0 
 
TO ALL 
 
 Who are defirous of the Spread of 
 
 the Gospel of our 
 
 LORD JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 Christian- Brethren^ 
 
 IS KING that grace, mercyj and peace 
 
 V V may be abundantly multiplied unto 
 you, through the knowledge of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jefus Chrift, we take the liberty to 
 announce to you, that, impelled by a deep 
 commiferation for the unhappy hate of thou- 
 fands, v/ho are perifhing through lack of thofe 
 precious means of faivation which we enjoy ; 
 by a recollection of our folemn vows to devote 
 ourfelves faithfully to the good of the king¬ 
 dom of our dear Redeemer y and by the imi- 
 table examples of many others, both in oui: 
 own country and in Europe, who have nobly 
 hepped forward in the caufe of Zion; we, a 
 number of minihers and people of Chrih, con¬ 
 vened in Bohon, on Tuefday, May the 28th, 
 in the year of our Lord 1799, for the purpofe 
 of attending to our duty in this regard, have 
 deemed it expedient to form into a Society^ in 
 order to collect and combine our efforts, for 
 the fpread of the knowledge of the glorious 
 Gofpel of Chrih among the poor Heathens, 
 and in thofe remote parts of our country, in 
 which the inhabitants do not enjoy the benefit 
 of a Chrihian Ministry, and Chrihian ordi- 
 nances. That 
 
[ 2 ] 
 
 That you may be the better acquainted 
 with the nature and objedl: of our Society, we 
 fliali take leave to prefent to your confidera- 
 tion its Conilitution, and a lift of its exifting 
 Officers and Members. 
 
 The Conilitution of the Society is as fol- 
 
 ^0\^S * 
 
 L The Society ftiall be ftyled, The Majfa- 
 chufetts MiJJionary Society, 
 
 II. The object of the Society is, to diffufe 
 the knowledge of the Gofpel among the Hea¬ 
 thens, as Vv^ell as other people in the remote 
 parts of our country, where Chrift is feldom 
 or never preached. 
 
 III. The Officers of the Society Ihall be, a 
 Prefident, Secretary, Treafurer, and ten Truft 
 tees, chofen annually, by ballot. 
 
 IV. It fhall be the duty of the Prefident to 
 regulate the meetings of the Society, and ex 
 officio to acl as one of the board of Truftees, 
 iix of whom ihall conftitute a quorum, 
 
 V. It ihall be the duty of the Secretary, to 
 keep accurate records of the Society, and ex¬ 
 hibit them at every annual meeting. 
 
 VI. It iliall be the duty of the Treafurer, 
 to receive the property of the Society, arifing 
 from entrance money, annual taxes, and do¬ 
 nations ; to anfwer the orders of the Truftees, 
 to keep a fair account of his proceedings, and 
 exhibit it to the Society at every annual meet- 
 
 Vn. It ihall be the fpecial duty of the Trufi 
 tees, to examine candidates for the refpe 61 ive 
 miffions, to employ and direct the miffionaries, 
 
 and. 
 
C 3 ] 
 
 nnd, if expedient, to recal them. The Truftees 
 are alfo authorized to manage, and difpofe of 
 the Society’s property, and to tranfacl all the 
 concerns of the Society, which require atten¬ 
 tion, beween one annual meeting and another 
 
 Vfll. It is expected that the Truhees hold, 
 at leaft, a femiannuai meeting, that the Socie¬ 
 ty may realize every advantage by their rea- 
 fonable and united attention. They fhall alfo 
 make report at the annual meetings, of the la« 
 hour and fuccefs of the miffionarie 3 ,and exhibit 
 a particular account of their own tranfaclions, 
 
 IX. The Society fliall meet annually at 
 Bofton, the Tuefday preceding every General 
 Eleftlon of Maffachufetts, at ten o’clock, A. M. 
 
 X. All queilions before the Society, ex¬ 
 cept thofe which refpecl the amendment of the 
 Conflitution, fhali be determined by a majori¬ 
 ty of the members prcfent. 
 
 XL It is the expectation of the Society, 
 that the Trullees employ no characters as Mif- 
 fionaries, except thofe who exhibit credible 
 evidence of being the fubjeds of fpecial grace ; 
 and of that Ghriftian zeal, wifdom, informa¬ 
 tion, and diligence, vchich are adequate to the 
 arduous work of Evangelifts, in the moft felf- 
 denying circumflances. 
 
 XIL Any perfon may become a member of 
 the Society, by fubfcribing the Conflitution, 
 and paying two dollars into the hands of the 
 Treafurer,^ for the ufe of the Society, 
 
 XIII. Every member fliall be confidered as 
 retaining his memberfliip, and obliged to pay 
 two dollars annually into the Treafury, until his 
 A 2 delire 
 
C 4 ] 
 
 defire to difcontinue his connexion with the 
 Society be properly expreffed to the Secretary. 
 
 XIV. It is refolved, that though this Con- 
 llitution be fubjecl to any amendments, and 
 improvements, which the Society fhall judge 
 proper to adopt; yet, that neither any amend¬ 
 ment fhall be accepted, except by the vote of 
 two thirds of the members prefent, nor before 
 the expiration of a year, after having been 
 propofed to the Society at an annual meeting. 
 
 The names which have already been fub- 
 fcribed to this Conftitution, are thefe : 
 
 David Sanford^ 
 
 Freegrace Raynolds, 
 
 Daniel Hopkins^ 
 
 Titus Theodore Barton, 
 
 ^ Natha72iel E^imotis^ 
 
 Andrew Beattie, 
 
 ^ Ezra Weld, 
 
 yo7iathan Powers, 
 
 Samuel Niles, 
 
 Daniel Hardy, ju7i. 
 
 Samuel Sprung, 
 
 Charles Coyffin, jun. 
 
 yofeph Barker, 
 
 yolm Shyipkms, 
 
 yolm Crane, 
 
 Ifaac To77ipkins, 
 
 Samuel Ayjtin, 
 
 yohn Wait, 
 
 yojhua Spaulding, 
 
 Leonard Woods, 
 
 Tmothy Dickinfon, 
 
 Elijah Parijlo, 
 
 ^yacob Elorton, 
 
 Samuel Worcejler, 
 
 yonaihan Strong, 
 
 Leonard Worcejler, 
 
 Peter Sanborn, 
 
 George Odiorne, 
 
 ^yohn H, Stevens, 
 
 Kendal Kitteredge, 
 
 Paul Litchjield, 
 
 yedidiah Morfe, 
 
 EH Smith, 
 
 Nicholas Pike, 
 
 Samuel Mead, 
 
 Calvin Park, 
 
 Eliphalet ^Glllet, 
 
 yonathan Horner^ 
 
 The 
 
C 5 ] 
 
 The Officers for the enfuing year, are as foL 
 lows: 
 
 Rev. Nathaniel Emmons, D.D. Prefident, 
 Rev. Samuel Austin, Secretary, 
 
 Deacon John Simpkins,, Treafiirer, 
 
 Reverend Meffrs. 
 
 David Sanford, 
 Daniel Hopkins, 
 Ezra Weld, 
 Samuel Spring, 
 Joseph Barker, 
 Samuel Niles, 
 John Crane, 
 Samuel Austin, 
 Jonathan Strong, 
 
 > Truftees. 
 
 j 
 
 We beg permiffion to obferve to you, that 
 the adoption of this Conllitution, and the 
 meafures taken in the commencement of this 
 Society, have been accompanied with fuch pe¬ 
 culiar fmiles of Providence as awaken within 
 us the moft plealing hope that it will enjoy 
 the divine benediction, and be greatly inftru- 
 mental in diffufing the greateft of all bleffings, 
 the falvation of finners. To God^s omnipo¬ 
 tent care and grace we commit our efforts in 
 this hope. 
 
 To exclude all mifconftruCtion and prejudice, 
 we folemnly declare, that it is totally foreign 
 from our views, to weaken the evangelical in¬ 
 fluence of any fociety of a fimilar complexion 
 already exifting; that we renounce all party 
 objects, and utterly refufe to fuffer any politi- 
 
[ 6 ] 
 
 cal intereft or confideration whatever to have 
 place in the defign or operations of the Society* 
 Having thus offered ourfelves as the Maffa- 
 chufetts Miffionary Society to your notice^ 
 we take leave to addrefs you on the vaflly in- 
 terefting fubjedf we have in view* 
 
 By thofe who cordially fubfcribe to the di¬ 
 vine authority of the Holy Scriptures, and 
 candidly admit the leading dodfrines which 
 they contain, as ail real Chriftians muft be 
 fuppofed to do, it rnuft be conceded, that the 
 whole human race is in a hate of apoftacy 
 from God, under the curfe of his violated 
 law, and expofed to the eternal punifhments 
 of his government ; that the glorious Gofpei 
 of Chrift is the adequate and the only medi¬ 
 um of recovering loft ftnners to God and hap- 
 pinefs ; and that this Gofpei muft be known, 
 received, and obeyed, in order to the fecurity 
 of the unbounded good which it furnifheth to 
 the miferable tranfgreffor ; that the virtue 
 and happinefs of mankind are really always in 
 proportion to the influence which the Gofpei 
 has upon them j that it is life from the dead to 
 every believer ; and that that glory of God, 
 with which it is fo largely predicted in the 
 Scriptures, that the world fhall fliortly be fill¬ 
 ed, will effentially confift in the univerfal and 
 legitimate influence of this Gofpei. On thefe 
 grounds evidently, the grand commiffion,, 
 which Chrift gave to his primitive difciples. 
 Go ye into all the world and preach the 
 Gofpei to every creature ; he who believeth 
 and is baptized, fliall be faved j but he who 
 
 believeth 
 
C 7 3 
 
 believeth not, fhall be damned,^’ was deliver** 
 ed. On thefe grounds the apoftles of the 
 Lord exhibited all that fidelity and zeal, in 
 obedience to this charge, which are related in 
 the New-Teftament; and on thefe grounds, 
 zeal in every believer for the fpread of ChriC- 
 tianity has an adequate fanclion. 
 
 With thefe confiderations before your 
 minds ; with the perifliing, and therefore very 
 compafiionabie {late of every impenitent {in¬ 
 ner ; with your own immenfe indebtednefs to 
 redeeming grace, your folemn covenant vows, 
 your accountability, and your hopes in view, 
 be intreated to call the eye of attentive obfer- 
 vation upon the condition of thoufands and 
 millions of our guilty race, in other countries 
 and our own, particularly among the Heathen 
 tribes, and on the frontiers of the United 
 States, forming a vaft line of new fettlements, 
 peculiarly embarraifed with refpecl to their 
 religious interefts by local circumilances 5 and 
 ailr, whether, when their danger is fo great, 
 when their fpirituai wants are fo urgent, when 
 there is fo much zeal on the part of wicked- 
 nefs, infidelity and atheifm, counteracting the 
 Gofpel, there be not reafon for us to put forth 
 every exertion, for the {pread of that precious 
 Gofpel, which is the grand charter of our eter¬ 
 nal inheritance. 
 
 Have we not, dear Brethren, been too long 
 and too deeply {lumbering, with refped: to our 
 duty in this great affair ? What {liall we not 
 be willing to do ? What ffiali v/e not be will¬ 
 ing to facrifige i Is not the intereft of Chrift 
 
 our 
 
C 8 3 
 
 our intereft ? And have we, as his people, any 
 thing to do but to promote it ? May we not, 
 then, hope that our inilitution will meet with 
 your warmeft approbation ; and that we fliall 
 have the benefit of your joint co-operations, 
 your influence, your prayers f Will you be¬ 
 come united to our Society ? If this be in¬ 
 convenient, will you not, as the Lord has 
 furnifhed you with the means, open the hand 
 of a generous charity, and contribute to the 
 fupport of the great objecl before us ? As the 
 ftate of the world is, the utility of the Society 
 will depend much, very much, upon its pecu¬ 
 niary means. The Society holds itfelf refpon- 
 flble for the moft faithful appropriation of all 
 monies, which may be contributed and for¬ 
 warded to the Treafurer, who will give re¬ 
 ceipts, and enter fuch contributions on the ac¬ 
 counts of the Society. 
 
 In a word, dear Brethren, we would fecure 
 your attention, your hearts, your prayers, 
 your influence, your exertions and your pecu¬ 
 niary abilities, to the benevolent objed we are 
 purfuing. 
 
 That God may incline your hearts to that 
 which is pleaflng to himfelf, and prepare us, 
 with all the redeemed, for his coming and 
 kingdom, is the fervent prayer of your breth¬ 
 ren in Chrifto 
 
 In behalf of ike Society^ 
 NATHANIEL EMMONS, Prefident. 
 Dane in Bojion^ May ^799* 
 
 Atteji, 
 
 Samuel Austin, Secretary, 
 
t 
 
tsr4 
 
 
 ■k* • v IB 1