods of interesting
children in missions. A list of methods was given,
and they were asked to put these and any others in what
they considered to be their order of importance.
The result is to give a practically unanimous first place
to
" Consecutive courses of missionary instruction or
study apart from Sunday School lessons/'
" Children's working parties or similar outlets for
active help " comes out second.
" Definite missionary lessons in Sunday School and
constant illustrations of Bible teaching by reference to
missions " come out together third in the voting, and
should no doubt have a primary place of fundamental
importance if they were more widely encouraged, or even
permitted, in Sunday Schools.
" Missionary addresses to children " conies next, with
significant riders added in the majority of cases " if
good " and " if followed up by other methods.
REGULAR CHURCH AGENCIES 29
In this connection an important suggestion is made by
more than one correspondent that there is need of a
manual for missionary speakers to children, written by
an expert for inter- denominational use.
The following methods were difficult to assign to a
proper place upon the list, because the answers with
regard to them varied very widely with the experience of
the Societies and their own propaganda and methods, and
the answers were often hedged in by conditions and
suppositions such as " if good/' " if possible/ 1 "if
allowed " :
" Children's missionary intercession services or prayer
meetings."
" Giving vital and spiritual meaning to children's
gifts to missions/'
" Children's literature."
" Missionary recitations and entertainments given by
children."
We have sought to gather together the experience of
the Societies as regards each of these methods, and from
this to draw out the vital principles of these methods and
the conditions of their success.
(i) Consecutive Courses of Missionary Instruction and
Missionary Study. The two names seem to be used to
connote the same idea, which is to get the children them-
selves to concentrate their niinds upon a consecutive
course of missionary instruction planned out on educa-
tional lines. The ideal thing where the leader works
with a few children is called a " study band," and,
where circumstances make this impossible, and the course
is taken with larger numbers of children, it is spoken
of as "missionary instruction." The term missionary
study will be used to include both.
Modern methods of missionary study for children are a
growth of the last five years, although some Societies
had been moving previously in that direction. Several
useful text-books for the purpose have already been issued
by various Societies. There was need of more co-opera-
tion and co-ordination of these efforts in the way that is
30 THE HOME BASE
now being done by the United Conference on Missionary
Education. Up to the present only two grades of text-
books have been attempted, a Junior and an Inter-
mediate, but we believe that there should be three or
four grades of missionary text-books for children, as there
are of text-books on other subjects. The large majority
of our correspondents are of opinion that for the Junior
grades text-books should be provided for the teachers
only, but that in the Intermediate grades the text-books
should be such as the boys and girls themselves can
possess and read, with outlines for study circles provided
for the leaders.
The experience of three Societies which have promoted
and cultivated children's missionary study we believe
has proved :
(a) That it is practicable. (In connection with one
Society alone over 20,000 boys and girls were
taking one of these courses last year.)
(b) Its pre-eminent value as a means of reaching
children deeply with the missionary appeal,
resulting in many setting their faces towards
the foreign field, in eager work and increased
gifts.
(c) That missionary study bands are a most effective
evangelistic agency. Many boys and girls
who have before been deaf to all appeals,
have in them heard the voice of Christ calling
them to lives of heroism and devotion for His
sake and the world's.
(d) That the conduct of such scientific missionary
study on lines which are psychologically
sound has very greatly improved the teaching
in many Sunday Schools.
(2) Children's Working Parties and Similar Outlets for
Activity. It is coining to be recognised that the
importance of these things which enlist a child's activity
unselfishly lies in their value for training and for char-
acter building, and that the spirit of love can only effectu-
ally be cultivated by the activities of love.
REGULAR CHURCH AGENCIES 31
Our correspondence shows that both educational
experts and experienced workers consider them an
essential feature of any propaganda for the missionary
education of children.
They maintain that there is no graver mistake than
to arouse children's keenness about foreign missions
and then not to give them some useful service to do
for the cause. We believe that no missionary appeal
to children can be lastingly fruitful which ignores the
keen desire for useful activity so characteristic of child-
hood and adolescence, inasmuch as it is contrary to the
law of psychology, which declares that there is no lasting
impression without expression.
(3) Missionary Teaching in Sunday School, and Other
Bible Instruction. The question of definite "Mis-
sionary Lessons " in the Sunday School course has
already been discussed (see pp. 24-26). The even more
important point is that the missionary thought which
runs right through the Bible, and the great missionary
intent and contents of the New Testament, should be
clearly brought out in the ordinary course of Scripture
teaching. Granted that this cannot be done until
Sunday School teachers themselves see it, feel it, and
live it, some very definite outlines are needed to show
teachers how to express it and teach it to their children.
More should be done in this direction also by suitable
lectures to Sunday School teachers.
Similarly, much more use should be made of missionary
stories to illustrate Bible truths. As children learn most
from pictures in strong colours, so the best illustrations
come from where the light of the Gospel is seen against
the dark background of heathendom. Therefore, if those
who prepare Sunday School courses draw more largely
upon the mission field for their illustrations, the teaching
would be enriched, and the reflex action upon foreign
missions would be very considerable.
(4) Giving Vital and Spiritual Meaning to Children's
Gifts. We have had a great deal of correspondence upon
this point. There is wide divergence of opinion as to
32 THE HOME BASE
how it should be done, but there seems to be unanimous
opinion upon two points :
(a) That the gifts which children give in Sunday
Schools can be used as a means and channel
of education and inspiration.
(5) That at present, in the vast majority of cases, the
giving to missions in Sunday Schools is
mechanical and uninspired, and often meaning-
less to the children.
Our investigations lead us to the conclusion that in
the Sunday Schools and Young People's Societies,
Christian giving is very seldom regarded as an act of
worship, and that children need much more to be taught
the spiritual meaning of giving to God.
The whole burden of our correspondence, both with
Societies and with educational experts, leads us to depre-
cate strongly any system of reward for children's work
and gifts.
The other point to which we have devoted special
attention is the policy of inviting children's gifts to
special objects. There is conflicting practice and opinion
among the Societies on the point. That it immediately
" pays " is not denied. Some Societies, however, de-
precate the system, not merely on the grounds of its
producing embarrassment in administration, but as being
a bad education for children and tending to missionary
" parochialism." They consider that children should
be trained to give to the work of their Church, and to
trust the Societies to administer the money in the wisest
way.
We have, therefore, taken the advice of expert educa-
tionists upon this subject, not as a question of finance
or convenience, but of education ; and we find them to be
unanimously in favour of the gifts of children being
devoted to special objects in the mission field (pre-sup-
posing that the objects are well chosen, the scheme
carefully managed, and the contact between the " object J)
and the children is kept well alive), as calculated to
give the children a better understanding of missionary
REGULAR CHURCH AGENCIES 33
problems, a keener sense of the whole field, and a more
personal responsibility thereto.
It is true to the law of child psychology that children's
minds move from the concrete to the abstract, from the
particular to the general, and from the example to the law.
On the other hand, from the standpoint of administra-
tion, it must be admitted that there are serious difficulties
in the way of tying up the gifts of children to specific
objects.
(5) Children's Corporate Prayer for Missions. It
appears from our correspondence that, except in one
or two Societies, very little attention has been given as
yet to training children in the privilege of united In-
tercession for Missions. All our correspondents agree
that much more could and should be done.
Missionary Literature for Children
We have examined the missionary literature (books,
magazines, and pamphlets) at present available in Great
Britain, both those issued by the Missionary Societies
and by other publishers. We have also taken the opinion
of educationists and of missionary workers upon its
use, its suitability, and its adequacy.
There is unanimous opinion that a children's magazine
is (at least ideally) the most useful form of literature
for children. Books come next, and pamphlets third.
There seems to be strong opinion that there are far too
many free pamphlets of very poor quality issued, and that
this indiscriminate use is wasteful extravagance, and
calculated, on the whole, to be injurious to the cause.
Magazines, We have sought to get together some
constructive suggestions upon children's missionary
magazines. There appears to be unanimous agreement
upon the following points :
I. That no one children's magazine can hope to cover
all ages of children from six or seven to eighteen
years of age, and it should not attempt to do
so. A magazine can only succeed if it aims
COM. vj. 3
U THE HOME BASE
directly either at younger or older children,
(If the latter, a special page or inset might be
provided for the younger ones.) Two grades
of missionary magazines for young people are
really needed.
2. The magazine should be issued not less frequently
than monthly.
3. On the whole, specialising on a subject or a
country in one number, or in a few con-
secutive numbers, is a wise plan.
4. An intimate human touch of a " personal " kind
in child journalistic form is most valuable as
an introduction or setting for articles on
missionary work. In other words, an Editor
who writes in the first person direct to his
readers (e.g. "Uncle Toby," i{ Aunt Minda,"
etc., in the secular press), and seeks in his
person to bridge home service and the foreign
field.
Books. We have received many indictments and many
commendations of the missionary books at present avail-
able for children of all ages, and also many suggestions
on ; the subject.
After carefully sifting the evidence, we find that there
is unanimity of opinion that
(r) The standard of children's missionary books
leaves much to be desired, in view of the
quality of other books for children in these
days.
(2) That the supply would be fairly adequate (but
for one or two notable deficiencies, e.g. in
books suitable for the kindergarten age and
for public schoolboys) if all that is published
were generally known and generally available,
which is not the case at present.
The only adequate remedy of these very serious con-
ditions is united action by the various Missionary
Societies with regard to missionary books, and we would
add that this is an immediate and urgent demand.
EEGULAE CHURCH AGENCIES 35
Small editions of books published by the Societies,
limited in sale by their own imprints, cannot hope to
compete with the big editions issued by the modern
publishers, either in quality, or appearance, or price.
Moreover, there are many books published by different
Societies having a message for other constituencies and
denominations which are unknown outside the clientele
of the Society which publishes them.
Only by united action is it possible to survey the
literature in existence, and supply the deficiencies.
Moreover, co-operation would enable the Societies to
lead public opinion in this matter instead of being obliged
to follow it ; to create the right demand by offering the
right supply. At present, generally speaking, they are
often only strong enough to supply whatever may happen
to be in demand.
(/) POLICY FOR THE FUTURE
The Church is straitened to-day, conscious that
ignorance, apathy, and a low standard and ideal of the
Christian life are at the root of her inability to meet
responsibility towards the world.
We venture to ask its leaders to consider to what extent
this is due to lack of sound missionary education and
training in its childhood.
Moreover, when the task of enlisting sufficient support
from the home Church even for present comparatively
meagre missionary propaganda becomes increasingly
difficult, we submit that the field of work among children
and young people is open, responsive, and more full of
hope for the future than any other, and that at
present what is being done to cultivate it is utterly
inadequate.
We ask the Edinburgh Conference to consider whether
a strong, deliberate, worthy policy to win the children
to the cause and train them up from childhood as workers
in it, is not the only hope for a Church strong enough
and true enough to evangelise the world.
36 THE HOME BASE
We submit that the following are the principles of a
worthy policy for the Churches and Societies in young
people's work :
(1) That all methods should be shaped with regard
to the future.
(2) That their dominant note and aim should be
character building.
(3) That the efforts of the Societies and the Churches
should be directed towards extensive educa-
tion and intensive cultivation.
Extensive Education
We believe that the foundation of a new spirit regard-
ing foreign missions should be laid in the religious
teaching of our day and Sunday Schools, and that the
Christian conscience of the country should declare
that Christian education which is not missionary in
spirit and character is not worthy of the name, and
that the leaders of the Churches should see to it that
definite teaching concerning missionary work is included
in every syllabus of religious education.
Intensive Culture
Even though missionary teaching were universal, we
submit that the richest fruits will be lost unless there go
with it a policy of concentrating upon and cultivating
the few those boys and girls whose hearts God has
manifestly touched, and who will make in future days
the foreign missionaries and staunch home supporters
of foreign missions. We believe that herein lies the
secret of securing an adequate supply of both. Children
need personal attention, personal study, and personal
educating in the fullest sense.
The intensive cultivation which we believe will yield
the best results will aim at enlisting and cultivating
REGULAR CHURCH AGENCIES 37
devotion, thought, activity, and responsibility In the child
for the evangelisation of the world. 1
III. MEN'S AND WOMEN'S LOCAL
ORGANISATIONS
WOMEN'S ORGANISATIONS
Under another section of this Report in which the
relation of the women's Boards to the general denomina-
tional Societies is discussed, the great value of women's
missionary organisations to the cause of missions is
acknowledged. But in addition to these, within a local
church itself, in many cases, the women direct the only
missionary organisation that exists. In many congrega-
tions in England they are the principal collectors of the
funds used for the foreign missionary enterprise. In
America in many instances they are the organisers of the
young people into mission bands, and the promoters of
mission study among the young. Another section discusses
the work of women's organisations.
MEN'S ORGANISATIONS
On both sides of the Atlantic men's associations and
societies are beginning to consider seriously the relation-
ship of men to the evangelisation of the world. Many of
these associations have been organised on purely social
grounds ; some on Bible study grounds ; others on the
basis of personal evangelism. All, however, are beginning
to awake to a sense of responsibility in the world field,
and we judge from various reports that this department
of endeavour among the men will receive much attention
during the next few weeks.
In America the denominational brotherhoods are
1 We have not given the Sunday School separate treatment in
the consideration of this phase ol our subject, but leave to each
denomination in all countries to apply these universal principles
of training to the children under their care, always including the
Sunday School, which we regard as one of the most important
departments of the Church, and the most promising field for the
successful application of missionary instruction.
38 THE HOME BASE
devoting definite attention to the subject of world- wide
evangelisation. Through the circulation of missionary
literature and the conducting of missionary meetings they
are promoting missionary intelligence in the congregations.
Large Bible classes for men in some of the city churches
are also taking on departments for missionary propaganda
and the study of world problems. Not a few local
brotherhoods and Bible classes are maintaining their own
representatives on the foreign field. In the Presbyterian
Church in the United States of America a vigorous and
effective work has been carried on for a number of years
among the laymen, one of the secretaries of that Mission
Board being set apart to direct the movement. Since
the formation of the Laymen's Missionary Movement
these missionary efforts among men have been greatly
stimulated and accelerated.
In Great Britain also men's missionary organisations
have proved attractive and productive. For example,
since 1882, Lay Workers' Unions have been in existence
in connection with the Church Missionary Society. Their
object is to increase practical interest in the Society and
to unite laymen in prayer and for mutual help. Such
Unions exist in London and in all the large towns in the
provinces. In some parishes and congregations, t( bands n
of lajrmen are organised for definite missionary study and
for giving missionary addresses to Sunday Schools.
IV. THE WORK OF MISSIONARY SOCIETIES
(l) VISITS FROM SECRETARIES
Visits to individual congregations by the officers of a
Missionary Society are of special value. It is obvious
that board secretaries, in consequence of their numerous
duties, can have only a limited amount of time available
for this work. Secretaries are in a position, however, to
present a systematic and ordered view of the work for
which the denomination is specially responsible, and to
lay this responsibility on those who are called to discharge
REGULAR CHURCH AGENCIES 39
It. It has been suggested by a number of our corre-
spondents both in Europe and America that it is important
that secretaries should aim at giving a statesmanlike view
of what missions are, as a whole, accomplishing, and should
present in a broad and effective way the actual facts as
regards what is being done on the mission field, rather
than limit themselves to exhortation as to modern
opportunity and individual responsibility for the work.
It is also suggested that much more might be accomplished
by using the experience of certain parishes and congrega-
tions as a stimulus and example to others.
(2) DEPUTATION WORK OF MISSIONARIES ON
FURLOUGH
While the pastor must himself accept the responsibility
for educating his people with regard to missions, much
help may be obtained from the visits of missionaries on
furlough. These are very generally appreciated, and
reports come from all parts of Europe and America as
to their value. The suggestion has been made from
many quarters, however, that the ability of individual
missionaries to make a popular presentation of their
work should receive more careful consideration. It is
further suggested that greater pains should be taken to
instruct missionaries as regards the kind of information
likely to be most effective in quickening the missionary
interest of the home Church. The general impression
gained from a wide correspondence is that the visits of
missionaries are doing more than any other single agency
to increase interest throughout the Church, and under
present conditions are indispensable.
Experience has made it clear that as a general rule
missionaries when on furlough should, for purposes of
deputation work, be under the general direction of some
officer of the Missionary Society who understands the con-
dition and needs of the local churches visited, and who will
be able to give valuable suggestions to the missionary before
his visit as to the real object to be accomplished by it.
40 THE HOME BASE
The whole question of the most suitable manner ^of
presentation of the subject of missions, by the secretaries
of missionary Boards and Societies and by individual
missionaries, is referred to by a large number of our
correspondents as demanding fuller consideration and
more careful thought than it has yet received.
(3) LITERATURE OF THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY
There are three main literary avenues of approach to
the Church membership which the Missionary Societies
may freely use.
(a) The Official Periodical
Nearly every Society has its own official organ. The
missionary periodical is separately treated in this Report.
(b) Pamphlet Literature
This important means of missionary education is also
discussed elsewhere in the Report.
(c] Annual Reports
The annual report is a problem to most Missionary
Societies. There is no consensus of agreement as to the
best form of such a report, although most Societies, by
the rule of their organisation, prepare annually a report
for their constituencies. The two general ideas under-
lying the report are :
" That it is a historical and official document including
the formal, official, and historical facts of the work of the
Board or Society for the year under review. To this is
added in nearly every case the names and addresses of
all the missionaries, and frequently an outline of the
policy of the Society for the year to come, or for a series
of years. Many of these reports contain maps, a few
have pictures, and some have an index. A financial
statement is usually attached giving the treasury balances
with the receipts more or less in detail. This kind of
report contains authoritative information on the work of
the Board or Society for the year covered.
REGULAR CHURCH AGENCIES 41
Another form of report Is prepared not primarily for
official record, but to furnish material for missionary
sermons and addresses, to arouse a new interest
among constituencies, and to lead to larger giving on
the part of all whom the report may reach. Some
Societies endeavour to combine these two purposes in a
single report, while others keep them fairly separate.
In the case of the former or more official report, fewer
copies are usually printed and the distribution is con-
siderably limited. One leading Society in America
publishes less than 2000 copies of its annual report,
which is of a more formal kind and without illustrations.
On the other hand, another Society representing a much
smaller constituency publishes 12,000 copies a year, and
still another 32,000 copies. These latter reports are
of a more popular character. It is evident from our
correspondence that there is hardly a Missionary Society
which is not perplexed over the question of the form and
character of its annual report.
There is no question whatever that the annual report
of a Missionary Society or Board is essential and produces
valuable results, even though the statistical report is not
widely read. The investigation reveals the importance
of each Society settling first the purpose which its report
is to serve. If it is to be merely a book of reference, then
the statement should be comprehensive and yet as brief
as is consistent with thoroughness. If, on the other
hand, it is to be a document appealing to the popular
taste, it needs to be more anecdotal and well illustrated,
with fewer figures and more general and interesting facts.
If it is designed to cover both purposes, then without
question the more official details must be put into the
background and many of them eliminated, while the
more popular and general features of the year's work are
given first place. The impression seems to prevail that
in most Societies both kinds of report are called for ;
the one for reference, and the other for arousing interest.
The suggestion has been made that the latter should not
be called an " annual report," or in fact a report at all,
42 THE HOME BASE _
but that it should be given an attractive title each year
and contain all the popular and interesting features of
the work of the Society, both at home and abroad. In
any case, it should be well indexed. No Society can afford
to allow an opportunity to pass for preparing and issuing
such a publication ; neither can it fail to put on record
the more historical and official, yet less generally interest-
ing facts of the work of the year.
V. PERSONAL TOUCH WITH THE MISSION
FIELD
An important means of maintaining and increasing
interest in individual parishes or congregations is through
the establishment of personal contact with the mission
field. This has been carried out largely in America by
the plan of linking a local church at home to a particular
mission field rather than to an individual missionary.
As interest in the parish abroad has grown, there has been
an increased interest in the missionaries who represent it
on their return home. Much advance has also been made
through getting individual churches to accept respon-
sibility for the support of a missionary or group of
missionaries.
All existing points of contact with the mission field
should be made use of as far as possible. It is reported
from Germany and the Netherlands that there is a steadily
growing interest among merchants and traders who have
dealings with colonial possessions in which missionary
work is carried on. In many congregations interest has
been stimulated through the visit of individuals to the
mission field, through the collection and exhibition of
curios, and especially through the creation of a con-
gregational missionary library. Such libraries are
effective and useful in proportion as the librarian
and those in charge of the library make themselves
familiar with their contents and make a personal
effort to interest others.
CHAPTER III
THE PROMOTION OF MISSIONARY
INTELLIGENCE THROUGH NEWS-
PAPERS AND PERIODICALS
CORRESPONDENCE and conferences with missionary
leaders both in Europe and America has made it clear
that the value of reliable missionary information of every
class and character in the daily and secular weekly press
cannot fail to be of great aid to the cause. Investigation
along other lines of this Report has made clear the fact
that one of the greatest disabilities under which the
missionary cause suffers is the lack of accurate knowledge
of what is being done, and the consequent prejudices
growing out of that ignorance. Most of the general and
unsympathetic criticism from public men, travellers,
editorial writers, and newspapers editors can be traced to
this cause alone. At the same time, there are thousands
and tens of thousands of Christian people who not only
are non-supporters of missions, but who entertain dis-
tinctive prejudices against both missionaries and the
cause.
One of the problems before Missionary Societies is to
remove this prejudice and transform the critics into
allies. How can they be reached ? Surely not through
the regular missionary periodicals and literature, for
critics seldom see these, and they would not read
them if they saw them. Some, though probably only a
small proportion, read some religious journal, but the
utterances there found upon missions are regarded as
43
44 THE HOME BASE
prejudiced or professional. It is apparent that if such
persons are to be reached at all it must be through some
agency not now employed to any great extent, and that
will secure their attention and command their respect
and confidence.
This agency seems to the Commission to be the
secular press. It is only within comparatively recent
years that it has come to be known that missionary
information may be regarded by newspaper men as live
news. It is during this period that there has arisen a
new general interest among all Christian nations in the
great Eastern races, which interest is increasing rather
than diminishing. At the same time it has become more
and more apparent that the work of missionaries has had
no small part in the development of those races. These
are facts that not only should be used for the good of the
cause, but which Missionary Societies are tinder obligation
to give to the general reading public for their information.
In the foreign mail of every corresponding secretary of a
large Missionary Society there is to be found material
which, if properly prepared and offered, would be gratefully
used by newspaper editors not only to their own enlighten-
ment, but to the edification of the readers of their journals.
For a certain and extensive class even of Church members,
to say nothing of that other large and influential class
of critics, an occasional favourable notice of mission work
in a newspaper will have more influence than whole
missionary magazines of articles and letters.
It is true that little immediate result in the way of
new contributions can be expected from these sources,
and yet many illustrations might be given of considerable
sums of money corning to Societies from unexpected
sources and traceable directly to a brief favourable news-
paper report of a simple fact of missions.
As has already been stated, there has been a marked
change during the last few years in the attitude of the
secular press toward foreign missions. This is especially
true for America, but a somewhat similar change is
noticeable in Germany, especially with reference to her
NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS 45
colonial enterprises. Ten years ago the characteristic
attitude of the press was either indifferent or critical.
References to the missionary enterprise in the daily
papers were rare, and when they did occur the tone was
more likely to be hostile than sympathetic. The harsh
criticisms of " globe-trotters " frequently came to the
front, and if any one had a bitter word to say of missions
or missionaries the doors of the secular press were generally
wide open for its admission. The situation to-day has
changed so materially in America as to constitute almost
a revolution. As a rule the best secular editors are
sympathetic toward foreign missions, and an increasing
amount of space is devoted to the treatment of the subject,
not only through news reports and special articles, but
also through favourable editorial comment. This is
the opinion of those who are in a position to speak with
authority. A member of the editorial staff of one of the
leading American daily papers writes : "It is obvious
that within a decade there has been a decided change
of attitude on the part of managers of journals, daily,
weekly, and monthly, toward the work of the foreign
missionary. " Another, who is engaged exclusively in
American newspaper work, and who is in constant touch
with newspaper people, remarks : "A comparison of the
newspapers and magazines of to-day with those of ten
years ago shows a marked increase in the amount of
space devoted to religious matters, and especially to the
missionary enterprise. ' '
Perhaps even a better evidence as to the more favour-
able attitude of the press in America is the fact that a
leading Missionary Society employs a press agent, and has
entered into arrangements with eighty newspapers in
different parts of the land, under which plan live mis-
sionary information is furnished at intervals of one or
two weeks. These papers were selected with reference
to locality, and each is given exclusive right in its own
field. In many cases this material is eagerly sought for,
and is usually printed without abbreviation or change*
Not infrequently the articles furnished are used editori-
46 THE HOME BASE
ally. Such an arrangement as this ten years ago would
have been impossible.
When we come to enquire as to the causes of the changed
attitude of the press, we find that many different influences
have been at work. The editor of a Boston daily states
that he thinks the principal influence has been " the
altered attitude of statesmen and public men toward
the missionary/'
Naturally the fact that America, during the last decade,
has become recognised as an interested participant in
far Eastern questions, and that world matters are occupy-
ing the attention of her citizens as never before, may be
counted one of the leading factors in securing in
that country attention to the foreign missionary
enterprise.
Another reason exerting paramount influence both in
Europe and America is the new conception of the breadth
and reach of foreign missionary agencies. The editors
of secular papers who refuse missionary articles or give
them scant attention for the most part are those who
have not yet discovered the modern aspect and bearing
of the missionary propaganda.
These features of missionary work have not as a general
rule been made prominent in missionary magazines and
religious journals. Naturally, officers of Missionary
Societies recoil from putting emphasis upon that phase
of the work that must be regarded as an indirect result
of missionary effort. They naturally and rightfully say
that Missionary Societies were not organised to build
up commerce, to establish systems of education, or to
reform nations, but to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ
to those who do not know Him. It has been far from
satisfying therefore to see the secular press emphasise,
with display headlines, a feature of missionary work
that is incidental Managers and editors of secular j ournals
have learned that in the great movements in the East
educational, sanitary, moral, social, and national the
missionary and the institutions he has planted there have
played no small part, and they are ready to make use of
NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS 47
properly prepared material, setting forth these facts and
conditions.
From the standpoint of the missionary, as well as of the
officers of the Societies, the presentations of the work
made by the secular and especially by the sensational
press are most unsatisfactory. It appears to the specialist
as distorted and even untrue in the impression it gives
of the purpose of the missionary propaganda and the
results of that work. On the other hand, we have the
fact that what seems to the missionary so inadequate
and even unworthy, to a vast number of readers who
have been and are absolutely opposed to missions, seems
an unqualified approval of missionary effort, and in their
minds leaves an impression of the value and importance
of missionary work.
As sentiment and feelings towards missions change,
the secular press will be eager to secure and use more
of the solid facts of missions ; but this cannot be expected
so long as the sentiment of its readers is anti-missionary.
Missionary Societies and missionaries must be content
to let the press have the superficial and even sensational
features of their work as a step in the direction of the
future wide use of that which is fundamental and sub-
stantial.
The changed attitude of the press toward religious
matters generally may account for a part, at least, of its
change toward missions. The fact that nearly all lead-
ing American journals now have religious departments
with editors in charge is distinctively favourable to the
reporting of missionary news.
To the present time separate Missionary Societies and
individual secretaries have dealt directly with the secular
press. If the officer of the Society is a man with news
instincts he has invariably succeeded in securing for the
cause he represents a wide and favourable hearing.
This is illustrated in the case of one leading Scottish
Society as well as three or four American Boards.
Investigation has revealed the fact that at the present
time there is no organised effort to get the facts of missions
48 THE HOME BASE
before secular journals, while it is evident that coming
daily to the headquarters of Missionary Societies, both
in Europe and America, there are facts of real journalistic
value which would be widely used for the general enlighten-
ment of the public, if proper connections could be made
between the missionary headquarters and the editorial
offices.
We have already reported the employment, by one
Society at least, of a press agent and the success of the
plan. There is little, doubt that it would pay each one
of the leading Missionary Societies to employ such an
agent, whose chief duty should be to select and arrange the
information of general news value coming to the office
and to furnish it to the secular press.
Objection is sometimes made to this method by the
editors of missionary periodicals, who naturally desire
the first use of all missionary material coming from the
field. This is a real difficulty. The Missionary Societies,
however, that have employed the press agent are con-
vinced that the publication of interesting matter in the
secular press not only does not detract from interest in
the missionary magazine, but rather adds to it. Press
notices are necessarily brief, giving only the barest of
facts. Interested parties anticipate the missionary
magazine in which they expect to find extended explana-
tions and interpretations. The advance press notices
prove, in actual practice, to be a good advertisement for
the denominational missionary magazine.
From widely divergent sources the suggestion has been
made that the Missionary Societies of the United States
should unite in the employment of a man of genuine
Christian character, a student of, and believer in, missions,
and a journalist not a mere reporter of well-known
ability to act as managing editor of the publicity depart-
ment of the Missionary Societies of the United States.
Such a man should have an office, probably in New York
City, and should receive a salary which would enable him
to give his entire time and strength to this subject. To the
desk of an editor of this character would come daily,
NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS 49
both by post and by telegraph, items of interest from all
parts of the world. ' Distinguished missionaries returning
home on furlough would be interviewed by him, and
articles upon special topics prepared by missionaries
and missionary experts would be put into his hands for
his use.
It is clear, from the nature of the work to be done, that
such an editor could not act for all the Missionary Societies
of the world. At the same time it is thought by many
missionary experts, in the United States especially, and
also in Europe, that the experiment is well worth trying
in a single country like North America. There is much
reason to believe that it would be a success from the
beginning if the proper editor could be found to take the
place. Besides the giving out of information as above
suggested, editors throughout . the country would prob-
ably soon come to look upon the central news office
for missions as a bureau of missionary information to
which they would apply as occasion demanded.
It is evident that there is in this matter of getting
fresh missionary information before the readers of
the secular press a great lack of effort upon the part
of the Missionary Societies. The field has been most
scantily occupied, while all evidence goes to show that
it is a field full of real value to the cause as well as to
the public. The missionary offices have the facts in
which the general public is interested, and the problem
is to get those facts out. However much we may put
confidence in the missionary and religious publications,
we must not lose sight of the limited character of their
circulation. On the other hand, there are about 2300
daily papers in the United States alone, and 26 of these
have a circulation of 100,000 or over. One well-
known journal issues over a million copies each month.
To reach and influence this vast army of readers with
missionary literature is a consummation devoutly to be
wished.
The country newspapers also may be considered as
furnishing an especially valuable field for missionary
COM. vi. 4
50 THE HOME BASE
cultivation. While the city paper is read rapidly, and
often only by headlines or by leading articles., the country
weekly is frequently read through at leisure and left
upon the family table.
The attention of Missionary Societies is called to this
practically open and unoccupied field, and the vast
multitude of readers who are waiting for instruction.
Each country will need to devise its own plans for
accomplishing the task, but it is evident that the
way is opening for what is practically a new and almost
untried method of propagating missionary information
among a wide range of readers who cannot be approached
in any other way.
In Holland the daily newspapers lend themselves to
the service of missions, and many of the leading papers
regularly publish missionary matter. The great perio-
dical reviews, while not loth to print articles hostile to
the missionaries, nevertheless place high value upon the
sociological side of the missionaries' work. These reviews
often treat with sympathy colonial questions dealing
with the private rights of native Christians. For twenty-
one years in Holland there has been published a missionary
weekly paper, strictly inter-denominational and containing
the current missionary news from different fields.
Recently the editorship of the paper has been given to
the committee formed for the promotion of missionary
study, and is proving itself of much value in that work.
In Switzerland the religious press is widely open for
the use of the different Missions. Several of the leading
political journals are quite willing to publish articles
written by missionaries, especially if they are at all
picturesque. Different reviews frequently solicit articles,
and have more than once devoted an entire number to
articles written by missionaries.
RELIGIOUS PERIODICALS
It is taken for granted that the religious newspapers
are more accessible and reach a more interested class of
NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS 51
readers than the secular press. These papers are and
should be cultivated by the Missionary Societies as their
friends and allies. Important and striking news should
not be withheld from editors of these papers, but on the
contrary should be freely furnished. For the most part
the editors are glad to get everything of this kind. The
time will probably come when the great religious news-
papers will each have a missionary editor giving much
of his time to the missionary department of the paper.
It is an interesting and hopeful sign that the religious
papers of all countries are already devoting so much
attention to missionary work. The causes which have
brought about the changed attitude of the secular
press have also been at work in interesting religious
editors. In addition to these causes, there is the
steadily growing interest of the religious public in
the great extension work of the Church. Foreign
missions offer to the religious papers the very best
field for news features.
MISSIONARY MAGAZINES
No amount of publicity in the secular and religious press
will make up for the lack of full and complete reports
coming to the constituency from the headquarters of its
Missionary Society. It seems to be the consensus of
opinion that it is not practicable, except among the
larger denominations, and rarely then, to maintain
several magazines of different character and addressed
to different classes. Ordinarily one magazine for adults,
another for children, with possibly a third covering the
distinctive field of woman* s work, will be all that can be
wisely maintained.
It is clear that the aim in the missionary magazine
should be not so much to interest those who are unin-
terested or hostile as to develop the interest of friends
already made, upon whose fidelity rests the stability
of the work that is being described. Unless a reader has
already become interested in missions to some extent,
52 THE HOME BASE
it is not likely that he will subscribe to or read the
missionary magazine.
It is urged that the denominational or Society missionary
magazine should be pre-eminently a news magazine,
for portraying in vivid and crisp manner what is actually
being done in the field. Its articles should abound in
incident and action, and be amply illustrated with pic-
tures that have the same characteristics. One magazine
editor urges that a characteristic of a denominational
missionary magazine is that it is a bond of union be-
tween missionaries and their more immediate circle of
friends and well-wishers, as the people who write for it
are known personally to many of its readers.
There is not a little complaint with regard to missionary
magazines, the grounds of which have been revealed in
part at least by the correspondence upon this subject.
For the most part the missionary magazines are edited
by one of the corresponding secretaries of the Society,
already overloaded with responsibilities other than
editorial. It would seem that some Societies look upon
the editorial work as a kind of by-product of the efforts
of an already overworked secretary, and then they wonder
why the missionary magazine is not more widely taken
and read. The statement is ventured that until Mission-
ary Societies are alive to the supreme value of their
missionary periodicals, and put them in charge of able
men whose chief duty is editorial, we shall not see them
command the respect and exert the influence to which
their theme and cause entitle them. We are convinced
that the trouble is not with the subject or with the re-
sources of information and inspiration open to the
missionary magazine, but that it lies in the fact that
except in a few cases proper emphasis has not been put
upon this form of imparting information.
With proper and efficient editorial oversight, there is
no reason why, with the whole world to draw upon for
matter, and the entire denomination to appeal to for a
constituency, the missionary magazines of the larger
denominations should not be more than self-supporting.
NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS 53
Instead of being issued as most of them are at present-
at an actual financial loss.
It is probably true that no magazine dealing with any
conceivable subject could expect to prosper under
voluntary editorial service supported by unpaid con-
tributors. Has not the time come when a missionary
magazine should cease to be regarded as an advertising
medium for the cause, and be put upon a thorough,
practical business basis ? This is a problem which each
Society must consider and work out for itself, but it is
one that is most vital to the success of the work at
home and abroad, and well worth early and serious
consideration.
Several denominations in the United States are
struggling with the question as to whether or not there
should be one magazine jointly for both home and foreign
missions. Many pastors urge that it is impracticable
to secure subscribers for more than one missionary
magazine, and the joint idea has been pushed in certain
quarters with a good deal of ardour. Much can be said on
both sides of this question, but the consensus of judgment
is that it seems wisest to allow a special treatment of the
foreign work on account of its distinctive character and
the vastness of its operations. But, if there be only one
magazine, it is clear that each distinct organisation must
have in that magazine sufficient space adequately to
present its own work. If this is to be done in the larger
denominations, it is likely to mean a magazine of too great
bulk to be acceptable to the average reader. Where
denominations combine their various missionary publica-
tions into one magazine, the tendency is for each Board to
multiply subsidiary publications by way of making up
for the lack. The outcome is an increase rather than a
decrease in publications.
Is there a place for the non-denominational English
missionary magazine or review ? It would seem that there
is clearly such a place, and some vigorous opinions have
been expressed both in Europe and America as to the scope
and importance of such a general review. If such a
54 THE HOME BASE
publication were started, it should make its principal
appeal to students of missions, the missionaries them-
selves, the officers connected with the Missionary
Societies, pastors and leaders of missionary activities in
the Churches, editors of religious papers and magazines.
Its field then would be clearly among those who are in a
measure missionary experts. There is at present no
magazine in the English language that adequately covers
this ground.
It is a most interesting fact that suggestions for such
an inter-denominational missionary monthly or quarterly
have been made from Great Britain, Germany and the
United States. For gathering up and making effective
the good work of the Edinburgh Conference, a magazine
of some such character as that suggested above would
seem almost necessary.
In the German language there are already four such
general missionary magazines, two of them of a scientific
character, while two are more popular. There is one also
of a popular character in the United States.
CHAPTER IV
THE PROMOTION OF MISSIONARY IN-
TELLIGENCE THROUGH SPECIAL
LITERATURE
I. BOOKS AND LIBRARIES
IN the line of this investigation extensive enquiries
were instituted in America among leading publishers,
public libraries, and college and theological seminary
libraries well scattered over the country. The principal
agencies in America for the publication and sale of mis-
sionary books are the Student Volunteer Movement, the
Central Committee for the United Study of Missions,
and the Young People's Missionary Movement. These
agencies distributed about 200,000 books last year, and
other publishers, it is estimated, published 75,000 more.
While as yet the call for missionary books in the libraries
is not large, there is general testimony that the sale of
such books is upon the increase. They are put by
publishers upon about the same plane as other religious
books.
As yet most of the libraries of the country are lacking
in missionary literature, although a large number of
public libraries have some. It is recognised by librarians
that the demand for such books is upon the increase.
The revival of mission study has increased the demand for
general missionary books. This is especially true in
colleges and universities.
The correspondence of the Commission has brought out
56 THE HOME BASE
some expert suggestions regarding missionary books
which are of great value. A few of these are : " Mis-
sionary books are not written with that scientific approach
to the subject which convinces the student that he is
getting something worth while." " The sociological
aspect of missions should be emphasised, and the fact
recognised that mission work is a profession requiring
special training." "The story form of book seems the
more popular, but missionary stories often lack most in
literary qualities." <c There should be an annual volume
upon the development of Christian civilisation, showing
world development and statesmanship." " To reach
theological students, missionary literature must be on a
level of excellence reached by the best text-books in the
other departments of theological study." " Missionary
books must subordinate irrelevant detail to the vital
aspects of the topic." " They should be reliable, enter-
taining, well-illustrated, printing and binding of the best,
liberal and sympathetic."
Expert testimonies such as these are of value to
makers of missionary books, and suggest reasons why
the demand for this kind of literature is not larger. At
the same time it is clear that the chief reason for the
neglect of missionary reading is the prevailing ignorance
of the fact that the subject of missions is possessed of such
great importance, wide bearings, and thrilling interest*
and that there is such a wealth of fresh, reliable, and
readable literature on the subject. 1
Librarians say that the friends of missions might aid
materially the circulation of missionary books already
in the libraries by making announcements of what is
available, and organising courses of reading that will
lead to their wider use. Information regarding recent
missionary books that are of distinct value should be
furnished in some appropriate way by pastors and secre-
taries of Missionary Societies.
Travelling missionary libraries are also suggested,
1 See the annotated bibliography published as an Appendix to
this Report.
SPECIAL LITERATURE 57
One State Library has out some fifty mission books in
travelling libraries to Sunday Schools. Some State
Sunday School secretaries are doing the same thing for
rural districts. Classified and reference libraries have
proved to be of great value. It is clear from this research
that promoters of missionary intelligence should familiarise
themselves with the number and character of missionary
books available in the libraries near at hand, and that this
information should be put into such form that it can be
widely published for stimulating their more general use.
II. PAMPHLET LITERATURE
This subject is too broad for an exhaustive report by
this Commission, although it is of great importance
to the cause of missions. Many Societies depend more
upon occasional literature than upon their periodicals.
The extent of the subject and the impossibility of ade-
quate treatment here is manifest from the fact that there
are at present ready for distribution by the Mission
Boards of America approximately 5,000,000 copies of
leaflets and pamphlets.
During the last fiscal year 3,533,540 copies of pamphlets
and leaflets have been issued, one Society reporting more
than 1,000,000, six Societies 200,000 or over.
The cost of the distribution has been for five years
$209,951 (42,000) and for the last year $52,418
(10,484) or about i| cents, a little less than one penny,
per leaflet. Undoubtedly, part of the explanation of this
rather extravagant cost lies in the fact that each Board,
in issuing its own literature, is not able to get the benefit
of the reduction obtained when large quantities are
ordered, and also that this 'amount includes not only
leaflets but illustrated pamphlets, reports, etc.
The money spent in issuing pamphlet literature is
about 1$; per cent, of the total receipts of the Boards,
the average being brought up by three of the Societies,
which spend respectively 6 per cent., 4^ per cent., and 3
per cent. The smaller Boards are naturally at the
58 THE HOME BASE
greatest disadvantage, the larger reporting about i per
cent, or under. ,
The facts for Europe have not been fully obtained.
The Church Missionary Society issued last year 3,204,876
pamphlets at a cost of less than | per cent, of the total
income of the Society. It is evident that, on the whole,
practically the same conditions prevail there in this respect
as are found in America. Leaflets, tracts, booklets,
and reports are looked upon as means of imparting
information to those whose substantial aid is sought, and
the preparation and wide free distribution, for the most
part, is regarded not only as a legitimate expenditure
of missionary funds, but as necessary for the successful
propagation of the work in the home constituency, ^
As to the form in which literature should be published,
there is practical unanimity as to the superior value of
the Illustrated pamphlet. Only one Board in America
frowns upon it, while the others advocate it, with varying
degrees of enthusiasm, expressed in such phrases as <f far
superior/' " absolutely indispensable/ 1 and " the only
attractive form."
SPECIAL LITERATURE FOR THE CLERGY
Many Societies report that they make some effort to
give special information to ministers to aid them in
fitting themselves for the pulpit presentation of foreign
missions, but the replies, almost all of which begin with
an apologetic "sometimes/* indicate that but slender
effort is being put forth in this direction. Germany is
doing more than any other country in producing mis-
sionary periodicals calculated to interest and inform the
clergy. For sixteen years there has been published
in Holland a high grade inter-denominational magazine
contributed to by missionary leaders and experts. Two
or three of the Societies in Great Britain have been in the
habit of making special effort to aid and interest the
clergy through a specially prepared literature, but no-
where do we find the Missionary Societies alive to the
SPECIAL LITERATURE 59
need of special literature for the use of the clergy alone.
One Missionary Society in America issues a magazine
twice a year for clergymen alone, in which material is
furnished for one or more missionary addresses upon
some subject of living interest. This is sent free, and is
appreciated and much used. Apart from the two or
three other cases above mentioned, we find no trace of
special effort upon the part of Missionary Societies to
inspire the clergy, who are the natural leaders of the
Church, to new missionary zeal and enthusiasm by
providing them with an especially prepared literature.
At the same time, it is expected that they will preach at
least one missionary sermon a year. To those who are
students of missions this is no task, but the great majority
of pastors confess their inability to do this without some
direct assistance. Speaking generally, the ministry is
not being used or cultivated as it should be, and the
Christian Church is being bereft of the enormous spiritual
stimulus of a world-comprehensive vision. Delicate and
difficult as is this matter of awakening lethargic and
preoccupied ministers, it must not be shirked: The
effort to make such view the Kingdom of God from a
mountain-top instead of from their own parish belfry is
imperative.
LITERATURE FOR THE EDUCATED CLASSES
Another class of people, not being cultivated as
it should be, is composed of the highly educated
and cultured. This, broadly speaking, would include
college graduates, both men and women, and Readers in
the social and professional life of our time. One Board
has a special " mailing list for such persons " ; another
" sends literature to leading people in the Churches " ;
another has parlour meetings and gatherings for men.
There are two magazines in England The East and The
West and The Church Missionary Review and two or
three in German-speaking countries, which are calculated
to interest this class, and the British and Foreign Bible
60 THE HOME BASE
Society publishes special pamphlets from time to time
intended to reach thoughtful people. The large majority
of the Societies, however, report that they are doing
nothing to capture the interest of this important class.
In this the Missionary Societies are distinctly short-
sighted, and might well learn a lesson from the methods
of secular business houses. Modern missions need
make no apology, and have a right to ask a hearing
from the intellectual leaders of the generation.
LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN
It is a surprise also to note that the effort to enlist
the interest of children in missions is not as widespread
as might be supposed. Of the fifteen Boards in America
replying, only five report regular efforts to instruct the
children ; nine either give no answer or report no special
literature. The others either have a few tracts for the
young, or commit the work to the Women's Boards, One
cannot escape the conclusion that the Church of the future
will suffer if this condition is not changed and the
problem handled with vigour and at once. Too much
cannot be said in favour of what many of the Women's
Boards are doing in America in the way of instructing
children in missions. In Great Britain and in Germany
all of the larger Missionary Societies issue magazines
or special literature for children. Even the smaller
Societies in Europe are apparently doing more for the
training of the children in a knowledge of missions than
the larger organisations in America. But even these
freely confess the inadequacy of their effort.
METHODS OF DISTRIBUTION
Passing next to the plans adopted to get literature
into the hands of the people, we find that the majority
of the Societies in America use one of two methods.
They either send literature in bulk to be distributed
through the churches, or mail direct to individuals.
SPECIAL LITERATURE , 61
About 50 per cent, of the literature is distributed in the
latter way ; a large portion of these pamphlets is free,
not even the cost of postage being covered. The replies
would indicate that not even 10 per cent, is paid for.
It is significant, however, that some of the larger Societies
are now beginning to make a small charge, which,
instead of limiting their output, rather increases it.
While as an advertising medium it would probably be
legitimate to send out free literature on the ground that it
will be paid for in enlarged contributions, the danger on
the other hand should be avoided of cheapening the
literature to such an extent that people consider it
worthless. The destination of the unsealed envelope
is liable to be the waste-paper basket. What people
pay for, they are apt to value. When people look
upon missionary literature as advertising material,
its influence will be broken and its virtue destroyed.
Probably this difficulty cannot be wholly obviated,
although there are some Women's Boards in the United
States that have succeeded in putting their special
missionary literature upon such a business basis that
the income from sales has almost, if not quite,
covered the cost.
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
This entire subject is one that is worthy of exhaustive
investigation upon the part of the Missionary Societies
in each country. Probably little that is international
can be done in the way of combination that will be of
value, but the figures given at the beginning of this
paper cannot but give the impression that there is now
great waste in the production of special missionary
literature. If some method could be devised for
following up these publications, the Societies would
probably be astonished to find how little is read, or
accomplishes anything whatever for the cause it is
supposed to serve. From many sources the suggestion
has come that the Missionary Societies should give more
62 THE HOME BASE
expert attention to their general and special publications
in the way of better editing and especially in the line of
elimination. Inferior publications bring discredit upon
the Society whose imprint they bear and awaken pre-
judice against all missionary literature.
Not more but better missionary literature of all classes
is needed. In fact, there is a general opinion that the
quantity should be diminished, while the quality, both
in matter and in form, should be greatly improved. ^This
can mean nothing less than expert editorial supervision.
Missions have now reached a stage when only the best
will meet the requirements of the case.
We would not be misunderstood. No one would
recommend extravagant expenditure in the production
of the most highly artistic leaflets and small books.
But there is a demand for such a literature that, when
it falls into the hands of a person of taste and refine-
ment, the first inclination will not be to cast it into the
waste-paper basket, and when it comes to the home of
the less educated it will in itself be an element in the
general education and refinement of all.
It is believed that if the same amount now ex-
pended by the Missionary Societies of the world in the
production of literature, some of which is excellent but
which includes at the same time an enormous amount
of poor, inartistic, and even slovenly leaflets and pam-
phlets, were used with skill and discretion it would be
ample to provide a special literature of far greater value
to the cause.
A matter that needs careful attention in the pro-
duction of pamphlet literature is that there should be
close co-operation between those who produce and
those who have to use the pamphlets supplied in other
words, between the editorial and the organising side of
the staff. Those responsible for the production ought
to keep closely in touch with what the home workers
are doing. They should not consider only whether a
manuscript is good from a literary standpoint, but
whether it is the kind of thing that is needed by those
SPECIAL LITERATURE 63
who are responsible for organising the Society's efforts
in the constituencies.
The question of the adoption of new and modern
methods is one which suggests at once the idea of
unification and combination. Is there any opportunity
for inter-denominational advertising and inter-denomi-
national distribution of missionary information ? When
so much progress is being made in this direction both on
the mission field and in the Home Church, it would
seem that there might be a chance for the Missionary
Societies to get together and so save both money and
labour in this matter of the production of literature.
It has been suggested that there should be a com-
bination among Missionary Societies working in the same
country in the preparation of a missionary literature
common to all, to which each denomination can add its
own features before distribution among its constituency.
In this way much first cost of preparation and production
might be saved and probably a higher grade of literature
produced. This plan might apply to the preparation
of large and small outline maps, picture cards, general
descriptions of countries, the story of the Christian
conquest of the world, the preparation of lantern
slides, and much other matter of this type. The Young
People's Missionary Movement in the United States and
the United Conference on Missionary Education in Great
Britain are doing a measure of this work, especially in
the preparation of mission study text-books.
CHAPTER V
THE PROMOTION OF MISSIONARY
INTELLIGENCE THROUGH MISSION
STUDY CLASSES
IN addition to the diffusion of general information
through newspapers and periodicals and the preparation
of special literature for the general reader, it is essential
that there should be a large body of Christian people
who, by a systematic study of the subject, have passed
beyond the stage of persons merely interested in missions,
and have become intelligent and enthusiastic advocates
of the cause.
A movement for the promotion of such systematic
study has developed in recent years in America and
Europe, and has gained acceptance with remarkable
rapidity. The present section of the Report will be de-
voted to giving an account of this movement and of its
aims and methods.
The aims of the movement here set forth derive great
reinforcement from the present missionary situation.
The pressing and immediate opportunities abroad, and the
lack of a sufficiently widespread spirit of sacrifice at home
to give an adequate response, constitute a serious position.
The need is for something to produce a zeal among home
workers which shall be deep, permanent, and impelling,
because based upon a true and honest study of the ques-
tion. The Mission Study Movement attempts to meet
this situation.
i. In the first place it stands for intensive as opposed
64
MISSION STUDY 65
to extensive work. It stands for consecutiveness and
concentration, for serious study and discussion. It
deals with only a few people at a time, but it undertakes
to give those few an intelligent interest in some part
of missionary work. In these days of superficiality
in religious education, there is a place for an agency
that seeks to supply the Church with a few workers
who have deep convictions and clear knowledge on the
subject of foreign missions. For the great majority of
persons, the study class 1 will be the principal dynamo
of missionary enthusiasm, and an instrument by which
there shall be provided means for more effective
missionary instruction in every organisation of the
Church.
2. In the second place it stands for the application of
educational principles to the study of missionary work.
The field is so vast and so remote from the experience of
most persons that clear and deep conviction can only
with difficulty be attained by the casual and superficial
methods often employed.
A vast amount of literature now exists on education,
and some principles are well established, such as the
value of stimulating self-activity and self-expression,
the value of definite aims in study, the need of utilising
existing interests to create new ones, and the need of
training the intelligence and active powers concurrently.
In the study class method all these are being applied,
and are taught in an elementary manner in the Manuals
and Helps provided for the leaders of study classes.
3. In the third place the movement stands for training
the younger generation. The ages of youth and young
manhood are the great formative periods of life. It is
then that the ideals are formed and the intellectual
powers are at their keenest for learning. This movement
aims at presenting missionary ideals during the decade
of enthusiasm. It would teach young men and young
women to see the world as Christ sees it, and feel for it
1 In America, the term "class" is in general use; in Britain,
"circle" or " band.' 1
COM, VI. 5
66 THE HOME BASE
as He feels for it. It would train them to be active and
thoughtful workers.
Further, it appeals to the intelligent in all classes,
looking for its Morrisons and Careys amongst the poor,
as well as for its Keith-Falconers amongst the rich.
It has not yet even approached its possible limit of ex-
pansion- If pastors would resolutely push it, if well-
qualified persons would take the training for leadership,
there might be several classes each season in almost every
congregation, as there are now in some places.
4. In the fourth place the movement stands for reaching
the many through the few. It aims at those who possess
moral earnestness and open minds. It is proving a means
of reaching many such who were formerly indifferent or
even opposed to missions, and turning them into keen
supporters.
5. In the fifth place the movement stands for a co-
operative spirit of unity. Its text-books are written from
the standpoint of the progress of missionary work as a
whole, and not from that of a denomination or society,
In the long-run such literature will produce a rich
harvest.
A possible peril Is that it might become too exclusively
intellectual. The heart must be trained to missions
as well as the head. But the discussion method rightly
employed may yield as strong an emotional result as an
address. Its real peril is of leadership so inefficient that
no interest is aroused leading to life consecration and
active service. Crude opinions may be created by the
discussions, but even these are better than sheer ignor-
ance*
Without laying emphasis upon the history of what is a
>mparatively new movement, it may be claimed that so
* it has stood the test of experience in the results
Sieved.
MISSION STUDY IN AMERICA
3 first attempt in America to provide a systematic
of study for mission study classes was in connec-
MISSION STUDY 67
tion with the Student Volunteer Movement. In the winter
of 1894-95 the use of a text-book was recommended,
and since then a series of text-books on various subjects
has been published. Intended primarily for volunteers
for the mission field, these books have been increasingly
used by non-volunteers, and have proved a most efficient
means not only of securing recruits, but of enlisting the
intelligent sympathy and advocacy and effort ol those
who were not in a position to volunteer. In 1908-09
there were in America 2084 classes in 488 higher educa-
tional institutions, with 25,208 students enrolled. The
mission study class idea has not only made headway
among students, but has reached out into other con-
stituencies and also into other lands.
At the Missionary Conference, held in New York in
1900, representatives of the Women's Foreign Mission
Boards of North America planned a series of text-books
for their own constituencies. The committee having
this series in charge is known as The United Study of
Missions Committee. The first text-book was published
in the fall of 1901. Seven text-books dealing with the
great world fields were published, one appearing each
year. In the fall of 1908 a new series was commenced*
Nearly 500,000 of these books were sold between 1901
and February 1909.
These text-books are more generally used in connection
with the monthly meetings of the Women's Missionary
Societies. The method of presentation is usually by a
series of talks sometimes followed by discussion. By
this means the topics of the year have been guided and
supplemented by the text-books, and an immense amount
of missionary information has been diffused ; but the
conditions have made it difficult and often impossible
to secure the regular preparation and free discussion
which are characteristics of the study class proper. The
text-books are also used, however, by a larger number of
small circles which meet for thorough study.
After text-books for juniors had been published by
various individual Boards, the United Study of Missions
68 THE HOME BASE
Committee began In 1906 to issue a series of Inter-
denominational text-books for juniors.
As early as 1896 the text-books of the Student Volunteer
Movement were used by study classes of young people
outside the colleges. The first denominations to push this
work with vigour were the Methodist Church in Canada
and the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States,
the latter of which appointed a special secretary in 1898
to take charge of the promotion of missionary interest
among its young people, using the study class as a princi-
pal instrumentality. Other denominations soon devel-
oped similar departments, so that at the present time
forty-one salaried workers in the United States and
Canada are giving all or part of their time to the pro-
motion of systematic mission study under the auspices
of the home and foreign Missionary Boards and Societies
of the two countries. It is estimated that 175,000
young people have been engaged in North America
in study class work during 1908 and 1909. Various
denominations report a growing interest in this
work.
In 1902 the Young People's Missionary Movement was
organised, an agency which undertakes to supply to the
Missionary Boards and Societies such helps for the pro-
motion of mission study as can best be created on an
inter-denominational basis. This Movement has secre-
taries of its own, but its policy is controlled by a com-
mittee representing forty-three of the leading Missionary
Boards of America. It issues each year for adults at
least one text-book on foreign missions and one on home
missions, with reference libraries and pamphlet helps
for leaders, and has also published several text-books
for adolescents. It is giving special attention to the
creation of missionary material for the Sunday School.
Under its auspices inter-denominational conferences are
held each year at several different places, at which normal
study classes for teachers of mission courses are con-
ducted, and also briefer " institutes " are held during the
winter in cities and towns. In the first seven years of
MISSION STUDY 69
its existence the Movement has published over 500,000
volumes upon missions and for the promotion of mission
study, which, like all its literature, are sold only whole-
sale to the Missionary Boards. Over 35,000 sets of
mission reference libraries have also been sold, and great
quantities of accessory literature.
MISSION STUDY IN EUROPE
What is known as the Mission Study Movement is of
recent development in Great Britain, but during the
last three or four years it has given great impetus to the
study of missions. Several of the British Societies
began the work by organising departments for the study
of missions, in some cases under an appointed officer,
to have special oversight over the work. In some places
the young people's organisations in the different de-
nominations have taken up the work. In both England
and Scotland, during the last few years, mission study
has made great advance, having won the favour
and co-operation of the principal missionary leaders. The
introduction of the study circle and text-book method
has been of great assistance, though the movement dates
back to an earlier period.
Many informal conferences took place between the
representatives of the various movements for promoting
missionary study, and resulted, in the year 1906, in the
formation of a committee, since called the " United
Conference on Missionary Education," which, while it is
not officially recognised by any of the Missionary Societies^
is composed of those especially responsible for mission
study in the leading Societies. The primary object
which this committee set before itself was to secure
co-operation between the different bodies which were
organising missionary study.
Since 1907 this United Conference on Missionary
Education has published text-books on China, India, and
Islam which have been largely used by all the leading
Missionary Societies as well as in the universities and
70 THE HOME BASE
colleges. More than 60,000 copies of these three text-
books have been sold,
The text-book on China has been translated into
German and Danish, and that on India into Welsh and
Danish. In Wales, and also in Germany, Denmark, and
Norway, small missionary study movements have been
inaugurated. In Germany, mission study has found &
favourable field amongst the Teachers' Union, and in
Denmark in Young Men's Christian Association circles
and elsewhere. An energetic committee for the promo-
tion of missionary study has been formed in Holland,
and has issued a Dutch translation of the English text-
book on Islam, besides helps for mission study in Sunday
Schools and other literature. This summer, 1910, it is
organising a summer school for mission study, the first
of its kind in Holland. The Student Missionary Move-
ment, which primarily aims at the promotion of mission
study among students, edited and published a text-book
on the Dutch East Indies.
In Germany short courses of study, especially designed
for pastors, are held in the Society Mission House. These
courses are deemed of great value for the promotion of
missionary intelligence and for the development of leader-
ship at home. Along the same line are the " Lehrer
cursus " for training missionary teachers in the home
field.
THE KIND OF TEXT-BOOKS REQUIRED
As mission study develops there will probably be need
of at least two grades of text-books for adults, one of
introductory character and the other implying more
general information and greater maturity upon the part
of the student.
Most of the text-books for mission study so far have
been written by authors who have never taught a study
class. It is advisable in all such cases that the manu-
script should be carefully edited by those who are familiar
with the actual conditions. Attention should be called
to some important respects in which a mission study
71
text-book should differ from the college text-book, after
which it is most likely to be modelled.
The college text-book has usually to present a whole
section of human knowledge. Its ideals are complete-
ness, accuracy, preservation of perspective, and clearness
to minds which are accustomed to study and to deal
with generalisations. It lays down an outline to be filled
in with lectures and collateral readings. It presupposes,
as teacher, a specialist who may omit or expand accord-
ing to the needs of his class, sessions at least semi-weekly
for fifteen to thirty weeks, graded classes, required
attendance, and ample reference libraries. Its tone is
usually intellectual and authoritative. It is more special-
ised and concrete than formerly, and does more to
arouse a spirit of enquiry ; but the best of these more
recent developments in text-books are often unknown
to those who write text-books for mission study.
When the difference of aims and conditions are taken
into account, it should be clear that text-books for mission
study should differ from college text-books in the follow-
ing particulars :
1. They must be much more restricted in scope, since
they must usually be covered in less than ten sessions.
They should present a series of studies rather than a
complete survey. Maps, charts, statistics, chronological
tables, and brief introductions should be used to furnish
setting and perspective for these studies.
2. The topics selected must have most vital bearing
on the missionary problem. Geographical, historical,
political, or economic facts that are not of first-rate im-
portance from the missionary standpoint should be
scrupulously omitted. Every chapter should contribute
to the emotional and volitional, as well as to the intellectual
appeal, by striking its roots deep into issues that call for
the prayers and gifts and service of the Christian Church.
3. Each topic must be well illustrated with many
concrete details. These should be on the one hand vivid,
so as to appeal to the imagination and live impulses of
the class, and on the other hand numerous, connected,
72 THE HOME BASE
and significant enough to lead to generalisations of large
importance. We must avoid both picturesque items
that are irrelevant and disconnected, and bald generalisa-
tions that take no grip on imagination or understanding.
Real insight demands the possession of the essential data
upon which a generalisation is based. In general it
seems best to select a few instances which are truly
typical of great missionary problems, and to present
them in sufficient detail to enable the reader to appreciate
the arguments on both sides of the case.
4. The activity of the class should be stimulated.
The life of the study class is the free discussion, and the
text-book must do everything possible to stimulate this.
It should announce only enough conclusions to promote
Independent thinking. Remembering that those con-
clusions make the deepest impression which we discover
for ourselves, it should furnish problems without answers
rather than answers without problems. It should select
facts that are capable of more than one interpretation
and combination. It is better to pique curiosity with
the difficulty of some missionary problem than to present
solutions that lead to nothing further.
In America it is conceded that text-books for college
students should take advantage of the broader average
culture which their constituency represents, especially
as compared with that of the rural communities in the
churches. They have no reason, however, to be merely
advanced hand-books.
Text-books for children and adolescents need to be even
more carefully written than those for adults, and should
be based on a thorough study of genetic psychology.
THE CONDUCT OF A MISSION STUDY CLASS
The study class is a group of people who meet
regularly for the united study of a missionary text-book.
In every point of its constitution it is elastic. Usually
the number of members is between six and twelve, the
meetings weekly, and their length an hour. One of the
MISSION STUDY 73
members is appointed leader, and he presides over and
generally constructs the programme of each meeting.
It is an essential feature that every member should
read through the selected chapter of the text-book in
readiness for the meeting, and make such other prepara-
tion as may be assigned him by the leader. The meeting
then consists of the informal discussion amongst them-
selves of the subject-matter prepared, along certain
directions previously laid down by the leader.
In order to give unity to the discussion and leave a
strong single impression, an " Aim " or central thought is
carefully thought out and chosen beforehand. The aim,
having been chosen, is allowed to dominate the subject, so
that whatever is irrelevant to it is treated as secondary.
To secure the co-operation of the members, questions
are given, the answers to which will contribute to the
elucidation of the aim. These questions are generally
such as can be answered by the use of the material in
the chapter, when arranged and properly considered.
Sometimes outside reading will be required.
At the meeting, the chapter itself and the assigned
preparation form the material of a discussion. This
discussion will itself have a spiritual objective, and some
at least of the assignments will send members to their
Bibles for answers. Prayer forms an essential part of
the meeting.
The main advantages of calling the members together
in class sessions are (a) the explanation and assignment
of work to be done between sessions. The personal
interest of the class must be aroused in this, (b) The
study of the members by the leader, (c) The inciting
of activities that shall lead to the formation of habits.
(d) The expression and criticism of ideas, (e) The exercise
of the influence of personal and social contact.
In many classes work done outside the session by the
members will do more to promote habits of study than dis-
cussion in the session. The class work must therefore be
carefully planned to enlist the strongest impulses of the
members in the preparation outside. The discussion to
74 THE HOME
be held at the following session should be so clearly
and attractively presented before the class separates
that the members shall feel stimulated to prepare for it
to the extent of their ability.
The spirit of the meetings should be a social and co-
operative one. Great pains should be taken to provoke
only debates that axe really profitable.
The personal responsibility of each member to God
should be made clear. Many things will arise for which
the only solution is specific prayer.
The aim before the leader must be the formation of
habits which will effectively promote the missionary
enterprise. The primary aim of mission study is th*
accomplishment of the enterprise. This differentiates it
from manysubjects which are undertaken from intellectual
curiosity or a desire for general culture. It is designed
to secure volunteers, prayer, giving, service, and further
study. A secondary aim is the development of Christian
character. This cannot be achieved without active and
effective response by the class. Development comes
not from mere reception but from reaction. He gets
greatest Christian growth who does most and best for
Christ's Kingdom. These aims are supplementary, and
cannot be realised apart from one another. For the sake
of the cause and of personal character alike, we seek the
cultivation on the part of the class of permanent and
effective habits of missionary service.
THE SECURING AND TRAINING OF LEADERS
The principal need of the whole study class problem
is competent, enthusiastic, prayerful leaders. The
work has advanced most rapidly where most careful
provision has been made for training such leaders.
Summer Conference Work
The best work has been done at Missionary Con-
ferences and summer schools, because the atmosphere
MISSION STUDY 75
is most congenial to the aim of the class. An hour and a
quarter should be given each day to mission study. The
members should be so grouped that no leader need handle
more than thirty persons. Better training can be given
in yet smaEer groups. The leaders should be those who
are not only well versed in the subjects they present, but
who will set forth methods of teaching that should, and
can be, followed by others. Six or seven consecutive
days should be given to the subject.
The elements that have proved most valuable in
training leaders are
(a) The observation of object lessons under con-
ditions as close as possible to those of the
prospective work.
(b) Practice in leading by those desiring training.
(c) Subsequent discussion and criticism of the
methods used.
(d) The assignment of the leadership of each session
to a small group of three or more persons
rather than to a single individual.
Classes working along the four lines suggested above
have been held successfully, sometimes with two -hour
periods each day for from six to eight sessions.
The above methods of training leaders are widely
used at missionary conferences. Normal classes for
leaders are also held at summer conferences in America
under the auspices of the United Study of Missions
Committee and in the various summer schools in Britain.
Conferences of Shorter Duration
In conferences or institutes of shorter duration the
main opportunity afforded is to inspire people to take up
the work. The methods employed are either a modi-
fication of those here mentioned, or may consist merely
of a single model study class held on a platform as an
object lesson. An interesting variety is what is known
as a " relay conference/' This usually meets for six
or eight hours of a single day in one or more groups.
76 THE HOME BASE
At each group of the conference six or eight chapters of
a mission text-book are presented during consecutive
hours by methods similar to those of the study class,
with such changes of leaders as fatigue may make neces-
sary. Those who attend are free to come and go as they
like.
Local Normal Class Work
Normal classes have been successfully held in America
by travelling secretaries, who remain three consecutive
weeks in a place. With semi-weekly sessions, a stay of
this length permits six meetings of each class. In very
large cities enough classes can be organised to fill all the
time of a secretary. In other cases, two or more cities
or towns which are not more than two or three hours apart,
may constitute a single circuit. If enough travelling
secretaries could be secured, this would be the best solution
of the rural problem. Classes could be held at central
points, attended by delegates from surrounding towns
and villages. The difficulty in most cases is to find
competent leaders for normal classes.
THE LOCAL ORGANISATION OF MISSION STUDY
Summer conferences have been found to be one of
the most effective agencies in promoting the organisa-
tion of mission study classes, not only on account of their
training of leaders, but also by inspiring delegates
to undertake or join classes. Those engaged in the
promotion of mission study miss a great opportunity
when they permit this subject to occupy an inconspicuous
place in the programme of a conference, or to be allowed
only two or three hours of time.
For those who cannot attend summer conferences,
shorter local conferences or institutes are useful as being
more easily prepared for and multiplied. Much of their
value depends upon the way they are followed up by the
local or campaign committee. Where the conferences are
of longer duration, this committee is started with more
STUDY 77
training and inspiration ; where they are shorter, they
touch more people.
The main aim of all these agencies, as of the visits
of a travelling secretary, should be the organisation, by
personal contact, of committees in districts and individual
churches. Local conditions will determine the extent
to which fusion is possible between various organisations.
Sometimes existing committees, such as those of local
Christian Endeavour Unions, etc., can be utilised ; in
other cases an entirely new committee will be more
effective.
Much of the success of a local mission study campaign
depends upon the previous creation of an atmosphere
in which it can live. Special meetings and addresses,
conferences with influential persons and active workers,
may help greatly both in the preparation, and in the
organisation of classes afterwards. In a local church
a series of live missionary meetings, or an active circulation
of missionary books, is often a most useful preliminary to
securing members for classes.
The first missionstudy "season" begins about themiddle
of September and lasts until the middle of December.
Leaders are usually advised to hold weekly sessions
consecutively within this period rather than to permit
their courses to be interrupted by the Christmas holidays.
The second season begins in January and lasts till June,
with time for two courses. It is desirable, and increasingly
the custom, for a leader to take more than one group over
the subject. The first attempt prepares the way for
more effective work with subsequent classes. Some
leaders have five or six groups or circles every year.
In American colleges and universities the most effective
method of enlisting students in the study of missions
appears to be a systematic canvass of the student body by
a carefully selected committee. This is done usually
within the first college month of the year. Often a
preliminary canvass is made in the spring. Correspond-
ence during the summer months secures the interest of
a great many. In most cases a c< rally " is held just
78 THE BASE
before the autumn canvass is made, at which the claims
of mission study are strongly and attractively presented,
and members for the classes are often enrolled at this
meeting. The work is advertised in the college paper,
on bulletin boards and posters, at chapel services, in the
college hand-book, by literature on the subject, including
specially prepared folders, and sometimes in the official
calendar of the institution. The annual student con-
ferences also afford an excellent opportunity for the
promotion of this study, entire college delegations being
often enlisted as a nucleus for the enrolment in their
institution.
THE VALUE OF THE MISSION STUDY MOVEMENT
While this Report has dealt more directly with the
more systematised, and it may be more scientific methods
of mission study, there is no desire to depreciate any and
all kinds of " missionary reading circles/' and the more
irregular and unsystematic study of the subject. Any-
thing that will lead Christian men and women and
youth to the personal investigation of the facts and
principles of missions cannot fail to have its value. Yet,
when everything is said, we shall probably all agree that
the more systematic and thorough the study, and the more
in conformity to the known laws which govern all educa-
tion, the greater and more lasting will^be the value of
the work accomplished.
It is recognised that the future success of foreign missions
depends in no small measure upon the promotion of an
intelligent appreciation among the young people in the
Churches throughout the world of the facts, principles,
and purpose of missions.
CHAPTER VI
THE PROMOTION OF MISSIONARY
INTELLIGENCE THROUGH INSTRUC-
TION IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITU-
TIONS
I. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN AMERICA
THIS subject Is of such prime Importance to the cause
of missions and to its future success that the most thorough
investigation of the subject was made both in America
and in Europe, Owing to quite different conditions
prevailing in the two countries, the methods of approach
to the subject materially differ. At the same time the
information secured in both cases Is of supreme value to
those who are studying this subject with a view to the
provision of better missionary educational facilities in
preparatory and collegiate Institutions.
In the treatment of the material obtained It has seemed
best to separate the so-called secular institutions from the
theological colleges and seminaries. The special mis-
sionary instruction given in the latter class of insti-
tutions is treated under that section of this Report
which deals with the leadership of the clergy in the
missionary enterprise.
The investigation of the provision for missionary
Instruction in the academic institutions of America was
conducted by means of correspondence with five hundred
and fifty universities, colleges, schools, and academies.
A special correspondence was also conducted with a
79
80 THE HOME BASE
number of leading American educators. Of these five
hundred and fifty institutions, four hundred and five
sent definite replies to a series of questions. Three
hundred and eighteen make no provision for the study
of missions ; but of these, sixteen provide courses in
comparative religion or in the history and philosophy
of religion. Six treat of missions incidentally, in con-
nection with the following departments or subjects :
Comparative Religion, Pedagogy, History, Sociology,
Political Science, and Ethics. One institution mentions
occasional lectures by visiting missionaries, and one
speaks of an extensive mission library.
Of the eighty-seven institutions which make some
specific provision for the study of missions, thirty-
seven are theological schools or mission training schools,
or have special departments for training ministerial
students. A large number of these institutions make
reports which properly belong to the consideration of
theological seminaries. The almost uniform provision is
for two hours per week of instruction, and this by means
of lectures, the course extending through one year. In ten
cases, attendance is required of students for the ministry,
but in all cases the classes are open to all students.
Thirty-eight reports are from denominational institu-
tions which are in the direct control of some branch of
the Church. Six of these provide occasional lectures in
missions, averaging some two hours a week for one year ;
nine report required courses, averaging some two hours
per week for one year. Five of the reports are from
" academies," and suggest elementary studies in mission
history and occasional lectures by visiting speakers.
Of the four hundred and five institutions reporting,
when we except the academies, denominational institu-
tions, and theological and Bible training schools, only
seven report any specific missionary instruction. Four of
these mention brief and occasional elective courses,
George Washington University of Washington, D.C.,
provides an optional course, attended chiefly by those
not enrolled in the University. Yale University at New
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 81
Haven, Connecticut, however, provides, in connection
with its divinity school, a very comprehensive course of
missionary instruction, and has a full professorship in
missions. Harvard offers, in connection with the
department of Modern History, an elective course covering
one hour per week for one year, in " The Expansion of
Christendom in the Nineteenth Century. 3 ' Wooster
(Ohio) University has a professorship in missions, by
which elective courses in mission study are offered to all
University students. Hiram College, Ohio, has a Depart-
ment of Missionary Service with five men on the faculty.
One State university for a time offered an elective course
in modern missions for which due credit was given by the
university. This was discontinued, not because of any
opposition to the course upon the part of the trustees
of the University or any one else, but because of a vote
passed covering another subject which, without the
intention or purpose of the mover of the resolution, pre-
vented further recognition of the course in missions.
On examining the replies from the educators, to whom
reference has been made, the consensus of opinion seems
to be that no separate department of missionary instruc-
tion should be established in academic institutions, but
that the subject of Christian missions should be treated
incidentally, in connection with cognate departments,
such as Comparative Religion, History, Sociology, etc.
The evident conclusions from a careful study of all
the reports submitted, may be summarised as follows :
First, very little is being offered in the line of specific
courses on missions in the curricula of the academic
institutions of America, with the exception of the de-
nominational schools,
Second, an increasing effort is being made to treat the
subject more or less exhaustively in connection with the
following departments, most of which have already been
mentioned : Comparative Religion, Pedagogy, Anthro-
pology, History, Sociology, Sacred Literature, Political
Science, 'Ethics, History of Religion, Philosophy, Oriental
Civilisation.
COM. VI. 6
82 THE HOME BASE
Third, while much is being done by denominational
schools, they might be encouraged greatly to increase the
number and scope of their courses in missionary study.
Fourth, the supreme value and the absolute necessity
of the work of the student Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion and Young Women's Christian Association in
America in the establishment and conduct of mission
study classes is emphasised by every reference to the
submitted reports. In cases where no mission study is
included in the curriculum, instructors bear witness to
the broadening and educative effects of the courses con-
ducted by these Associations, and in the great proportion of
all the institutions of higher learning in America the whole
matter of mission study is left to these voluntary agencies.
Fifth, an increasing interest in and a widening apprecia-
tion of the necessity of mission study are expressed by a
very large percentage of those who are leading in educa-
tional work. Not only do they cordially endorse the
establishment of optional classes, but they recognise that
any scientific investigation or instruction in History,
Philosophy, Political Science, and kindred subjects, must
include the intelligent treatment of a factor of such deep
significance, and such vast proportions, as that of the
modern missionary enterprise of the Christian Church.
There is no department of education to which the
attention of college and university students can be directed
which contains in itself the elements of a more broadening
character than the subject of modern missions. A thorough
course in this department must perforce consider such
subjects as, " Religion, its Substance and History/'
"The Ethnic Religions/* Relation of Religion to
National Life/ 1 " Characteristics of the Eastern Races/'
" Religion and Sociology/' " Relation of Christianity to
the other great Religions," " Advance of Christianity
into the East during the Last Century/' " The Influence
of Christianity upon the Social, Intellectual, Moral,
Economic, and National Life of a Nation/' and many
allied topics, all of which belong to the proper treatment
of modern missions. There are few courses offered in
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 83
the curriculum of any college or university that open a
wider and more rewarding field of study and investigation,
that would be more disciplinary in character and more
scholarly in substance than this, or more worthy of the
most intelligent, thorough, and broad-minded treatment
possible. There is reason to believe that such courses,
if of ered, would be widely chosen.
This matter should have the unbiased and serious
consideration of those who are influential in shaping the
curricula of higher institutions of learning, not as a
question of religion or of personal missionary service,
but as a matter of a broad and comprehensive education.
We are of the opinion, and this opinion is based upon
correspondence with all of the leading academic institu-
tions of America, after extensive investigation among
students in widely separated colleges and universities,
that such courses, if offered by recognised competent
instructors, would prove to be from the first popular,
attractive, and of the greatest educative value, while at
the same time of supreme importance to the early Christian
conquest of the world.
In the secondary schools in America, apart from those
that are strictly denominational, there is and has been
no attempt whatever to introduce the subject of missions
in any form to the attention of the pupils. As most of
these schools are national, and supported from public
funds as such, they must be free from any form of religious
teaching, and Protestant missions would necessarily be
regarded by Roman Catholics and Jews as a phase of
religion. In this respect conditions in the United States
differ widely from those found in Great Britain.
II. THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, HIGH SCHOOLS, AND
OTHER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN GREAT
BRITAIN
The question and problem of missionary propaganda
in relation to the generation which is growing up in the
big Secondary Schools of Britain is a quite separate and
84 THE BASE
distinct one. For the most part these boys and girls
do not Attend Sunday Schools or any similar organisation.
Therefore, if the missionary idea is to lay hold of them, it
must come to them in their home life or in the school life.
The Committee has received valuable guidance and help
in this matter from the headmasters of the leading
Public Schools and several Grammar Schools, also from
some masters of Private Schools who were known to be
in sympathy with missionary work, and from head-
mistresses of Girls' High Schools and Private Schools
who are acknowledged authorities on matters of religious
education. For the purposes of this Report we shall
treat these together, as forming, in the main, one problem,
only particularising where thers seems special reason for
doing so.
THE PRESENT POSITION
In answering a list of questions which was sent out to
some fifty masters and mistresses, every one gives aa
answer in the negative, usually in very emphatic form,
to the question: "Are you satisfied with the extent to
which the appeal of ttie Church's duty to the non-Christian
warld is gripping the rising generation in our schopls ? J>
The replies to the other questions reveal not only a
dissatisfaction with the present state of things, but an
obviously genuine readiness and desire to consider any
suggestions for an advance in the direction of giving the
missioaary idea a mo-re vit^l place in school education.
Not am Public School headmaster suggests that all is
being done that can or should be done? in our Public
Schools in this direction, though almost all earnestly
insist upon the need of caution, lest false or ill-considered
methods create a dislike for what they are iatended to
commend, or produce a morbid and delicate condition
instead of a healthy and vigorous growth.
The failure of the missionary propaganda to grip the
rfetag generation in our Secondary Schools throughout
the country doss not need insisting upon or illustrating.
It is obvious. Tto present indifference of leading Christian
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 85
aymen In the Churches is clear proof, although head-
masters are of opinion that there has been a great advance
in recent years.
Three aspects, however, of what is peculiarly the Public
School Question are of special concern to schoolmasters.
(a) The very obvious failure to prepare thfe young
men who go out into civil, military, and im-
portant commercial positions in non-Christian
countries to take a definitely missionary (i.e.
a truly Christian) view of their opportunities.
(6) The fact that a very large proportion of the men who
go up to the Universities from our Public Schools
have not even an intelligent interest in missions.
(c) The dearth of candidates for missionary work,
as indeed for all the altruistic professions.
In Relation to Home Influences
In the opinion of our correspondents the cause of this
failure lies at least as much in the homes as in the schools,
and not only in homes where there is indifference to the
cause, but often where there is real earnestnfess about
foreign missions.
Two points in connection with home training have
emerged with strong emphasis from our correspondence
with leading Christian educators.
(a) There is great need in hotne training of clear
and definite presentation of foreign missions
the reason of missions, the tnethods of missions,
and the results of missions as part of the
religious training of children, and as a part of
the world's great appeal for Christian service.
(&) Together with the efforts to gain children's
interest, some channels of practical service
or sacrifice for the cause must be provided
within the child's scope tod suited to his
instincts. The cause must be presented in
: such a way as to invite his immediate and
continuous personal help.
86 THE HOME BASE
These two elementary conditions constitute an appeal
to the Christian parents of all the Churches.
In Relation to School Life
The Commission has endeavoured to elicit from school-
masters and schoolmistresses a candid criticism of what
is at present being done by the Societies, in the schools,
and also suggestions as to lines of advance. It did
not succeed in drawing out any criticism of the methods
at present employed, except that they are not adequate.
On the second point it was discovered quite clearly that
masters and mistresses looked to the Societies to take
the initiative in forward steps, and expressed themselves
as very open to consider any further practical and suitable
methods which might be employed.
THE ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES
Without attempting to be exhaustive, we consider it
important to point out that in the opinion of education-
ists the following are lines within which advance may
reasonably be made :
(a) The subject of foreign missions should be treated
not as a separate thing, but as part of a boy's
religion, an " ergon " not a " parergon " of
the Christian life.
(6) It must not be dissociated in boys 7 minds from
the whole great appeal of Christ and of the
world for Christian service.
Missionary propaganda must not be a rival to home
claims for social and spiritual service, but, in spirit at
least, uniting itself with all these other needs, make the
one imperious appeal to Christian schoolboys for lives
of sacrifice and service.
(c) It is of the utmost importance that missionary
propaganda should ally itself closely with the
life, and especially with the religious life, of
tbe schools.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 87
For this and other -reasons the headmasters of Public
Schools which are denominational would not welcome
any inter-denominational agency to any close relation-
ships with their schools, though they rightly abhor any
narrow or denominational spirit. Therefore this field
is essentially the sphere of the Societies of the various
denominations to which the schools belong.
The Societies can only hope for permanent influence
if they are prepared to work in complete accord and in
full co-operation with the school authorities. A boy's
and a girl's school life is already full enough, and addi-
tional mental exertion should not be given except with
the approval of those who have it in charge.
This principle also emphasises the importance of the
Societies appointing special men and women for this
work who can gain the confidence of the authorities,
instead of leaving it entirely to deputations, however
good, who change continually and can provide no
continuity of policy.
METHODS OF ADVANCE
We would again clearly state that, from our corre-
spondence with leading representative headmasters and
mistresses, it is evident that they would welcome a sane,
healthy policy to permeate the whole school life with the
sense of Christian service, of which foreign missionary
work is admittedly a large part. We have received from
them a great number of most valuable suggestions as to
methods. We have selected those about which there is
an influential consensus of opinion, and, while all the
methods may be impossible in any one school, we would
earnestly commend them to the Edinburgh Conference,
and through it to the Teaching Profession, as those which
(in the opinion not of Society agents but of leading edu-
cationists) are most likely to produce healthy, robust,
and truly 'I Christian convictions about missions
in the young men and women fwhich our great
schools pour forth into the world, These methods fall
88 THE HOME
naturally Into two divisions: (I) Those which depend
chiefly upon the Societies; (2) those which depend
chiefly upon the School authorities. It must be clearly
understood that each method must finally depend upon
the co-operation of both the School and the Society,
i. Methods of Advance for the Societies
(1) The custom of having, at least annually, a Mission-
ary Lecture, or an address or sermon (generally both), is
adopted in all the large English Public Schools where the
boys are boarders. Most have at least two a year. An
address or lantern lecture is also given each year in the
more important Grammar Schools, and in many of the
larger Girls' Schools, and in Private Schools for boys and
fifirls ^
There are many evidences that these lectures, addresses,
and sermons have done much good. There are not a few
men at the Universities now, members of the Student
Volunteer Movement, who acknowledge that their first
call to the mission field came through a lecture, or
address, or sermon *' in their school chapel. In a great
number of cases prejudice has been broken down and a
bias in favour of missions given, which has left both
boys and girls open to more definite influence in later
days. But we would emphasise that annual addresses
have only a very limited value, and cannot of themselves
be relied on to alter the whole tone and attitude of the
boys and girls who leave our schools.
(2) Missionary Study Circles. We have been astonished
to find how warmly the suggestion we made as to the
1 In Girls' Schools especially there seems need of a speaker
who can speak definitely, as one schoolmistress points out, of
" (i) the nature of the work abroad, e.g. educational, medical,
etc. (2) The training needed. (3) The existence and nature
of missionary training colleges. (4) The existence of Unions
to help and" guide probable candidates during waiting, (5)
Financial 1 arrangements with regard to workers/* She adds,
" Present' methods certainly secure that only the very keenest
who struggle on till they gel the needed help a,nd information
offer themselves/*
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 89
usefulness of these lias been received. Not one English
Public School headmaster has negatived the suggestion
either as unsuitable or impracticable, or on any other
account. That fact we consider to be of great signifi-
cance, as the first text-book suited to this purpose had
only been published for two months when the enquiries
were made.
Those of our correspondents who have made the ex-
periment report most favourably upon it as an agent of
great educational as well as spiritual value, and several
have already declared that they believe it will prove the
most fruitful as it is the most reasonable and scientific
method of presenting the cause of missions to boys and
girls.
2. Me&ods of Advance for School Authorities
The methods suggested under this head must emanate
from the School Authorities. Initiative suggestions,
assistance, suitable literature, etc., may come from the
Societies and, it seems, are expected from them, but they
depend for their working upon the masters and mistresses
in the Schools.
(j) The School Atmosphere. The first and most
essential point of all is that which no method can prescribe,
for it concerns the atmosphere or spirit of the School,
which again depends very largely on the personnel of
the staff.
In this connection one important remark has been
made by several headmasters of high standing, viz. :
That the need of truly missionary-hearted men, as masters
in our Public Schools, and the great opportunities that
would He before them are not at all fully recognised.
For instance, one pertinently asks-" Why should not
such a man, if debarred on health or other grounds front
going to the mission field, regard it as his missionary
vocation ? " Another " Why should not the Student
Volunteer Movement recommend a two years' junior
mastership as training lor the Foreign Field and a most
fruitful field of service ? It might give at least as useful
90 THE HOME BASE
an experience as a two years' curacy, more particularly
for those who look forward to doing educational work in
the mission field/'
There is no doubt that to have a sane, sound, missionary
enthusiast on the staff of each of our schools would do
very much to change their whole tone towards foreign
missionary work. One headmaster points out lt It
is not the Head who has the most direct influence, the
House and Form Masters have the closest touch ^ with
the boys and the opportunity for personal influence/'
The whole of this argument may be applied with equal
force to Girls' Schools.
(2) In th& Regular School Services. Vfe have had much
illuminating correspondence from headmasters on this
point. There is great variety of opinion as to how the
missionary idea may be given a larger place in the Chapel
services or other devotional exercises of the School, but
apparent unanimity that more should be done than is
being done at present.
How it can be done depends upon the character of the
School. In a Church of England School, a Free Church
Public School, or an undenominational School, the solution
is quite different, though the problem is essentially the
same.
Some of the suggestions which we have received are
so valuable that we tabulate a few of them :
A Missionary Colled or prayer introduced into the
School Service or Prayers daily, or once a week.
The use of a Prayer Cycle in connection with the School
service, the names of Old Boys working in the mission
field to be mentioned by name.
A special Service of Intercession held at regular intervals.
(In Church of EnglandJSchools the opportunities of the
Day of Intercession seem specially suitable.)
A simple Missionary Prayers-Meeting of masters and
. ,
A Missionary Litany composed largely of petitions
which the boys or girls themselves suggest in writing
beforehand.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 91
The mention of the names of Old Boys in the Mission
Field for silent prayer on special occasions (some suggest,
at Holy Communion).
(3) In the Ordinary Religious Teaching. Masters and
mistresses agree that no " method " is so fundamentally
important as that Bible teaching should kindle a glow of
missionary enthusiasm.
It appears not to be feasible to include missionary
teaching as a " set subject " in the religious curriculum,
but headmasters and mistresses consider that it is of
prime importance that the Bible should be taught as the
Missionary Library that it is. This is not easy to secure
unless the teachers have themselves the true missionary
spirit, and have considered their religious teaching in that
light.
(4) At Special Occasions of Religious Teaching. It is
probable that masters can do as much in their regular
school preaching as any deputation in his special sermon
to instil true and worthy ideals concerning missionary
work, and inspire high ambitions for Christian service.
Schoolmasters themselves lay special emphasis on other
occasions when they have opportunities of personal
contact with their boys on spiritual matters. For
instance, in the Church of England they recognise in the
period of preparation for Confirmation the opportunity
of the schoolmaster for teaching and inspiring boys
about their missionary duty. They feel, however, that
these opportunities are not sufficiently recognised and
utilised. Some have found it a wise and helpful plan to
invite a missionary or special missionary speaker to
address their Confirmation candidates on the subject.
(5)' School Missions in the Mission Field. A few leading
Public Schools have for some time past supported in
varying degrees and senses their " own mission " in the
mission field, in much the same way as schools support
their " own mission " in the poorer parts of our great
cities at home. We asked a question with regard to the
wisdom and practicability of extending and further
developing this scheme. Considerably more than half
92 THE HOME BASE
tlie replies endorsed It, or at least some effort In this
direction, as being calculated to draw out active sympathy
and help of boys and girls, and to lead them to an in-
telligent appreciation of missionary problems and policy.
It is probably not possible or wise to aim at a thing
demanding too large an annual contribution at first,
though as it becomes known, and sympathy is drawn
out, and " Old Boys " take their share, a considerable
amount can safely be raised. Two or three schools
already give 150 a year or more, although the authorities
of these declare that the system has never been
thoroughly worked.
We earnestly commend this plan as well calculated
to instil into the British schoolboy and schoolgirl a sense
of their Imperial and Christian missionary duty, and, if
well worked, to draw' out their enthusiasm about it.
(6) In "Old Boys'" Guilds. If by such methods as
have been suggested the missionary idea permeates the
spirit of our schools, it will find its place in the Old Boys'
Guilds and religious " Unions/ 1 One schoolmistress
says : " Every School Guild of Old Girls should have a
circle for missionary study letters from Old Girls who
are now in the mission field and from friends of the girls
connected with the School Mission being circulated
monthly by the School Missionary Secretary/'
In this way the missionary idea may ally itself with
and help to mould the school esprit de corps, which has so
much to do with the making of an Englishman,
CONCLUSION
It would seem, then, from the above summary of methods
suggested by leading educationists that the following
are the principles by which we should be guided in the
effort to win the young life of the great Schools to take
its share in the great task before the Church,
First, to avoid all that savours of forcing, pressure, or
false emphasis, and to aim at cireating throughout our
schools a serious conviction that life is a call to service
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 93
on a basis as broad as the purposes of God, and that
sacrifice and selflessness are the measures of a life's value.
Secondly, so to relate the appeal of foreign missions
to this awakened conviction that it shall win by its own
Christian naturalness its predominantly urgent claim,
antt by the magnificent attractiveness of its call to un-
selfishness, shall lead to heroic endurance in service.
III. ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN GREAT BRITAIN
An extensive enquiry has been made to discover what
place teaching about missionary work has in the religious
instruction in elementary day schools, both provided
(schools that are the property of the State and con-
trolled by the County Council) and non-provided (schools
that belong to Churches by which the religious syllabus
is controlled).
For provided schools in England and Wales we have
only been able to discover one County Council Syllabus
which in any way includes the idea of missions. Almost
all appear rigidly to exclude it, even where in the ordi-
nary course of Bible, teaching its introduction seems
inevitable.
The one exception in which the idea of foreign missions
i introduced in some places where the Bible teaching
demands it, and must be incomplete or meaningless
without it, seems proof enough that it should be done,
and can be done. The subject is essentially non-con-
troversial and non-denominational, and there appears
to be no reason why, if Christians will unite in this
demand and in seeing that it is met, definite teaching
upon the meaning* motives, and duty of missionary
work should not be included in every County Council
Syllabus for the religious teaching in provided schools.
In non-provided schools belonging to the Christian
Gypffch the opportunities would seem to be even greater.
But here, again, though not a little is done in individual
schools, we find that there is but the laintest recognition
of the missionary idea in the syllabuses of religious.
9d HOME BASH
teaching issued in connection with the various denomi-
nations. One widely used syllabus in its course upon
the Acts of the Apostles omits chapter xiii. altogether.
The Established Church and the Free Churches appear
to be equally at fault. Again we have found one notable
exception one Diocese of the English Church which
includes the history of modern missions in its excellent
Church History Syllabus, and also provides a special
missionary prayer and hymn for school use.
We venture to call the attention of the leaders of
the Church to the grave injury and injustice which is
done to the children in its schools when Christian teaching
is thus warped and cramped and mutilated by the ex-
clusion of one of its essential ideas.
IV. THE POSITION ON THE CONTINENT
Upon the continent of Europe the general rule is
that public schools and universities are neutral
upon this subject. This is the case in Holland, al-
though the Government gives a subsidy to particular
schools which are entirely free as to religious instruction.
While many of these schools are distinctively Christian,
the missionary instruction is most inadequate. There
is a growing tendency, however, to put more emphasis
upon this subject. The historical instruction touches
upon the introduction of Christianity into the father-
land, and, as a teacher of these schools recently suggested,
there seems to be no reason why it should be deemed
out of order to give teaching upon the introduction of
Christianity into the colonies. In France there is no
missionary instruction in secondary schools, and only
in theological departments of the universities. In
Switzerland there is no missionary instruction in the
week-day schools. In the University of Lausanne and
in the Academy of Neuchatel there is a course in mis-
sionary history. In Norway, while there is no official
missionary instruction in the public schools, many
Christian teachers use the opportunities offered in geo-
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS &5
graphy or religious instruction to create an interest in
missions. The situation in Sweden is especially interest-
ing in that the history of Christian missions is taught in
secondary schools in connection with instruction in
Church history. In Germany successful efforts are made
to introduce a limited amount of missionary matter into
the curriculum of elementary and night schools ; and, at
same time, the Schoolmasters' Missionary Union (the
Lehrermissionsbund), which has been rapidly growing in
the last few years, gives reason to hope that the missionary
influence of many individual teachers will grow stronger.
Missionary lectures are given at several of the German
Universities, and at the University of Halle a special
missionary professorship has recently been created.
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
From this survey it is apparent that a large and un-
occupied field is open in the public, private, secondary,
and primary schools of Christendom, to say nothing
of the colleges and universities, for the introduction of
courses of study bearing directly or indirectly upon
the subject of the Christian conquest of the world,
Nothing could be more natural than to introduce the
subject in the schools of those countries that have
colonies in mission fields, and, for all, the subject contains
much available material that is not controversial and
that has in it elements of broad educational value.
The attention of leaders in missionary organisations is
urgently called to these significant facts.
CHAPTER VII
THE PROMOTION OF MISSIONARY IN-
TELLIGENCE THROUGH VISITS TO
MISSION FIELDS
INFORMATION has been secured upon this subject from
a long list of missionaries and secretaries of Missionary
Societies, as well as from pastors, laymen, and women
who have made extensive visits to mission countries.
The testimony oi these witnesses is based upon over three
thousand visits in the aggregate, made to more than nine
hundred mission stations.
VISITS OF BOARDS' SECRETARIES
Advantages to the Mission Field
The missionaries speak with deep conviction of the
encouragement and inspiration to themselves and the
Native Church resulting from the visits of the secretaries
oi Missionary Societies. Many difficulties may be re-
moved as the result of a secretary's visit.
Advantages to the Home Base
If the secretary visits mission lands as a learner,
getting into touch with the ordinary details of routine
work and coming into the closest personal sympathy with
the workers, he gains a knowledge which could never come
by correspondence. This will enable him. to direct the
work far more efficiently on his return. One corre-
00
TO MISSION 97
spondent advocates secretarial visits, because people at
home attach more weight to the addresses and appeals of
those secretaries who have frequently visited their fields.
Some missionaries only favour more frequent secretarial
visits if the object is to get fresh information and give
encouragement to the missionaries. They would depre-
cate more frequent visitation if the object is to continue
to control at home the details of the work on the field.
It is clear that these visits enable the home Boards better
to understand the communications they receive from
the field. On the part of a majority of the missionaries,
there is a strong conviction that each secretary should
not only visit the fields for which he is respon-
sible at the beginning of his administration (unless
he himself has been a missionary), but should also
revisit them at least once in ten years. Many mission-
aries maintain that these visits should come once in five
years.
Some Missionary Societies in all countries have adopted
a general policy of occasional official visitation to the
mission fields for purposes of information and administra-
tion. Some send such a commission or deputation only
when some local condition abroad seems to demand it.
In such a case the visiting body usually comprises a
secretary, a member or two of the executive committee
or Board, and possibly a pastor or influential layman
from outside the committee. Other Societies send
now and then a commission., usually including a
secretary, upon a general tour of inspection with
the expectation that those who compose it will visit
a large number of stations in different countries,
inspire those to whom they go to the extent of their
ability, and bring back a wide range of general
information for the benefit of the Board and of the
Church.
One Society in Scotland is planning for a regular
yearly visitation by a deputation of the controlling com-
mittee to the mission stations in a particular country,
while another sends annually two home ministers to a
COM. vi. 7
98 THE HOME BASE
group of stations in some country to study the work on
the spot, to encourage the missionaries, and to bring back
material for the encouragement of their constituency.
To the effectiveness and value of this plan strong testi-
mony is given.
There are other Societies that plan systematically
for occasional visits of members of the executive official
staff to specific fields for the purpose of prolonged and
thorough study of the conditions and needs of that field.
Such a deputation is not expected to visit any other
country than the one to which it is specifically sent.
Before starting out, it is expected to familiarise itself
not only with the missionary work of its own Society
there, but, as far as possible, with the general history of
the country and the people and their religious conditions,
as well as the work done in that country by other Mis-
sionary Societies. The visit of the deputation is prepared
for by the missionaries on the field, so that the greatest
amount of exact knowledge may be obtained with ^ the
least loss of time and strength. This deputation visits
every missionary centre and inspects every institution
of its own organisation and also looks into the work
carried on by other Societies, as well as any Government
institutions which have a relation to the work of the
missionaries. Upon its return, it renders a carefully
prepared report to the executive committee of its own
Board, containing suggestions regarding the future of the
work and making whatever recommendations it may
deem' wise and proper. In many cases, besides this official
and confidential report, a general and popular report is
made for wide use among the constituency. In this
latter report only matters of popular general interest are
included, and these are frequently illustrated by photo-
graphs.
In the general practice of Missionary Societies two
distinct classes of deputations are recognised. First,
the administrative deputation sent by ^the executive
Board for the purpose of the better administration of the
work ; and second, a general deputation, whose object
VISITS TO 99
is to secure information for presentation to the con-
stituency at home to increase its interest. For the
latter purpose it is becoming more and more important
that every Missionary Society officer should have the
opportunity of seeing personally at least some phases
of missionary work in actual operation. It is becom-
ing increasingly difficult for one who knows nothing
of the missionary work abroad from personal obser-
vation and experience to command a hearing with
the constituency upon the character and needs of that
work.
As regards the work of administration, it is now
accepted as a principle that the wisest and most
economical administration of the work abroad in
any field demands a measure of personal knowledge
upon the part of some at least of those by whom the
work is directed and controlled at home. The leading
Missionary Societies all over the world are recognising
these needs and conditions, and are shaping their policies
accordingly.
As to the source from which the expenses of such de-
putations should be met, there are divergencies in practice.
Several leading Societies regard this expense as a proper
and legitimate charge upon the general treasury. These
quote instances where a deputation has recommended
action that saved the Society more money than the
entire cost of the whole expedition. There is practically
no difference in judgment that as an administrative
measure the properly constituted occasional deputation
is a necessity to the wisest and most effective conduct of
the work abroad. At the same time, in most instances
reported the expense of such a body has been met in
whole or in part by special gifts for the purpose, and thus
a heavy charge upon the treasury of the Society has been
avoided. Churches that have missionary bishops upon
the field who return periodically and put themselves into
close relations with the executive Committee and the
home constituency, do not feel the same need of an
occasional visitation as non-Episcopal bodies.
100 THE BASE
VISITS OF PASTORS
Advantages to the Miss-ion Field
A fortnight's visit from one who is keenly interested
in missions is one of the greatest tonics a mission can
receive. The whole mission is refreshed by such a visit ;
helpful suggestions are made, and permanent links are
formed. Several missionaries write that when the pastors
are public speakers of exceptional strength and men of
real spiritual power, their visits are a blessing to the
missionaries and a still larger one to the Christian com-
munity. The visits to India of such men as the Haskell
lecturers are of great value in giving educated Indians
an opportunity of meeting and hearing prominent re-
ligious leaders of the West, and enabling them to realise
the intellectual and moral forces of Christianity in
Christian lands. The identification of Christianity almost
exclusively with missionaries is apt to give Indians too
limited a view of the present place and power of the
Christian religion.
We would lay special emphasis upon the value of an
occasional visit to mission fields of Christian leaders of
wide reputation, good judgment, and sound piety who are
ready to do everything in their power for the promotion
of the work.
Advantages to the Plonie Base
The attitude of most of the missionaries is summed up
by a missionary from India : " Would that many more
pastors were sent out, that they might come into personal
touch with the missions they must advocate and support/'
When the pastors come as students of missions, preparing
to impart to others the knowledge they receive, they are
not only welcomed by the missionaries, but, as a rule,
they use their time to such good effect that their church
and neighbourhood feel the stimulus for years to come,
Visits to the mission field by pastors qualify them to
give substantial aid to the officers and directors of the
VISITS TO MISSION 101
Societies on their return. Their information is usually
of an intimate kind, and they are frequently able to
indicate in a confidential fashion the weaknesses or
elements of special strength which they may have dis-
covered in the men or in their work. They are frequently
able to make a helpful comparative estimate of the value
of the work carried on in the various missions in the
same field, and to balance the methods of one station with
those of another,
VISITS BY LAYMEN AND WOMEN DEFINITELY
INTERESTED IN MISSIONS
One layman writes strongly favouring the visits of
other laymen : (< I will do and give much more for having
gone/* Another : " Encourage these visits in every
practicable way. Still another : '* Every interested
layman should go." It is of great value for a missionary
at home on deputation work to meet with those who
have visited the work abroad. It is good to have as a
chairman of a missionary meeting one who can say " I
have been there myself, and can bear witness to what I
have sepn."
Great as is the enthusiasm on the part of laymen and
women who have visited the field, there is an even greater
desire on the part of the missionaries for the promotion
of these visits. Several testify to the great value to
Christian congregations in the mission field and the
educated non-Christian community of meeting Christian
laymen. A considerable number of young Americans
and Englishmen, on graduation from college, make a
prolonged tour before deciding upon their life-work.
Cases are reported where visits have resulted either in
forming or confirming a resolve to offer for mission service,
or in creating a living interest which results in regular
service and support at home. Several report that visits
to the mission field have given greater vividness and de-
finiteness to the daily intercession of praying people.
This is clearly the most potent result of these visits.
102 THE HOME BASE
VISITS BY GENERAL TOURISTS
The greatly improved facilities for travel have led in
recent years to a great extension of the practice among
Americans and Europeans of making tours to non-
Christian countries. It is important that those who make
such tours should have the opportunity of seeing some-
thing of missionary work. Tourists who return home
prejudiced against the work are apt to find a too ready
ear in the home constituency, while opponents of missions
have often been converted to a lifelong enthusiasm for
the cause as the result of a single visit which enabled
them to see what was actually being done. It is of the first
importance that those who visit the East should leana
to see the relations between the Christian and non-
Christian peoples on their higher and spiritual side.
It is desirable that missionaries and Missionary Societies
should encourage such personal contact between tourists
and missionary work to the utmost extent in their power.
On the other hand, it is essential that tourists should
refrain in every way from treating missionaries as a
mere convenience and imposing unfairly upon their
hospitality, and should bear in mind the value of mis-
sionaries 1 time, and avoid adding to their burdens by
distracting them unnecessarily from their regular work
or by expecting the arrangement of special meetings.
Whatever the disadvantages, the permanent and
widespread value of frequent visits to the mission fields
upon the part of officials of Missionary Societies, pastors,
and Christian laymen, is recognised. These visits are
becoming increasingly important both^ for purposes of
administration and for general information. The officers
of mission Boards might well prepare a general pamphlet
giving suggestions to those who contemplate such visits,
that they may recognise and guard against embarrassing
the missionaries and the work by their conduct on the
field, and by their reports after returning. In this way
the greatest possible good may result from such visits,
The same pamphlet might contain also suggestions to
VISITS TO MISSION FIELDS 103
the missionary as to the best methods of introducing the
traveller to the work and field. With such instructive
and precautionary measures, there is no question that this
is one of the most valuable methods of securing first-hand
information and experience, for extensive use among the
constituency at home.
CHAPTER VIII
THE PROMOTION OF MISSIONARY IN-
TELLIGENCE THROUGH CONFER-
ENCES, EXHIBITIONS, AND OTHER
METHODS
THE growth of the missionary enterprise and the fuller
realisation of the great demands which it makes upon the
Church at home have called forth new methods, whose
function it is to strengthen the root growth of the mis-
sionary tree in the home Churches. This section deals
with some of these methods, the aim of which is to train
leaders in home work for foreign missions, and to impart
a truer vision of missionary opportunity and privilege
to the rank and file of Christian people. What follows
represents conclusions reached after extended corre-
spondence and consultation with a large number of persons
known to be experts in the matters covered by these
particular enquiries.
I, MISSIONARY CONFERENCES, CONVENTIONS,
AND SUMMER SCHOOLS
The modern missionary conference or convention no
doubt owes its origin to the older conventions, such as
those at Northfield and at Keswick. The avowed
purpose of these conventions was the deepening of the
spiritual life of those who attended; but their leaders
have come increasingly to realise that the missionary
duty of the Church and the individual is inseparable
101
AND 105
from this aim, and In recent years they have given in-
creasingly large and definite place to the missionary
appeal, and are sounding more and more clearly the
call of Christ to service and consecration for the
world. The debt which the missionary cause owes to
Northfield and Keswick and their now numerous off-
shoots is indeed incalculable. Few agencies have been
more used of God in calling forth missionary recruits
and in leading Christians at home to a life of holiness and
personal experience of the power of the Holy Spirit.
Indispensable as these conventions for the deepening
of the spiritual life are to our modern life, it is evident
that there are other necessary functions which are beyond
their range. Missionary leaders have recognised that
some similar agency was needed which would allow of
more specialised concentration upon the demands of
missions and sound yet more specifically the call tQ
Christian consecration.
Hence the growth in recent years of directly missionary
conferences and conventions, both inter- denominational
and denominational, in America, Britain, the Continent
of Europe, as well as in Australia and New Zealand.
Their characteristic notes have been the setting forth of
the world's need as Christ's call to a deeper, truer, and
more comprehensive consecration to Him, and the study
and consideration of the response of the Church and the
individual to the world 1 s demand. As a result, there is
no doubt that they have been used to lead God's people
to a deeper and fuller experience of Christ.
The occasions, arrangements, programmes, and details
of missionary conventions and conferences are almost
as varied as the conferences themselves. Some are
periodic, synchronising with the annual meetings of the
Missionary Societies, or held at certain fixed dates as
summer camps. The occasion for others arises out of
some special call from the foreign field or some special
aeed in the home work. Some are organised for special
classes or types, such as students, Young Men's or Young
Women's Christian Association workers, Sunday School
106 THE HOME BASE
teachers, etc. Some are inter-denominational, and some
are denominational in character.
Our correspondence with the organisers of a large
number of these conferences and conventions makes it
clear, however, that the objects they have in view may
be fairly classified under two heads : (i) The training of
leaders, and (2) the imparting of vision and inspiration.
Further, it is evident that experience endorses the necessity
for keeping these two objects quite distinct, and for
preparing the programme accordingly. It has therefore
become recognised that every conference should have
one primary aim, towards which the main features of
the programme should be directed. Missionary confer-
ences and conventions can be divided under these two
heads according to their primary aim.
(l) CONFERENCES WHICH AIM PRIMARILY AT EDUCATION
AND THE TRAINING OF LEADERS
The demand of to-day is for specialists in every branch
of thought and activity. It is increasingly recognised
that the cause of missions cannot be strong unless there
be found in the Church at home men and women who
will give it the first place in their life, and unless oppor-
tunity is provided for them to be trained in the knowledge
of missionary problems and in the methods by which
they can most effectively use that knowledge to awaken
and cultivate the interest of others.
How to provide this training is the problem to which
these conferences and conventions are addressed.
The question of the number of delegates to such a
conference is of great importance, and is one upon which
there is a variety of opinion and practice. But where
education and the training of leaders is the primary
aim, we find that judgment and experience increasingly
favour smaller conferences.
One leader reports that the most effective conference
he ever knew had one hundred in attendance all told.
On the other hand, some of the student conferences run
CONFERENCES AND 107
up almost to a thousand. Judging from the experience
of a number of conferences through a series of years,
several experienced leaders have agreed that three
hundred is an almost ideal number. Five hundred can
be handled provided a sufficient number of good leaders
is secured. The advantage of a small conference of two
hundred and fifty to three hundred is that by the time
the conference is well under weigh, the delegates have
begun to become fairly well acquainted with one another.
This makes for unity of purpose and mutual helpfulness,
which are so necessary to a successful conference.
The question whether these conferences, conventions,
and schools should be denominational or inter- denomina-
tional, is not one for which any universal law can be laid
down. It must be settled according to the aim and the
circumstances for which each particular conference is
designed. The position in Europe and in America is
somewhat different.
The following advantages are cited for inter-denomina-
tional conferences.
(1) Interchange of plans and methods.
(2) Establishment of fellowship on the common
ground of salvation by Christ alone and service
to Him.
(3) The vision of a world-wide campaign and of
statesmanlike methods of conducting it.
(4) Saving of machinery and expenditure in accom-
plishing much work among the various
branches of the Church.
On the other hand, many leaders of the missionary
enterprise would argue that small denominational con-
ventions or conferences with definite objects clearly
worked out in the programme (as, for instance, for various
sides of home work, e.g., missionary study or children's
work) may be at least as useful as the larger and inter-
denominational conventions which have done so much for
missions in recent years.
A strong case can also be made for further specialising
these conferences, whether denominational or inter-
108 THE BASE
denominational, by limiting them to certain classes or
groups and by making them most definite in aim and
programme.
With regard to the programmes of these conferences,
little can be said of general application. There is almost
unanimity as to the general division of hours at a summer
conference. It is this : " Morning for work. Afternoon
for recreation. Evening for inspiration/ 1 It is agreed
that mission study should have the largest place in the
missionary programme. In the morning mission study
should have the best hour, and an adequate time should
be given for round table or open parliament on practical
methods in various departments of missionary organisa-
tion. In the case of inter-denominational conferences,
time must also be given for denominational meetings
where missionary society secretaries meet with their own
delegates and outline the work for the coming season.
It is taken for granted that every programme will
make provision for time for united intercession every
day of the conference. It is coming to be more fully
recognised, too, that provision should be made for
definite teaching upon prayer and Bible study, for upon
the formation of strong habits of personal devotion,
meditation, Bible study, and prayer the power of the
leadership which the conference seeks to foster must
depend. There seems to be a grievous lack in this direc-
tion which conferences and conventions, whose aim is to
train leaders, must seek to supply.
The question of securing delegates is also one of great
importance. It is not so much a matter of securing them
in such numbers as to make the conference a success, but
of being able to secure those for whom the conference is
intended and planned. Advertising in denominational
papers brings the conference to the attention of^some, but
can in no wise be relied upon. By far the most effective
agency in securing delegates is the work of delegates of
previous years. Good, well-printed literature is also
valuable. In addition to these methods, it has often
been deemed wise to send a secretary into the field to
109
hold workers* meetings la which the securing of a proper
delegation is laid upon the leaders.
(2) CONFERENCES, THE PRIMARY AIM OF WHICH IS
INSPIRATION AND THE AWAKENING OF INTEREST
The justification of these conferences, some of which
stand out as marking epochs in the history of Christendom,
is not far to seek. Their keynote may be said to be
" vision/' their object to impart to the rank and file the
visions God has given to the leaders of the Church, the
prophets and seers of modern times. The last forty
years are notable for the awakened, enlarged, and deepened
vision of the world, of the opportunity of the Church and
of the meaning of Christ's Kingdom which has come to
the leaders in the Church. But these greater visions and
deeper motives have not as yet laid hold of the Church
as a whole or gripped the average church member the
man in the pew. There is universal testimony that in
this matter the people " are destroyed for lack of know-
ledge/' The average Christian has not realised the great
world movements that are going on around him, and still
less does he see their meaning for the Church of Christ
or their bearing upon world evangelisation.
To this condition these conferences are addressed.
They aim at the awakening of Christendom to its oppor-
tunity and privilege, and to the manifest call of God from
the non-Christian world. They make for an awakened
Christian conscience in this matter. They summon
Christians to a true consecration to God for the world's
need.
CONSERVING THE RESULTS OF CONFERENCES
The science of missionary conferences is not yet old,
but the science of following them up so as to deepen
impression and conserve interest is in its infancy. Yet,
without proper methods for following up conferences
upon some comprehensive scale, much of the seed sown
will be lost. Leaders agree as to the necessity, but as yet
110 THE HOME BASE
experience has not led them to regard any specific system
(if, indeed, there can be such a thing) as generally
applicable. They, however, do agree that much can be
done to conserve results by (i) getting the delegates to
commit themselves to some definite line of missionary
activity, growing out of what is learned at the conference ;
(2) the efforts of leaders to keep in touch each with a
group of delegates, so as to stimulate them in the months
following the conference to put the impulse of the con-
ference into action ; (3) the careful following up of the
plans projected at such a conference. This in turn places
a responsibility as well as a burden upon the Missionary
Societies, whose plans for missionary campaigns throughout
a given year must be properly related to the individuals
present at the conference of the preceding summer.
In the case of inter-denominational conventions, it seems
clear that much more careful arrangement should be made
by the organisers for putting the members into touch with
the denominational Boards and with the work in their
local churches when the convention is over.
II. MISSIONARY INSTITUTES
An " Institute" is the term used in America for a
gathering for the purpose of training teachers. It has
been adopted in missionary circles as a name for a series
of meetings designed to train missionary workers in
methods of work. The name is unfamiliar in Great
Britain, and this kind of gathering has not as yet been
largely developed.
The method grew out of the large conference and has
the same purposes. Institutes are an attempt to bring
to the missionary workers of a city or large town method
and inspiration for their work. Usually they are inter-
denominational, but very excellent campaigns have been
held in various cities by the missionary representatives
of a single denomination. An institute is primarily
intended for instruction in methods of work, such as
training leaders of mission study classes and leaders in
CONFERENCES AND 111
missionary work In the Sunday School and other mis-
sionary activities. It is not to be thought, however, that
the inspirational element is neglected.
Institutes are of so many kinds and are conducted in
such a variety of ways, that it is well-nigh impossible to
make definite statements that will cover all cases. All
that can be attempted is to point out the general lines
along which these agencies have been successfully used.
Three or four workers are required to make an institute
successful. An ideal group of speakers consists of a
secretary or a representative of the Missionary Society, a
missionary from the field, an exponent of missionary
methods, and a local pastor or layman. This statement
is made with a denominational deputation in mind, but
very little change is necessary in an*inter-denominational
meeting. It is always well, if possible, to have present a
Missionary Society secretary. In cases where mission
study is to be emphasised, several class leaders of experi-
ence become necessary.
Sometimes an institute is devoted almost exclusively
to mission study, the -classes meeting for three or four
nights and having a full hour and a half for the class
session. A brief devotional session, before the classes
separate to their meeting-places and before they leave
at the conclusion of the evening, brings unity into the
institute. At times an institute of a single day, including
afternoon and night sessions, is held. Variations of these
plans can be made in almost any direction, according to
the emphasis which is desired for that particular meeting.
Sometimes one leader conducts a series of institutes with
no assistance, limiting the meetings to night sessions and
spending two or three days in a place.
These meetings are financed in most cases by local
committees. This is true particularly of inter-denomina-
tional campaigns. When the institute is denominational,
it is usual to meet the expense out of the regular budget
of the missionary society or by special funds secured by
it.
The aim in these institutes is not only to inspire, but
112 THE BASE
to secure the commitment of the local workers ^to a
definite policy of missionary education or of the raising of
missionary money, usually and preferably the former.
Institutes and deputations can rarely be^ arranged for
by correspondence, unless a similar meeting has been
held under the same auspices at some previous time. A
personal visit on the part of a secretary, going over all
plans most carefully with the local committee, seenis to
be necessary.
An institute should not be considered a regular and
normal part of missionary work for any single city;
an institute held in a city for two consecutive years need
not be repeated until after a few years, when new needs
have arisen and new workers need to be trained. It is
intended to start work in the right way, not to follow up
the plans from year to year. This following up may be
done by a workers' conference held locally for an after-
noon and an evening each year.
III. MISSIONARY EXHIBITIONS
If the " educational ' or " training " convention be
primarily intended for the man in the pulpit or the
teacher's chair, and the inspirational conference for the
average church member the man in the pew- the
missionary exhibition may fairly be described as in-
tended primarily to reach the man in the street. It is
its function to arrest attention, to gain a hearing for
information regarding the non-Christian world and the
results of missionary work. Its appeal is to the man or
woman whose knowledge of foreign lands is small, and
who for this reason is particularly hard to reach with
missionary ideas. Exhibitions provide the vivid con-
crete teaching which childhood craves. They have
also, in the second place, an educative value for missionary
workers. Thirdly, the demand which they make for
stewards who will submit ^to careful preparation, intro-
duces many local church members to their first study of
missions and their first work for the cause.
CONFERENCES AND EXHIBITIONS 113
That missionary exhibitions are producing results in
each of these directions which abundantly justify their
existence, is universally admitted. In places where
interest had been at a very low ebb, there has been a
marked quickening of sympathy. The work of the
missionary has been more intelligently appreciated, and
doubters have been convinced.
In connection with these exhibitions children's demon-
strations have been arranged, at which missionary dia-
logues, hymns, and cantatas and recitations were given
by children to audiences of children. These demonstra-
tions have been among the most popular features of the
exhibition, and the interest created has been remarkable.
In one case some 3000 children were present at the
gathering in quite a small place, and on Children's
Day in another small exhibition over 4000 children were
present. The appeal presented in pictorial form, both
by exhibition and demonstration, has deeply impressed
children, and the fruit has been seen in offerings which in
many cases have involved real sacrifice.
Many people have been trained to act as stewards by
means of mission study circles meeting regularly for
three months before an exhibition, thus gaining informa-
tion and quickening and illumining their interest. For
some exhibitions as many as 9000 stewards have been
carefully trained, and have received a missionary educa-
tion to which they would not have submitted on any other
grounds. When stewards have been thus trained for
service in connection with a court representing one field,
their interest has been so stimulated that after the ex-
hibition study circles have been formed by them for
acquainting themselves with missions in other parts
of the world.
In the United States and Canada exhibits have been
conducted as one of the features of conventions, summer
conferences, institutes, or other gatherings. Notable
exhibits were held in connection with the Ecumenical
Missionary Conference in New York in 1900, and in
connection with the conventions of the Student Volunteer
COM, vi. 8
114 THE HOME
Movement, and also with the general conferences of the
Methodist Episcopal Church at Los Angeles in 1904 and
in Baltimore In 1908. Exhibits on a smaller scale have
been a feature of the summer conferences of the Young
People's Missionary Movement.
The exhibits may be classified under two general
heads
(1) Articles of all kinds from mission fields, to
illustrate the condition and life of the people ;
the religions which oppose the advance of
Christianity ; methods of mission work, and
results attained,
(2) Literature of all kinds books, periodicals, maps,
charts, stereopticon slides, report forms of
all kinds, and all similar material used at
home to stimulate missionary interest, and
in the actual administration of missions.
Besides these regular exhibits, provision is often made
for addresses at certain hours, steteopticon and moving
picture lectures, demonstrations with natives dressed in
their distinctive garb, and other popular and educative
features,
But all these features need trained workers and careful
supervision. It is almost a truism that no article ex-
hibited is of any value unless it is understood. This
requires a force of workers who are in constant attendance
and who never grow weary of telling the same story
many times, and who never lose their enthusiasm. Mis-
sionaries can thus be used very successfully in the booths
representing their various countries. Besides the mis-
sionaries, however, other trained workers are needed.
This requires much careful work begun long in advance
of the actual holding of the exhibit. It is important
to remember that great good Is done in this preliminary
work, Many men and women get a_ clear knowledge of
the mission field and methods of work which they would
get in no other way.
Little has been done in America in the way of gehetal
missionary exhibits. All that have hitherto been held
CONFERENCES AND 115
have been In connection with some conference or con-
vention, and so have been only a side leature of the main
organisation.
In Great Britain less has been done, until quite
recent years, in preparing exhibits in connection, with
conferences and conventions ; but missionary exhibitions,
often on a Idr'ge scale, have for many years formed an
important feature of home work of several of the larger
Societies. The Church Missionary Society aims at
visiting the big towns and occupying the largest hall
therein at least every ten years. On the Continent of
Europe the Utrecht Missionary Union, halving achieved
a great success in 1909, is adopting the exhibition as a
permanent feature of its policy, and a plan is bri foot for a
large exhibition illustrating the work of all the Dutch
missionary operations. One of the leading German-
speaking Societies has had an exhibition in several Mrge
towns with increasing numbers of visitors. Success is
attributed to the efficient explanatory work done by
missionaries and stewards.
A remarkable exhibition was held m the Academy of
Science in Stockholm from May to September 1907.
It was organised by the Royal Ethnographical Mhseiim,
and consisted of objects given or lent by all of the mis-
siondry organisations of Sweden. It -greatly lielpecl to
centre public attention upon missions, and to chahge the
opinion of many who had hitherto despised the cause.
The results of these exhibitions (separate from any
convention or conference, but in themselves serving as a
rallying ground and training school for local workers)
are such as to commend them strongly for more extensive
adoption.
In addition to immediate Financial profits; there has
been usually an increase of annual income traceable to
the (exhibition. Oiie Society has seven missionaries oil
the field to-day to whose support, as an outcome of ex-
hibitions, nearly 1400 per annum is bontributed. Even
iii the cases of failure to realise inihiediatfe money profit,
Sii additional annual income has been gained. There
HOME BASE
has usually been a permanent increase in subscriptions
in addition to donations for special objects.
One clear evidence of the great value of exhibitions is
to be found in the fact that many offers of service for the
foreign field have come through their influence. After
''Africa and the East" in London, there were between fifty
and one hundred offers of service to the Church Missionary
Society as a result. Men and women have been led to
face seriously the claims of the foreign field upon them for
personal service; and although all were not found suitable
for the work, a number have been consecrated as mis-
sionaries in each of the Societies holding exhibitions and
as their direct result.
It is essential that in this exhibition work a high
spiritual tone should be preserved, and it is obviously
not always easy to do this. A frank recognition of the
necessity and the danger has been the great safeguard.
The spiritual aim has, with very rare exceptions, been
consistently kept in mind. It has been the practice in
all these Societies to have regular meetings for prayer and
intercession for a long period prior to an exhibition ; and
every day during the exhibition devotional gatherings have
been held for the workers, at which the supreme import-
ance of the spiritual side of the work has been emphasised,
and in the Church Missionary Society exhibition mentioned
above a room was set apart solely for private prayer,
These assemblies have been the acknowledged means of
quickening the spiritual life of those taking part in the
exhibition, and in some cases of leading to direct conver-
sion to mission service. The addresses given during ex-
hibitions have been spiritual in tone, and numerous
instances have occurred of ultimate decisions for Christ
through them. It is difficult adequately to estimate the
full value of exhibitions, for, as in all work where spiritual
fruit is concerned, no statistics could ever be compiled
that would convey a complete idea.
One further point is of considerable importance. Al-
though small general exhibitions are, in the nature of the
case, less profitable financially, we find many of those
CONFERENCES AND 117
whose experience enables them to Judge, inclined to
regard them as more really fruitful than the very large
exhibitions. They are more easy to keep in hand, it
is not so hard to preserve a high spiritual tone, opportunity
for personal contact and influence is greater, and it is
more easy to follow them up. Moreover, the small ex-
hibition can invade the country district, where its work
is sorely needed and where its coming will be warmly
welcomed.
All that was said of the importance of following up
conferences and conventions is true, and even more
urgently true with regard to exhibitions, where the
tendency is inevitably strong to regard the exhibition as
a spurt or a special effort. The presence at the exhibition
of some Board secretaries, who are experts in various
branches of home work, may do much to prevent this and
may be able to commit the local workers to methods of
advance, e.g., in seeking for candidates for the field, in
missionary study, in children's work, in consolidating
the interest of men and in calling forth increased support.
The exhibition should be followed up by stewards' rallies
and conferences on how to take advantage of the conditions
produced by the exhibition, and the interest may be
carried on from year to year by an annual social gathering
for those who have been workers and stewards.
IV. PICTORIAL PRESENTATION
Among other methods for promoting missionary interest
which should find place in this Report, are different forms
of optical lanterns. The stereopticon is widely used in
the United States and Canada at the present time, but
seems to be passing out of use in Great Britain, its place
being taken by the kinematograph. The latter is coming
into use in America to some extent, and is probably
destined to increase in influence. But the moving
picture exhibition has so displaced the magic lantern in
England, that its effectiveness and power have been
clearly demonstrated. The emphasis put upon it in
118 THE BASE
England is based upon the fact that it presents the
pictures of mission work as it is actually taking place,
while it also reveals the local conditions of heathenism
with a vividness that no still picture can show. One
British Society has a very complete set of films illustrat-
ing its work in India and Uganda, and is now obtaining
views of China and Japan. Animated pictures of mission
scenes can now be supplemented in England, and in. .a
less "degree in the United States, by films obtained ^ from
commercial companies, but taken in the various mission
countries and representing the real life of the people.
This does away with the necessity of Missionary Societies
going to the expense of having general films made of the
various mission countries. They itiay concern themselves
now almost wholly with securing pictures which represent
aspects of the mission work as it is actually carried on.
While the expense of the kinematograph and the films
is greater than that of the magic lantern and the accom-
panying slides, the cost will probably be reduced in the
future, as this method comes into more popular and general
use. The animated picture has already taken a leading
place in the secular community- There is a general
feeling that it ought not to be left for secular purposes
alone, but should be used with effectiveness and power
for arousing interest in world evangelisation.
V. MISSIONARY DINNERS AND LUNCHES
A method of bringing specific phases of missionary
work to a chosen company of those whose interest is sought,
and which is employed more extensively at the present
time in America than in Europe, is the missionary lunch or
dinner! The plan generally adopted is to invite a selected
group to a private house where entertainment is afforded?
and in connection with which the purpose of the gathering
is presented by experts. In cases where the^lunch or
dinner is at an hotel, frequently each one attending meets
t^e'cost of his own meal, but occasionally some individual
furnishes the entertainment even there, the same method
CONFERENCES AND 119
being followed that is followed in private houses, namely 3
either while the guests are dining or afterwards the cause
is presented. Sometimes these lunch or dinner gather-
ings continue for two or three hours. It is frequently
stated in the invitation that there will be no solicitation
of funds at the time, otherwise some would remain away*;
but the names of those present are taken,* and the subject
is followed up by personal visitation at the home or office.
Sometimes a group of only half a dozen men are thus got
together, and again several hundred are often assembled.
The Laymen's Missionary Movement is making wide use
of the dinner, at whicji upon special occasions more than
two thousand men have dined together and afterwards
listened to missionary addresses. The method is elastic
and is proving to be effective.
CHAPTER IX
THE ENLISTMENT OF MISSIONARIES
UNUSUAL importance attaches to the consideration of
this question since the success or failure of the work of
foreign missions depends largely on the missionary body.
If a Mission Board has a strong, and able, and devout
missionary force, its work will succeed. However much
time and strength may be devoted to the raising of funds
and the preparation of a missionary literature, no Board
can afford to relax in the least its efforts to secure for
service abroad such men and women as the Lord Himself
shall call and whose labours He will crown with success.
After all is said, this great mission work depends more
upon persons than upon money. In this section of our
Report we are dealing with the question of persons.
L DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF CANDIDATES
The first question to decide is, Have the Mission Boards
as many applicants for appointment as they can appoint
and send to the field? This phase of the subject has no
relation to the question as to how many more missionaries
would be required adequately to occupy the unoccupied
or under-occupied fields of the world. We are dealing
simply with the matter of the supply and demand as
recognised in the home offices.
In practically all fields the number of missionaries
needed is increasing. Is the number of qualified candi-
dates applying to the several Boards likewise increasing,
or is it diminishing ? The answers received from the
120
ENLISTMENT OF MISSIONARIES 121
secretaries of the leading Societies in North America
show conclusively that, in general, the number is in-
creasing. Of the twenty Societies reporting, fourteen
stated that an increase could be noted. Two reported
no marked change, and four "possibly diminishing."
In Great Britain the reports indicate a decided shortage
of ordained men, properly trained medical men, and
qualified teachers, and the tendency at present appears
to be in the direction of a diminishing supply. In
Scandinavia the applicants equal the ability of the
Societies to send out, and in France the supply is short
of the needs of the work abroad but about equal to the
funds available for their support. It is clear from the
extensive investigations made that, as a whole, the
supply of properly equipped candidates for missionary
appointment is not keeping pace with needs upon the
field or even with the call of the Societies for recruits.
The tendency to an increase of the missionary forces
available for appointment is more marked in America
than anywhere else, and yet even there it is quite inade-
quate to meet the needs abroad.
The reasons given for the increase reported in America
are instructive and suggestive. Several mention the
work of the Student Volunteer Movement, and credit also
is given to the Young People's Missionary Movement,
and the Laymen's Missionary Movement.
Some of the general causes suggested are the follow-
ing : greater familiarity with the needs and results
abroad ; fuller information and clearer apprehension of
personal responsibility ; clearer recognition of the mission
of the Church ; growing recognition of the attractiveness
of the call to well-trained young men and women ;
general increase of interest on the part of Church
members ; revival of the missionary spirit throughout
the Churches ; more missionary education and missionary
interest in the colleges ; the appeal of the heroic both to
the Church and to candidates.
Among the specific factors mentioned are : women's
educational work in juvenile Societies ; mission study
122 THE
classes ; addresses of missionaries in theological schools
and collegiate institutions ; more effective organisation
of the work of the Societies ; the recent general diffusion
of missionary information.
The emphasis laid by many of the Societies upon
mission study is mentioned as the chief factor in bringing
about an increase in the number of candidates applying,
and suggests the probability of larger results in the near
future.
As indicated above, six of the twenty American Societies
replying were unable to report an increase in candidates,
and four of these reported a decrease. It is interesting
to note the causes suggested for this falling off.
Among these are the raising of the standard of require-
ments ; decrease in the number of students for the
ministry ; emphasis on the work at home ; unwarranted
criticism of foreign missions and foreign mission organisa-
tions ; the general rush for material success.
Among the special reasons given for the shortage of
candidates in Great Britain are : lack of powerful
spiritual impulse in the Church at home ; a want of
missionary interest especially among teachers and
medical students ; inadequacy of the stipend offered ;
the absence of proper qualifications on the part of those
who apply, together with the raising of the standard of
fitness, and the increased strictness of medical tests ;
less urgency in motive, stress being " laid rather upon
the humanitarian and philanthropic side of missions
than upon the urgency of saving the heathen "
RELATION OF SUPPLY TO DEMAND
More important than the simple question of the increase
or decrease of qualified candidates is the question whether
the increase, if there be such, is keeping pace with the
unquestionably increasing Tdemand. Encouraging report
as to the increase in the number of candidates isjsomewhat
counterbalanced by an equally general report that^the
demand is increasing more rapidly than the supply,- But
ENLISTMENT OF 123
few Boards are able to report that the supply and the
demand are fairly balanced.
In reply to the question whether the demand in any
particular department is increasing more rapidly than, in
others, the replies of the Boards are interesting and
significant. In nearly every case, upon both sides of the
Atlantic, the answer given is that the demand is increasing
more rapidly for educational missionaries,
A few Societies report that the call for evangelistic
workers (ordained men) is increasing the most rapidly,
but, in general, as stated, there is a growing demand for
teachers.
In many cases the demand for medical missionaries
is increasing much more rapidly than the supply, while
iji oth^r instances the supply of medical candidates is
greater than the demand. This i an illustration of a
fact which appears in tie reports, n^ijiely, that some
Societies have a greater supply of candidates for one
form of work than have others,* while these other Societies
in turn have a greater supply for another form of service.
While the demand for educational workers is increasing
more rapidly than that for workers in other branches,
the number of applicants for educational work seems to
be likewise increasing more rapidly in some denominations
thai| in others. It is most significant, however, that this
increase is limited to but a few of the Societies. The
rapidly growing importance of educational work in some
of the Eastern lands does not seem to have laid hold of
the Christian youth in the universities and theological
schools with the strength of appeal necessary to cause
them to give their lives to that work in sufficiently large
numbers.
RELATION OF SUPPLY TO FINANCES
An important question in the consideration of the
subject in hand is the bearing and influence of the state
of the finances of the Societies upon the number of quali-
fied candidates. Effort was made to discover whether
the declining of candidates on acqpunt of lack of 'funds
124 THE HOME BASE
had any direct influence upon the number applying.
Ten of the twenty American Societies reported that during
the last ten years no qualified candidate had been declined
because of lack of funds. The remaining ten stated that
they had declined qualified candidates during the last
ten years because of lack of funds, and that this reason
had been made known both to the candidates and to
others. Conditions have not been so critical in Europe.
More important is the experience reported by the
various Societies in answer to the question whether any
evidence had appeared that the number of applicants
was affected by the state of the finances. A dozen
officials state that the known condition of the treasury
has an effect upon the number applying. The experience
of the Boards seem to be conclusive on this matter. It
would not appear necessary for a Society to announce
definitely its inability to send out missionary applicants
in order for properly qualified young men and women to
hesitate to make application. The very fact that it is
known that the Society or Board has a large deficit, or is
otherwise financially embarrassed, causes would-be candi-
dates to hesitate. Probably the influence is more often
somewhat unconscious.
Possibly also, in many cases, certainly m some cases,
the depressing financial condition affects the eagerness
and thoroughness of the search for candidates.
After an exhaustive study of the full reports received
from Societies that are carrying on by far the larger part
of the foreign mission work in the world, we are irresistibly
carried to the conclusion that two-thirds of them are
finding it difficult, if not impossible, to secure the number
of qualified candidates they are ready to send out, and
all are agreed that no Society has as many properly
equipped recruits as the work already in hand demands
to say nothing of its enlargement. There is a dearth
of candidates on all sides, both of men and of women,
for regular evangelistic work as well as for more special
departments.
While the young men and women in the colleges and
ENLISTMENT OF MISS10NAEIES 125
universities are increasing in numbers, the work of foreign
missions languishes because of the fewness of those who are
ready to go to the front. It has been suggested repeatedly
that an increased and increasing number of candidates
would probably help most materially in arousing a new
and substantial interest among the supporting con-
stituency. Some missionary leaders go so far as to say
that a new missionary usually brings with him a new
contributing constituency adequate to supply his entire
support. This suggests the enlisting of a larger body of
young men and women for the service with the confident
expectation that the example of their consecration will
move Churches and individual donors to new sacrifice.
II. METHODS EMPLOYED TO SECURE
CANDIDATES
IN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES AND COLLEGES
The questions bearing upon the methods of reaching
the students in educational institutions have brought out
the fact from the Society secretaries that the theological
seminaries and colleges are almost the only educational
institutions where any measure of systematic effort is
made to reach the students. In England this effort
seems to be without system. The methods employed
are varied, but may be summed up under correspondence
and personal visitation by secretaries and others.
Visitation seems to be the principal method, the visits
including both addresses and interviews. Besides the
visit by the secretary alone, some Societies in America
hold " institutes " at the various seminaries. These are
conducted in the interest of all the denominational
Missionary Societies, home and foreign, and the semin-
aries usually give up a day to the institute. The speakers
include secretaries, pastors, and professors.
Correspondence by the secretaries is the other method
chiefly employed, and includes letters to applicants,
prospective or actual, and correspondence with the
126 THE HOME BASE
presidents and professors, the secretary of the Christian
Association, and the leader of the Student Volunteer
Band.
Contact with the students is secured by some Societies and
in some denominations through a department of missions.
Voluntary mission study classes are also found valuable.
Two American theological seminaries report that each
month a day is devoted by the faculty and students to
conference and prayer for missions. This day gives an
opportunity for the Board secretaries to reach the students.
In Holland and Germany and France most of the
missionary candidates are not drawn from the ^ class of
theological students, but are trained by the Missionary
Societies themselves. One or two British Societies also
train men in this way. But in Great Britain, speaking
generally, conditions regarding theological colleges are
very much the same as in America, although reports
show that Missionary Societies are in even less close
and intimate relations with the faculties and students
of some of these schools. The investigation Has made
it clear that, while the recruits for missionary work are
expected, for the most part, to come from the theological
colleges, little systematic and persistent effort is made
to bring the work of foreign missions forcibly arid per-
sonally to the attention of these students and to put the
burden of the work upon their hearts and consciences.
We are not here referring to the work of the Student
Volunteer organisations, which will be considered in
another section of , this Report. We are concerned just
now with the direct approach of the officers and members
of Missionary Societies to students in training for their life
work, with the purpose of iriipressirig upon them the great
need and opportunity of the work of foreign missions.
IN MEDICAL AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS
The theological seminaries and colleges are practically
all closely affiliated with one or another of the denomina-
tions. Other professional schools are just as generally
ENLISTMENT OF MISSIONARIES 127
independent of denominational affiliation. This makes
approach to them by denominational Societies difficult.
In fact, the close co-operation which exists between the
faculties of the theological seminaries and the secretaries
of the Missionary Societies cannot be expected in the case
of medical and other professional schools. Medical schools
particularly present a problem. Yet the lack of medical
candidates, reported by many of the Societies both in
Europe and in America, finds at least a partial explanation
in the corresponding lack of systematic effort, on the part
of the Societies, to present to the medical students the
claims of foreign missions. How to reach the students
of the professional schools will require study, but the
increasing need of the mission field for medical mission-
aries, and especially qualified teacliers, demands that this
study be given. Possibly, more effective use could be
made in this connection of the aid which the Student
Volunteer Movement or trie Young Men's CHristiaii
Association may offer.
IN UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES
More is being done toward reaching the students in
the colleges and universities in America than in the
professional schools other than the theological seminaries.
So far as can be learned from the information received,
however, not more than two or three Missionary Societies
are making systematic effort to present the claims of foreign
missions to the students even of their denominational
colleges, much less to the state and other undenomina-
tional universities. Secretaries practically agree that in
the general effort to secure applicants the emphasis should
be laid, at least equally, upon the college and the profes-
sional schools, and rhost place the college before the
professional school in order of importance of emphasis.
In view of this fact, the lack of systematic effort among,
it least, the denominational colleges would seem seriously
open to criticism.
128 THE HOME BASE
REASONS FOR LOSS OF CANDIDATES
A certain proportion of those who, at some time or
other during their school or college course, have indicated
a purpose to give their lives to foreign mission work,
never reach the field. This fact has been no small
hindrance to the enlistment of others in the enter-
prise. Of course, it can never be expected that all who
form the purpose, especially those who do so early in
their student course, will finally get to the field. The
principal reasons suggested for this falling away of
candidates are first, ill-health, and second, engagement
or marriage to one who is unwilling or unable to go.
These are difficulties which are met with by every Society.
Other causes suggested are lack of close touch with
secretaries ; insistence by officious friends, not infre-
quently ministers, that they are more needed at home ;
attraction of prospects in the home land ; family relation-
ships, including opposition of parents and responsibilities
for the members of the family ; unwillingness to face
the difficulties of the foreign field ; debts ; stagnation
of motive and weakening of conviction ; spiritual atrophy.
Some of these difficulties are inevitable and cannot
be removed entirely. It is not at all certain, however,
that changes in policy on the part of the Societies might
not aid in removing some of the other obstacles sug-
gested. If means could be employed to prevent the
stagnation of motive, many might be saved to the
work, who now find their purpose grown cold before
the time comes for making application. " Lack of
touch with secretaries " is a most suggestive cause. A
plan now being tried by one American Mission Board
in one or two of the theological seminaries may possibly
have in it some elements of helpfulness along this line.
A carefully chosen missionary, at home on furlough,
spends a month in residence at the seminary, living
with the students, meeting them at their meals, in their
rooms, and on the campus, giving talks or addresses as
may be desired, answering the many questions which
ENLISTMENT OF MISSIONARIES 129
are asked regarding the life and work of the missionaries,
and attempting in every way to arouse and maintain a
personal interest on the part of the students. The plan
has not been developed sufficiently to prove its value,
but it is at least suggestive. In Great Britain, some
of the Societies designate one of their ablest missionaries
one who has power to interest students for special
deputation work among students in their various institu-
tions. This plan has met with encouraging success.
In connection with this enquiry the question is per-
tinent how to retain hold upon prospective applicants
during their period of preparation. Many names come
to the secretaries of all Societies of those who, after the
completion of their preparation, expect to apply to the
Board for appointment. What can be done to retain
and to strengthen the hold which the Board has upon
these possible missionaries ? Correspondence .seems to
be the principal method now employed. Visitation of
the colleges by the secretary is also emphasised. Some
Societies keep a detailed record of prospective applicants,
so that all data regarding them is constantly available.
Others try to keep the men interested by having them
present the cause of missions in neighbouring churches.
No Society, however, reports a systematic plan. We
probably underestimate the influence and inspirational
power of a young life which has been consecrated to the
service and is only biding the time until it can enter
upon service abroad.
Graduates who have been prevented by any reason
from carrying out their purpose to become foreign mis-
sionaries might be employed in deputation work more
generally than is now the case. In fact, the replies
received indicate that no Society whatever has any
definite plan for utilising these young men and women.
These men, during their college or seminary course, were
deeply interested in foreign missionary work, and in
many cases were actively engaged in the efforts of the
Student Volunteer Band. The Societies were in touch with
them during their course, and perhaps utilised their
COM. vi. 9
130 THE HOME BASE
services, but as soon as they graduated they were lost
track of. Doubtless, not a few of them might ulti-
mately be appointed if closer hold could be retained upon
them after they have taken up service at home, and, if
rightly used by the Societies, they could at least be made
a powerful force for increasing missionary interest in
the Church. The whole subject of missionary deputa-
tion work by students deserves careful study.
Most of the Societies apparently do not encourage
applications for appointment from students until near
the completion of their course. The suggestion is made
that this may be a mistaken policy. There are, of course,
dangers and possibly embarrassments in making appoint-
ments many months in advance of sailing, but it may
be that the advantages may outweigh the disadvantages.
Those appointed would thus be in more official touch
with the Society, and would probably give themselves
more earnestly to preparation for their work. The
Society or Board would know more definitely on whom
it can count. Probably less leakage would appear among
volunteers. An appointed candidate is a more striking
object lesson, especially to young people, than one who
hopes to go some time. Some Societies make a distinc-
tion between accepted and appointed candidates.
It is evident from the replies received from the secre-
taries that there is much yet to learn in the matter of
.retaining hold upon prospective applicants. The prin-
cipal difficulty lies in the fact that the secretary's time is
already full to overflowing, and any new work such as this
entails would come upon an already overburdened official.
THE PLACE OF EMPHASIS IN SEEKING CANDIDATES
Where should emphasis be principally laid in the
general effort to secure applicants ; the preparatory
school, the college, the professional school, the church,
or the home ? The replies received indicate the con-
viction on the part of most that missionary training
in the home is supremely important,
ENLISTMENT OF MSSIONAEIES 131
A somewhat surprising result of this enquiry was the
disclosure that most of the missionary secretaries seem
to be convinced that in the efforts to secure applicants
the college and university is more important as a place
of emphasis than the theological seminary. One says :
" Without any hesitation whatever, I would reply that
the chief emphasis in the effort to secure applicants
should be laid upon the college and particularly upon
the last three years of the college course. }> Another
says : ' l The critical time in the life of a missionary
candidate is when he is finishing his Arts course, and
entering upon his course in theology/' These state-
ments would probably meet with general approval.
Yet, as pointed out earlier in this paper, practically
no organised or systematic effort is made by any of the
Missionary Societies, with the possible exception of one
or two, to reach the students in the colleges and
universities. This is true throughout Europe as well as
in America.
It is a fact worthy of careful consideration that a
very large number of missionaries, including many of
the most eminent, received their first conscious " call "
during the days of boyhood or girlhood. This would
point to the need of giving much greater attention to
the development of missionary interest in secondary
and elementary schools. Prejudice against missions
hardly exists among the young in the home. As youth
develops into maturity, an attitude has been adopted
either in favour of or against them. If a generation
of students should go up to the college or university
prejudiced against missions, it would be largely inac-
cessible to appeals for missionary service.
WHERE THE CANDIDATES COME FROM
Some of the correspondents in Great Britain speak
of the influence of keen, spiritual missionary parishes
and congregations in turning the thoughts of young
people to missionary work, and especially of the value,
132 THE HOME BASE
In this direction, of the actual departure of a member
of such a parish or congregation to the foreign field.
There is evidently more effort in Europe to turn the
thoughts of youth to this service than appears from
the correspondents in America.
Investigation was made as to the proportion of
college - trained candidates who have come from the
smaller colleges. Some Societies in America receive by
far the greater number of their missionaries from colleges
and schools of their own denomination which are usually
comparatively small. The question becomes rather one
as to the value of the denominational college as a feeder
to the mission field than as to the size of the college.
Naturally the denominational colleges and missionary
training schools have furnished most of the candidates,
the State universities in America providing com-
paratively few. The fact is that neither the Churches
nor the foreign Missionary Societies have made effort
to cultivate the State institutions and general uni-
versities along missionary lines. Here is a large open
field. Many of the strongest young men and women
are students in the State institutions.
THE STUDENT VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT AND THE SUPPLY
OF CANDIDATES
All American Societies freely acknowledge the
assistance the Student Volunteer Movement has
rendered in their effort to secure candidates. The new
Candidate Department of the Movement is mentioned
in a number of the replies as having brought many
applications which probably otherwise would not have
been received. All join in giving credit to the Move-
ment for most effective aid in awakening and strengthen-
ing impression during the preparation of the students
by the holding of Student Volunteer Conventions ;
cultivation of Volunteer Bands ; the education of Student
Volunteers by means of literature and mission study
classes; the definiteness of the Student Volunteer
ENLISTMENT OF MISSIONARIES 133
Declaration as a help In maintaining the purpose to
go abroad ; correspondence maintained by the Move-
ment with candidates and with the Board, bringing the
two into touch with each other.
Naturally the subject of the qualifications of the
missionary would call for consideration at this point,
but as another Commission is dealing with this important
matter at length, we merely refer to its Report.
III. MOTIVES
AMERICA
This subject has been investigated because the state-
ment is frequently made that the motives for mission
work are not the same as they were a generation ago.
One is given to understand that some new spirit has come
into missions bringing with it a new motive for entering
the service as well as for supporting the cause. It may
be taken for granted that the motive that prompts the
giving of money for the support of the work does not
materially differ from the motive that leads to the con-
secration of a life.
This question has been widely investigated, and the
replies that have come from practically all Missionary
Societies in America are impressively unanimous in their
evidence and convincing in the conclusions to which they
lead.
We can give but a brief list of the chief motives given
by candidates applying for missionary appointment :
" A profound sense of a definite call, to refuse which would
be direct disobedience to God ; a longing for the salvation of
the souls of the heathen who are perishing without Christ ;
a deep and abiding desire for a life of the largest possible
usefulness and service to humanity ; the experience of
fellowship with some missionary ; the admiration of the
candidate for some missionary character ; obedience to
Christ's command ; the supreme need of the foreign
fields ; a desire to serve as Christ served, and to pass on
His love to others ; a desire to bring Christ's Kingdom
,134 THE HOME BASE
upon earth, and to win souls to Him ; the love of Christ ;
the wish to alleviate suffering and to ameliorate social
conditions ; the call for heroic sacrifice/ '
We might add to these quotations, but there would be
a general sameness emphasising the sense of obligation
to preach the Gospel to every creature, to go where one
is most needed, and to place one's life where it will count
for the most for eternity.
In their appeals the different Societies follow the same
general line of motives. They emphasise the command
of Christ to His Church ; the fact that this command
has not yet been fully obeyed ; the desperate need of
the non-Christian world ; the marvellous and rewarding
opportunity of this age for missionary activity ; and the
wide scope which missionary service furnishes for the
best investment of life. No Society seems to take the
position that the burden of proof lies with the man who
decides to stay at home, or, in other words, that unless
every man can give a reasonable excuse for staying at
home he must offer himself to go abroad. This is hardly
a modern appeal, though it has exercised tremendous
power.
Space will not admit of quotations from the papers of
a large number of missionary candidates, showing the
purposes that moved them to offer themselves for service,
but taken together they clearly reveal a realisation of
what Christ has done and can do for the world; the
transforming power of His Gospel ; a conviction of the
necessity of making Him known unto every creature ;
" the power/* as the martyred Daniel Miner Rogers, said,
" of the Gospel to satisfy men's deepest needs, and the
obligation resting upon the Church and every individual
Christian because of this fact and because of the oppor-
tunity to give men the Gospel."
Therefore there remain as principal motives to foreign
missionary service investment, need, Christ, and the
greatest of these is that which is embodied in the word
Christ. One young missionary summed up the matter
in his own statement when a candidate : " I desire to
ENLISTMENT OF MISSIONABIES 135
fulfil the commission of our Lord because I believe He
died for all irrespective of race ; because the need and
opportunity are greatest upon the foreign field ; because
I wish to make the most fruitful investment of my life ;
and because my own inner convictions and my sense of
consecration to the Saviour lead me toward that work."
While the old motive may have been primarily to
prepare men for the life after death, the present-day
motive lays emphasis rather upon saving the individual,
the community, the nation, for life here upon earth until
this world shall be transformed into the likeness of
heaven, the supposition being that one who is prepared
to live will necessarily be prepared to die. While the
expression of the modern purpose may differ somewhat
from the expressions used by the men who volunteered
a half-century and more ago, yet the same fundamental
motives of investment, need, Christ have always actuated
the missionary volunteer.
What then shall constitute our persuasive appeal for
men and women ? It must be the comprehensive three-
fold motive Christ, need, investment. The first is, of
course, the determining motive. Even though the young.
Christian would inevitably have gone into Christian
service, even though he may have had a sense of the need
and opportunity abroad, he would not actually have gone,
into far-off lands, there to abide for a lifetime, unless,
driven by his personal obligation to his Lord. For it is,
responsibility that is the mother of activity, and when,
the obligation is laid upon the disciple by the Master^
the " call " is irresistible.
Our appeal then is to the moral and religious needs of
the foreign lands, the call for heroic sacrifice, the scarcity
of qualified men and women for the enormous unfinished
task, the story of what men and women have done and
can do, the love of Jesus Christ. Above all, however,
we must seek to lead young men and women up to the
mountain- tops to be with Christ alone, whence they may
look out upon the world from His point of view, catch
His vision, listen to His voice, feel their own personal
136 THE HOME BASE
obligation, and respond in love and faith, " Here am I,
send me."
GREAT BRITAIN
The British members of the Commission communicated
with seven of the leading Societies as to the motives
which had led the men and women who had been accepted
during the last two years to come forward. Three
Societies were unable to give any information. Some
details of 160 cases were given by the other four. Of
these it is interesting to note that a considerable number
dated their desire for missionary work to their early
days. In one list more than half decided in the early
stages of their career " from boyhood's days ; result of
a sermon at school ; desire from boyhood ; received the
command clearly when quite young ; ever since ten ;
the time of my conversion ; from schooldays ; when
fourteen I heard a missionary preach our annual sermon
and I heard God's call ; from earliest childhood my
ambition was to give myself to missionary work ; from
early years I have hoped to be a missionary ; from a
child." The actual motives seem to fall under three
heads : (i) obedience to Christ's command ; (2) a sense
of the need in the mission field ; (3) a realisation of the
great things Christ has done and a desire to make them
known. Perhaps the women refer more frequently to
their motive being a desire to obey Christ's command, but
among the men in many cases there is evidentlya profound
sense that God has called and they have answered.
Others seem more impressed with the great need of the
non-Christian world, and, there being no good reason
why they should not go, have offered for service. Some
say that they " would need a call to stay at home " ;
" cannot settle in this land when the need abroad is so
great ; " " there are so many at home and so few
abroad ; " " a reasoned-out sense of the need." Others
again, realising that Christ has done great things for them,
are seized with a desire to pass on the good news " an
earnest desire to extend His Kingdom " ; "a desire to
ENLISTMENT OF MISSIONARIES 137
tell others what I myself have learnt ; J> " a desire to
spend my life where it will count most/'
IV. THE STUDENT VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT
As the Student Volunteer Movement upon both sides
of the Atlantic has for its object the securing of candidates
for the work of the regular Societies, and as the organisa-
tion has already assumed international proportions,
it is essential that the work should have consideration
in connection with this section of our Report. In Great
Britain and upon the Continent the same movement is
called " The Student Volunteer Missionary Union/' Both
in Europe and in America it is an interdenominational
organisation of students, with the object of leading
students in colleges, universities, and theological schools
to volunteer for personal missionary service and to offer
to the Missionary Society of their own denomination.
As the movement began in America, we will first out-
line its present scope in that country.
THE MOVEMENT IN AMERICA
The Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign
Missions originated at the first international Conference
of Christian college students, which was held at Mount
Hermon, Mass., U.S.A., in 1886, at the invitation of the
late Dwight L. Moody. Of the 250 delegates who
attended, twenty-one had definitely decided to become
foreign missionaries when the Conference opened.
Before the Conference closed, one hundred of the dele-
gates had put themselves on record as being " willing and
desirous, God permitting, to become foreign missionaries."
The Student Volunteer Movement is in no sense a
Missionary Board. It is simply a recruiting agency.
Those who become student volunteers are expected
to go out as missionaries of the regular established
missionary organisations of the Church to which they
belong. It is unswervingly loyal to the Church, and
138 THE HOME BASE
has received the endorsement of every leading Missionary
Society in America.
Student volunteers are drawn from those who are
or have been students in institutions of higher learning
in the United States and Canada. Each student
volunteer signs the " declaration " of the Movement,
which is as follows :
" It is my purpose, if GOD permit, to become a foreign
missionary."
The field for which the Student Volunteer Movement,
as an agency of the Church, is held responsible, is the
promotion of missionary life and activity in the 1000
institutions of higher learning in the United States and
Canada, in which more than 250,000 students are matri-
culated.
It works among all denominations and all the in-
stitutions of higher learning. It is, therefore, inter-
denominational, intercollegiate, and international, and is
thoroughly organised for the successful accomplishment
of its work.
The student volunteers in an institution are organised
into a volunteer band. The objects of the volunteer
band are to deepen the missionary purpose and spiritual
lives of the members, to secure other volunteers, and to
promote mission study in the college. Connected with
each Young Men's or Young Women's Christian Associa-
tion in the college there is a missionary committee whose
duty is to cultivate the missionary life of the institution.
The educational department of the Movement, under
the direction of the educational secretary, has to do with
the conduct of the mission study classes in the colleges.
In order to be of greater service to all the Missionary
Societies in helping them to secure the very best men and
women to go as missionaries, a candidate secretary
was appointed, in the fall of 1907 ; his work is to
familiarise himself with the various posts on the mission
field for which missionaries are needed, and to suggest
men and women qualified for these places to the various
missionary agencies. Almost every American Board
ENLISTMENT OF MISSIONARIES 139
has been aided during the past year in finding properly
qualified candidates.
The volunteers in cities which are large student centres,
and, in some States, are organised into unions. The
purpose of these unions is to promote the missionary
interest in the different colleges represented in them.
In the United States and Canada, there are held each
year seven student conferences for men and five for
women. At each one of these conferences special atten-
tion is given to developing the missionary life and
activity among students. At these conferences mis-
sionary " institutes " are held to train the leaders of
volunteer bands, of mission study classes, and other
missionary activities of the institutions represented.
Once in four years an international convention is
assembled. To this come students and professors from
the leading institutions of higher learning in North
America. Five such conventions have been held. These
conventions have been from the beginning powerful
factors in developing the missionary life and activity
among students, and in leading them to offer themselves
for missionary service.
The Volunteer Movement has touched nearly, if not
quite, 1000 institutions of higher learning in North
America. Upon 800 of these institutions it has brought
to bear one or more of its agencies with such constancy
and thoroughness as to make an effective missionary
impression. This includes nearly all of the American
and Canadian colleges and theological seminaries of
influence.
The number of students intending to become mis-
sionaries is over five times as great in the colleges,
and fully twice as great in the theological seminaries,
as was the case when the Volunteer Movement was
inaugurated.
The Movement has on its records the names of 4377
volunteers who, prior to 3ist December 1909, had reached
the mission field, having been sent out as missionaries
of more than fifty different Missionary Societies of the
140
THE HOME BASE
United States and Canada. About one-third of the
volunteers are women.
Including the regular denominational Societies under
which nearly all of the volunteers have gone out, and
also certain undenominational and special Societies, the
number of different agencies under which volunteers are
serving is very nearly one hundred. While the greatest
proportion are engaged in evangelistic work, a large
number have entered medical and educational missions,
and every other phase of missionary activity is re-
presented in the forms of service in which the volunteers
are occupied. It is estimated that about 75 per cent,
of these assign the Student Volunteer Movement as the
determining cause of their entering foreign mission work.
The American student volunteers who have already
sailed have gone to the following countries :
Mexico
Central America
South America
West Indies .
Latin and Greek Church Countries
Africa
Turkish Empire
Arabia
Persia
India, Burma, and Ceylon
Siam, Laos, and
China
Korea
Japan
Philippine Islands .
Oceania
Miscellaneous
Total
[ Straits Sett ements
of Europe
136
28
265
130
21
469
158
21
39
848
79
1254
2OI
379
I3i
57
161
4377
In addition to those who go abroad, thousands of
young men and women in the colleges are, year by year,
entering other callings with the missionary spirit.
As soon as the Movement entered the field, it in-
augurated an educational missionary campaign which
has become increasingly extensive and efficient. Few,
if any, Christian students pass through college without
ENLISTMENT OF MISSIONARIES 141
being brought face to face with the most important
facts about the non-Christian world and the missionary
responsibility of the Church.
By far the greatest service, however, in promoting
missionary education has been through the mission study
department which was organised sixteen years ago.
At that time an investigation revealed that in all the
institutions of higher learning in the United States and
Canada there were less than a score of classes carrying
on a progressive study of missions. Since then the
Movement has organised mission study classes in 600
different institutions. During the past year there were
2084 mission study classes with an enrolment of 25,208
students.
During this period the Movement has authorised the
use of forty different courses of mission study either
written or adapted for use among students. Prior to
this there were no mission text-books available. Thirty
of these courses have been prepared entirely under the
auspices of the Movement. The promotion of mission
study has greatly stimulated reading on missions. This
in turn has led to the formation of large collections of
missionary books in many of the colleges and seminaries.
Not a little has been done by the Movement to improve
the provision in theological seminaries for missionary
instruction. Conferences of theological professors for
the discussion of this most vital question have been held
under the auspices of the Volunteer Movement. To these
special conferences, as well as to the discussions in the
meetings of professors at the international conventions,
is traceable no small part of the progress made in this
direction.
Some denominations, through their own organisations,
are developing this movement among their own students
in large universities and in their denominational colleges.
To all such endeavours the Student Volunteer Movement
lends every assistance in its power.
The growing missionary interest among students has
culminated in the organisation of large Mission enter-
142 THE HOME BASE
prises in some of the leading Universities, such as the Yale
Mission, the Oberlin missionary educational undertaking,
the Princeton Movement on behalf of the literati of China,
the plan of the University of Pennsylvania to establish a
Medical College in Canton, China, and the Harvard
University effort for a medical work in China.
Important as has been the work among students in
America as an agency to promote the evangelisation of
foreign mission lands, many consider that it has exerted
an equally indispensable influence on the development of
the best Christian life at home. Its direct and indirect
influence on the religious life of the student communities
has been indeed great. It has strengthened their belief
in the fundamentals of Christianity. It has enlarged
the content of their faith by its contribution in the sphere
of apologetics. By bringing before them the difficulties
involved in the evangelisation of the world, it has exer-
cised and developed their faith. By bringing their
attention to the triumphs of Christianity in the most
difficult fields, it has strengthened faith. By exhibiting
to them the present-day power of Christ among the nations,
it has tended to steady faith at a period when, in the case
of so many students, the foundations of belief are shaken.
When this work began, interest among students in the
world- wide programme of Christ was confined almost ex-
clusively to the theological seminaries and a few scores of
denominational colleges, and, with the exception of a few
medical student centres, was a matter of concern chiefly to
those expecting to enter the ministry; now, the missionary
spirit is as strong in State and undenominational institu-
tions as in most of the Christian colleges, and students
of all faculties or departments of learning alike are
recognising their common opportunity and responsibility
for spreading the knowledge of Christ throughout the
world.
THE MOVEMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
The Student Volunteer Missionary Union of Great
Britain was organised in 1892, and its aims and methods
ENLISTMENT OF MISSIONARIES 143
correspond in the main to those of the American Move-
ment. Since its formation, the number of students who
have volunteered up to March 1909 is shown in the follow-
ing table :
Sailed to the mission field
In College
Still in preparation
Temporarily hindered
Permanently hindered
Withdrawn
Waiting classification
Missing .
Died before sailing
Men
Women
Total
1040
345
1385
. 495
197
656
189
187
375
104
65
169
163
5i
214
*94
75
269
83
13
96
67
20
87
24
8
32
2323
961
3284
Great care has been taken in Great Britain in the use
of the Declaration Card, and the number of those who
volunteer and do not reach the mission field, for reasons
other than physical unfitness, does not amount to more
than about 8 per cent, of the whole.
As in the American Movement, large international
conferences are held every four years, and the claims of
foreign missionary work are urged at the annual Summer
Conference of the Student Christian Movement.
Missionary study has been developed in recent years
with great success in most of the colleges. There are
at present more than 250 Mission Study Circles in the
colleges, with a membership of about 1600 students.
One outcome of the work of missionary study has been
the carrying out by students of missionary campaigns
in different centres in England and Scotland. In a recent
campaign in Aberdeen, upwards of 150 students took
part.
The Executive Committee of the Union plans that
every college in the British Isles should, so far as possible,
be visited at least once a year by a secretary f the Union,
the chief business of the visiting secretary being to lay
the claims of the mission field before students by public
address and by private conversation. These secretaries
144 THE HOME BASE
are sometimes recent graduates and sometimes missionaries
who are at home on furlough. 1
THE MOVEMENT UPON THE CONTINENT
Upon the continent of Europe the making of a declara-
tion or the signing of a volunteer card has not met with
favour. Such an act is regarded in the light of antici-
pating God's leading and the projection of the human
will into the Divine plan. In Holland there is the feeling
that one who has given himself over to God's guidance
cannot make a declaration as to what he will do in the
future without being disloyal to God.
In Switzerland, Germany, and Holland a modified
form of the Volunteer Movement has been reorganised
into a kind of sub-union of supporting friends, embracing
those who are especially interested in missions, but who are
not ready to make a statement regarding their life-work.
In Holland, under the old plan, there were never more
than eight volunteers. In 1908 the reorganisation
with the Student Missionary Movement took place,
including those who are earnestly interested in missions,
and who wish to co-operate with the aims and purposes
of the Movement, to promote the study of missions, to
deepen the sense of personal responsibility, and to put
before students the importance of personal consecration
to that work. Volunteering is not discouraged. The
organisation now has over sixty members, of whom
twelve are volunteers. There are others whose earnest
desire is to become missionaries.
The situation is still different in France. There exists
in Paris a union of "the Friends of Missions." These
different methods are attempts to solve the problem
of insufficient missionary candidates in a manner suited
to the conditions in each country,
1 The address oi the Student Volunteer Missionary Union in
Great Britain is 93 Chancery Lane, London; that of the Student
Volunteer Movement in America is 125 East 2/th Street, New
York.
ENLISTMENT OF MISSIONARIES 145
DEVELOPMENT OF PLANS FOR RECRUITING STUDENTS
The Commission is convinced that it is of supreme
importance that work for and among students in all
colleges, universities, and theological schools should be
vigorously pressed. We regard this plan of work as the
most effective possible for winning recruits for the service
and permanent friends for the cause. At the same time,
we are convinced that there should be closer co-opera-
tion between the various denominational Missionary
Societies and the Student Volunteer Movement. It is-
essential that the student volunteer should early become
connected with a Missionary Society, under which he
will probably go to the field. The time has come for the-
Societies to open a new department in their home organisa-
tions for the recruiting of student forces and for thek
wise direction into the place of greatest need.
COM. VI. 10
CHAPTER X
FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE
MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE
THE success of foreign missions largely depends upon
the financial support it receives and upon the candi-
dates available for appointment. The investigation
by this Commission reveals the fact that there is not
a leading Missionary Society in Europe or America that
is properly supported. In the judgment of the officers
of all of these Societies, work that ought to be done is
left undone, open doors are unentered, and even what
has been begun is often disastrously neglected because
of the insufficiency of the financial support. This is a
condition that confronts the great Missionary Societies
of the world to-day. In order that there may be no
misunderstanding, it should be stated at this point that
there is no Missionary Society which believes that success
depends wholly upon financial support. There is a uni-
versal expression of opinion that it is through the Divine
Spirit that missions will and must succeed. No matter
how abundant the funds, or how many the worthy candi-
dates for appointment, unless the work itself is owned
of God and the workers at home and abroad are under
His direct guidance, the work will fail. With this state-
ment at the outset we can return to the discussion of
the financial side of the question, which is indeed an
important element in the operations of every Missionary
Society.
It has been characteristic of the foreign missionary
146
FINANCIAL SUPPORT 147
enterprise as a whole that it has been carried on to a
large extent by Societies within the Church rather than
by the Church itself acting through its official machinery.
Even where foreign missionary work has been conducted
by a Committee appointed by the recognised ecclesiastical
authorities, as in Scotland, interest in the work has been
confined to a comparatively limited circle of people
and has not characterised the Church as a whole.
Until the Church realises its missionary obligation to
evangelise the world, and until it enters upon the fulfil-
ment of the same with all its corporate strength, it will
never attain full power upon earth as the living body
of its Lord.
APPORTIONMENT PLAK
A movement has recently been started in America
in several denominations which, if successful, will put
responsibility for the support of the foreign missionary
work upon the Church as a whole. It is called the
Apportionment Plan. The plan contemplates
1. A decision on the part of the denomination as to
what its immediate responsibility is for the support of
its foreign missionary work.
2. The apportionment of that responsibility among the
local churches in the different civil or ecclesiastical
areas.
3. The subdivision of this apportionment among the
individual churches, so that each church will know its
assigned share of the amount to be raised for the support
of foreign missions for any particular year.
In favour of this plan is the fact that it answers the
question so often raised by local churches when asked to
contribute to the foreign work, " What is our share ? "
There is a feeling on the part of some that they do not
wish to give more than a legitimate proportion, while
wishing to give all that they should give properly to
support the denominational missionary work. This plan
is meeting with some opposition, but upon the whole
with unexpected success. Under the plan many local
148 THE HOME BASE
churches at the beginning of the year officially decide
that during the year they will raise a certain fixed amount
for the support of the foreign missionary work of the
denomination, and then plans are inaugurated for securing
from the congregation the amount thus voted.
In estimating the amount to be raised for the support
of the missionary work of any communion, the plan has
not been generally adopted of making an appeal to the
denomination to provide the total amount which the
Missionary Society ought to have in order fully to occupy
the field abroad for which it is responsible. One strong
advocate of the plan of a full and comprehensive state-
ment of the actual needs claims that progress has been
greatly hindered by the lack of a comprehensive policy
and a clear statement of the amount which, in the judg*
ment of those who are most familiar with the field, would
be adequate for the accomplishment of the task of
evangelising the world. On the other hand, there are
many who believe that the statements which Missionary
Societies would thus furnish would appear at once to be
so far in advance of what is possible that it would tend
to paralyse effort. Many claim that the plan would
appear so ideal and impracticable that it would discredit
the missionary work in the eyes of many leading con-
tributors, if not of Christians generally.
In the United States and Canada several denominations
have made announcement of the amount of money
they require each year to accomplish the task of evangel-
isation to which they have set their hand. These represent
from two to six or seven times the total present receipts
of the respective Societies. Other Societies have declined
to issue such comprehensive statements. At the same
time, all the Societies freely declare that they need a
better and more liberal support in order to carry on
their work abroad. In Great Britain one leading Society
asks its constituency for an increase of some 20 per cent,
to support its work, while it declares that " adequately
to meet the needs in the fields for which it is responsible
it ought to have a sixfold increase/' Another great
FINANCIAL SUPPORT 149
Society in England is confident that it should have,
in order to fulfil its obligations, a fivefold increase.
Neither of these organisations, however, is putting
these maximum figures before its supporters and calling
upon them for that large advance at once. Those
Missionary Societies that have endeavoured to deter-
mine their maximum annual needs hope to reach the
end they have in view by a proportionate increase each
year.
The Apportionment Plan above referred to, which is
at the present time being widely adopted in some of the
denominations in America, is meeting with marked success.
This plan puts the responsibility for its missionary work
upon the Church as a whole, while at the same time it
assures the Missionary Societies of certain fixed amounts
for their future work. Many local churches under the
inspiration of this plan have more than doubled their
regular contributions for the support of the work, and
have done this without apparent difficulty. The plan
has brought into the support of foreign missions many
who have hitherto stood aloof. It has made the contri-
bution for the foreign missionary cause no longer dependent
upon the moving character of the address given on the
day the offering is made, or upon the weather affecting
the attendance at that time. The money pledged is
collected during the year by different methods, according
to a plan devised by each local church, the one thing
constantly kept to the front being that the amount
decided upon at the beginning of the year is to be secured.
In most local churches a missionary committee is organised
which has for its object the seeing of every individual
connected with the congregation, and soliciting from
each a contribution towards meeting the obligation for
world evangelisation that has been accepted.
EVERY MEMBER A SUPPORTER
In recent years in both Europe and America the idea
has been suggested of securing from every member of
160 THE HOME
every parish or congregation a contribution for the
support of foreign missions. There are a few individual
instances in every denomination in which that ideal has
been nearly reached, but they are comparatively rare.
But all agree that effort should not be relaxed until all
members or communicants have a share in the support
of a work the responsibility for which belongs to the
Church as a whole, and should not rest upon a com-
paratively small number.
It must be evident that missions cannot reach the
height of their success until every member of every local
church or parish contributes to this work to the extent
of his ability. Until such genera] interest and support
is secured, the Church as a whole will not be doing its
duty in carrying the Gospel of Christ to the nations of
the earth. While many Missionary Societies have set
before them the ideal of securing an adequate gift, not
only from every congregation, but from every member
in each congregation, this standard has not been reached
or even approached.
In some of the denominations in the United States
from one-tenth to one-third of the local churches have
no share in the foreign missionary work of the denomina-
tion. In considering this statement we must not lose
sight of the fact that in America there are many con-
gregations recently planted in the newer sections of the
country which are still themselves receiving financial
assistance in the conduct of their own work. Even
these aided churches should, for their own sakes, have
a substantial share in the larger work, although many,
as yet, are non-contributors. One of the extreme cases,
which is acknowledged to be unusual, is the case of a
single denomination containing 21,291 congregations, of
which 10,118 gave nothing last year for the support
of the foreign missionary work. It is not surprising,
therefore, that the average giving per capita for foreign
missions for that entire denomination last year was only
$*22, or less than one shilling. There are also in the United
States, Swedish, Norwegian, German, Danish, and other
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
foreign congregations which have not, as yet, become
affiliated with the general work of their denomination.
Here is a wide field for education and cultivation, that
these churches may grow in spiritual knowledge and
vision. Yet, even after making allowance for these
exceptional cases, there is still immense room for improve-
ment in respect of the congregational support given to
missionary work.
In Europe there is not the same disproportion between
the contributing and the non-contributing parishes or
congregations. There are denominations in Great
Britain in which practically every local church con-
tributes something annually for the support of its Mis-
sionary Society. Upon the Continent also the con-
gregational support of missions is more general than in
America. In America there are home missionary problems
of a special kind* In most of the denominations in
America larger sums are given for home missions, or for
the extension of the Church upon the frontiers and
among the poorer sections, or among foreign populations
in the country, than are contributed to foreign missions.
There is hardly a communion that does not contribute
as much for church extension within the borders of
America as it gives for the same work ia foreign countries.
The Commission has been able to secure a mass of
data from individual churches in the United States
which warrants the conclusion that but a small propor-
tion of the church members make an annual offering
for foreign missions. It is probably well within the
truth to say that nine-tenths of the funds raised in the
United States for foreign missions are contributed by
one-tenth of the members of the Protestant bodies,
the remaining nine-tenths of the members giving the
other one- tenth. This statement is accepted as true by
several of the leading denominations. The average
amount given by each church member for the support
of the foreign missionary work is so low as to show either
that the giving of most of the members is inadequate
or that a large number give nothing at aH.
152 THE HOME BASE
While it has been impossible to secure general statistics
for any one country showing the average amount given by
each church member for the support of foreign mission-
ary work, nevertheless some denominations have, after
careful investigation, secured reports which are fairly
accurate. It is also reasonable to assume that the reports
thus secured represent, to a degree, the situation in all
other denominations. The Baptist Union of Great
Britain and Ireland reports its average receipts per church
member for foreign missions from living donors to be
3s. 5jd. or about $-85. The Wesleyan Methodist Mission-
ary Society of England reports the average receipts per
member from living donors to be 55. 9|d. or $1-44.
The contributions from the living donors of the follow-
ing communions in America for the support of their
foreign missionary work is, on the average per capita
of church membership, as follows :
$ s. d.
Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the
Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. . '66 or 3 8
American Baptist Foreign Mission Society . -65 J- 2 /f-
Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist
Episcopal Church '$3$ > * 6 f
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions (Congregational) .... 1*03^ 4 if
Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian
Church in the U.S.A. .... 1-05 4 2 1
Foreign Missions Committee Presbyterian
Church in Canada '85 3 5
Missionary Society of the Methodist Church,
Canada '63 2 6
Executive Committee of Foreign Missions of the
Presbyterian Church in the U.S. . . . i'6o 6 5
Board of Foreign Missions of the United Presby-
terian Church of North America . . . 2*25 9 o
Board of Foreign Missions of the Reformed
Church in America i*54 6 2
Society of United Brethren for Propagating the
Gospel among the Heathen (Moravian Church) 1*23 ,, 4 n-J-
Taking twenty of the leading denominations of the
United States whose returns are the most complete, we
find that the living members of these denominations
together gave last year, for the support of their own work,
FINANCIAL SUPPORT 153
and for the propagation of the Gospel In the United States,
an average of $11*40 per member, and that the same
constituency gave for foreign missionary work an average
of a fraction over $72 about three shillings per
member. In making this estimate, the amount given for
interdenominational efforts both at home and abroad is
not included.
These facts would seem to demand some practical
plan to bring the claims of missionary work to the personal
and serious consideration of every communicant. We
frequently speak of the necessity of giving every person
an adequate opportunity to know Jesus Christ as his
Redeemer and Lord ; we should also plan to give every
communicant of a Christian Church an adequate oppor-
tunity to contribute to the work of making Jesus Christ
known to all men.
In order to accomplish this worthy and necessary end
there must be careful organisation and persistent effort
by men, not leaving the task to women and children.
Growing out of the Laymen's Movement and the Appor-
tionment Plan in America there is a tendency, which seems
to be gaining ground, to organise collecting committees
of men in every congregation to undertake the personal
visitation of every church member who is able to give a
substantial sum for missions, and secure his subscription.
This plan, although making heavy demands upon the
men who serve upon the missionary committees, is most
successfully widening interest and increasing the con-
tributions.
GIFTS FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES
In the consideration of the financial support of missions
there are few questions that are more persistently at the
front than that connected with the reception and use of
special gifts, made not to the general treasury of the
Board, but to some particular object or special phase of
the work. In many cases no embarrassment follows, and
the gift is gladly received and appropriated ; but in other
instances the object may not be worthy, or not in pressing
154 THE HOME BASE
need, or it may be that the appropriation of the gift in
accordance with the wishes of the donor will involve the
Board and the Mission in future obligations which they are
reluctant to accept.
Still more serious is the proposal frequently made to
extend the regular operations of the Society by the
opening of a new mission, or a new station, or the sending
of a missionary to a new centre, all of which involve an
increased and permanent outlay upon the part of the
Board. In every instance the donor expects that the new
work thus inaugurated will be continued and properly
supported. Many Societies have thus been saddled with
heavy burdens of expenditure by friends of the cause, who,
in their zeal, have practically dictated to the Boards,
compelling future appropriations from its regular funds
for the purpose of continuing what has thus been begun.
In addition to this there is the increasing desire upon the
part of local churches and individuals to support a
missionary in the field, the contributing party giving an
amount decided upon as an equivalent for the mis-
sionary's support.
The replies, while making it clear that all Societies
are facing the same general situation, clearly indicate
that they are not dealing with these questions in any uni-
form or systematic way. The marked increase of desig-
nated contributions for objects outside of the approved work
of the Board is viewed with no little anxiety by the officers
of nearly all of these Societies. Endeavour is made by
most Boards to induce the donor to allow his gift to go
in support of the regular and systematic work; but,
failing that, unless the gift is for purposes quite contrary
to the regular work and policy of the Society, or liable
to involve the Board in new obligations it is unwilling
to assume, it is usually accepted and appropriated for
the object designated by the donor. At the same time
an effort is made to keep the special objects in line with
the regular work.
While these facts are accepted, we must also recognise
that so long as donors are constituted as they now are*
FINANCIAL SUPPORT 155
they will give more liberally to something that is specific
than to a cause in the abstract or to the general work
of the Society. We know it to be a fact that after all
has been given that can be expected for the regular
work of the Society, there will still be many who will
quickly and liberally respond to a personal appeal for
some special object, provided that the object be clearly
and effectively presented. This reveals a side of human
nature that Missionary Societies must reckon with in
their endeavour to secure funds for the support of their
missions. They must recognise the power and value of
the concentrated appeal for an object that is clearly
defined.
In full recognition of the value of the special appeal,,
many of the Mission Boards in America have adopted
what is called " the station plan," by which the work
of some single station, or even of an entire mission, is
divided up into shares, and these shares are assigned to
local churches, societies of young people, Sunday Schools,
and individuals for support. The division is so made
that generally a single share costs about $30 or 6. All
who take a single share or more receive periodically
a report from the station or mission they thus aid in
supporting. This plan has the advantage of a specific
appeal, while at the same time it guards the general
appropriations of the Society. In making the specific
appeal in this case the work of the entire station is used,,
and each one taking a share assumes a proportionate
proprietorship in the work of the station or mission.
A mission is taken for this purpose only in the case of
some very liberal donors, or where a large special class
is appealed to, such as young people's societies or Sunday
Schools.
When all the shares for the support of one station
are taken, another is opened, and thus it is possible that
the general budget of the Society may be apportioned
out to shareholders who become annual subscribers to
the work. Most Mission Boards offer, at the same time*
shares in stations in different countries, in order that
156 THE HOME BASE
supporters may have a choice. This " station plan"
has proved attractive to many who have been hitherto
inclined to insist upon knowing definitely the objects
supported by their gifts. The reports from the stations
have been sufficiently specific to satisfy them and to
hold their interest and their support.
Another method adopted by some Societies is to
select from the list of objects calling for support under
the regular annual appropriations of the Society, some
specific things which have had the approval of the mission,
and reserve them for presentation to those who insist
upon having some special object presented before they
make their gifts. These include objects like school
buildings, hospitals, houses for missionaries, or a fund
for the support of ill or disabled missionaries. Many
Societies have found it profitable to have constantly
on hand a list of such approved objects for presentation
to those who are seeking for such, or for use in public
appeal where specific emphasis is desired.
Another plan with the same end in view, which has been
adopted by some Societies upon both sides of the Atlantic, is
to assign missionaries to individuals, local churches, and
organisations within the Church for their specific support.
The missionaries of some women's Societies are almost if
not entirely supported by local branches or organisations.
The plan has much in its favour, and has resulted in calling
out many enthusiastic gifts that otherwise could not
have been secured. Some Societies that were not at all
inclined to adopt this method of raising funds for the
support of their missionaries, have been compelled to
do so by congregations and individual donors asking to
be assigned a missionary for their support. Under the
impulse of this personal appeal many congregations
have easily doubled and even quadrupled their gifts.
While there are incidental disadvantages in the plan,
upon the whole it is proving effective in providing the
special object demanded by so many in order to enlist
and retain their interest, while it maintains the unity
of the work abroad. Of course it is understood in every
FINANCIAL SUPPORT 157
case that the missionaries thus supported do not thereby
change in any degree their attitude and relations to
their directing Board. Their relations to the supporting
body are personal, and not official. One American Society
that has under appointment 990 foreign missionaries
has assigned 927 of these for support to churches, groups
of churches, Sunday Schools, young people's Societies,
theological seminaries, women's Boards, and individuals.
Missionary Societies are practically agreed that, for
the best interest of the work, all gifts should go through
the regular channels, subject to the appropriation and
control of the executive committee. At the same time
they are convinced that the desire to locate gifts and to
hear directly from the individual supported is so natural
and general that it cannot be ignored, but must be
indulged in a measure and provided for by some such
plans as those suggested above. None of the Societies
hesitate to decline to, receive jifts that cannot be wisely
used, or such as would involve in an unwarranted manner
the future interests of the Boards as a whole. All are
compelled to meet and answer the enthusiastic individual
who is eager to contribute for " new work/' It is easier
to secure funds for a new enterprise than it is to support
what is already established. There seems to be a general
desire to send a missionary where none has ever gone,
establish a native preacher where there was none before,
open a school for children that never studied, and send
a physician where the people never saw a doctor.
Hundreds will give freely for an object like the above
who can hardly be persuaded to take an interest in main-
taining a preacher, teacher, hospital, or missionary
already established in his work and successfully pro-
secuting it. As it would be ruinous to any Society
continually to be opening new work unless increased
gifts can be secured for its permanent support, great care
must be exercised in accepting the " new work " offerings.
Not infrequently some one of the plans outlined above
can be so presented to such friends that they can be
induced to abandon the " new work " idea. To meet
MS THE HOME BASE
these conditions and conserve the work with the least loss
on the one hand, and substantial gain on the other, it is
generally agreed that there is much advantage in assign-
ing regular work for specific support. While this increases
correspondence and requires much attention to details, at
the same time it conserves the unity of the work and
informs and encourages the contributors. Missionary
Societies might well take into consideration provision
for meeting this demand for closer relation between
donors of special funds and the object for which con-
tributions are made. Even entire departments, like
medical work, have been successfully set aside under a
special secretary who makes appeal to, and receives re-
sponses from, those who wish for something more definite
than a gift to the Society as a whole. In the case of
one Society the whole cost of its medical work, amounting
to over 39,000, is covered by the special medical fund.
In aU this method of appeal the loyalty and co-opera-
tion of the missionaries In the field and at home on
furlough is absolutely essential.
There is no Missionary Society that does not feel the
importance of having the young people in the Sunday
Schools and in the Young People's Unions and Societies
so trained that they will in early youth form the habit
of giving for missions. This subject has been touched
upon in another part of this Report. In the practical
application of this idea to the Sunday Schools and young
people there is general agreement that no ideal method
for accomplishing this has yet been discovered. Here is a
broad and fruitful field for investigation and study. It
is only by holding the young loyal to the cause that we can
ever expect a loyal Church in the future. The Missionary
Societies as a whole are not paying sufficient attention to
this matter. There are bright spots in the picture, as, for
example, one large denomination in the United States, in
which every Sunday School is organised into a missionary
society, and every scholar in each school is a member of
the society. On the other hand, in some denominations
there is almost no systematic effort to secure gifts from
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
the Sunday School scholars and from the young people
as such, and, as one might anticipate, the amount actually
received is very small. During recent years there has been
a marked growth of giving among the students of North
America. It is of great importance that the habit of
systematic giving should be developed [among college
men and ^women, \ some of whom will later^ become
possessors of great wealth, and many of whom will occupy
places of leadership in the thought and activity of the
Church.
It has been suggested that by the proper use of the
" station plan/' or the attractive presentation of special
objects, the young people and children may become
enthusiastic supporters of missionary work. The plans
suggested in other parts of this Report for mission study,
if properly carried out, ought in time to bring about a
change in the situation.
MOTIVES FOR GIVING
With regard to the motives for giving, the Commission
has made extensive enquiries. There is no question that
a large proportion of the funds given to foreign missions
is given from the highest and best motives. On the
other hand, it cannot be denied that in every congregation
there are men and women who give because they " suppose
they ought to give to foreign missions/' or because they
are asked, and who certainly would not offer the gift if
it were not applied for.
Seventy per cent, of the answers received place the
religious motive first, while the remainder lay emphasis
on the philanthropic or humanitarian motive, or upon
motives of a more incidental and indirect kind.
One secretary of a Society states that the appeal to
humanitarian instincts frequently secured the best
results financially. Among the more casual motives of
which mention is made are an intellectual interest in
foreign countries, the belief that missions promote com-
merce and are a "paying investment," and a general
160 THE HOME BASE
feeling that it is the correct thing to support work under-
taken by the Church.
It has to be borne in mind that even when a right motive
for giving has been supplied, it is necessary that definite
steps should be taken to establish and maintain the habit
of giving.
There are vast resources in the Church for the evangelisa*
tion of the world that have not yet been made available,
but which should be and may be brought into the treasury
of the Lord. It is the privilege and the duty of those
who are engaged in the work of missions so to plan that
proportionate giving shall be the rule of the Church and
not the exception.
There is no question of the ability of Christendom to
provide the material means necessary for the accom-
plishment of the task. An annual increase in offerings
should be secured to enable all the Missionary Societies
to advance in their work each year, to the limit of wise
and safe enlargement, until all the non-Christian world
shall be adequately occupied. There is no reason, apart
from selfish indifference, why, within ten years, or before
the next general Missionary Conference, sufficient re-
sources should not be forthcoming to carry to the remotest
corner of this earth the message of the Christian GospeL
CHAPTER XI
HOME LEADERSHIP
THE success of the missionary enterprise tinder God
must rest with the efficiency of the leadership at home.
If the leadership is strong, aggressive, and effective, the
cause will prosper ; if it is hesitating, half-hearted, and
weak, the work of foreign missions will halt. The key
to the situation is in the quantity and quality of the leaders
in the Church. There are three distinct classes who are
exerting, or who should exert, special influence in leading
the Church to a right conception of its duty and privilege
in the work of missions*. These classes are the ministry,
laymen, and women.
Apart from the young people, these constitute the
total membership of the Christian Churches, and it is
among them that we must look for organisers
and leaders of the young people in their missionary
endeavour.
The committee that had in charge the collection of
material for this topic enquired diligently of the secre-
taries of foreign Mission Boards, the chairmen and
secretaries of the Laymen's Missionary Movement,
the chairmen of city co-operating committees of
laymen, officers of Women's Societies, leading
clergymen, and individual and unofficial laymen of
different denominations. In addition, the Commission
carried on a system of personal enquiry among re-
cognised experts of all classes, and made a study of
general literature bearing upon the subject of this
investigation.
COM. VI. II
162 THE HOME BASE
I. THE MINISTRY
THE EXTENT OF MISSIONARY INTEREST AMONG
MINISTERS
The first question raised was one of fact : " Are the
clergymen and ministers cognisant of the prime Im-
portance and the possibilities of their leadership In
missionary work ? "
It has become a common saying all over the world that
" the minister holds the key to the situation " as far as the
Interest of the Church in missions is concerned. It was
the purpose of the Commission to shed further light on
the situation. The replies received are clear and direct.
As one might expect, there is great variety in the replies,
coming as they do from different denominations and
from all parts of Europe and America. In regard to the
comparative number of ministers who are aware of the
importance and possibilities of their leadership, one
denominational leader reports that only about 5 per cent,
of their clergymen are vitally interested in missions.
Others report an interested body ranging from 10 per cent.
to 75 per cent, of the entire number. Only one, however,
reports the last figure, while a few report that not more
than one-quarter is vitally Interested. Others declare
that this interest "is only beginning/' "some of the
younger men are Interested, but not the older," " not to
a large extent, but improving/* " better in the cities
than in the country parishes/' "not wholly awake/' " a
small amount are/' "a few are/' "a limited number
are/' while more than one-fourth of the laymen reporting
say frankly that their pastors are not interested and so
exercise little effective leadership. At the same time, a
considerable number report an increasing interest, in
which they find much encouragement. We will quote
more at length from some of these replies.
One well-known denominational leader says ;
" The ministers of our Church as a whole are not wholly owak*
to the prime importance of their leadership in missionary work.
HOME LEADERSHIP 163
Nor are they realising the possibilities of their position for mis-
sionary leadership. There are, however, many notable and
delightful exceptions. I am happy to believe, also, that the
tendency in recent years has been upward, and that our ministers
are much more deeply interested and active in the advocacy of
missions than they formerly were."
Another leader, widely known outside his own denomi-
nation, says :
" I regret to write that I fear many of pur ministers are not
sufficiently interested in world-wide missions. My experience
in the last few years has shown me that, while many of these men
are enthusiastic in their leadership, there are many who seem
to be timid and unwilling to take any very decided stand. In a
number of instances lately in America the laymen have been far
in advance of the minister in determination to have the Churches
to which they belong do larger things."
Still another :
"To a very large extent both clergymen and ministers are
realising the necessity of their being the leaders in missionary
work, and more and more are they beginning to realise what
leadership by them will mean for their congregations/*
A leader of another great denomination writes :
" The clergymen and ministers of the various Churches are not
seized by the prime importance of their leadership in missionary
work. To an extent hitherto unknown the ministers whom I know
are realising their position as leaders, but this is a long way from
realising it to the full."
A leader in one of the largest American denominations
says :
" Our ministers are not cognisant of the importance of their
position as missionary leaders, but there is a decided awakening
and enquiry. I believe there is soon to be a decided and helpful
change throughout our Church."
Another eminent leader says :
11 The vast majority of the ministers do not appreciate the
importance of their leadership. Too many seem to work with
little thought beyond their congregational environment, and are
satisfied with mere local progress. Pastoral leadership means
everything in missionary success."
These quotations fairly represent the contents]|and
tenor of the replies received, and they come from^the
leading denominations of the world.
164 THE HOME BASE
From Great Britain the general tone of the replies
received is one of hopefulness, but, on the other hand,
it is felt that a revived ministry is more needed than
anything else. To the lack of proper ministerial
leadership is attributed the deadness and lack of interest
in the congregations. The general testimony is that
congregations are ready to respond if summoned to
action by their recognised leader.
In Germany the same condition prevails, but the
growing popularity among ministers of special con-
ferences for enquiry into missionary problems is an en-
couraging sign of improvement. A minority of German
ministers are, and always have been, promoters of the
cause of missions.
From France the report comes that, while some ministers
have missionary interest really at heart, yet their number
is comparatively small. The greater number do nothing,
except to receive the deputies that are sent them, and
transmit gifts put into their hands for the purpose by
their parishioners. It is encouraging to note that a
growing interest during the last few years can be reported.
CAUSES OF LACK OF INTEREST
Assuming then that, as a whole, the ministers and
clergymen of Christendom are not exercising their full
power of leadership in the interest of missions, we
naturally enquire what are the causes of this failure, and
the remedies for it. The answers to this enquiry are most
illuminating and suggestive.
The replies will not admit of clear classification. Among
the reasons given, the most prominent are, " pressure of
local work," "local financial burdens," "lack of proper
training," " indifference and selfishness/' " lack of the true
conception of the contents of the Gospel/' " timidity/' and
"improper sense of obligation." As this part of the
subject is of such vital importance, we will give somewhat:
at length a few characteristic quotations from our
numerous correspondents, selecting in such a way that
HOME LEADERSHIP 165
the principal denominations and all countries shall be
represented.
A well-known leader writes :
"(i) The training given in our theological seminaries has had
too little reference to the great work of missions, the preparation
of missionary candidates, and the training of the missionary spirit.
(2) The shamefully limited salaries of many of our ministers, which
makes them, upon the one hand, unable to be leaders in giving,
which some of them would like to be, and, on the other hand,
makes them timid in pressing the cause upon the attention of the
people."
Another leader gives as reasons :
" (i) A failure to have received a missionary vision at the
period in life when life ideals were being formed. This takes
us back to the home life and to the age of youth. (2) Concession
to, or compromise with, the non-missionary or anti-missionary
conceptions of the average congregation or Church. (3) A pre-
vailing false conception of the general character of Christianity
which dominates, to a great extent, the whole of Christendom, and
influences also the leaders in the Church."
A well-known leader gives as reasons :
" (i) Theological controversy; (2) failure in earlier days to
give missionary instruction in theological seminaries; (3) the fear
upon the part of many ministers that, if they press missions too
hard, they^may interfere with the prosperity of the local Church
and so lose their hold upon it."
A secretary of a Missionary Board writes :
" (i) The many demands made upon the pastors in the work
of the parish ; (2) the tendency of some to magnify this work unduly ;
(3) the failure to see clearly the chief and supreme business of the
Church."
Another secretary writes :
" (i) A lack of a true conception of the spirit of the Gospel
in its breadth and entirety. (2) Lack of information. (3) Provin-
cialism. (4) Lack of proper theological instruction."
A leading layman writes :
" A failure to realise the benefit, financial as well as spiritual,
that their own congregations will derive from helping on Christ's
work outside."
Another layman says :
" Contentment with things as they are ; reliance upon
machinery ; decadence of personal earnestness and devotion."
166 THE HOME BASE
Another gives as a reason for lack of interest :
" The failure upon the part of the Board ^ to furnish the pastor
with systematic and necessary information."
Without repeating reasons already given, we will mention
a few only in addition : " The lack of funds with which
to purchase missionary books and magazines/' " over-
shadowing local requirements/' " persistent effort for
local betterment/' " lack of natural capacity for leader-
ship," "lack of outlook and a tendency to move along
the lines of least resistance."
The statement of the case carries with it a suggestion
of the remedy. It is quite probable that ^ Missionary
Societies themselves are at fault for not devising means
of reaching uninterested pastors and ministers. The
class is so large, and the place of leadership it occupies
is of such supreme importance, that Missionary Societies
may well give this subject most careful and continuous
consideration until this great block to aggressive progress
has been converted into a vital missionary force. As
the pastors in a large measure hold the key to the situa-
tion, it is to this point the attention of Missionary Societies
should be directed.
THE INFLUENCE OF A PASTOR INTERESTED IN MISSIONS
Full replies were received in response to the questions
as to the effect upon a parish or congregation of the
pastor's enthusiasm or indifference, and they are practic-
ally alike. When the pastor is awake and exercising
his prerogative as a leader, the congregation is awake
and beneficence flourishes ; on the other hand, when
the pastor is indifferent, the congregation becomes cold,
and giving is meagre. There is also a general agreement
that local interests flourish under a missionary pro-
paganda by the pastor. A few quotations are essential
to a proper emphasis of the subject.
A bishop writes :
" It is possible to trace some men from church to church by
HOME LEADERSHIP 167
the influence they have exerted in missionary enthusiasm. Un-
fortnnately it is possible to trace some other men by the opposite
effects and the deadening result of their efforts."
Another :
" Invariably a missionary pastor makes a missionary church.
I can follow the trail of missionary pastors, as they have moved
from congregation to congregation, by aroused missionary effort
and zeal."
Another :
" Almost without exception, real leadership upon the part of the
minister arouses the congregation."
A well-known layman :
" Wherever the minister has been aggressive in missionary
leadership, it is almost certain to bring great general prosperity
to his church ; and when the minister has been indifferent, the church
has declined."
A secretary of a large Mission Board :
" The church never fails to respond when the minister gives
due attention to the cause of missions."
A volume might be filled with quotations from the
evidence in hand, but it would all be in line with
what is here given. The facts are too obvious to require
extended proof.
We cannot but regard this phase of our subject as one
of the most important, if not the most important, en-
trusted to this Commission to investigate. Unless the
ministers, who are the natural leaders of the Church,
accept that leadership so far as it relates to foreign
mission work, the endeavour to bring the Church up
to a high standard of beneficence must fail. Had we
quoted from all of the replies received from every im-
portant evangelical denomination in the world and from
secretaries of Missionary Societies, church officials,
pastors, laymen, and educators, no doubt whatever could
remain in the mind of the reader, if, indeed, any now
remains, that, in order to arouse the Church to a sense
of its opportunity and privilege, the clergy must be reached
and their enthusiastic co-operation secured. Other
parts of this Report show that few Missionary Societies
168 THE HOME BASE
are making direct and special effort for this influential
class of leaders who bold the key to the situation. The
Commission urgently calls attention to these conditions
and facts as set forth in this section of our Report.
In considering what can be done to remedy the
present condition, it is impossible to go into details.
There has undoubtedly been, and is, a great lack of mis-
sionary instruction in theological seminaries and colleges.
All are agreed that such instruction in the training of
the ministry of to-day is indispensable. There is also
a general belief that colleges and universities should
offer elective courses in missions (cf. pp. 179-180). In
the meantime, officers of Missionary Societies and Boards
must devise measures suited to the conditions prevailing
in their particular denomination and country to secure
the co-operation of the clergy. The Commission is
convinced that a comparatively large expenditure of
money on special literature and on conferences for pastors
would be amply justified in the effort to secure the support
of the natural leaders of the Church, not only on account
of the new spiritual life this would inevitably bring to
the Church itself, and the added contributions of money
that would come in for the support of the work, but also
for the sake of the young people who are so greatly
needed at the front.
Evidently most of those with whom correspondence
was carried on have caught the new vision of the kingdom
and the new standard of service and sacrifice. Judged
by this standard and interpreted in the light of the new
vision, the clergy are not yet as a whole seized by the
prime importance of their leadership, nor are they realis-
ing the possibilities of their position. This does not
mean that there are not many noble and notable excep-
tions. There are many ministers in all denominations
who are doing their full duty. Cognisance is also taken
of the fact that many of these non-active ministers
are overwhelmed with local difficulties of various kinds.
At the same time, the fact remains that the rank and
file of ministers and clergymen of the world are not
HOME LEADERSHIP 169
exercising the missionary leadership they should, and
the task- set for the various denominations and their
Missionary Boards is to correct this wrong, and so
organise the Church of Christ into the aggressive army
of the Lord.
MISSIONARY TRAINING OF STUDENTS PREPARING FOR
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
Our enquiry into the general attitude of the Christian
Ministry to the missionary work of the Church necessarily
involved some investigation into the amount and kind of
missionary instruction given in the theological colleges
and halls where these men receive their training. If it
be the case, as the evidence before us seems to show, that
a very large proportion of the ministers and clergy do
lack missionary enthusiasm and missionary vision, to
what extent is this failure to be traced back to any defect
in the training which they received as students ? Are
our theological colleges turning out men who are inspired
with the missionary ideal and keenly alive to the problems
which confront the Church in the foreign field ? What
means are employed to bring home to the students the
world- wide mission of the Church and the urgency of the
task which confronts her, in view of such facts as the
awakening of the Far East and the opening up of the
continent of Africa ? What instruction is given with
reference to the history and principles of the modern
missionary enterprise ? What suggestions are offered as
to how they may best educate and arouse the congrega-
tions over which they will later be set in charge ? Are
they trained in habits of prayer, and giving, and
systematic study in this matter ? These are important
and vital questions, and seem to the Commission ta
merit a careful and thorough enquiry.
Great Britain
The investigation carried out by the Committee ap-
pointed for the purpose covered, in Great Britain, some
170 THE HOME BASE
thirty-four different colleges. Although these by no means
exhaust the number of such institutions, yet they may
be taken as thoroughly representative, at least of England
and Wales, for they include the strongest colleges of all
the leading denominations. As might be expected, we
are confronted with a great variety of types, extending
from the six or seven year course, found in some of the
Congregational colleges, to the one year post-graduate
system which prevails in the many colleges of the Church
of England. It might be questioned whether any useful
conclusions could be drawn relating to such diverse
conditions, and it must be admitted at the outset
that it would be difficult to make any statement
which would apply to all the colleges. Nevertheless,
we consider that our enquiry has brought to light
some very significant facts which deserve serious con-
sideration.
A first reading of the evidence which indicates the
amount of attention paid to missionary questions in our
theological colleges is certainly disappointing. Apart
from the incidental references and allusions which may
occur in the ordinary lectures which are given in Church
History, Comparative Religion, and Pastoral Work, there
are only four colleges which report any attempt to give
definite and systematic instruction in modern missionary
problems and methods. Indeed, the general opinion
seems to be against the inclusion of any such subject in
the college curriculum, either on the ground that it is
superfluous, or that the curriculum is already over-
crowded with more important subjects, or that it would be
difficult to find men competent to lecture on it. Over
against this we may set the experience of the four colleges
above mentioned, where the plan was followed of inviting
a leading missionary to come and deliver a short course
of lectures on some missionary topic. If we may accept
the testimony of the students who attended these lectures,
this method certainly proved successful in these colleges.
And, while we recognise the difficulties involved in such
a course, we are of opinion that the plan of arranging for
HOME LEADERSHIP 171
short courses of lectures by missionary experts might, in
many cases, be adopted with advantage.
But although very little is undertaken by way of
systematic instruction in distinctively missionary subjects,
a good deal more is done in other ways to awaken a
missionary interest in the men. Attention is called in
the replies we have received to the importance of the
personal influence of the Principal and of the college
staff in bringing home to men who are preparing for
the Christian Ministry, their responsibility towards the
missionary enterprise of the Church. One or two colleges
refer to the advantage they have gained in this direction
through having professors or tutors who have had some
experience of foreign missionary work. But more
important still is the influence of the missionaries on
furlough who visit the colleges from time to time.
Practically every report contains some reference to this
matter, and, indeed, it would be difficult to over-emphasise
its importance, for the personal factor is essential to the
creation of any living interest. It is unfortunate that
we have not fuller information as to the character and
length of such visits, and the extent to which they afford
opportunities for the missionary to come into personal
and intimate contact with individual men. In one college,
at least, it is the practice to arrange that once a year a
missionary should be invited to stay for a week at
the college as the guest of the men. This is a
most valuable method for awakening a missionary
interest and fostering a missionary spirit, and, in view of
the central importance of the theological colleges, we
hold that the Missionary Societies ought to set aside their
most influential missionaries, when they return home on
furlough, for this special work.
The need for assisting the students to develop the
habit of prayer for foreign missions is recognised in, all
the colleges, though the methods adopted are different.
In the Free Church colleges it is not uncommon for the
students to arrange for special missionary prayer-meetings
among themselves, but, at the same time, emphasis is also
172 THE HOME BASE
laid in the replies we have received to this question on
the importance of constant reference to the missionary
work of the Church in the ordinary prayer life of the
college.
With few exceptions all the colleges cultivate the habit
of missionary giving among the students. In several
cases the students undertake the responsibility of raising
considerable sums, in some instances amounting to over
300, or $1500 per annum, for the funds of their Missionary
Society. This service is undoubtedly valuable in stimulat-
ing their missionary enthusiasm.
The general opinion among the Free Church colleges,
however, seems to be that, on the whole, it is best to allow
missionary enthusiasm to grow up spontaneously among
the men themselves apart from any attempt to cultivate
it officially. Attention is called to the missionary study
circles which have been organised in many colleges with
very considerable success under the auspices of the Student
Christian Movement. The statistics supplied by the
central office of the Student Christian Movement show
that in the year 1908-9 some 376 theological students
were members of registered study circles. The number
is not large, but it is steadily increasing, and the
reports indicate that the work done in the study
circles is thorough. The "Missionary Campaigns/'
organised by the Student Christian Movement, have
also proved very effective means for arousing missionary
enthusiasm among the men. The opportunity of engaging
in some definite service for the cause of Foreign Missions,
and of bringing before the Churches the needs of the foreign
field, inevitably results in the deepening of the convictions
of the men themselves. Both these activities are carried
on apart from any control on the part of the college
authorities, though with their entire sympathy. We
believe they are likely to become increasingly important
factors both in educating and inspiring the students with
missionary ideals, and we are of opinion that both mis-
sionary study circles and missionary campaigns should
be encouraged by every possible means.
HOME LEADERSHIP
We made some enquiry as to the missionary literature
available to theological students through their college
libraries, The replies were not altogether satisfactory.
Practically every college library contains some missionary
books, but in very few colleges is there any serious attempt
to keep the college library abreast of the best missionary
literature in the same systematic way as is done in other
departments. In many cases the colleges are seriously
hampered in this direction through lack of funds.
Still it is possible that more might be done, not merely
in placing the best missionary books at the disposal of
the students, but also in encouraging and guiding them
in their reading.
America
In America an exhaustive investigation was made
among one hundred and twenty-eight theological training
institutions. The enquiries related to " Mission Study
Courses in the Curriculum/' " Mission Lecture Courses/'
" Cost of Missionary Instruction/' " Voluntary Mission
Study/ 1 " Missionary Literature. " Replies were re-
ceived from one hundred and fifteen institutions, and the
information afforded is summarised as follows :
Thirty-eight institutions, or 33 per cent, of the whole
number, reported that they did not include the study
of missions in their curricula, either in the form of re-
quired or elective courses ; and, furthermore, that they-
had no mission lecture course foundations, and provided
no regular course of mission lectures. Nine of these
reported no provision of any kind for missionary in-
struction or missionary study. Nine reported that the
subject was treated incidentally to the course in Church
History or Practical Theology. Eleven reported occa-
sional lectures or sermons. Two reported " Reading
Courses " under the supervision of members of the
faculty. Eleven reported voluntary mission study
courses, conducted by students or professors.
While it may occasion regret or surprise to learn that
no provision for systematic mission study is made by
174 THE HOME BASE
one-third of tlie American theological seminaries, and
while many of the replies indicated indifference to the
subject, yet, on the other hand, in many of these in-
stitutions an ardent missionary enthusiasm is being
maintained by the general spirit which pervades all the
instruction, by the influence of occasional lectures,
and by the efforts of student organisations.
Fifty-eight institutions, or just 50 per cent, of the
whole number, reported that the study of missions forms
an integral part of the required curriculum. In most
cases, however, the required courses are brief and often
fragmentary. They deal for the most part with some
one of the following subjects : " General History of
Missions/ 1 " The History of Religion," " Comparative
Religion/' " Current Missionary Literature/* or " The
Pastor and Missions/' The time usually allotted for
these courses is one hour per week, during one year of
the three years' course, or about 2 per cent, of the whole
number of curriculum hours. This amount of time is
exceeded in eleven instances, in which two hours a week
is occupied, and in six instances, in which mention is
made of from two to three hours a week during one year ;
but this increase is discounted by the eleven instances in
which the courses are continued during but one-half of one
year. In most cases the instruction is given by members
of the faculty in the form of lectures ; but in some
cases text-books are used, and occasionally students
are required to write essays on [assigned missionary
topics.
Of the fifty-eight institutions which have required
courses, eleven have elective courses in addition, and nine-
teen other institutions give all their instruction in the
form of elective courses. In all but seven of these
instances the courses usually cover one hour per
week for one year, and the subjects specified are of
a general missionary character. These elective courses
are attended in those cases where numbers have been
reported by about one-fourth *of the students.
While the average amount of missionary instruction
HOME LEADEBSHIP 175
in all these required and elective courses is evidently
not very considerable, there are certain institutions
which are doing work of an especially important char-
acter, and are giving to mission study courses a very
prominent place. Omaha (Nebraska) Theological Seminary
(Presbyterian), the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
(Louisville, Kentucky), and the Episcopal Theological
Seminary at Cambridge, Massachusetts, have full
missionary professorships.
M'Cormick Seminary (Presbyterian, Chicago), San
Francisco Seminary, the Christian University (Eureka,
Utah), and the Union Theological Seminary (New York)
report part professorships.
Eureka College (Illinois) and the Berkeley (California)
Bible Seminary have instructorships in missions.
The most extensive courses and the best equipment
for missionary instruction seem to be afforded by the
Yale University Divinity School (New Haven, Conn.)
and by the Hartford (Conn.) Theological Seminary.
While Hartford maintains no special chair of missionary
instruction, a very large number of courses are offered
by different professors in the theory and method of
missions, the history of missions, special missions, and
the history of religions. Those courses are so arranged
that any of them can be chosen as electives by students
in the regular course, and some of them are expected to
be included in every group. They also may be pursued
altogether by themselves, by specialising students, form-
ing in that case a full year's curriculum. This Seminary
also has special lecturers who give annually to all students
who elect, courses upon " The Science and Methods of
Foreign Missions/' " Missions and Sociology," etc.
At Yale University a chair of missionary instruction
has been established under a professor whose title is
" Professor of the Theory and Practice of Missions."
Elective " Lecture-reading courses " are given on " Factors
in Missionary Efficiency," " The Missionary's Use of the
Bible/' " Missionary Makers of Nations/' " Indigenous
Chinese Religions/' and "Chinese Mandarin." All of
176 THE HOME BASE
those are one-hour courses, except the last, which is a
two-hour course.
Twelve institutions, or 10 per cent, of the whole number,
report regular " Missionary Lecture Course Foundations/*
The number of lectures afforded on these foundations
is usually five each year. In addition to these courses,
some forty-eight report " special " and " occasional "
lectures, given by members of the faculties or by specially
invited guests, particularly by missionaries at home on
furlough, and by secretaries of the Mission Boards.
In addition to these regular and occasional courses,
or in the place of these courses, missionary instruction
and inspiration are furthered, in several seminaries, by
special conferences held monthly or annually. For this
purpose, seminary exercises are, for the time, totally
suspended, and students and faculty meet for the con-
sideration of exclusively missionary topics. For example,
in one a full morning of each month is devoted to the
meeting of the Missionary Society, composed of faculty
and students. The mission fields of the world are studied.
At another the first Tuesday of each month is observed
as a missionary day, with lectures in the afternoon and
evening. In another from one to three lectures are given
on the first day of each month, when all regular lectures
are suspended. One day of each month in another
seminary is devoted to a free conference on mission work.
Class work is suspended for the day, and several hours
are spent by the faculty and students in the discussion
of various subjects relating to home and foreign mission
work, and in seeking to foster the missionary spirit in
the seminary. This has done more to quicken interest
in missions than all other causes combined. Work is
suspended in another for one day each month, and the
day is wholly devoted to studying missions ; both
faculty and students attend these mission-day exercises
and^take part, and also the officers of the Board of
Missions.
Eighty- three institutions, or 70 per cent, of the whole
number, report voluntary classes for mission study.
HOME LEADERSHIP 177
About three-fourths of these classes are conducted by
students and the remainder by professors. They are
usually organised under the auspices of the Young Men's
Christian Association, and use, in many instances, the books
published under the direction of the Young People's
Missionary Movement. These classes are largely attended.
In three instances they include all the students in the
institution. There are frequently a number of classes
conducted simultaneously in the same seminary. Prince-
ton Seminary, for example, in addition to the required
course in missions and its special courses, has a large
number of mission study classes enrolling a large pro-
portion of the students. Some forty-two seminaries
give the number enrolled in these voluntary classes as
1662, or about 40 per cent, of the entire number of
students. These classes usually meet for one hour each
week, but during only a part of the seminary year.
Sixty-eight seminaries report the number of missionary
books in their libraries as aggregating 41,000, or an average
of 603 each. In addition to these, a number of seminaries
report special missionary libraries, provided by the Young
Men's Christian Association or the Student Volunteer
Band. Special yearly appropriations for the purchasing
of new missionary books are reported by twenty-three
seminaries. Most of the seminaries report the regular
provision of a number of missionary magazines for the
library or reading-room. The average number of such
missionary periodicals received by each institution is
nine, although two receive upwards of eighty each.
The Continent of Europe
In Holland the history of missions has, since 1877, had
a place in the curriculum of the theological studies of
students in preparation for the ministry in the Dutch
Reformed Church, to which half of the people in the
country belong. Mission professors are appointed to
this task by the Church, and some are reported as not
especially interested in the subject. One of these, how-
COM. VI. 12
178 THE HOME BASE
ever, at the University of Utrecht, is just now publishing
his Prolegomena to a Protestant Science of Missions.
In the two faculties of theology at Paris and Montauban
courses of lectures upon missions have been given by
special lecturers, and in the latter institution a missionary
recently gave a course upon the religions of the inferior
races. This practically comprises the academic mission-
ary instruction offered to students for the ministry in
France.
In the Free Church theological faculties in Switzerland
it is arranged that each generation of students has the
opportunity of hearing something about missionary
history either from one of the professors or from a specialist.
For the last six years the theological faculty of the
University of Copenhagen has of ered an annual series
of lectures on missions. In the theological seminary of
the University of Norway lectures upon missions are
regularly given. At the University of Upsala, in Sweden,
the History of Missions is studied in connection with
Church History, and the Theory of Missions is made a
part of the course in Pastoral Theology. Lectures are
also given upon the history and theory of missions.
It must be borne in mind that in Europe many of the
strong Missionary Societies have missionary training
schools in which most of their candidates receive their
education. In such cases the missionary receives his
education largely apart from the candidate for service
in the Church at home. This is especially true of
Germany and Holland. To these candidates for mis-
sionary service missionary instruction is given. While
this materially aids the future missionary to the proper
equipment for his life-work, it is of no service to the
young men who do not have the foreign field in view.
As the great majority of these receive their
general and theological training at the State universities,
the question of their missionary instruction is dealt
with under the head of Academic Instruction. In
many parts of Germany, however, young ministers,
after completing their university course in theology,.
HOME LEADERSHIP
spend one or two years in a theological seminary for
training on more practical lines. Nearly all of these
seminaries include in their official course the study of
missions, either in connection with some other discipline
or in a separate course of lectures. One seminary reports
that the graduates hold missionary meetings under the
supervision of the principal.
In Germany, where theological faculties are established,
there is no general provision made for missionary lectures,
but occasional courses are given in Berne and Lausanne,
while at Basel one of the Basel Missionary Secretaries
has quite recently been officially appointed as missionary
lecturer. At Halle University there is a professorship
of Missions.
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS
What is being done by some seminaries and theo-
logical colleges suggests what may be done by others,
and even those by which the most is now undertaken
indicate that the work is of recent growth. Many of
those now attempting little are suggesting hopes and
even plans for enlargement in the near future.
Conditions in different seminaries are so diverse, and the
theological curriculum is already so crowded, that
specific or radical recommendations may seem useless,
yet it may be allowable to point out a few apparent
possibilities.
1. A prescribed course of instruction in Christian
missions may well and even should form an integral
part of the curriculum of every theological seminary or
college.
2. The extent of such courses is a matter upon which
opinions may differ. It would seem that the allotment
of one hour a week, for only one year, is quite in-
adequate ; and that such courses should be continued
through the three years of study, increasing the fraction
of time expended upon missions from one-fiftieth to one-
fifteenth.
3. The content of the courses need not differ from
180 THE HOME BASE
that already suggested. They should certainly include
the History of Missions (apostolic, medieval, and
modern), the Biblical Basis of Missions, the Apologetic
Defence of Missions, the Apologetic Significance of
Missions, the Science and Methods of Missions, Com-
parative Religion, Christianity and Social Progress, the
Pastor and Missions, Modern Missionary Movements in
the Home Church, Special Missionary Fields, ajid the
Missionary Work of the denomination with which the
particular seminary is connected.
4. The conduct of the courses might well include the
use of both text-books and lectures, and should suggest
collateral reading. The courses should be under the
direction of a special professor or instructor, or form a
definite part of the assigned duties of such an instructor.
Modern missionary movements are so rapid and their
problems so numerous and so complex as to demand
the attention and consideration of a specialist.
5. Effort should be made to secure endowments for
lecture courses, and for the continued enlargement of
missionary libraries.
6. The organisation of classes for voluntary study
should be encouraged. These classes are found to
flourish, and to be of incalculable service, even where
missions have a regular and important place in the
curriculum.
7. In conclusion, while the study of missions has
such wide ramifications that it can be profitably taught
in connection with any one of a large number of the
usual theological disciplines, the need for its further
emphasis in these courses, or its more extensive treat-
ment in a distinct department, is made evident by the
simplest reference to the specific purpose of all theological
education, viz. : to prepare men to be able and efficient
preachers of the Gospel among all nations. Nothing
will tend more definitely to develop interesting preachers,
skilful organisers, or consecrated missionaries, than such
instruction as imparts missionary information, suggests
missionary illustrations, and inspires missionary zeal.
HOME LEADERSHIP 181
8. It has been shown in a preceding section of this
Report that the missionary zeal and activity of a parish
or local church is supremely dependent upon the leader-
ship of its pastor. If he has had little or no missionary
instruction in his training course, it cannot be expected
that he will be able enthusiastically and intelligently
to lead the church. If the Church of Christ is to have
able leaders in its missionary endeavours It must itself,
through its institutions of learning, provide the training
required for efi ective leadership.
II. LAYMEN
It is cause for new courage and faith that, during the
last five years, especially in the United States and
Canada, there has appeared a marvellous uprising of
laymen under the leadership of laymen, in the interest
of foreign missions. There is no attempt upon their
part to supersede the pastor in his position as leader,
if he is ready to catch the larger vision and throw him-
self into the advance. If, on the other hand, the pastor
fails to catch the spirit of the new era of missions, there
is danger that he may be left in the rear as the great
army of laymen move on to the conquest.
It is necessary in the discussion of this subject to
give a brief but comprehensive review of the organisa-
tion of this movement of leadership among laymen,
first among the Churches of America, followed by what
is being done along a similar line in Europe.
This movement among the laymen has made such
rapid advance in the last three years, is arousing such
interest, is attracting so much attention, and is so full
of encouragement and promise for the cause it serves,
that as an organisation it demands special mention.
THE LAYMEN'S MISSIONARY MOVEMENT IN AMERICA
In the year 1902, at the Decennial Conference of
Missionaries in India, the men on the field decided it
182 THE HOME BASE
was their duty not only to ask for such reinforcements
as they thought the Home Societies might be able to
furnish, but to endeavour to estimate the total force
required adequately to man the fields under their charge,
and to Inform the Home Societies of the actual needs.
In the same year, at the Student Volunteer Convention
in Toronto, a layman from Boston urged that the time
had come for the organisation of the laymen of all the
Churches to secure the moneys necessary adequately
to man the whole field.
From 1902 to 1906, in both the United States and
Canada, suggestions were made by different missionary
leaders that the laymen of the Churches should con-
stitute the most fruitful supporting constituency of the
Missionary Societies, and that special efforts should be
made to enlist them as leaders, and to secure from them
a larger measure of active support. In some Churches,
notably the Presbyterian Church in the United States,
men's Missionary Conventions were held, which demon-
strated the possibilities of arousing the men of America
to the urgency of the missionary problem and the
importance of their leadership in helping to solve this
problem.
A young business man of the city of Washington, D.C.,
while in attendance at the Student Volunteer Convention
held in Nashville, Tennessee, in the year 1906, was pro-
foundly impressed with the thought that if the business men
of the country could only catch the vision of the world's
need, and realise that the students were prepared to give
their lives to meet this need, the money would be given,
and that the greatest need in the missionary propaganda
was to arouse the men of the Church to a consciousness
of their privilege and responsibility in leadership in the
work of world-wide evangelisation.
On I3th and I4th November 1906, there was held in
New York an interdenominational meeting in com-
memoration of the centennial of the Haystack Prayer
Meeting, which led, a hundred years ago, to the organisa-
tion of the American Board of Missions. On the after-
HOME LEADERSHIP 183
noon and evening following, there met in the chapel of
the same church a company of laymen. The invitation
to this meeting was in the form of " A Call to Prayer/'
and was issued by a committee of laymen. In this
it was stated that the need of the hour was for the
consecration of laymen to the work of missions, and
those invited were asked to join with other laymen of
various denominations in this great work. This meeting
was the result of the suggestions of this young business
man of Washington. The afternoon and evening were
spent almost wholly in prayer. As a result, the following
preamble and resolutions were adopted and a committee
appointed :
WHEREAS, in the marvellous Providence of God, the One
Hundredth Anniversary of the beginnings of the American Foreign
Missionary Movement finds the doors of every nation open to the
Gospel message ; and
WHEREAS, the machinery of the Missionary Boards, women's
Boards, student and young people's Missionary Movements is
highly and efficiently organised ; and
WHEREAS, the greatly increased participation of the present
generation of responsible Christian business and professional
men is essential to the widest and most productive use of the
existing missionary agencies, and is equally vital to the growth
of the spiritual life at home ; and
WHEREAS, in the management of large business and political
responsibilities, such men have been greatly used and honoured ;
and
WHEREAS, in but few of the denominations have aggressive
movements to interest men in missions been undertaken :
THEREFORE BE ix RESOLVED, that this gathering of laymen,
called together for prayer and conference on the occasion of the
centennial anniversary of the Haystack Prayer Meeting, designate
a committee of twenty-five or more representative laymen to
consult with the secretaries of the Missionary Boards of all the
denominations in the United States and Canada, if possible at
their annual gathering in January, with reference to the following
vitally important propositions :
1. To project a campaign of education among laymen to be
conducted under the direction of the various Boards.
2. To devise a comprehensive plan (in conjunction with said
Board secretaries) looking toward the evangelisation of the world
in this generation.
3. To endeavour to form, through the various Boards, a Cen-
tennial Commission of laymen, fifty or more in number, to visit
as early as possible the mission fields and report their findings
to the Church at home.
184 THE HOME BASE
A committee of representative laymen was formed,
which held its first meeting in New York on I3th December
1906.
Its Aims
1. It is not a new interdenominational Missionary
Movement to collect or administer funds, or to raise
up or to send out missionaries. It is an inspiration
rather than an organisation.
2. It is a movement to enlist all men of all branches
in the Church in cordial and active support of the mission
work of their own missionary organisation.
3. It seeks to broaden the basis of support of these
organisations and merely augment their income by
letting every member of the Church be a contributor
to missions, on a scale adequate to enable the Church
to carry out our Lord's great commission, to make
disciples of all nations.
Its Methods
1. By holding city, district, state, and national inter-
denominational men's Missionary Conventions to awaken
the interest, enlarge the vision, stimulate the enthusiasm,
and develop the sense of stewardship of time, talent, and
possession of the mission of the Church, and to lead them
to adopt an adequate financial missionary objective for
the city, district, state, or country.
2. Emphasising everywhere that mission work is the
supreme business of the Church, and urging the clergy-
men or pastors, as the recognised leaders of the Church,
to assume their rightful place of leadership, and really
lead the Church forward in its missionary operations.
3. Organising in each city, community, and district
an interdenominational co-operating committee
(i) To collect and publish accurate statistics of the
home and foreign missionary contributions, and con-
tributions for local church or parish purposes of all the
churches in the city, district, or county. This informa-
HOME LEADERSHIP 185
tion enables the men to see how little they are doing
compared with what should be done, and what they are
able to do, and how little some of the Churches are
doing as compared with others.
(2) To promote an adequate missionary policy in all
the local churches within its jurisdiction.
(3) To secure the appointment of a men's Missionary
Committee of the leading men of every congregation
to co-operate with the clergymen or pastors
(a) In the work of missionary education in the local
church.
(6) In carrying out a programme of prayer for missions
whereby the prayer life of the congregation may be
guided and stimulated.
(c) In securing the adoption by the local church of an
adequate financial objective.
(d) In enlisting every member as a supporter of
missions by means of personal canvass, and securing
from every member a worthy weekly offering for
missions.
4. Encouraging laymen of position and standing to
visit foreign mission fields and study the conditions of
the ground so that they may be the better able to
advocate the cause of missions among their fellow-laymen
on their return.
5. Encouraging laymen of position and influence to
become public as well as private advocates of the cause
of missions. This non-professional- advocacy, which busy
men freely give their time to, has been one of the greatest
sources of strength of the movement.
6. Securing co-operation of all branches of the Church
in its campaign ; one of the most impressive features
of the movement has been the spirit of unity and co-
operation among the branches of the Church.
7. Presenting the claims of the whole world upon the
whole Church as well as the work of the particular
societies co-operating in the campaign.
8. Emphasising the urgency or present opportunity
for world-wide evangelisation, the imperativeness of our
186 THE HOME BASE
Lord's command, that the Church has spiritual resources
.adequate for the task if she will but use them, and that
the men of the Churches have the financial resources
adequate for the whole task, that the enterprise offers
to every man his largest opportunity for Christian
service.
Its Relation to the Foreign Mission Boards
In January 1907, so soon as the General Committee of
the movement was formed, it submitted a statement of
its aims and methods of work to the Annual Conference
of the secretaries and members of the Foreign Mission
Boards in the United States and Canada, representing
forty-nine Societies. This Conference unanimously and
cordially endorsed the movement, and now has a strong
Standing Committee appointed to co-operate with the
movement in carrying on its work. At a large Conference
of Board secretaries held in New York on the 20th of
April 1910, the Conference unanimously requested the
movement to continue its good work with increasing
vigour, to develop its organisation so as to make larger
effort possible, and agreed that the Boards should co-
operate with the movement in all its campaigns. In
Canada, at the request of the laymen, the Board secretaries
and laymen representing the Boards sit with the Com-
mittee and unitedly plan the campaigns of the movement.
Some Results of the Movement
National Missionary Campaign in Canada
In the year 1908, the movement in co-operation
with the Mission Boards in Canada planned the National
Missionary Campaign, and meetings or conventions were
held in all the most important centres in every province
from Atlantic to Pacific. The question everywhere
submitted for consideration was " Will Canada evangelise
her share of the world ? " and everywhere the response
from the men was clear and emphatic, " Canada can, and
HOME LEADERSHIP 187
will." The culmination of this campaign was the Men's
National Missionary Congress held at Toronto in April
1909, when over 4000 commissioners, the majority of
whom were laymen, representing all the Protestant
Churches of Canada and every province of the Dominion,
met to consider the missionary problem and adopt a
missionary policy. The secular as well as the religious
press agreed that no more representative or virile body
of men ever gathered together in Canada*
The Congress unanimously adopted the following
declaration and statement :
" In view of the universality and finality of the Gospel
of Christ, and in view of the spiritual needs of mankind,
we believe that the Church of our generation should
undertake to obey literally the command of Christ to
preach the Gospel to every creature.
" According to their several ability and opportunity,
we believe that the laymen of the Churches are equally
responsible with the ordained ministers to pray and to
work for the coming of the Kingdom of God upon earth.
" We believe that every Christian should recognise the
world as his field, and to the full measure of his ability
work for its evangelisation.
" We recognise the clear duty of the Churches of Canada
to evangelise all those in the Dominion, and who come
to our shores, who have not been led into the Christian
life, and also to provide for the adequate preaching of
the Gospel to forty millions of souls in the non-Christian
world.
" We accept the estimates of our missionary leaders,
that at least $1,300,000 (260,000) annually should be
contributed towards our home mission work, and
$3,200,000 (670,000) annually to foreign mission work
by the Churches represented in this Congress, aggregating
a communicant membership of about nine hundred
thousand.
"We confidently believe that the spirit of unity and
co-operation so manifested in this movement will find
expression in practical methods of co-operation in both
188 THE HOME BASE
the home and foreign field, so that unnecessary duplication
of work may be avoided,
" We believe that the call to make dominant and
regnant in all human relationships, personal, national,
and racial, the principles and spirit of Jesus Christ,
presents to every man his supreme opportunity
of development, usefulness, and satisfaction, and we
appeal to men everywhere to invest their intelligence,
their influence, their energy, and their possessions
in the effort of combined Christianity to redeem the
world.
4 ( Remembering that the promises of blessing are
conditional upon obedience to the will of God, and
recognising the deep spiritual quickening which has
already come to our Churches through the awakening
of the missionary spirit, we call upon the whole member-
ship of the Churches here represented to unite with
us in discharging our personal and national missionary
obligations.
" Assembled in the first National Missionary Congress of
modern times, and deeply persuaded of the power of
combined and co-operative Christianity to solve all the
problems of human society, we desire to unite the
Churches of our sister countries throughout Christen-
dom as loyal servants of the King of kings, in a com-
prehensive and adequate crusade for the winning of
mankind to Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth,
and the Life, the Desire of the nations, and the Light
of the world."
This declaration and statement has since been ap-
proved of by all the Anglican synods of the ecclesiastical
provinces of Canada, by the Baptist Conventions of
Canada, by the Congregational Union of Canada, by
the Conference of the Methodist Church, and by the
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, so that
the policy may now be truly described as a national
missionary policy, and forms a practical working creed,
which all the co-operating branches of the Church
cordially accept
HOME LEADERSHIP 189
National Missionary Campaign in the United States
Between September 1909 and May 1910, a similar
National Missionary Campaign was carried out by the
Laymen's Movement of the United States. Seventy-
five men's Missionary Conventions were held in the
important centres of population, in almost every State
of the Union, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. There
were in attendance at these Conventions over 71,000
registered delegates representing over 5 3 ooo,ooo
communicant members, who contributed to foreign
missions, on an average, 73 cents annually per member.
At all these Conventions, as well as at all the Conventions
in Canada, the principles and methods of the movement
were cordially endorsed, and co-operating Committees
were appointed to carry out these principles and to
apply these methods. The culmination of this campaign
was the men's National Missionary Congress, held in
Chicago in the month of May 1910, when over 4000
registered delegates, representing all branches of the
Christian Church in the United States other than the
Roman Catholic, were present, and after mature delibera-
tion adopted a national missionary policy.
THE NATIONAL MISSIONARY POLICY
FOR THE LAYMEN'S MOVEMENT
In view of tlie Fatherhood of God, the unity of the human
race, and the sufficiency and finality of the Gospel of Christ ;
Knowing that the field is the world and that this is the only
generation we can reach :
This first NATIONAL MISSIONARY CONGRESS in the United
States, representing more than twenty millions of Church mem-
bers, recognises the immediate world-wide presentation of the
Gospel message to "be the central and commanding obligation
resting upon all Christian Churches, and declares its conviction
that the Church of our generation can and should obey literally
the great commission of our Lord, to preach the Gospel to every
creature.
As indicating the measure of effort required among the non-
Christian peoples of the earth, we accept as a working policy, the
standard that, in addition to the native agencies, there should be
provided from the Churches of Christian lands an average of at
190 THE HOME BASE
least one missionary to every twenty-five thousand of the people
to be evangelised. This would require the quadrupling ^ of our
present force of workers, and a corresponding increase in con-
tributions from approximately $11,000,000 (^2,200,000) last year
to about $45,000,000 (^9,000,000) annually. This estimate
indicates the measure of personal duty at home rather than the
method of missionary work abroad, in determining which, diver-
sities of conditions in the work, dissimilarities of equipment and
gower among the workers, the part to be taken by the native
hurches which are to be raised up to do the great bulk of the
work as self-supporting and self-propagating agencies, must all be
taken into account.
We declare our conviction that, according to their ability and
opportunity, the laymen of the Churches are equally responsible
with the ministers to pray and to plan, to give and to work for
the coming of the Kingdom of God upon earth. We believe that
the call to share actively in extending the knowledge of Christ
presents to every man his supreme opportunity for development,
usefulness, and satisfaction, and we appeal to men everywhere
to invest their intelligence, their influence, their energy, and
their possessions in the united effort of the Church of Christ to
evangelise the world.
While seeking the enlistment of all the laymen of the Church
in fulfilling the missionary task of our generation, we declare
our belief that this work is the work of the organised Church,
and that the natural leaders in it are the ministers and the
missionary agencies of the various Churches ; and it is our con-
viction that all that is done in the name of the Laymen's Missionary
Movement should help to strengthen these leaders and the
agencies through which the Churches as such must discharge their
missionary responsibility.
We urge the adoption by every Church of regular and thorough
methods of missionary education and finance, culminating once
each year in an organised personal canvass of each congregation,
with the earnest purpose of securing the systematic and propor-
tionate contributions of every member toward the world-wido
propagation of the Christian evangel, and we recommend for
universal adoption the Scriptural plan of a missionary offering
every week, in order that this vast world enterprise may be kept
constantly in the minds and prayers of all Christians, and that
funds for the work may be adequate and steadily available.
We recommend that there be formed in each individual Church
a strong Missionary Committee, charged with the responsibility
of promoting missionary intelligence, intercession, and contribu-
tions, and that in each city or county where work is undertaken,
a Co-operating Committee of the Laymen's Missionary Movement
be formed, composed of laymen, selected so far as possible by
the various Churches to represent their constituency in the
territory covered, and that the Laymen's Missionary Movement,
through its Executive Committee, in co-operation with the
established missionary agencies of the several Churches, be
authorised to provide such measures for the supervision and
HOME LEADERSHIP 191
assistance of these Co-operating Committees as the providential
developments of the work may require.
We earnestly remind all Christians of the duty of habitual
prayer for missionaries ; for native Christians ; and for pastors
and churches at home ; that labourers may be thrust forth into
all harvest fields ; that the unity of the Church may be realised
and that the glory of God may be universally revealed.
Remembering that the promises of Divine blessing are con-
ditioned upon obedience to the will of God, and recognising the
deep spiritual quickening which has already come to the Churches
in many parts of the United States and Canada, through the
awakening of the missionary spirit, we call upon the whole
membership of the Churches here represented to unite with us
in discharging our personal and national missionary obligations.
Assembled in this NATIONAL MISSIONARY CONGRESS, and deeply
persuaded of the power of Christ through His united Church to
solve all the problems of human society^, we desire to unite with
the Churches of Canada and of our sister nations throughout
Christendom, as loyal servants of the King of kings, in a com-
prehensive and adequate campaign for the conquest of the world
by Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, th&
Desire of the nations, and the Light of the world.
This Congress has been described as the most significant
religious gathering ever held in America.
Simultaneous with this work in the cities and by States,-
the men have been organised in several of the denomina-
tions, and the officers of the Movement have been the
helpers in all such organisations.
One of the first denominational movements to be
organised was in the Presbyterian Church South, which
held a convention at Birmingham, Alabama, lasting three-
days, with over a thousand delegates present. This
conference accepted and endorsed the standard of an
average of $4 or 16 shillings per member to foreign
missions.
The Methodist Episcopal Church South has begun an.
organisation. A convention was held at Chattanooga,
Tennessee, attended by about one thousand men, who
have set as their financial goal the increase of their
missionary offerings from $750,000 or 150,000 to
$3,000,000 or 600,000 annually. This Movement
employs a general secretary.
The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, which met in Baltimore in May 1908, endorsed
192 THE HOME BASE
the Movement and provided for the organisation of a
Methodist Laymen's Missionary Movement. They also
voted to increase their scale of giving to foreign missions
from $2,000,000 or 400,000 in 1908 to $6,000,000 or
1,200,000 annually by 1912. The Methodist Laymen's
Movement employs two secretaries.
Great conventions of men connected with the Presby-
terian Church North have also been held at Omaha and at
Philadelphia under the leadership of the Forward Move-
ment. In both of these conventions recommendations
were passed that the offerings of their entire denomination
be increased to an average of $5 or i a member for foreign
missions, which would be more than quadrupling their
present gifts. The Southern Baptist Church and the
Reformed Church of the United States have each organ-
ised a Laymen's Missionary Movement, and each employs
a secretary to devote his time to the organisation and
extension of the work. The American Board, the
.Baptist Missionary Society, the Board of Missions of the
Episcopal Church, the Dutch Reformed Board, t and the
Foreign Mission Board of the Associate Reformed
Presbyterian Church have appointed committees to co-
operate with the Movement.
The Anglican, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist,
and Presbyterian Churches of Canada have organised
their own separate Laymen's Missionary Movement, each
with its own secretary, in addition to supporting heartily
the interdenominational Movement., which also has a
general secretary in Canada.
Effect of the Movement on the Men of the Churches
(a) The attitude of thousands of men towards foreign
missions has been entirely changed. The men who have
hitherto been apathetic and critical, and many even
positively hostile, have been changed into sincere and
active supporters.
(6) To thousands of men engrossed in business and
professional life, and in danger of losing their hold upon
HOME LEADERSHIP 1&5
the great spiritual realities, there has come a new vision
of life and its opportunities.
(c) Statesmen like President Taft, his Excellency the
British Ambassador, the Governor-General of Canada,
the Governors of several states in the United States, the
Lieutenant-Governors of several provinces in Canada,
judges, and leading business and professional men have
spoken at these laymen's conventions and gatherings as
cordial supporters and advocates of the cause of foreign
missions.
(d) The attitude of the secular press towards foreign
missions has been radically changed. More missionary
information has appeared in the secular press of the
United States and Canada in the last two or three years
than in the preceding ten or, possibly, twenty-five years,
and most influential journals in both the United States
and Canada have editorially most cordially endorsed the
movement and have become advocates of the cause of
foreign missions.
(e) It has released prayer forces in the Church, and
hundreds of men to whom prayer had become a formal
exercise have, through the movement, been led to realise
that prayer is a vital reality, and they have been led into
a deeper spiritual life.
(/) The spirit of Christian unity and co-operation
everywhere manifested and most cordially expressed is a
practical demonstration of the essential unity of the
various branches of the Christian Church. Never before
in the history of either the United States or Canada have
all branches of the Christian Church, other than Roman
Catholic and Greek Orthodox, co-operated in a common
religious movement. No feature of the movement has
created a more profound public impression than this
evidence of unity and co-operation. The 'movement
has given, and will continue to give, to the^ Missionary
Societies a largely increased income. In Canada, in
the Anglican Church, the offerings to the work of the
M.S.C.C. in 1909 reached the total of $121,336 (24,267),
an increase in two years of $26,000 (5200), as compared,
COM. vi. 13
194 THE HOME BASE
with an increase of $22,000 (4400) in five years, and the
gifts to all dioceses of foreign mission work in 1909 were
$328,387*68 (65,677), a most gratifying increase over
previous years. The Presbyterian Church in Canada
gave to home and foreign missions, in 1907, $472,075
(94415), This was increased in 1909 to $665,966
(133,193). The Methodist Church, in 1906-7, gave
$509,409*44 (101,882) ; in 1908-9, it gave $633,753-28
(126,751). Baptist Churches gave, in 1907, $206,703
(41,341) ; in 1909, $262,000 (52,400). The Congrega-
tional Churches, in 1906-7, $10,282 (2056) ; in 1908-9,
$15,954 (3191). The best illustration of the increase
given to missions in a large city under the influence of
the movement is Toronto, in Canada. The financial
years of the several Churches are not identical, but for
the last recorded year, prior to November 1907, the con-
tributions to home and foreign missions were about
$200,000. or 40,000. For the last recorded year, prior to
April 1910, the contributions were $387,5*5 '33 or 77,503-
The following is a statement of the four largest com-
munions :
COMMUNION. Year 1907. Year 1909.
Anglican . . . . $51,786 $71,000
(10,357) ! (*4>200)
Baptist . . . . $23,225-82 $60,877-9
(4605) (12,175)
Methodist (1906-7) . . $61,753-45 $102,754-24
(12,350) (20,550)
Presbyterian . . . $46,322-13 $in ? 6ii
(9264) (22,322)
For the whole of Canada the increase for the past two
years has been about 33! per cent,
In the United States the best single illustration of
the results of the Movement in one denomination is that
of the Southern Presbyterian Church, which was the
first to organise its own Laymen's Missionary Movement*
while at the same time co-operating fully with the Inter-
1 For year closing 3oth April 1909.
195
denominational Movement* In the year 1907, the total
contributions to foreign missions amounted to $276,263
(55> 2 53) 3 or $ I9 9 (4 s - 5&) P^ member. This amount
has been increased in the year 1910 to $420,602 (84^x20),
or $1*50 (6s.) per member. In twenty-three churches
of the Southern Presbyterian Church, represented in
twenty-three different cities or towns in the Southern
States 9 where the principles and methods of the Move-
ment have been applied, with an aggregate membership
of 5023, the. average contribution per member in the
year 1906 amounted to $2*28 (95, 2d.). In the year
1909-103 this amount had been increased to an average
of $6 -33 (x, 5$. 4d<) per member, and in one hundred
and four churches, representing nineteen different cities
or towns, where conventions were held in connection
with the National Missionary Campaign, the aggregate
amount contributed last year to foreign missions amounted
to $81,519 (16,304). This year there has been already
subscribed or voted by these same churches $134,961
(26,992), and in seventeen cities in the Southern States,
where conventions were held and all branches of the
Church carried on a simultaneous canvass immediately
following the conventions, the aggregate amount con-
tributed to foreign missions for the past financial year
amounted to $211,696 (42,339). As a result of the canvass,
the aggregate amount so far subscribed by the same
churches of these cities amounts to $366,691 (73,338).
It would not be reasonable to assume that the above
increases are all due to the Laymen's Missionary Move-
ment, but in all cases where figures are given the secre-
taries of the different Missionary Societies attribute the
increases very largely to the Laymen's Missionary Move-
ment some entirely to the Movement.
In some of the branches of the Church where the
Movement has only recently been introduced, it is too
soon to expect any immediate advance in missionary
contributions ; but the evidence is that, during the current
year and in the following years, these branches all expect
very substantial increases. It is a however, not without
196 THE BASE
interest to note that in the statistics for the last financial
year published in January 1910, showing the receipts for
missions from the Protestant Churches, the contributions
of Great Britain increased to 63,931, or $319,653, and
the gifts of other Christian Churches increased to 38,203,
or $191,017. In the United States and Canada, where
the Laymen's Movement has been especially active,
the increase during the same period was 251,281, or
$1,256,405.
All those engaged in the Movement recognise that
the financial results are the least important in this mis-
sionary awakening. There have come to the men of the
Churches, where the Movement has gripped them, a new
sense both of privilege and responsibility in being co-
workers together with Christ in the work of world redemp-
tion ; a new conception of stewardship that involves love
and business talents as well as the possession of a new
consciousness of personal relationship to Christ and a new
sense of loyalty to Him.
The Future
The information before the Commission appears to
justify the conclusion that, if the work of the Movement
is continued in the future with the co-operation of the
Mission Boards, there is good ground for belief that the
men of the Church will place at the disposal of missionary
organisations all the moneys necessary to enable the
Societies of the United States and Canada to do their
full share in planting Christian Missions throughout
the entire non - Christian world* As, however, the
Mission Boards must collect and administer these funds,
their active and sympathetic co-operation is essential
to follow out the work of education and inspiration done
by the Movement. The Movement sows the seed ; the
Mission Boards must gather in the harvest.
The possibilities for the Church and the cause of
missions that already begin to appear in this Movement
are beyond estimation. Its success as a mighty national
LEADBESHIP 197
movement is assured. Great diligence is required that
its practical methods may reach every local chwch> and
that the influence of the organisation make itself felt upon
every layman of every communion.
THE MOVEMENT IN SCOTLAND
The experience of the Laymen's Missionary Movement
in Scotland is comparatively limited. Active work was
commenced only in the autumn of 1908, and as since
then the Secretary has given the larger part of Ms time
to the work of organising the World Missionary Con-
ference, it is difficult to lay down any clearly established
principles with the proper weight of experience behind
them.
The Movement is conducted by a General Committee
consisting of about a hundred men of various denomina-
tions. This Committee has appointed an Executive
Committee and a Secretary, with offices in Edinburgh.
In promoting the work in the various districts, groups
of leading men are got together to push the Movement
systematically in individual congregations, but there the
matter of separate organisation ends. The necessary
finance for its promotion is provided by members of the
central committee and others interested.
Although the experience of the Laymen's Movement
in Scotland has been so comparatively limited, the
financial results in individual congregations interested
are as striking as those obtained on a larger scale in
America, and three things clearly emerge :
First, that the want of interest on the part of so
many men of our Churches is due not so much to
indifference or hostility as to lack of knowledge of the
situation.
Second, that men who have hitherto failed to take any
deep interest in the missionary work of the Church can
be effectively reached by a broad presentation of the
situation in the world at the present day in its relation
to the Kingdom of God. The experience of the Lay-
198
men's Movement is that the surest way of interesting
a man in the missions of his own Church is to get him
to understand clearly the world-wide task confronting
Christianity.
Third a there is a large amount of dormant life in the
Churches which can be aroused^ and there are a number
of very earnest-minded men who are prepared to do
what they can in the way of arousing interest if they
are suitably led and guided.
In those congregations where representatives of the
Laymen's Movement have had meetings with the office-
bearers, emphasis has been laid on the desirability of
closely overhauling the congregational organisation for
promoting interest and liberality on behalf of foreign
missions, and the necessity of making a committee of
men responsible for this work. In some cases it is found
that no missionary committee exists, and little or nothing
is done by the office-bearers to promote interest and
liberality beyond appointing a foreign mission treasurer.
The absence of proper organisation paralyses the interest
even of those who are sympathetic and disposed to do
something. In many cases the Movement has seen the
realisation of strength for service that conies to individuals
interested when they are banded together in an effective
organisation. Again, the practical work is too often left
entirely to lady collectors, and the Movement urges that,
where a congregation takes steps to put the foreign mission
fund on a better basis, the office-bearers should dignify
the proceeding in the eyes of the members by carrying
out a regular visitation of their districts in the interest
of the fund* This has already been done with striking
effect. 1
THE MOVEMENT IN AUSTRALIA
When the Laymen's Missionary Movement was intro-
duced into Australia^ there already existed in the Anglican
1 The address of the Laymen's Missionary Movement in America
is i Madison Avenue, New York; in Great Britain, 100 Princes
Street, Edinburgh.
HOME LEADERSHIP 199
and Congregational Churches of Victoria Laymen's
Missionary Unions. These were stimulated into new
life by the news of the Laymen's Movement in North
America, and regular branches of the Movement were
formed in connection with all the evangelical denomina-
tions in Victoria* Immediately the question arose as to
whether the financial side should be pressed, and a cam-
paign on the American lines inaugurated.
After proper consideration it was definitely decided to
make no such endeavour, but to pray and work directly
for the consecration of lives to the cause.
More than a year of prayer and quiet work by the
denominational movements, all of which are equally
represented on a General Council, led to what has been
characterised by careful and competent judges as the
deepest spiritual movement that has ever come to
Victoria.
It was not made easy to gain membership. Men were
informed that the aim was not primarily to secure money,
but to bring about the dedication of life to the absolute
mastery and guidance of the Holy Spirit, The men
counted the cost, and a large proportion of the men of
each congregation, to which the cause was presented,
responded.
The aspect of presentation which was found to appeal
most strongly to Victorian laymen was
(1) The crisis in the field.
(2) The place held by laymen in the plan of God for
the evangelisation of the world.
Of the four points in the pledge of the Movement, those
of prayer and study were most manifestly blessed. The
only work spoken of was the enlistment of fellow Church
members. Increased giving was mentioned last of all.
But, as was anticipated, it was found that through
renewed prayer and increased knowledge there followed,
in the most striking way s an increase in the amounts
given.
As soon as the Movement was well established in the
capital, a year's campaign in all the cities, and even towns
200 THE HOME BASE
of size, in Victoria was begun in February 1910. No town
failed to respond to the call to co-operate. The Move-
ment has now spread to New South Wales and to South
Australia, and plans are being made for an Australian
National Convention at an early date. The heart and
centre of the Laymen's Movement in Australia is the
personal dedication of life that it advocates.
The principles of the Movement in Australia are set
forth in the following terms : -
The Laymen's Missionary Movement is based upon the convic-
tion that it is the duty of the Christian Church to carry the
Gospel to all mankind, and it seeks to do this by binding the
manhood of the Church into the great brotherhood, knit together
by a fourfold purpose :
(a) To pray for the evangelisation of the world in this
generation.
(6) To study the progress of the missionary enterprise, that
prayer may be definite and intelligent.
(c) To engage in active service as the Holy Spirit may guide
in answer to prayer.
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
The Commission has only commendation for this
awakening among the laymen. It urges upon the
various denominational Societies that they take steps to
co-operate with the Movement in the organisation of the
laymen of their own body for effective advance work. It
would constitute an irreparable loss if, after the laymen
in any one communion had been aroused by the National
Movement, that denomination should fail to organise its
own laymen for the most effective work. Some denomina-
tions are alert to their opportunity and responsibility,
one having very thoroughly organised its laymen in
advance of the national movement. Others have not
yet completed their denominational organisation. The
Movement is wholesome, sane, and Christian, but in order
that itmay realise its purpose, the denominational organisa-
tion must be so complete as to include the local church
and provide ample opportunity for every layman to have
a distinctive share in the work of missions. Here oppor-
201
tunity and responsibility is laid upon Mission Boards.
They must not fail to act, and to act promptly and
effectively.
III. WOMEN
For the consideration of the question of Women's
Missionary Boards or Societies and their relation to the
parent Boards, we refer to the section of the Report
dealing with that subject. At the same time, the question
before us of the leadership of women in the foreign
missionary enterprise of the Church is so intimately
associated with the above, that it has been difficult some-
times to distinguish between them.
It has been generally accepted in all denominations
that woman's distinctive sphere of missionary work in
the local congregation is among women and children;
and yet, to the shame of men and the lasting glory of the
women, it must be stated that in not a few congrega-
tions the only missionary interest discernible is that
engendered and kept alive by devout women, while most
communions are indebted to their women for a large
measure of their missionary activity.
In many denominations, especially in America, women
are the chief promoters of missionary interest in the local
churches. But, beyond this, they have perfected mission-
ary organisations to such an extent that they are able to
reach quickly all the women connected with the work.
They have the means at their command to bring special
information and a call for help to the attention of all
their constituency with speed and precision. They practi-
cally never fail to secure a response that speaks well, not
only for their organisation, but for their devotion. When
the men of America organised the Laymen's Missionary
Movement, they studied the women's organisation and
adopted much of it. The women have been real leaders,
both in wide plans of organisation and in details of
execution. As to the beneficent results of the organisa-
tion of Women's Societies on the missionary spirit in
202 THE HOME BASE
the Church, and home, in diffusing information, in pro-
moting the spirit of prayer, and in increasing mission-
ary contributions, our correspondents speak with one
voice.
The question as to what are the special characteristics
and the most helpful features of women's work in the
Church may be answered in a variety of ways. At the
same time, there is more or less similarity in the methods
adopted by the women's Societies for developing leader-
ship among women, and among these the following deserve
special mention :
I. CONFERENCES
In almost every case the separate congregations in
different districts or areas are grouped together in auxiliaries
or presbyteries or dioceses, etc., and periodical confer-
ences are held in central churches to which secretaries,
treasurers, and interested workers are summoned, when
new methods are discussed, reports given, and all matters
concerning the work are dealt with. These conferences
are held sometimes monthly, sometimes quarterly ;
while, in connection with the annual missionary meetings
held in the different auxiliaries and larger towns, a special
conference and meeting of women workers is generally
convened. Residential conferences for women and girls
are also held by some Societies at various centres, and
they reach women and girls of wide social influence, and
bring foreign missions into touch with home life. The
Church Missionary Society of England reports meetings of
a directly educative character, at which the training of
women for efficiency in committee work receives attention,
and at which special subjects are considered. Books are
recommended for study. Experts attend the meetings
to answer questions and give information upon the
larger problems of mission work.
2. MEETINGS FOR PRAYER
In many of the auxiliaries or presbyteries special
meetings of women for prayer and intercession for foreign
203
missions are held from time to time, while prayer unions
have been formed and prayer cycles and manuals have
been issued to aid memory and stimulate earnestness in
private prayer on behalf of the missionaries and their
work. One Anglican Society writes : " On Good Friday,
for some years past, our whole Girls' Movement has set
apart three half-hours for missionary intercession. This
year 2000 copies of the Intercession Paper have been
applied for."
3. COLLECTION OF FUNDS
It has been the province of women in the administration
of their own households to deal with details ; they have
been taught not to despise small things, and the training
thus received has perhaps fitted them for the kind of
ministry to which they have felt themselves called in
the service of Christ. In the collection of funds this
attention to details has been marked. Every women's
society and committee has endeavoured to organise the
systematic collection of small sums of money, and to
encourage gifts of one penny or two cents per week, as well
as of larger amounts, their aim being to secure that every
individual woman in connection with a Christian congrega-
tion should realise her responsibility and duty in connec-
tion with the missionary enterprise. Different methods
have been adopted for the collection of these small sums
collecting books or cards, missionary boxes, mite or
thanksgiving boxes. The most effective method wher-
ever this is possible is the personal call, since in all work,
but especially in women's work, it is the personal element
which counts. As it is not always possible to secure a
sufficient number of collectors to carry out this some-
what difficult and self-denying method, the missionary
box, so familiar to more than one past generation, is
still to be commended, especially for family use, where
the periodical opening of the box in the presence of the
assembled children is sure to make a lasting impression
on their minds. It is hardly necessary to add that this
impression will need to be strengthened by the judicious
204 THE HOME BASE
reading and telling of stories from the mission field and
of incidents in the lives and experience of missionary
heroes. A mother who is herself instructed and full^ of
missionary fervour will have no difficulty in inspiring
her children with enthusiasm for the cause.
Too much importance can hardly be attached to this
matter of a mother's influence, and of awakening in
mothers an adequate sense of their opportunity and,
therefore, responsibility, since it is noteworthy that in a
large percentage of the replies received to the question
put to candidates for missionary service, " What motives
led you to desire to become a missionary ? " the answer
has been, " I was brought up in a missionary atmosphere/*
or " My mother's ambition was that one of her children
should become a missionary/' or " My mother's prayers
influenced me," or some similar answer. Unfortunately,
as one English correspondent writes, " the average woman
knows so little of missions herself, that she is not at all
likely to interest her children/ 1
There can be no doubt that many methods of home
work for foreign missions are common to both men and
women, and among these are the study circles and classes
which have aroused so much interest among women
and girls that they should not be passed over without
reference here. At the same time, they are so fully dealt
with elsewhere that it is not necessary to do more than
name them.
4. WOMEN'S WORKING MEETINGS
There is one method which is so distinctively feminine
that it must be mentioned, especially as it has been
found useful both in raising funds and in promoting
interest in the cause. We refer to the women's working
meetings. These gatherings common in both Europe
and America are more or less of a social nature, gener-
ally held in turn in the different homes of the members
of the congregation, whenjlarticles of clothing are made
for sale either at home or abroad, and '' also articles
HOME LEADERSHIP 206
suitable for presents and prizes for school children, or
for use in the mission hospitals. A correspondent writes :
" These meetings for work appeal to women whom it
does not seem possible to interest in any other way.
Periodical meetings are certainly necessary to keep up
interest." At these gatherings addresses are sometimes
given by a missionary at home on furlough, or by some
member ofijthe auxiliary, or letters from the field are read,
and in other ways fuller information is imparted and
interest is deepened. One correspondent says : " Wher-
ever possible I would suggest addresses by women (not
missionaries) who have travelled in any mission field and
can speak of what they have seen/'
5. OTHER ACTIVITIES
It is to women as leaders and initiators that the Churches
have looked for the formation and conduct of children's
missionary bands. They train the little ones in missionary
recitations and dialogues, and the representation of
missionary scenes. They seek to interest mothers 1
meetings in the sufferings and sorrows of their sisters in
other lands. " Everything depends/' says a correspondent,
" on whether the leaders of these meetings are themselves
keen on foreign missions." It is women who manage for
the most part the missionary library in connection with
the congregations, and have charge of the distribution
of missionary periodicals among the members, often hi
England combining this with the calling for the regular
offerings at the homes of the subscribers.
In these various ways women are bringing their influ-
ence to bear in furthering the interests of foreign missions
in the home and in the Church.
From the consideration of this subject of the home
leadership of women, two principles become apparent :
(i) that in order to develop the work it is necessary first
to develop the woman in mind as well as in spirit,
and(2) that, as one correspondent points out, " a steady
policy of training leaders carried forward at headquarters
206 THE, HOME
tends to develop women who will bring new life into old
methods, and express the old principles through new
activities/ 5
It is evident, from this survey of the forces capable of
leadership in the Churches, and only waiting to be inspired,
instructed, organised, and set to the task, that here in
itself is a field for effort and prayer that is full of promise
for the future. When these forces are completely organised
and on fire with the living Spirit of service and sacrifice,
there will be no halting in the progress of the Kingdom
as it moves on to the consummation of the Divine
plan.
CHAPTER XII
PROBLEMS OF ADMINISTRATION
RELATION OF NEEDS ABROAD AND RECEIPTS
AT HOME
(The Problem of Deficits)
SIMPLY stated, the problem of deficits is the question
whether a Foreign Missionary Society should do the
work that ought to be done and that can be done in its
field of operation, expecting its constituency to supply the
needed funds, or, closing its eyes to need and opportunity,
should first enquire of the supporting constituency how
much it may spend for the promotion of the work ? The
former plan creates deficits, expecting the Church to
reimburse when the facts are known; the latter plan
precludes any advance the Church has not authorised*
In many respects this is one of the most, if not the
most, perplexing department of missionary administra-
tion. The executive committees and the officers of the
Mission Boards are necessarily the most thoroughly
informed regarding the needs of the populations in the
mission fields for which they regard themselves as re-
sponsible, as they are also well aware of the opportunities
open to advance the work at the front. There can be no
question that the recognition of a real need constitutes
in itself a call to do everything possible to supply
that need. When that need is moral and spiritual, the
call has unusual significance to those who have, in a
special manner, given themselves to the moral and
spiritual uplift of the world.
207
68 THE HOME BASE
When we have In addition a situation in which sonte
cataclysm or sudden change in the attitude of the people
brings within the reach of spiritual influence thousands,
or even millions, who have hitherto been cut off from
any possible aid, then it is imperative that the officers of
Missionary Societies decide whether such a condition
constitutes in itself a call of God to advance by making
the necessary expenditure of money, trusting that when
the situation and opportunity are made clear the sup-
porting constituency will respond.
There are those who hold the position that it is the duty
of the officers and executive committees of Missionary
Societies to appoint and send out every worthy candidate
that applies for service, and to enter every door opened
to the Christian teacher, quite independently of the
question of income. These would say that Missionary
Societies are to be the judges of the amount of mission
work a denomination should do, basing their action upon
the manifest will of God, as revealed to the officers and
executive committees through their missionaries, and
that the constituency of each Society is under divine
obligation to provide its mission organisation with funds
sufficient to meet all of its requirements. Some frankly
say that a Society that refuses to appoint a worthy
candidate, simply because its funds are inadequate, or
to take up new work that is presented as a privilege and
responsibility, because its treasury is empty, shows there-
by its lack of faith in God, who led the candidate to apply,
and who has removed the barriers and opened the doors
to new fields of conquest, If God can and does thus lead
men to offer themselves for service, and at the same time
prepare the way for an enlarged and growing work, surely
He can and will do the simplest thing of all, namely, move
the hearts of His stewards to provide the funds to com-
plete the work. It is also affirmed that not to follow
manifest divine guidance in this work is to walk by sight
and not by faith.
There is more reason for this position now that in
so large a measure the non-Christian world has been
PROBLEM OP DEFICITS 209
mapped out, the territory delimited and responsibility
agreed upon by the different Missionary Societies and
Boards, so that, if within the territory of any one Society
there is timidity and halting, it cannot be expected that
another will come in and complete the task. Under
present arrangements, for the most part, if one Society
fails to enter an open door, that door stands open in vain,
and the Gospel is bound and restricted by the lack of
faith of those v/ho bear the responsibility, whether it be
the officers of the Mission Board or the constituency that
fails to supply the funds,
Missionary Societies are set for a particular task that
no one else will do. This includes ministering to those
who are sick and in dire need of physical relief, as well as
to those who are in peril of moral death and in need of
spiritual light and consolation. The attitude taken
by many is, that no matter what the need may be, no
matter what the physical or spiritual peril, or how easily
and effectively relief can be given, if the affording of that
relief is to involve the Missionary Society in a financial
deficit at the end of the year, then the relief must not be
given, and the physical and spiritual loss must follow.
Owing to the complexity of this question and the two
sides strongly taken by different parties, there have come
to be two classes of Missionary Societies, the one including
those Societies which are sometimes distinguished from
others as " faith missions/' the other, a much larger
class, which, while they do not bear this label, would,
nevertheless, deny that they are any less faith missions
than their co-workers who are so designated. The Societies
in the former class announce that they never have debts
because they expend only what they receive, and as they
receive it, so that when their income decreases through
depleted receipts, by so much the less do the officials
send out funds for the support of the missionaries and
the work.
Their missionaries go out with the full understanding
of the case, and accept what they receive as the indication
of the will of God as to what they ought to have. It is easy
COM. vi. 14
210 THE HOME BASE
to understand that any marked diminution of receipts
of such Societies for any single year, through any cause
whatever, must necessarily bring extreme suffering upon
these missionaries, many of whom are at remote and
interior stations, to escape from which they have no
funds, while they are unable to supply themselves with
the bare necessaries of life. Such a situation is im-
possible with the other class of Missionary Societies, who
themselves guarantee each year to their missionaries at
the front the minimum amount they will send them for
that year, and then, if for any reason the receipts of the
Society experience a marked diminution, the amount
promised to the missionaries is sent them, even if funds
have to be borrowed for the purpose. The missionaries
supported by a pledged allowance are not infrequently
called upon in times of special distress to give material
aid to those who belong to the so - called " faith
missions/*
It must be borne in mind that when these Societies
promise a large sum for the support of their missionaries
and their work, they do so in faith, for none of the funds
thus pledged are in hand at the time, but the officers of
the Society have faith that the supporting constituency
will supply the money as it is needed, and in most cases
this is done.
In the one case, that last mentioned, the officers and
executive committee of the Missionary Society exercise
faith in that they pledge to the missionaries in their
difficult and even perilous positions the payment of an
assured amount for their support and for the work. In
the case of the other class of Societies, the officers and
executive committees seem to throw the burden of faith
upon the missionaries themselves. In the former case,
if the faith exercised has seemed to be larger than results
warrant, the officers find themselves burdened with a
deficit for which they become responsible, while in the
latter case, if the receipts are not equal to expectations,
it is not the officers who suffer but the missionaries. In
both ca^es the ejitire work is one of faith,
PROBLEM OF DEFICITS 211
We have then three distinct views regarding the financial
policy of a Missionary Society or Board, namely :
1. That the responsible officers of a Society are bound
to undertake the work presented to it, irrespective of the
state of its finances, trusting God to provide for all
needs.
2. That no work shall be undertaken until there is
reasonable assurance that the pledges made by the
Society will be met by the supporting constituency before
the close of the fiscal year. One Society carries this
theory to such an extreme that it raises and banks its funds
one year in advance of its expenditure, thus eliminating
all chances of a deficit except in case of some general
disaster.
3. That the Society is primarily a transmitting agency
whose duty is to forward whatever funds are contributed,
but with no financial responsibility for the support of its
missionaries or for the upkeep of the work.
The problem we are considering confronts every Mis-
sionary Society to-day. Every missionary and every
officer of a Missionary Society knows what it is to stand
in the face of marvellous God-given opportunities and be
compelled to halt because of the warnings that come up
from the constituency that a deficit must not be incurred
and will not be tolerated. We all know too well the
struggle that this has cost as we have agonised in prayer
and waited for guidance until at last we have stopped
our ears to the call from the depths, and closed our eyes
to the vision of souls helplessly straggling for life, and
turned away, even beating a retreat, because we feared
a deficit more shall we say ? than we feared the warn-
ing, " Inasmuch as ye did it not unto these, ye did it not
unto Me."
At the present time Missionary Societies, with few if
any exceptions, have adopted the general policy of keep-
ing their expenditure so far as seems possible within the
probable limit of their income. In other words they are
accustomed to base their missionary activities not upon
the needs of the field, but upon the probable income from
212 THE
the constituency. They have practically ceased to ask
the Lord to lead into the fields He would have them win
for Him, but they rather enquire of the home constitu-
ency how much it plans to give during the year.
It would seem that under this principle the Missionary
Societies and the missionaries become not servants of the
Lord to do His untrammelled will, but rather the agents
of the Church to execute its measure of desire and purpose.
Most of the Societies take a medium ground, avoiding
launching out in new and large enterprises which demand
greatly increased expenditure of money, without having
first consulted their constituency and secured encourage-
ment, while, at the same time, they bring influences to
bear upon the constituency to multiply contributions
that they may more nearly reach the standard
required.
While this is generally true, but lew of the Societies
in Europe and America have been able to carry on their
ever-widening work without an occasional deficit, occa-
sionally amounting in some cases to 10 per cent, or even
more of the entire income of the year. In the last ten
years in the United States twelve Societies have reported
deficits. The debt of one of these covered the entire
ten-year period, while two had deficits for nine years,
one for eight, one for seven, etc. The China Inland
and the Alliance Missions are practically the only Societies
that so conduct their finances that no deficit is incurred,
although in case of a heavy falling-ofi of receipts they
would be compelled to advance funds to prevent their
missionaries from perishing. The China Inland Mission
for forty-five years has received funds sufficient to meet
its needs, while the officers at home as well as the mis-
sionaries are pledged to keep free from debts. The
Society that has carried a deficit for the entire ten years
reports that its aim is to avoid debts. Another report
from one of the strong Boards in America says :
*' It is just as impossible for a successful Mission Board to carry
on its work aggressively -without incurring the necessity of occa-
sionally going into debt, as it is for any other kind of business
0! 213
enterprise of large proportions. We hold that it is our duty as a
Board or Executive Committee to exercise due caution, and not
to plunge our Church, with reference to its foreign missionary
work, needlessly into debt. We often, however, send out a new
missionary on the confidence we have that the Church will pro-
vide for his support, when there is no money in the treasury for
that purpose at the time he is sent. On the other hand, we do not
do this unless it is a real emergency."
Another American Society reports :
** There is a divided opinion in our Board of Missions with regard
to the matter of debts." Speaking generally, the Board is of the
opinion that as long as the appropriations are so far within the
ability of the Church to give, it may be held back from entering
upon new work only by the dictates of prudence/*
A spokesman for an old American Society says : >
" As a rule, I think it is the duty of a Mission Board always to
keep ahead of the Church in planning and doing its work, and seek
to bring the Church up to such advance as is called for. Just how
far it should act upon this principle or adopt this policy is a ques-
tion of reasonable prudence. Our whole work is a work of faith,
so far as the means to carry it on are concerned. For some years
our Board pursued the policy of not appropriating more in any
given year than the average receipts for the previous five years.
This made it impossible to embrace new opportunities or engage
in new work that opened to us, and sometimes necessitated serious
and distressing retrenchment. Happily we have been led and
enabled to pursue a different policy for the last few years, and
have as a rule appropriated in advance all that the missions
have asked for, of which the executive committee approved. In
this our faith has been rewarded by the increased contributions
of the Churches/'
This Society has had no deficit for the last eight years*
An English Society official says :
" I regard deficits as neither unavoidable nor inexcusable, but
rather as in the category of natural, though eminently unpleasant,
results of the difficulty of duly co-ordinating the needs of the field
and the realisation of them by the Church at home."
Another European Society reports :
** Deficits are unavoidable and must ever follow devotion and
daring/'
An officer of a women's European Society writes :
** We are disposed to regard deficits as to some extent unavoid-
able, and even, on the whole, as a healthy stimulus to increased
prayer and effort on the part of the Church and encouraging
214 THE HOME BASE
evidence of the life and growth of the work itself. No doubt
a large deficit recurring year after year might tend to discourage
and even paralyse effort, but the aim of the missionary committee
should be to equalise receipts and expenditure rather by raising
the income to meet the needs of a growing and expanding work
than by cutting down expenses."
Another European Society reports :
" We cannot know beforehand exactly what the year's income
will be and count on a modest increase. Should there be decrease
instead, it is not the committee that is to blame. Our policy
is to spend a little more than the last year's income, but we should
think it inexcusable to launch out to any great extent with a
stationary income,"
The British and Foreign Bible Society, which for
eight years had deficits amounting in the aggregate to
120,000 or $600,000, and which depleted both the
Society's reserve fund and its stock of books, writes :
"These years of deficiency have been a disguised blessing.
A very careful review of all the methods employed and much
reorganisation took place. This resulted in valuable economies
as well as greater efficiency. The determination of the committee
to so manage their affairs that there should not be piteous appeals
to meet debt was productive of increased public confidence, which
is a valuable asset."
One "of the leading Missions of Scotland reports :
"As a Committee and a Church we have always thought it
right to see our way through financial obligations, before in-
curring the same, as we have so often seen the so-called ' policy
of faith * result in financial disaster ; but we are specially careful
to watch that we do not allow ourselves to be content with simply
meeting from year to year old claims, and we do everything we can
to quicken the Church to press forward to new undertakings and
to provide increased contributions."
One of the great Boards in America reports :
" The work of any Board should be governed by its resources
carefully estimated. A reasonable advance, based upon the
growth of the Church in ability and willingness to respond, is safe
and wise."
Another leader reports :
"A reasonable advance beyond the income of the past year
should be undertaken from time to time, until we have grounds
to believe that the Church is doing its maximum amount for the
evangelisation of the world." . ,
PROBLEM Of DEFICITS 215
Another well-known leader and expert writes :
" If there is weak support by the Church, a Board should
conform its expenditure to probable income. If the denomina-
tion is tolerably loyal to missions, the acceptance of prudential
openings and new lines of effort would, or at least could, lead to an
increased support of the cause."
Another well-known authority in mission circles,
speaking for one of the large Mission Boards, writes :
" Every effort is made to avoid a deficit at the end of the year.
We are compelled, as are other Boards, to make appropriations
for the work a year in advance, and we always do so after care-
fully canvassing the probable receipts. The appropriation is
made with the confident expectation that it will be covered by
receipts. No provision is made for extraordinary expenditures
or for diminution of receipts, so that now and then a deficit
appears at the close of the fiscal year. However much this is
deplored by the officers and Committee of the Board, it is so
apparent that further reductions on the field would work physical,
moral, and spiritual disaster, that the energy of the Board is
directed to efforts for increasing the sources of regular income rather
than to the organisation of retreat. We are confident our Church
is abundantly able to meet all needs if we use proper methods of
cultivation, and if the God of Missions direct our effort through
His Holy Spirit. We believe our obligation is to the Church as
well as to the pagan."
This statement fairly represents the position taken by
the leading Missionary Societies both in Europe and
America. These principles apply equally to the sending
out of new missionaries and to appropriations made for
the support of the work as a whole.
These quotations are a fair sample of many that might
be given. There are none who advocate a general and,
what might be called by some, a reckless advance and
enlargement of the work abroad without a reasonable
assurance that the added funds for such work will be
provided. On the other hand, to continue year by year
to appropriate and use the same amount of money that
was used the year before, is to destroy in the Church any
idea of growth, and can but confirm the Church members
in the belief that they have reached the limit of demand
and their limit in giving, while at the same time the work
abroad will tend to stagnation and the missionaries to
discouragement.
216 THE HOME BASE
After an exhaustive survey of this most vital subject,
we are led to the following conclusions as fairly repre-
senting the general attitude of the leading Missionary
Societies upon both sides of the water :
i. Missionary Societies, executive offi-cers, and missionaries
are not alone responsible for the success or failure of the
work abroad, but the responsibility must be shared with the
supporting constituency.
Officers and committees of Missionary Societies, while
painfully aware of the unseized opportunities and the
unentered open doors, are powerless to advance unless
the men and women for the work are available, and
unless the needed funds are provided. Hence follows
the position that the. responsibility does not rest wholly
upon the officers of Societies, but upon the Church, which
should provide the funds. If advance is not made, the
failure belongs to the Church.
2,. One of the chief duties of the Missionary Societies
and their officers is to keep the Church informed of the needs
and opportunities abroad, and to inspire in it the spirit of
the larger beneficence,
It is an error to assume that the only duty of the Mission
Board is to direct the work abroad, and to use in that
service only such funds as are voluntarily provided by
the Church. The Societies stand upon the watch-tower,
and from their position of vantage take note of the advance
of the Kingdom in the remote parts of the earth. What
they observe and believe and feel, they are in duty bound
to impart to the contributing constituency, that the
responsibility may be passed to those to whom it belongs.
It is the privilege and business of a Missionary Society
to arouse and inspire and even compel the Church to a
larger and more liberal beneficence, as much as it is its
duty to conduct with efficiency and economy the work
abroad. The Church has a right to look to the officers
of the Missionary Society for a new vision of duty and
opportunity, and to expect from them such presentations
of the needs and opportunities abroad that to increase their
gifts will seem to its members a privilege, and but the
OF 217
natural result of the new life of hope and faith into which
they have entered. When a Missionary Society fails to
advance its work, it is fair to ask if the Society itself has
been properly alert and faithful in its relation to the
supporting constituency.
3. The Missionary Society must keep before the Church
the need of a continual advance until the fields for which
the denomination is responsible have been adequately
provided for.
No Society and no Church can afford to stand still in
its missionary work. To do so would be disastrous to
both. Aside from the demoralising and de-spiritualising
effect of stagnation, both in the Society and in the
Church, the moral effect upon the missionaries and the
native Christians would be most unfortunate. To be
placed as a small minority in, the midst of paganism
with all its aggressive opposition, and in that condition
to be warned that they are not to be reinforced or given
supplies for advance, but that they are expected only to
hold indefinitely the positions now occupied, is to demand
of men and women a courage and strength and faith that
is more than human. The most discouraging and even
impossible positions can be maintained for a time if there
is assurance that opportunity for advance will soon be
afforded. No army can be held indefinitely in the field
passively and under fire and in the face of overwhelming
opposition. The only hope of missions lies in unceasing
advance along every line of Christian endeavour, through
every crumbling barrier, into every strategic centre,
increasing in volume, courage, faith, and power as it
advances, until the very gates of hell cannot prevail
against rL
What is true of the missionaries and native workers at
the front is equally true of the Church at home. A Church
that is not enlarging its effort for the conquest of the
world, and pushing out its forces in increasing numbers, and
multiplying its contributions for their support, is either a
dead or a dying Church. These facts must be understood
by the Societies and, alert with every energy God gives
218 THE HOME BASE
them, they must bring the Church into co-partnership
with them in the campaign for the Christian conquest
of the world, which campaign cannot fail to increase in
cost and effort until the victory is won.
4. The Societies must teach the Churches that a mere
trifling advance, not in proportion to increased membership
and added wealth, can in no measure meet the demands of
the case.
In these days when there is such rapid growth in
national wealth, accompanied by perhaps a larger increase
in expenditure for personal comfort and for luxuries, a
mere trifling advance from year to year in the contribu-
tions of a Church for the cause of missions can never
satisfy either the cause or the Church. It is the province
of Missionary Societies to gather the facts of the increase
of wealth and of numbers in the Christian Church, and
to make the Church see wherein the path of privilege and
duty lies. While it is true that the people are to be
reached mainly through the pastors, still the responsi-
bility to mass and array the facts and to make the appeal
belongs to the Missionary Society and the officers that have
the work in charge.
5. The Society is bound to move forward as rapidly as
it is confident that, by its efforts and by the grace of God,
the following of the Church and supporting constituency can
be commanded.
The Society stands upon the walls, and to it the Church
looks for reports of the progress made at the front as well
as for the signals to advance. It must maintain a position
of recognised leadership commanding the confidence and
the following of its constituency. It cannot af ord to be
unprogressive or to give the Church the impression that
it is doing all it is able to do (unless perchance this be a
fact, which would indeed be a new thing under the
sun), and that there is no need of increased effort
and sacrifice for the sake of the multitudes abroad yet
unreached.
In order to accomplish this, the Society itself will be
compelled to make advances with the assurance that the
PROBLEM OF DEFICITS 219
Church can and will be brought up to the new standard.
To determine the degree of advance over the past year
requires an intimate understanding of the condition and
spirit of the constituency and its financial ability, as well
as a knowledge of the number and temper of those con-
gregations and individuals who have never become sup-
porters of the cause, and to reach whom plans should
always be made.
The Missionary Societies are the standard-bearers of
the Churches as they advance with the gospel of Christ
for the conquest of the world. It is imperative, therefore,
that the standard be kept to the front of the marching
forces, while it is equally necessary that it be not so far
in front that the Churches become disheartened or even
lose sight of it altogether. If non-supporting Church
members in every Christian country could be led to give
as liberally as the one-tenth of the Church members who
now give the greater part of all that is given for foreign
missions, the work of every Board would advance with
leaps and bounds. The nine-tenths must be won while
the interest of the one-tenth is not allowed to wane.
Under these principles now and then a deficit may occur
at the end of the fiscal year, but this will not be because
it is a policy of the Board to incur debt, but generally
because the Church has not responded as was anticipated
to the call for a forward movement.
6. Deficits may be caused by some overwhelming disaster
calling for an immediate expenditure of funds,
In such an emergency the Missionary Society has no
alternative but to do what wise administration and the
spirit of humanity and Christianity demands, even though
a deficit result. We refer to events like the massacres in
Turkey in 1895 and 1909, and the Boxer uprising in North
China in 1900. In all such cases the missionaries must be
cared for and the native Christians shown the Christian
spirit of sympathy and fraternity. Usually when the facts
are made known to the supporters, emergency funds will
be provided to meet the new needs. However this may
be, any Board that failed adequately to meet the needs
220
of suet a disaster, would be recognised by the world as
recreant to its great trust* Let it always be understood
that a deficit is not a crime, that it does not necessarily
indicate poor business management, and that in fact it
may show the far-seeing and sober wisdom and Christian
devotion and wise statesmanship of those who bore the
responsibility at the time, A debt is no more a disgrace
to a Mission. Board than to a business house, or to a
hospital, or to a nation.
7. Legacies, through their ftuduaiion, often disappoint
expectations and lead to a deficit.
Some Societies hold that it is better to set aside this
uncertain and irregular income for special objects, such as
buildings, that can wait from year to year in case receipts
fall off. Some Societies have reached the point where
they are able to put all legacies in any one year into a
legacy fund, so that each legacy is extended over a period
of years. This method greatly reduces the fluctuations
in this item for any one year, and helps to equalise and
make more certain what naturally is filled with such
uncertainty. One large Board in the United States has
secured a fund of 250,000, or 50,000, to which each
year all legacies are carried, and at the close of the fiscal
year one-third of the entire sum is taken from the fund
and put to the credit of the current account.
Whatever may be said against Missionary Society
deficits, and much can be said against them, it is probably
not as demoralising or disastrous to the enthusiasm and
spirit of advance in the Church as would be a repeated
credit of considerable proportions. It would be fatal to
have the Church believe that the work abroad is abund-
antly sustained, and so not in need of a more liberal
and increasing support.
Our investigations lead us to the inevitable conclusions:
First, that persistent debts or deficits in Missionary
Societies bring discouragement, for the most part, to
their constituency,
Second, that in spite of overwhelming calls for advance,
Missionary Societies should do everything consistent
OF 221
with their moral obligations to close each fiscal year
without a deficit.
Third, that the officers and executive committees ol
Missionary Societies and Boards are the legitimately
constituted leaders to keep before the Church the needs
and opportunities that are appearing abroad, and to
educate their rightful constituency to see and appreciate
the need, and to become loyal and liberal supporters of
that work.
Fourth, that Missionary Societies should possess such
faith in the God of missions, and so live their faith
in the presence of their constituency and inspire it in
the missionary body and in the hearts of the native
Christians, that a new life of faith shall be begotten in
the Church and in all who come into contact with the
work, until, with irresistible power, it shall seize upon all
who bear the name of Christ, and, sweeping away every
obstacle, become itself the dominant life of the Church.
CHAPTER XIII
PROBLEMS OF ADMINISTRATION
RELATION OF WOMEN'S BOARDS TO GENERAL
CHURCH SOCIETIES
IN view of the importance of the large number of
Women's Missionary Boards and Societies existing in all
the great Christian countries, it is essential that we
should give brief attention to the questions of their
organisation, work, and present place in the effective
prosecution of the work at home. It is not within the
province of this Commission to give special attention to
the work of these Societies in the foreign field. It is,
however, imperative that we should give a place to the
consideration of the relation of these Societies to the
parent or general Societies of each denomination.
It seems to have been the early thought that the foreign
missionary must necessarily be a celibate. While many,
if not most, of the first male missionaries married sooner
or later, there was little effort made to extend interest
among women at home, and as little indication that the
conditions and needs of pagan women abroad were to
have any special consideration. It is not strange that
this was the case, since the entire work of missionaries
abroad was in an uncertain state, practically without
definite policy. Married men were sent to the great
mission fields, but almost no single women were commis-
sioned, and no systematically organised efforts were made
to reach the women of the East.
Nearly two generations of missionaries passed away
WOMEN'S BOARDS 223
before women of Europe and America became aroused
to the great need, as well as to the overwhelming oppor-
tunity of work among women in non-Christian lands. In
the meantime, much effective work had been done by
women in collecting funds through local Societies, and in
promoting missionary interest in the Church as a whole.
Within the last half- century denominational and inter-
denominational Women's Societies or Boards have
rapidly multiplied, both in the United States and in
Europe, some of them wholly independent, while others are
more or less organically related to the general denomina-
tional Society or Board, until at the present time there
are over sixty Women's Societies in active operation.
Foreign missions received a great impulse at home and
abroad through the formation of these Women's Societies,
and the bringing into this work of a great number of
devoted, able, and energetic women, who had hitherto
hardly been aware of the fact that among their sisters
of the East there was a specific work for them. By far
the larger part of the officers and secretaries of these
Societies were, and continue to be, voluntary workers.
The watchword, " Women's Work for Women/* proved
to be of mighty potency in arousing the Christian women
of Europe and America to effective effort. They were
able, as only women can, to arouse other women to
a new conception of their privilege, and, in multitudes
of cases, to awaken a new interest in men who had been
unmoved by the appeals of existing Missionary Societies.
To the number of married missionaries at the front
there were gradually added, in some instances, half as
many more single women whose work lay among the
women, girls, and children, for whom the missionaries
hitherto had been able to accomplish but little.
The organisation of Women's Missionary Societies,
both in Europe and in America, is too varied to admit of
any kind of satisfactory classification here. In a few
instances the Women's Societies are wholly independent
of the general denominational Society, raising their own
money, appointing and directing their own missionaries,
224 MOMMAS!
and managing their own affairs. Others have an auxiliary
relation to the parent Society although they themselves
have a complete and separate legal existence. In
these cases there is a close co-operation in the selection
and appointment of missionaries, the placing of appro-
priations, and in the direction of the work in the field.
While upon their committees men are seldom found,
yet there is constant conference with the officers of the
parent Society, and a regular reference, by that Society,
of questions relating to the special needs of women's
work to the women's organisation, while, on the other
hand, important action taken by the women's committee
comes for approval also before the committee of the
general Society. Connected with practically all the
regular denominational Missionary Societies in America
there are corresponding Women's Missionary Societies,
for the most part working more or less in co-operation
with them and raising money for the support of single
women missionaries. In almost every case the work
abroad is regarded as practically one with that of the
general Society, and is so directed. While there is con-
siderable difference in the details of the working, both at
home and abroad, of the different Women's Societies in
America, this may be taken as a fair general statement.
In Great Britain there is far greater divergence of
method than in America. The practice of the various
Societies is so different that the more important instances
must be described separately.
The Church Missionary Society had, in 1886, only twenty
single women on its staff, and il has now four hundred and
forty. The work of these women, so far as headquarters is
concerned, is administered entirely by the committees
which have charge of the men's work, and there are no
women on these committees. There is, however, a
women's department at the headquarters of the Society,
with a lady assistant-secretary in charge. She acts as a
consultant to the other secretaries with regard to women's
work abroad, and with a staff of workers, several of whom
are honorary, she strives to stimulate the work of women
WOMEN'S 225
throughout the country. The women supporters of this
Society work for its general funds and not for any special
fund for women's work. The women missionaries in the
mission field meet together in their own conferences, and
make their opinion known to the parent committee
through the men's or general conference. There is also,
in connection with the Church of England, an independent
Zenana Society, the work of which at home is quite
separate from that of the Church Missionary Society,
although both Societies work in close co-operation abroad.
The constituency represented by the London Missionary
Society is alone among the leading Societies in
Great Britain in having no independent or partially
independent Society for missionary work among women
by women. On the Board of Directors women have an
equal place with men, and are equally eligible to serve
upon every committee, except that of finance. While
there is some discussion as to whether more funds would
not be secured were there a separate women's organisa-
tion, there is a strong feeling that the present arrangement
is of real value to the work of the Board, and that the
plan of the closest organic union is the wisest one.
Although several unmarried women are on the staff
of the Baptist Missionary Society, the work of single
women is, for the most part, directed by the Baptist
Zeaana Mission, which is managed by a committee com-
posed wholly of women. The officers of each Society
are members of the committee of the other, and thus a
knowledge of the policy and procedure of the two com-
mittees is gained by each. In the opinion of the officers
of the Baptist Zenana Mission a greater amount of work
is done at less cost, and a larger amount of money is
raised by this separate management than would be the
case under one Board. The need for closer co-operation
between the two Societies has been felt from time to
time, and plans for bringing this about are at present
under consideration.
The Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society has a
Women's Auxiliary managed entirely by women. This
COM. VI. 15
226 THE HOME BASE
Auxiliary sends out its own workers, although the general
Society also employs women missionaries. The mission-
aries sent out by the Women's Auxiliary work in the
mission field under the direction of the general super-
intendent of the mission in the area where they are
stationed, so that on the mission field there is no separate
local administration of the work. Difficulties have been
felt from time to time, and when these arise the officers
of the two committees meet for consultation.
In the Presbyterian Churches the Women's Associa-
tion or committee is an independent organisation, appoint-
ing its own agents, collecting and administering its own
finance, and directing its own operations. Its relation
to the Foreign Mission Committee of the Church,
however, is of an intimate kind. In the Church of
Scotland, and in the United Free Church of Scotland,
members of the Foreign Mission Committee sit on the
Women's Committee, and the two organisations are thus
kept in close touch with one another. In the United
Free Church, representatives of the Women's Foreign
Mission attend the meetings of the Foreign Mission
Committee. In the mission field the work is under the
direction of the local Mission Council, of which the
women missionaries are members, at least when matters
relating to women's work are under consideration. In
the English Presbyterian Church the Foreign Mission
Committee and the Women's Committee meet frequently
in conference, and conferences are also held between the
men and women workers in the mission field. In this
Church the desirability of establishing a more intimate
connection between the two home Committees is now
under consideration.
In Holland auxiliary women's associations provide
for the equipment of the missionaries. The number of
these auxiliary unions is upon the increase. Defined
sections have the right to send a representative to the
General Assembly, where they have fuU voting power.
In Germany there are at present nineteen Women's
Missionary Societies, none of them large, but several of
WOMEN'S BOARDS 227
them of long standing. It is only recently that the
general Societies have begun to form alliances for work
with these women's organisations, and some of the
latter are still wholly independent. All the German
Missionary Societies recognise the great importance of
the work of unmarried women in the mission fields.
Almost all the women's missionary organisations in
Sweden, Denmark, and Norway are directly auxiliary to
the more general Societies.
As a substantial indication of the interest aroused
and maintained by these various Women's Societies
over the world, we have to glance only at the enormous
sums of money which they have raised and distributed.
Last year these sixty or more women's organisations,
the oldest of them beginning only a little more than a
generation ago, raised over four millions of dollars, or
over 800,000. In addition to raising this remarkable sum
annually, Women's Societies have done a great deal in the
United States and Canada to create an interest in the
united study of missions by the preparation and publica-
tion of books prepared by a committee of women con-
stituted for this purpose. During the past ten years,
since this special form of work assumed prominence,
more than five hundred thousand volumes of these
various works have been sold for use in mission study
classes, largely among women and girls, besides some
fifty thousand missionary maps and a still larger number
of pictures as aids in the study of missions.
With the increasing recognition by the Church of its
corporate responsibility, there comes a tendency to dis-
courage the multiplicity of organisations and to unite
the forces of the Church in a more concentrated effort.
While it was probably not anticipated at the outset that
the Women's Societies would appeal through the regular
Church channels for the support of their special work,
it is not surprising that, under the pressure of enlarging
work, these Societies should, with increasing frequency,
seek the support of the denomination either by asking for
a collection, or by endeavouring to divide individual gifts
228 THE BASE
with the general Society^ and thus divert to the treasuries
of the women's organisations gifts which many pastors
feel should go through the regular channels of Church
beneficence. A large number of pastors and recognised
leaders speak of the confusion this method causes, and
ask for some kind of adjustment of mission appeals, so
that there shall not seem to be a rivalry between the
women's foreign missionary organisations and the regular
Missionary Societies. Though this condition is by no
means universal, it has become so common, according
to reports received from a wide variety of sources, that
it cannot be ignored. It is not the fault of any organisa-
tion, and, under the old apathy of the Church as a whole
upon the subject of foreign missions, raised BO questions,
It is a good sign indeed, and one full of promise, that the
Church is beginning to realise its corporate responsibility
for the Christianisation of the world, and that it is jealous
of any movement that would seem to divide its efforts.
At the same time, upon the foreign field the work that
once appeared to be so distinctively women's work for
women under the natural processes of development and
growth, is not now so clearly differentiated. Even in
the East the old hard and fast lines that separated the
men from the women are in a measure disappearing, and
Christian effort for both men and women presents
a far more unified front. Not a few missionaries,
therefore, urge that the attempt to maintain longer what
they call an " artificial division " between work carried
on by the general Societies and that carried on by women's
Societies, should be abandoned.
These conditions have raised in the minds of many
the question whether the distinct purpose for which
Women's Boards were originally formed as separate or
independent organisations has not now been, in a measure
at least, accomplished.
Attention has already been called to the fact that there
are widely different methods of organisation among the
Women's Societies, and especially in their relations to the
general Societies. The tendency seems to be among
WOMEN'S BOARDS 229
some Independent Societies to put Increasing emphasis
upon the separate and independent phase of their con-
stitution. Most of the Women's Societies, however, are
" auxiliary " to the regular Church Boards, and thus
work In closer co-operation.
The question is asked, however, by large numbers of
missionary workers at home and abroad, both men and
women, pastors and laymen, whether the time has not
arrived when an effort can wisely be made to unite more
closely the women's foreign missionary societies or organ-
isations and the general or parent or denominational
society, without sacrificing anything that is valuable.
This has recently been done in one denomination in
the United States, where the Women's Board, hitherto
independent, has now become an organic part of the
regular Missionary Society of the Church.
The mission leaders in the various denominations in
America are not united in their judgment as to what can
best be done at the present time, or as to whether anything
should be undertaken. One says :
" In the present stage of development of the foreign missionary
movement, when the tendencies are to enlist the entire local
Church in a weekly system of giving for foreign missions, and
where the whole Church is being educated through the mission
study class work and through the Sunday Schools, it seems that
the time has arrived when women can do a greater work by
identifying themselves with the work of the whole Church. Their
training in the past will serve to assist the pastor, in enlisting the
men in this might}'' enterprise. This will bring the entire Church
into sympathy with all the work abroad.*'
Another reports :
" The administration of work by rnen is so radically different,
at least in its point of view if not in its methods, from that which
obtains in administration by women, that I do not believe that
men's Boards and women's Boards could be effectively formed
into a single organisation/'
Another reports : _
" Women, having different methods of work, different methods
of approaching a thing to be accomplished, and knowing better
how to organise women for giving ad working, do better and larger
work In separata Societies/*'
230 THE HOME BASE
Another :
" I am coming: to the conclusion that the time is rapidly ap-
proaching when a single organisation would be desirable in the
interests of economy and efficiency.'*
Another :
" I can see no more reason lor a separate women's Board for
women, than for a separate men's Board for men."
Still another says :
" The feeling of dissatisfaction at the presentation in the Church
and among the Church members of double appeals for what is
regarded as the same work, seems to increase, while upon the field
we sometimes have the spectacle of double administration. If a
combination could be brought about that sacrificed none of the
present effectiveness and power, it would be well."
We will quote one more :
" In my judgment the work of foreign missions would have
been better done under a single organisation, because the policy
of mission work at home and abroad would be a unit ; there would
be economy in administration ; antagonism which now exists
in some fields would be eliminated. A union of the Boards is
now proposed in our Church."
The above quotations are from missionary leaders of
the General Missionary Boards of the principal denomina-
tions in the United States. They show a wide difference
of opinion, which is based in each case upon the peculiar
conditions prevailing in the denomination to which the
writer belongs.
There is perhaps a greater variety of opinion among
the leaders and officers of the Women's Foreign Missionary
Societies, We quote from some of those who have con-
sidered this subject at length, and who speak out of
their long and intimate experience. Those quoted
represent a large part of the work of Women's Societies
carried on in America.
An able secretary of a Women's Society writes :
" My own experience, through twenty years as secretary,
has been that pastors who are doing the best work are most sym-
pathetic with the efforts of women, and we have all appreciated
the generous co-operation and interest of the brotherhood of our
general Mission Boards which has helped to make the women's
work a success. So far as the women have met opposition from
WOMEN'S BOARDS 231
any of these sources, it has been from, a lack of understanding and
an occasional arbitrary or ambitious masculine temperament, or
from a lack of judgment or excess of aggression on the part of
frail womankind, which can, in nine cases out of ten, be corrected
by suggestion to the Women's Board."
Another says :
"One of 'the troubles of our Society is that the organisation
has not been able to keep pace with the growth of the work. We
feel very greatly the necessity of some reconstruction, but can
scarcely anticipate just what it must be."
The officers of one of the leading Women's Boards
write :
" The success of Women's Boards has been dependent
"ist. Upon their full and distinctive organisation.
** 2nd. Upon their methods of approach to the women, girls,
and children of the Church.
"3rd. Upon their persistent, unremitting efforts in these
particular lines.
" It is difficult to see how these essential features could be
grafted upon one general organisation which would include the
work of both men and women,"
Another leader writes :
" Our women would never work and give as they do without
the spur of intimate knowledge of problems on the field and of
absolute financial responsibility. We are convinced that our
efforts to organise, develop interest, and educate, lacking these
spurs, would soon relax and result finally in the abandonment
of Women's Boards, and a corresponding loss to the cause of
foreign missions.
" If the present methods are not accomplishing results on the
field, then changes may well be made if they are accomplishing
the work, we may let well alone."
Another eminent Women's Board official writes :
" To amalgamate the Women's Boards and the Church Board
would, to my mind, be a most disastrous mistake. I heartily
favour complete co-operation between the Women's Boards and
the general Board, and I shall welcome the day when emphasis is
placed only upon the important and not upon the petty details of
the work in all of its branches. I do not think the Men's Boards
and the Women's Boards could be formed into a single organisation
without great loss to both and inadequacy in results."
Another woman of recognised authority writes :
" It is well known that every Church Missionary Board has been
exclusively a ' Man's Board/ and Christian women have been
232 THE HOME BASE
led out into a larger place of service by having their own organisa-
tions. To-day, while the sentiment among men regarding the
place of women in the Church is greatly changed from that which
ruled in 1 86 1, there are certain practical advantages in still keeping
up the Women's Society.
" I do not stand, however, in the position of one who is opposed
to change ; and if it comes in the form of progress, is evolutionary
rather than revolutionary, I think the majority of women will
accept it easily."
Another official says :
" From experience, therefore, we endorse the advantages of
the amalgamation of the Women's Societies with the parent
Board, or the ' Church Board.' The value of a solid front
is so great that plans for further unification would be heartily
considered.
" Speaking in general terms, on the foreign field the work has
passed beyond the old divisions of women's work for women.
In my opinion the really important work being done now by
our women's organisations is in the Church at home."
A clear-headed leader of one of the strongest Women's
Boards writes :
" There is, no doubt, waste of energy through duplication of
machinery. Some form of readjustment is bound to come. One
of the present problems is to see a way to make this readjustment
with as little friction and misunderstanding as possible,
" The fear which 1 have heard expressed is that in Boards
exclusively managed by men there could not be that recognition
of the woman's angle of vision, nor of the needs of the work which
has developed through these Women's Boards.
" I would like to see some strong men on the governing Boards
of the Women's Societies, and some clear-headed women on the
general Boards. Both need to see through the other's eyes."
It seems clear that the time lias come lor the careful
consideration of the question whether economy of
administration both at home and abroad, and efficiency
and effectiveness in execution would not be greatly
enhanced if what has hitherto been regarded as practically
two branches of the work appealing to the same con-
stituencies within the same Church, were so combined
that a united front should always be presented, and the
Church be enabled to advance as a unit to its task of
evangelising the world.
The question naturally arises, would it be wise to
WOMEN'S BOARDS 233
attempt to amalgamate the Women's Boards with the
regular Church Boards, so that the result would be but a
single Board ? Undoubtedly the time has not arrived
for so radical a step, which would manifestly deprive the
cause of missions of much of the organising and enthusi-
astic energy now exhibited in the administration of the
Women* s Boards.
At the same time the Commission is convinced that
steps should be taken to avoid the impression of divided
interest or even rivalry that sometimes now appears upon
the field, and to remove at home from the minds of many
pastors, Sunday-School superintendents, and leaders of
young people's organisations, the impression that the
Women's Boards and the general Boards are rivals for
their support.
The Commission, therefore, would suggest that within
the same denominations there be formed a Board of
Reference and Counsel, consisting of duly elected delegates
from the Women's Board or Boards and the general
Board, by which questions of co-operation and even of
federation may be discussed, and methods of harmonious
work devised.
Where there are various Women's Boards within the
same denomination we would urge that these create a
Council for the consideration of all questions pertaining
to their mutual relations.
The suggested Committee of Reference and Counsel
might consider the questions of :
1. The administration of the work abroad so as to
maintain it as a unit, to prevent waste, and to secure
harmony in policy and methods of operation.
2. The. relation of the different Boards and Societies
to the Churches as such, as well as to the different organ-
isations within the Church.
3. The responsibility of each Society in the selection,
appointment, and support of candidates.
This Commission believes that conferences of this kind
would remove most of the difficulties between the two
classes of Societies, and that the work at home in raising
234 THE HOME BASE
funds, and the work abroad in administration, would
become more and more a co-operating whole. It must
be left to each denomination through protracted experi-
ence to decide when the time has arrived for bringing
these two branches of the same work into closer organic
unity.
CHAPTER XIV
PROBLEMS OF ADMINISTRATION
MISSIONARIES AT HOME ON FURLOUGH
MISSIONARY Societies are practically agreed that
missionaries should take occasional furlouglis in the home
land. Nearly all the Boards provide for this, although
they do not agree as to the length of a term of service
in the field between furloughs. In the earlier days
missionaries went out for an indefinite period, many of
them expecting never to return home. It is an interest-
ing fact that in the United States the general idea of an
annual vacation for professional and business people is
of comparatively recent date, and it was but natural that
Missionary Societies at first should have made no provision
for the missionaries to leave their work at stated periods.
Some of the older missionaries still cling to the old idea.
A veteran of one Board has not been home for over
thirty years ; another took only one furlough in sixty-nine
years of service. There are many others who do not take
the regular furloughs arranged by their Societies.
The idea of unbroken service no longer prevails. It
has been learned that from an economic standpoint a
vacation is good business. While many Societies provide
for an annual holiday in the mission field, all are agreed
that a longer and more complete change at stated periods
is essential. Some of the reasons for such a furlough for
missionaries are :
I. The physical necessity for a complete escape from
the burdening, grinding, and even depressing character
of the work. T
235
236
2. Change of climate from that experienced in the
mission field, which is often debilitating and enervating.
3. Medical treatment, dentistry, and general physical
and nerve repair.
4. Mental stimulus and inspiration to be gained by
contact with the best that is offered in great intellectual
centres.
5. Spiritual renewal to be secured by association and
co-operation for a period in the spiritual life and work
of the Home Church.
6. Family reasons.
7. Imparting a new missionary stimulus to the pastors
and the Church at home by bringing them into contact
with one recently from the field.
8. Co-operation with the Societies in deputation and
campaign work in aid of special efforts.
9. Informing the officers of the Board of the conditions
of the work in the field and the creating of a closer mutual
personal acquaintance between the Society and the
missionaries.
It will be noticed that out of the nine reasons given
above for occasional furlough for the missionary, the
first six relate to the missionary himself, and only three
to what lie may be able to accomplish at home in direct
aid of the work on the field* It must be borne in mind,
however, that the six reasons which apparently relate
to the missionary personally have an immediate bearing
upon his equipment and greater effectiveness as a
missionary.
It may not be regarded as within the province of this
Commission to discuss the question, of the frequency of
furloughs, but it may be well, since the subject is not
likely to be mentioned by any other Commission, to record
that all Boards agree that stated furloughs are desirable
and wise in order to command the highest results from
the missionary through a lifetime of service under con-
ditions that are especially exacting and trying. It is
practically a question of economy and efficiency. The
principle is well recognised that it is wiser to retain in
ON 237
the service for many years a missionary of weU-known
strength, and effectiveness, than to compel him or even
allow him to use up his physical, intellectual, and spiritual
powers in a briefer period s replacing him with a new and
untried successor.
There is no doubt that the length of a safe and effective
term of service must depend in some measure upon the
climate and local conditions that prevail at the place
where the missionary is stationed For instance, it
would be manifestly unwise, if not inhuman, to insist
that missionaries dwelling in the tropics, especially in the
fever districts, or in isolated islands of the Pacific, should
remain at their post without relief or change for the same
length of time as missionaries who dwell in such
climates as those of North China, Japan, and Turkey.
At the same time, the nervous as well as the physical
strain must be taken into consideration.
Many changes have taken place in the large and im-
portant mission countries during the past half-century
which make the surroundings of the missionaries more
tolerable, such as the provision of places of retreat to
which they are expected to retire during the hot^season
for rest and recuperation, more sanitary and better
equipped homes, better facilities for travel, more access
to the outside world, and more contact with people of
their own race as travellers or as permanent residents in
the country. Also in many countries satisfactory medical
help is available and western markets are accessible.
Missionaries not infrequently take temporary leave of
absence from their field during the annual vacation period
and visit another country and meet there a new circle
of missionaries, or enjoy complete separation from the
people and the language of their own mission station.
These facts have direct bearing upon the frequency of
furloughs to the home land.
It will probably be impossible, even if deemed advis-
able, for the various Missionary Societies supporting
missions in the same countries to agree upon what they
regard as a " regular term ofjservice " before furlough.
238 THE HOME BASE
If, however, such agreement could be obtained, it might
tend to allay some dissatisfaction that now exists, where,
among missionaries working side by side, in the same
field and under similar conditions, some are allowed a
year's leave of absence after half the years of service
that others are expected to render before furlough.
This Commission is more concerned, however, with the
length of the furlough and the way it is spent at home.
Although there is a wide difference in practice among the
different Societies, one year has come to be regarded by
many Societies as the normal furlough period after a
normal term of service. Some Societies, however, make
the ordinary furlough one and a half years. Some
Societies reckon one year's absence from the field, while
others add to this the time taken in making the return
and outward journey. In more tropical missions where
there are summer resorts to which the missionaries
are expected to go for a month or two during the hot
season, it is usually expected that the missionaries will
start upon their journey home just before the regular
annual vacation period, and return the following year so as
to begin work with the others at the end of that period.
This would ordinarily give an absence from the field of
about fourteen months.
The question has been often raised as to whether
more frequent furloughs, with a shorter period at home,
would not be more helpful and satisfactory. Some
Boards, whose term of service is at present front
eight to ten years, followed by one year's furlough or
fourteen months' absence from the field, are now con-
sidering this subject. The financial side of the question
is not an easy one to solve, especially when the Society
is unable to make appropriations that are at all adequate
to meet the needs of the regular work upon the field.
This is emphasised when, as in America, most of the
mission work is conducted at the other side of the world
with long and expensive journeys to the home land.
Frequent furloughs would materially increase the already
large amounts required for travelling expenses. The
MISSIONARIES ON FURLOUGH 239
question, however, is important, not only as it bears upon
the health, efficiency, and spirit of the missionaries, but
as it relates itself to the task of arousing and sustaining
interest in the Church at home.
Careful statistics have been collected from forty-seven
Missionary Societies in North America upon the subject
of term of service between furloughs, length of the vaca-
tion or furlough period, and allowances for support while
at home. These returns show a great lack of uniformity
in the practice of different Boards, as for instance, the
home allowances for a year for a single man range from
$125 to $1100, and for a family from $250 to $1750,
while the terms of service between furloughs are from five
to ten years and the length of furlough from six to eighteen
months. Several Societies have no fixed rale and deter-
mine each case by itself. The custom as to allowance
for children and medical care differs widely.
It has been suggested that the missionaries when at
home should have the same salary as when upon the
field. Since, with many Societies the salary upon the
field is determined by the cost of living at the place where
the missionary is located, and therefore is widely variable,
it would be manifestly unjust, when they return home,
where all would have practically the same expenses, to
perpetuate the distinction. It would appear that the
home allowance should not necessarily have any con-
nection with the amount of salary upon the field. It
should also be evident that when upon furlough, in order
to get the advantages that such a furlough is intended to
convey, the allowance should be sufficient to enable the
missionaries to live as comfortably as do the average
pastors of the supporting Churches, and near their own
denominational centres, that they may be able to come
into close relations with the spirit, thought, and life of
those whom they represent abroad. It would be mani-
festly wrong for a missionary to be compelled to bury
himself in an obscure country home where, perchance^
the cost of living would be cheap, when his entire nature,
as well as the work he is set to do, calls for mental, social,
240 THE HOME BASE
and spiritual stimulus that will send him back to his
work fired for a new and supreme effort. An apparent
economy at this point may prove to be most wasteful.
Primarily the missionary is at home to put himself
into the fittest condition possible for another term of
service abroad. It seems to the Commission that this
purpose of a furlough should not be lost sight of by the
Societies. At the same time we cannot fail to see that
the home Church is also in crying need of the missionaries.
That need must in a measure be met. The problem then
is so to use the knowledge, ability, and spiritual power of
the missionary that the very service to which he is put
shall prove stimulating and inspiring to both parties.
The mistake is frequently made of sending a missionary
back to his field more in need of a furlough than when he
left it. When excessive campaign and deputation work
is demanded of the missionary at home, it would be no
more than fair to add to the length of his furlough a
period sufficient to permit him fully to recuperate Ms
depleted vitality and powers. Many Societies are careful
to do this, and more are learning the importance of it.
Unless this is done, so far as the value of the furlough to
the missionary is concerned, it may be worse than none
at all,
It is certainly true that the most precious asset of any
Board is its missionaries. It is they who direct the work
abroad and represent it to the constituency at home. A
Society with a strong body of missionaries will have a
strong work, and a Society with a weak and inefficient
body of missionaries will have a weak work ; all this is
regardless of the amount of funds available. It is therefore
wise economy to appoint able and devoted men and women
to this work and then to care for them, both upon the
field and at home, in a way to enable them to work at
their highest efficiency wherever they are. It certainly
is not sound economy to permit a missionary to turn aside
from his high calling to secular pursuits to earn a stipend
by which he may live and support his family either at
home or abroad. It is even more unwise to^compeljhim
MISSIONARIES ON FURLOUGH 241
to devote time and strength and anxious thought to
methods of earning his support in part while serving as
a missionary. One who has given himself wholly to
this service should be supported in it.
Most Societies expect their able-bodied missionaries to
be at the service of the Society when at home, in so far as
that service is consistent with proper rest and recupera-
tion. Many Societies have a special secretary or secre-
taries in the home department who have charge of all
deputation work, and to whom the missionaries look for
suggestion and direction in their public appearances. It
is generally agreed that all such campaign work should
be directed from a central office, and not be left to the
missionary himself to arrange. With the increased
activity at home in promoting foreign missions, and the
greater demand for first-hand information from the
field, the effective missionary speaker is in danger of
using up too much strength and vitality in public
work.
Returns indicate that there is great need of a more
careful direction of missionary speakers at home, so that
those who are best suited to interest particular bodies
be detailed for that service. Some missionaries have
the ability to interest and hold the attention of students,
others to command the attention of popular assemblies,
others to arouse an interest in men, while still others
may show unusual power in addressing children. Effec-
tive and wise use of the missionary upon furlough would
at once suggest that each speaker should be set apart
for that line of public address to which he is best adapted,
which in probably every instance will be the one most
agreeable to him.
The fact must be recognised that in most cases the
missionary has been away from home for a long time
and is not conversant with the state of mind of his
audiences, and has little idea of what phases of the work
abroad are best calculated to hold their attention and
create a permanent interest. Unless he is coached by
one who is familiar with the home situation, his efforts
COM. VI, 1 6
242
at public address may be a failure for months, if not for
the entire time of his furlough. One Missionary Society
has prepared a leaflet of suggestions to missionaries about
their addresses, warning them of what should be avoided,
and suggesting lines of genera! address in which people
as a whole are interested. It must also be recognised
that now and then a missionary, whose work upon the
field is of the greatest value, is not able to speak of that
work in a way to command the interest of the average
audience. It would be manifestly wrong to insist that
such missionaries should be pressed into deputation work.
Without doubt one who cannot effectively address an
audience can be used while upon furlough in some other
form of useful service to the Society. It is not kindness
to such a missionary, nor is it just to the Home Church,
to press such a speaker to the front.
There is lack of uniformity in the custom followed by
various Boards in the amounts given for the support of
missionaries' children at home. Some Societies make no
special allowance for children at home, while others give
as much as $250 or 50 each annually until the child
reaches the age of twenty years. The differences are so
great there can be no possible value in tabulating here the
returns received from the different Societies. Some of
these have homes for the children of missionaries which
are sustained, in part at least, by annual gifts and by
income received from endowment funds. Others, especi-
ally in England, have schools into which the children of
missionaries are taken, and where they receive support
from the Society. In still other cases the allowances for
children are quite separate from the question of the
furlough of the parents.
The Missionary Societies of North America, through
their annual conference, and by the preparation and
publication of statistical tables setting forth the practices
of the various Societies in the matter of salaries, allow-
ances, furloughs, support of children, and many other
matters of like character, axe coming to understand better
each other's point of view. The tendency is to a more
ON 243
uniform method of dealing with such matters as are of
common interest.
The Commission would suggest that in all countries
where the physical and language conditions make it
possible, periodic conferences among the officials of all
evangelical Missionary Societies be held, where these and
all similar matters of common interest to all Societies
can be freely discussed, and that comparative tabulated
statements be published, when deemed desirable, for the
general information and help of all Societies.
In the last few years in the United States there have
been held many great foreign missionary mass meetings
which were interdenominational in character, and in
which missionaries of various Societies and other leaders
in this work took part. At such assemblies no particular
work carried on by any denomination was especially pre-
sentedj but the great fundamental principles of missions,
the general progress of the Kingdom in the world, and
the call for advance were boldly set forth. These meetings
have proved most popular and impressive, attracting
eminent speakers and commanding the attention of the
general public and the secular press. Incidentally they
have given an impression of the oneness of the work
abroad, and have awakened an interest that no denomina-
tional gathering could have done. Such use of the best
missionary talent in the interests of the widest hearing
and the most profound impression is heartily commended.
Nothing has been said in this part of the Report re-
garding the use of missionaries upon furlough in securing
new recruits for the field. Many of the Societies provide
that each year some leading missionary or missionaries
shall visit their denominational theological schools and
colleges, spending some time there for the purpose of public
address, courses of lectures, and personal conference with
the students. From another section of this Report it
appears that none of the Societies are cultivating the
colleges and universities and professional schools, other
than theological, as they should be cultivated, in order
to keep in the minds and hearts of the students the
244 THE HOME BASE
missionary ideas and spirit. All leading Societies have
men and women who are connected with educational
institutions in the mission fields, and who are quite
capable of exerting a strong missionary influence over
university students. Societies are agreed that the colleges
and universities present the most fruitful and promising
field for the cultivation of candidates, while almost nothing
is done for them. Here is a promising field of special
service at home in which properly selected missionaries
upon furlough could effectively be used.
Another nnworked field at home is that covered by
technical and medical schools. More and more Mis-
sionary Societies are coming to demand the services
of technically trained missionaries, and there is a con-
stant demand for medical missionaries. Hitherto no
systematic ef!ort s so far as we can ascertain, has been
made by Missionary Societies for these two classes.
Probably no missionary speaker would be so acceptable
in a medical school as a returned medical missionary,
and there can be little doubt that such a man, with a
wide experience in the field and ability and tact properly
to present this to studeiits > could command a hearing
among medical students, and exert over them a deep
and 'abiding influence. Also many Societies already
have missionaries at home who either had technical
training before going out, or who have had wide experience
in mechanical enterprises in their mission work. As
the missionary physician is used in medical schools, these
men might be used in technical schools, in a way to
attract attention to the fact that in not a few of the great
mission lands there is an opportunity for service on the
part of those whose training has been mainly along the
line of applied sciences. It is evident that in the quest
for candidates, as well as in the endeavour to broaden the
circle of supporters, the most effective use has not been
made of the missionaries who have special training and
experience to fit them to make a direct appeal to
special classes.
As the women's Boards effectively employ women
MISSIONARIES ON FURLOUGH 245
to arouse and sustain an interest among women, why
should not missionaries engaged in any particular de-
partment of missionary activity be used to approach
men whose natural interest centres in that particular
department ? It seems to the Commission that more
careful classification and discrimination needs to be
made in assigning returned missionaries to special tasks
and among special classes, that the message and the
appeal may be more in harmony with the character-
istics of those whose interest is solicited.
CHAPTER XV
PROBLEMS OF ADMINISTRATION
THE APPOINTMENT OF NATIVES OF FOREIGN
COUNTRIES AS MISSIONARIES TO THEIR
OWN PEOPLE
WHEN foreign missions were begun the policy was at once
adopted, especially in the United States, of bringing to
that country people from the lands to be evangelised
for the purpose of training them to return as missionaries
to their own race. In practice this plan has proved to
be a failure. It has been clearly demonstrated that this
is not an effective, wise, and economical way to carry on
missions. There has been now and then a striking ex-
ception to this general conclusion standing out in isolated
prominence among a multitude of failures,.
We would not venture to introduce this topic here,
were it not for the fact that many outside the circle of
the directors of missions still entertain the old idea that
the ideal missionary must be the man from the field,
trained in the West, and sent 1 back as a missionary
to convert his own people. At the same time there are
large numbers of students in the colleges and theological
schools in Europe and America who have come from
mission fields, many of whom 1 "would be glad to return
to their homes as missionaries,- 1 and who are encouraged
in this desire by zealous friends, "
It should be made clear that, in the consideration
of this topic, by " native missionary " is meant one ap-
pointed by the " home society " as natives of Europe
246
NATIVE 247
and America are appointed, the support coming wholly
from the appointing Society, and the future conditions of
themselves and their families being the same as those now
existing between the Missionary Society at home and its
missionaries abroad. There should be no confusion
between the terms " missionary " and " trained native
Christian leader." All Societies and missions welcome
the latter, and are supremely dependent upon them for
the success of the work. But these are nqt appointed
missionaries^ although at least one Society in England
gives some of these able and distinguished native leaders
the title of " missionary/ 1 without changing their rela-
tion to the Society or to the native leaders. The
question is not of the same importance to Societies in
Europe as it is to those in America, where far more young
men born and reared in the East, after pursuing a course
of education in the United States, apply to the Societies
to be sent back to their home with the status of an
American missionary.
One of the chief reasons why Missionary Societies do
not appoint such as missionaries to their own people is
the jealousy with which they guard the dignity and value
of native leadership. Necessarily the foreign missionary
in any and in all countries is temporary. He must
decrease, while the trained native force must increase in
number and in authority. Ultimately the work of the
foreign missionary will come to an end, while that of the
native leader will continue* It would be manifestly
wrong, and on this practically all Societies and Boards
agree, to remove a man from the ranks of the permanent
leaders of the Native Church in any country and put him
into the ranks of the temporary foreign workers. The
dignity and strength of the native pastors should be main-
tained at the highest possible level, and it appears to the
great Missionary Societies that to take from that exalted
class men of influence with peculiar qualities for leader-
ship, would be to strike a blow at the Native Church itself.
Another reason for this position is that it is the pro-
vince of the Missionary Societies to build up and strengthen
248 THE HOME BASE
the force of trained local leaders. No Society should
make drafts upon the ever-increasing number of this
class to supply deficiencies caused by the failure of the
Church at home to provide the men needed abroad in
the missionary ranks. Among some of the peoples of
the East the position of missionary is looked upon as
higher than that of the native pastor. Through the
appointment of a student of the country as a mission-
ary, with his support coming directly from abroad and
himself apparently clothed with authority and possessing
privileges beyond those possessed by others of equal
devotion and ability, it is but natural that leadership
in the Native Church would be discounted.
There are many other reasons which need not be given
here, revealed by the experience of leading Missionary
Societies, why it is not wise to appoint as missionaries to
their own people natives of any of the countries in which
foreign missionary work is carried on. Among these are
disparity of support, inability to represent the Christian
body whose commission they bear.smce they are of another
country and race, the impossibility of making the position
of such an agent clear to his own people, and the special
temptations which necessarily come to one thus removed
from his natural environment and put into conditions with
which he must be unfamiliar. This does not mean that
the position of the foreign missionary is a more exalted one
than that held by the native leader, but quite the contrary.
The Commission is of the opinion that Missionary
Societies should not appoint natives of eastern countries
as " missionaries " to their own people, but that they
should use every means in their power to encourage all
such, who seem qualified, to return to their own country
as Christian leaders and workers in connection with the
Native Church and native institutions. This attitude
should be taken with the understanding that salaries
and support shall come from the Native Church or com-
munity, and not from the Mission Board, even though
for the immediate present some financial aid may be
given from mission funds.
CHAPTER XVI
THE SCIENCE OF MISSIONARY
SOCIETIES
THE science of missions is much, more advanced in its
bearings upon the work abroad than in its relations to the
operations of the Societies at home.
Interest in missions as a science has largely centred
hitherto in the activities of missionaries and the institu-
tions which they have organised abroad, and not in the
organisation of the Societies or their plans for disseminat-
ing information at home, creating and holding the con-
stituency, securing missionaries needed for the work,
and raising funds for its support. These more common-
place matters have been too close at hand to command
much general and systematic attention. The general
missionary Conferences in Christian countries have for
the greater part fixed attention upon the remote points
of missionary work. In the Mildmay Conference of
1878 there were about forty distinct papers and addresses
given, only one of which could by any interpretation
be made to apply to the home base, or the operations
of Missionary Societies at home. In the London Con-
ference of 1888 there was hardly a phase of the home
side of the work of Missionary Societies that received any
attention whatever. The thought of the entire body of
delegates for the ten days of its session was directed to
the ends of the earth, and held there to the closing hours
of the Conference. In the Missionary Conference held
in New York in 1900 much more attention was given to
questions bearing upon the home side. The printed
249
250 THE HOME BASE
report oi the Conference covers about 1000 pages, 168 of
which are devoted to matters belonging to the home base
of the missionary enterprise. It seems that, so far as
general Conferences in Europe and America are concerned,
the science of the home base (or the science of Missionary
Societies) began to emerge only at the beginning of the
last decade.
The general Conferences held in missionary countries,
as the various Decennial Conferences in India and the Cen-
tennial Conference in Shanghai in 1907, have necessarily
dealt with the advancement of the work in the countries
in which the Conferences were held, and not at all with
the science of the operation of Missionary Societies at
home. These have been most valuable in developing
the science of missions as related to the work abroad, but
only indirectly have they any bearing upon the relation
of missionary science to the work at home.
The annual Conferences of the Missionary Societies
of North America, which have been held usually in New
York for the last sixteen years,, have covered with a
considerable degree of thoroughness, and with a proper
recognition of values, the wide field of missionary
endeavour, both in foreign countries and at home.
As would be expected, however, the emphasis has
necessarily been placed upon the home side of mis-
sionary work, and only indirectly upon the work abroad s
since the Conference has been composed of the executive
officers and members of the controlling committees
of the Societies at home. Naturally all missionary
problems, under the circumstances, would be viewed
and discussed from the outlook of the home base.
These Conferences have given more than half their
time and attention to the consideration of questions in
which the various Missionary SocietieSj as Societies^ were
particularly interested, and which had to do with the
administration of their work at home* So far as they
have dealt with questions of the field, it has generally
been with a view to throwing light upon phases of
those questions which affected the attitude of the partici-
SOCIETIES 251
pating Societies. These Conferences have been of incom-
parable value to all participating Societies in placing
them upon a common working basis s and in giving to
each the experience and wisdom possessed by all.
One does not need to study this question for any length
of time to learn that we are yet far from a true and gene-
rally accepted science of missionary work abroad, and
even farther from a science of the operations of Mis-
sionary Societies at home. The lack of such a science
' is wasteful in the extreme, since it compels all Societies
to conduct experiments by themselves and to learn by
their own successes and mistakes alone, There is no
general organised plan by which the failures and successes
of one Society may become the common property of all,
nor is there a place in which the missionary organisa-
tions of Christendom with any regularity or precision
can discuss by their representatives questions that are
of general interest to alL
This Edinburgh Conference is the first attempt at a
systematic and careful study of missionary problems of
the world, including those that bear upon both the work
abroad and the operations of the Societies at home.
The question naturally arises as to how the results of
the Conference are to be best conserved and made of
value for all future missionary operations- It is true
that the Reports of the Commissions and of the Con-
ference, after the Conference has dissolved,, wiE be printed
in a set of volumes. It is also true that the Report
will become antiquated in comparatively few years.
The advance of the science of missions which will have
been made at Edinburgh, unless something is done to
prevent it, will necessarily come to a standstill until
another similar general Conference is held a decade
hence. In the meantime, much ground gained by this
Conference will be lost, and information obtained and
principles established by common agreement will be
forgotten* or at least become inoperative,
A general desire has been expressed by eminent mis-
sionary leaders on both sides of the Atlantic that some
252 THE HOME BASE
arrangement may be made which will result not only
in a continuous systematic study of missionary questions
and problems, but which will draw together the active
missionary forces of the world in the consideration of
questions of common interest. The hope is freely expressed
that provision may be made for embodying the conclu-
sions reached in this Conference in some form that will
make them permanently valuable, and thus present to the
Christian world the spectacle of systematic and scientific
co-operation in the work of the Missionary Societies in
all communions such as will command the confidence of
all, raise to the maximum the efficiency of the great
missionary enterprise, and present to the non-Christian
world the spectacle of the united advancing forces of
Christendom.
It seems to the members of the Commission on the
Home Base, as it does to a great circle of missionary
experts with whom they have communicated upon this
subject, that the time has now arrived when steps leading
to this end may wisely be taken. They will go even
farther than this and say that to many who have
freely spoken upon this subject it would seem to be a
mistake if, out of this Conference, there should not emerge
some form of organisation or organisations that will be
competent to deal with this matter and produce some
general and permanent Committee, international and
interdenominational in character, to which the Mis-
sionary Societies of the world shall look, to whose work
all will contribute, and from which all will receive direct
benefit.
It is the judgment of the Commission that this can
most naturally be brought about by
1. The formation in each country where such
organisation does not now exist of a Con-
ference composed of the foreign Missionary
Societies organised in that country, and
2. The creation of a standing International Com-
mittee made up of representatives chosen
by these various Conferences.
SCIENCE OF MISSIONARY SOCIETIES 253
This suggestion is based upon what has already been
accomplished in the United States and Canada,, and also
in the organisation of Missionary Societies and Committees
on the Continent of Europe.
The Quadrennial Bremen Continental Missionary
Conference and the German and Continental Executive
Committee are illustrations of the successful endeavour
for interdenominational union in the interests of great
efficiency. There are in addition two other organisations
of a similar character, the Northern Lutheran Missionary
Conference, meeting every fifth year with some seven
hundred delegates from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and
Finland for the consideration of missionary topics, but
with no power of legislation, and the Netherlands Mis-
sionary Conference meeting every autumn. This last-
named Conference held its twenty-third session in 1909.
As a further illustration of what can be done in this line,
we cite the progress already made in the United States
and Canada through the organisation now known] as the
Conference of Foreign Mission Boards of the United
States and Canada, which has recently held its seventeenth
annual session in New York City. This Conference was
organised for the consideration of questions of administra-
tion pertaining to foreign missions. Its membership is
confined to executive officers and members of Foreign
Mission Boards and Societies having separate denomina-
tional constituencies in the United States and Canada,
duly elected by their respective Societies. Other official
members, as well as foreign missionaries who may chance
to be present, may be elected corresponding members,
but without power to vote. Some fifty Missionary
Societies were represented in the seventeenth annual
session recently held. The sessions usually occupy two
days.
There are few questions bearing upon the problems of
administration of foreign missions that have not been
thoroughly investigated and discussed. In many in-
stances strong representative interdenominational Com-
missions have been created by the Conferences for the
254 HOME BASE
careful and exhaustive investigation and report upon
such important subjects as " Self-support on the Field/'
" Should Laymen be sent as Missionaries?" "The Higher
Education in Missions/' " Women's Missionary Societies/'
" The Unoccupied Fields/' " The Mohammedan Problem/'
" Furloughs/' " Missionary Education in the United
States/' "Relations of Missionaries and Missionary
Societies to Governments/ 1 u Anglo-American Com-
munities in Foreign Ports/' " Missionary Periodicals/'
and many other practical and vital topics, The principal
subjects were presented in written form, and afterwards
were discussed with great frankness, all discussion being
taken down in shorthand and included with the paper
in the printed report of the Conference. These reports
are printed with paper covers* and are sent by the Mission-
ary Societies to their missionaries and to the leaders of
their respective constituencies. All agree that these
reports have been most influential in promoting self-
support and self-government among the Native Churches
connected with the American Missionary Societies, and
all unhesitatingly acknowledge that these reports are of
great value because of the information they contain as
the result of the enquiries made. They have a strong
influence in unifying the policies of the Missionary Boards
in America, and have resulted in a saving of time and
strength and money to all the Societies participating.
It goes without saying that the Conference has no
power to legislate in any way for the Missionary
Boards represented, or to commit the Boards to any
act or policy.
For many years there was a conscious and frequently
expressed need upon the part of the smaller Societies
for a central and representative organisation to speak
for foreign missions as a whole, especially in questions
that might arise in relation to the Government, There-
fore a permanent Committee was created, called the
Committee of Reference and Arbitration, but subse-
quently changed to the Committee of Reference and
Counsel. The duty of this Committee is to keep itself
OF 255
informed regarding all general questions of a national or
international character, such as would be of interest
to the Missionary Societies as a whole, and to make fall
report eacli year to the Conference. This Committee
makes it Its business to secure reliable data regarding
any and all laws, both in the home country and in the
mission field, that affect the missionaries, and to investi-
gate all questions that may arise in the country with
relation to any subject that bears directly upon the work
of missions. In case of a general public attack upon
missions this Committee prepares and puts out a reply,
In case a law is passed by the national government that
affects the standing of the foreign missionary, it Is the
duty of the Committee to ascertain the bearing of that
law, secure an official Interpretation, and send to all the
Missionary Societies the results of its investigation. For
example, a law was passed recently in the United States
relating to the " Expatriation of Citizens, " which, upon
the face of it, appeared to denationalise any mission-
ary who remained away from home over two years.
The Committee of Reference and Counsel opened cor-
respondence on behalf of all the Boards with the
Department of State, secured a copy of the Rules and
Regulations which had been issued to consular and
diplomatic agents abroad, and later obtained an official
communication from the Bureau of Citizenship which
cleared up all difficulties. These facts were communi-
cated to all the Missionary Societies In the United States,
Incidentally another valuable outcome greatly appreci-
ated by all officers of Missionary Societies In America
is that through these many Conferences the executive
officers of the Missionary Societies become personally
acquainted with each other. The spirit ol co-operation
thus developed is deep-seated and abiding. No regrettable
incident has ever occurred in all the seventeen sessions
held, although at times delicate subjects, upon which
the members of the Conference widely differed, have been
discussed with great fulness and freedom.
The question was raised a short time ago as to whether
256 THE HOME BASE
the sessions of this Conference should be held biennially
instead of annually, but the vote was overwhelmingly
in favour of the annual gathering. Missionary Societies
have come to depend upon the Conference, and the united
judgment of those who assemble, for the settlement of
important questions relating to policy and methods of
work. This Conference has become in America one of the
regular organisations for the scientific study of missions,
especially as relating to the home side of their administra-
tion, and for the application of the facts thus obtained.
The Committee has no power to originate business
belonging exclusively to any one Board, nor has it the
right to interfere in any way with the work of any Mission-
ary Society. It can, however, lend its services to any
Missionary Society asking its aid.
In view of the valuable results which have been secured
from these annual Conferences in America, and from the
Conferences of Continental Societies in Europe, the
Commission raises the question as to whether the time
has not come for the better organisation of Missionary
Societies throughout the world, with a view to a more
scientific study of missionary problems at home and
abroad, and closer co-operation in the application of
missionary policy and principles.
The Commission thinks that this might be achieved by
the appointment of an International Committee, in a
manner satisfactory to all participating Societies, the
functions of which might include the following :
1. To study such international questions as are of
general interest and value to all Missionary
Societies.
2. To formulate the results of their investigation
from time to time for the benefit of all
Missionary Societies.
3. To act on behalf of the united Missionary Societies
of the world as necessity may demand.
4. To act for and on behalf of any single Missionary
Society or any group of Missionary Societies
when requested to do so.
SCIENCE OF MISSIONARY SOCIETIES 257
5. To take such steps as may seem wise for the
conservation of the results of this Edinburgh
Conference.
6. To provide for and issue such publication or
publications as circumstances may seem to
warrant and demand.
7. To give its services for the closer unification of
the work at home and abroad, and for greater
economy and efficiency in matters of ad-
ministration.
This statement of facts and opinions cannot but be of
interest to those who are concerned with the question
of co-operation among the Missionary Societies of the
world in the interest of better and more effective results.
Many who at the outset entered the American Conference
did so with grave doubts as to its probable value. To-day,
so far as your Commission has been able to ascertain,
there is no one who does not place great value upon the
results of this annual gathering.
The suggestion has been made from Great Britain as well
as from the Continent of Europe, that similar conferences
should be organised upon that side of the Atlantic in order
that the Missionary Societies of Europe and the general
cause of missions throughout the world may experience a
similar and even greater benefit. If that were done, it is
possible that some relations between the missionary confer-
ences of all Christian countries might be established in the
interests of a general and comprehensive survey of foreign
missions as a whole, a more thorough study of its problems,
and a more scientific practice in the methods employed.
There are many who believe that economy and effective-
ness in all lines of missionary work would inevitably result
from some such method of study and investigation.
The Commission has no recommendations to make
at this time, but it desires to call the attention of the
Edinburgh Conference and the Missionary Societies of
Christendom to these facts and suggestions, leaving the
delegates from different Christian countries to take such
steps as circumstances may warrant and demand.
COM. VI. 17
CHAPTER XVII
THE FUNDAMENTAL VALUE OF
MISSIONS TO THE CHURCH
IT is impossible for the Commission to give attention to
tlie home side of missionary organisation without devot-
ing consideration to the influence of the missionary enter-
prise upon the general work and life pf the Church at
home. The benefits which have come to the home
Church from its work abroad add little to the argument
for foreign missions, for disinterested giving is of the
essence of Christianity, and we are bidden " to do good
and lend, hoping for nothing again/* But the reflex
influence of foreign missions on the home Church is so
marked and far-reaching, that an examination of the
nature and extent of that influence must be full of
encouragement to those who believe in that work, and
must go far to remove the difficulties of those who think
that the development of the work abroad must be pre-
judicial to that which so urgently needs to be done at
home.
When a proposal was brought before the General
Assembly of the Church of Scotland in the year 1824 to
start foreign missionary Vork a "proposal which resulted
in the following year in the sending out of Alexander
Duff to India there was before the Assembly at the same
time a scheme for the increase of schools in Scotland and
especially in the Highlands. The two schemes were
regarded by many as rivals, and there was consi4erable
discussion as to which should liave precedence. Dr.
' 238
VALUE OF MISSIONS 259
Chalmers, however, Declared In a speech in the Assembly,
that in his judgment the schemes were not antagonistic
but helpful to one another, and it did not matter which
^as takep, first, since charity works not by a process of
exhaustion, $ut by one of fermentation.
A similar argument to that employed by Dr. Chalmers
was used to meet an objector to the work of foreign
missions, when the American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions was organised in Massachusetts in 1810.
A charter was asked for it, and one of the members of the
Massachusetts legislature made an earnest speech against
granting the charter on the ground that the object of the
Society was to export religion, whereas all were agreed
that th$ State of Massachusetts h^d none to sp^re. The
argument temp 
