MANUAL Missionary Society Methodist Ep iscopal Church Revised by Order of the Board of Managers and adopted October i8, 1904 MISSION ROOMS 150 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK 1904 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Columbia University Libraries https://archive.org/details/manualmissionaryOOmeth CONTENTS The numbers refer to the paragraphs. I. Organization, Purpose, and Powers of the Missionary Society Purpose, 1 ; Charter, 2 ; General Committee, 3; Board of Managers, 4; The Missions, 6 ; How Administered, 6; Support of Missions, 7; Contingent Fund, 8; Extraor¬ dinary Cases, 9; Applications, 10. II. The Qualifications and Selection of Missionaries Call to Service, 11 ; Examination of Candidates, 12; No Outfit Allowance, 13; Passage and Freight, 14 ; Charges on Freight, 15 ; Paying Bills for Missionaries, 16 ; Mis¬ sion Furniture, 17 ; Rent at Home, 18; Field and Home Salaries, 19; Superannuates, Widows, and Orphans, 20; Place and Work, 21; Status of a Missionary, 22 ; Not to Leave the Field, 23; Meaning of Foreign Missionary, 24; Acceptance of Missionaries on the Field, 25 ; Must Learn the Language, 26; Furloughs, 27; Length of Furlough, 28 ; Reports and Statistics, 29; Sending in Reports, 30. III. The Finances of the Misssions A Treasurers and Their Duties. Appointment of Treasurer, 31; Responsible to the Board Only, 32; To Disburse Remittances, 33; May Not Loan P’unds, 34; May Not Make Drafts, 35 ; Sale of Exchange, 36 ; Lapsed Appropriations, 37; Auditing Committee, 38 ; Detailed Accounts, 39; Bank Accounts, 40; Guard Expenditures, 41; Pay No Unauthorized Bills, 42; Expense Accounts of Missionaries, 48; Real 4 Contents Estate Accounts, 44; Purchase of Real Estate, 46; Title, 46; Care for Mission Property, 47; Certificates of De¬ posit, 48; Bills for Missionaries, 49; Lists of Pay¬ ments, 60. B. Finance Committees and Their Duties. How Appointed, 61; Prepare Estimates, 62; Self-Sup¬ port in Missions, 63; Estimates to Include, 54 ; When Prepared, 66; Arrange Redistribution, 66; Approve Bills, 67 ; Real Estate Improvements, 68 ; Purchase Real Estate, 69; Dispose of Real Estate, 60; Provide for Emergencies, 61 ; Audit Accounts, 62 ; Moving Expenses^ etc., 63 ; Pass Upon Requests to Board, 64; Recommend Furloughs, 66 ; Salaries of Native Workers, 66. C. Administration of Special Gifts and Other Funds. Constitutional Provision, 67; Special Gifts through Society Treasury, 68; Deposited with Mission Treasurer, 69 ; Income on the Field, 70; Gifts for Property, 71; Rentals, etc., 72; English-Speaking Work, 73. Missionary Manual STUDY CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS I. Organization, Purpose, and Powers of the Missionary Society 1. The Missionary Society of the Methodist Episco¬ pal Church is the Church itself in a corporate form, for p the purpose of establishing and supporting Christian missions in our own and in foreign lands. Its chief object is to supply the living preacher to those who, either for the want of men or money, must otherwise be without the Gospel. Every person thus sent to a mission field is a missionary. The work of education, of church erection, of publication, of tract and Bible distribution, of relief for orphans, sick ones, etc., in our own country, is all provided for by other organizations. In foreign lands the educational, church extension, publication, and much of the humanitarian work is devolved upon the Missionary Society. The Sunday School Union, the Tract 5 6 Manual of Missionary Society Charter General Committee Board of Managers Society, and the American Bible Society make liberal grants to our Foreign Mission work. 2. The charter granted by the State of New York empowers the General Conference to appoint the Board of Managers, to elect the Corresponding Secretaries and Treasurers, and to adopt a Con¬ stitution for the Society and amend it at pleasure. 3. In the Constitution provision is made for a Gen¬ eral Missionary Committee, to consist of one person each from the General Conference Districts and an equal number from the Board of Managers, together with the Bishops, the Corresponding Secretaries, the Recording Secretary, and the Treasurer and the Assistant Treasurer of the Society. This Committee has sole authority to determine what fields shall be occupied as Foreign Missions, the number , of persons to be employed therein, and the amount to be expended. It likewise makes provision for the sup¬ port of our Home Missions. 4. The administration of the fiscal affairs of the Missionary Society is controlled by the General Com¬ mittee and the Board of Managers. The Board of Managers consists of the Bishops, ex officio, thirty-two laymen, and thirty-two traveling ministers. To it is committed the general manage¬ ment of the Society, and the Corresponding Secretaries Methodist Episcopal Church The Missions How Ad¬ ministered are accordingly required to “ keep a vigilant eye upon all the affairs of the Society, and especially upon all its missions, and promptly convey to the Bishops having charge of the Missions respectively, to the Board, or the standing committees,” all requisite information. 5. The work is organized into Annual Confer¬ ences, Mission Conferences, and Missions. The Annual Conferences in foreign fields have all the powers of Annual Conferences in the United States. Mission Conferences can do all that Annual Conferences can do, except to vote on constitutional provisions and to elect delegates to the General Con¬ ference. Missions in annual meeting have the powers of District Conferences. 6. The General Conference has ordained that the administration of the Missionary Society shall in no wise be disturbed by the organization of a For¬ eign Mission into an Annual Conference, but shall be in full force as before such organization. (See Discipline, ^ M.) r^^me Missions in our own land are by direction of the General Committee administered as Foreign Missions; but all other Domestic Missions are made such by Annual Confer¬ ences, by distributing to charges from appropriations of the General Missionary Committee sums supposed 8 Manual of Missionary Society to be sufficient for their support when added to the amount to be raised in the charges. 7. The Church has assumed the support of its Mis¬ sions, and committed the duty of securing it to pastors and congregations, and prescribed a plan for Support of raising the needed funds. Everywhere the Missions Church is doing its own missionary work, and no item is committed to an organization apart from the Church. Its functions in all lands are performed by the proper officers. 8. In the intervals of the meetings of the General Missionary Committee unforeseen emergencies ^ntingent provided for by the Board of Man- rund agers from a fund not exceeding $50,000, which the Constitution establishes for this purpose. 9. This fund is available both for Domestic and Foreign Missions, but the Board can only make grants from it provided (1) the charge is a mission, if in a home Annual Conference, and (2) an emergency Extraordi- arisen that was not foreseen or expected nary Cases , , , , when the missionary money was distributed. Such emergencies occasionally arise both at home and abroad. In our Domestic Missions there is always opportunity to consult the missionary authorities in New York. In foreign lands, as at home, extraordi¬ nary emergencies may be caused by fire, flood, mob, Methodist Episcopal Church 9 Applications Call to Service war, etc., and on rare occasions those on the field may be required to assume responsibilities in meeting emergencies, but individual missionaries should never do so when there are others who may be consulted, and in such cases the expenditure should be kept at the minimum and the Corresponding Secretaries should be informed at the earliest possible moment. None of our Foreign Missions are now beyond the reach of telegraph or cable, which should be employed when urgent need demands. 10. Applications for grants from the Contingent Fund should be made to the Board through the Cor¬ responding Secretaries. All such applications from Foreign Missions must come with the approval of Finance Committees, from Home Missions with the approval of the superintendent or presiding elder and the Bishop in charge. II. The Qualifications and Selection of Missionaries 11. The Holy Spirit draws many devout hearts to the missionary work, and this call should not be dis¬ regarded. The perishing condition of millions of our race demands that every true child of God should do his utmost to supply them with the saving Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. To this work some must give themselves, their time, talents. 10 Manual op Missionary Society and life itself. No one should think of becoming a missionary except under the inspiration of a holy purpose to do his utmost to save and elevate those to whom he goes. Let the candidate examine himself and see if the end in view is travel, observation, experience, scholarship, professional eminence as a physician, teacher, linguist, author, or any such work. If so, he needs a higher and holier baptism before he should aspire to be Christ’s ambassador to a dying nation. In other words, the love of Christ and the love of souls should inspire the offer for missionary work. 12. The Society expects those who enter its service as missionaries to give their lives to the cause. Hav¬ ing in view the difficulty of mastering foreign lan¬ guages, particularly those of Asia, of learning the peculiarities and characteristics of strange peoples, and of becoming fully prepared for satisfactory service, the Society pays particular attention Examination character, abilities, training, age, health, of Candidates ... and disposition of candidates. The Corre¬ sponding Secretaries must have full information on all these points from the candidate and those who know him well, and a careful examination is con¬ ducted before a committee in New York to make sure that he is a proper person to be sent out. A thorough medical examination is also required. Methodist Episcopal Church 11 Forms of application will be furnished by the Cor¬ responding Secretaries. 13. No outfit or allowance for outfit is furnished missionaries by the Society. In going to the field the missionary must proceed by the most direct route from his home. If permission is granted for No Outfit (delays or detours from the direct route, the Allowance expense of such delay or detour must be borne by the missionary himself, except reasonable distances for farewell visits to parents or brother or sister, the expense of which the Society will bear. 14. After he is accepted the new missionary will arrange, under the supervision of the Corresponding Secretaries, for his departure for the field. The de¬ tails respecting his journey by rail, his passage Passap and steamship, the shipment of his freight, etc., rrcight will be looked after by the Recording Secretary if the missionary wishes him to do so. The expenses are paid by the Society on itemized bill. On applica¬ tion a form in duplicate will be furnished by the Missionary Secretaries for this purpose, one copy to be retained by the Treasurer of the Mission to which the missionary goes, the other to be sent by the Treasurer to the Corresponding Secretaries for their approval. Any balance of outgoing expenses in his hands should be promptly reported to the Mission Treasurer. 12 Manual of Missionary Society 15. The Society will pay charges on freight, except pianos and organs, to the extent of three cubic tons for each missionary and one half cubic ton for each child going to the field for the first time or finally returning therefrom; and to the extent of one cubic ton for each missionary and one half cubic ton for each child returning from the field on furlough or returning to the field after furlough. The Mission Rooms, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York city, may freely be used for deposit of goods in transitu. All boxes should be plainly marked with the name of the owner and destination, and invoices should be furnished to the Recording Secretary, both for outgoing and in¬ coming freight. 16. The Secretaries are always ready and willing to attend to any business matters which missionaries desire to intrust to them. The directions should in all cases be very definite. If the missionary wishes the annual premium on his life insurance policy to be paid for him, full information should be given the Secretaries, preferably on a blank furnished by Paying them, and the company should be asked to send . . notices of premiums due to the Missionary Office. If goods are ordered of a firm in the United States and the missionary desires the Society to pay the bill for him, he should notify the Secretaries Methodist Episcopal Church 13 Mission Furniture Rent at Home by letter, or, better still, by the use of a form pro¬ vided for this purpose, known as “Request to Certify Bills.” He would do well to apply to the Secretaries for circular of instructions. It is not sufficient in ordering goods to direct the firm to call on the Mission¬ ary Society for payment. The Secretaries must have the direct request of the missionary in such form, either printed or written, that it may be filed. 17. On reaching the field the missionary will report to the Treasurer, and will be assigned, if married, a residence, supplied with heavy furniture belong¬ ing to the Missionary Society; if single, a place to board with a missionary family, if practicable. It should be understood that furniture purchased by funds of the Society is for the use only of the missionary and should be left, when he removes, for his successor. 18. Married missionaries, provided they do not re¬ tain the houses they have occupied in the field, shall receive an allowance of $15 per month for rent during the year of their furlough, or for such portion thereof as they may actually occupy rented houses. A rent allowance of $15 per month may be paid, if Mission Finance Committees so recommend, to the families of missionaries remaining in the United States during the time they actually 14 Manual of Missionary Society occupy rented houses, provided no claim for rent or for use of a house is made by members of such families remaining in the field. Finance Committees of Missions shall provide for these cases in the esti¬ mates, and also in the redistribution. 19. The new missionary's salary will begin when he reaches the field. It will be paid by the Mission Treasurer monthly in advance, according to the Field and rates fixed from time to time by the Board. When a missionary comes home on furlough he is paid a furlough salary, differing slightly from the field salary. The field salary ends and the home salary begins when a missionary leaves the field; the home salary ends and the field salary begins when he reaches the field on his return. Parts of a month less than one half are disregarded in passing from one of these rates to the other. If, for example, the mission¬ ary leaves the field in the latter half of the month, he is paid field salary for the whole month; if he leaves in the first half, his home salary will begin the first of the month. A missionary bereaved of his wife and having dependent children left in his care is entitled to a continuance of the salary paid him as a married man without change of rate. 20. The missionary’s salary will be sufficient, with wise economy, for his comfortable support; not suffi- Methodist Episcopal Church 15 cient to compensate for defects in his financial manage¬ ment, nor so small that the more prudent may not have something to spare. Suitable support, not com- pensation, is the Society's purpose. God will com¬ pensate. Article XII of the Constitution reads as follows: “The Board may provide for the support of superannuated missionaries, widows and Supe^nnu- orphans of missionaries, who may not be ates, Widows, ^ . and Orphans Provided for by their Annual Conferences respectively, it being understood that they shall not receive more than is usually allowed to other superannuated ministers, their widows and orphans.” Applications for allowances and annual renewal of allowances are to be made to the Society through the Quarterly Conference of the charge within whose bounds a superannuated missionary or widow or child of a deceased missionary is residing, or through the Finance Committee of a Mission, if applicant does not reside in the United States. 21. The missionary is subject to appointment by the proper authorities of the Church. The Board is not to be understood, in accepting and sending out a missionary, as entering upon any contract with him as to the particular place he shall fill or the particular work he shall do, except in rare instances. Place and work will be assigned Place and Work 16 Manual op Missionary Society Status of a Missionary I him on the field year by year, by the appointing power. When fully installed as a missionary he is to give his undivided energies to the work, with much prayer, much consideration for his associates, much diligent study of the language of the people and of the word of God. A missionary is not at liberty to undertake any other except Mission work without the express permission of the Board. Any earnings from such employment as the Board may sanction shall be paid into the Mission treasury. 22. Missionaries who are members of Annual Confer¬ ences are appointed and sent to foreign fields by the concurrent action of Bishops and the Board; mission¬ aries who are not members of Annual Conferences are appointed and sent out by the Board. Those and only those appointed or accepted by the Board are considered as foreign missionaries. Persons received into Conferences on the field, but not accepted by the Board, are not missionaries of the Missionary Society. The Constitution provides that ^‘no one shall be acknowledged as a missionary or receive sup¬ port as such from the funds of the Society who has not some definite field assigned to him in the service of the Society.” Therefore if a missionary sent out by the Society or accepted on the field leaves the work of the Society for any other whatever, he ceases by Methodist Episcopal Church 17 such act to be a missionary and separates himself from the Society. Even though he may continue to be a member of a foreign Annual Conference, and may subsequently receive appointment by a Bishop, the fact of such membership and such appointment does not restore him to the status of a missionary. In the Home field, those who serve charges receiving their support in whole or in part from the Missionary Society are classed as missionaries. 23. Missionaries may not leave the field even for brief vacations without permission of the Mission authorities, and must not return to the United States for any reason without the consent of the Board. Any missionary who leaves his work without the authority or contrary to the authority of the Superintendent, Bishop, or Finance Committee, will have his salary deducted for the time absent, and the Mission Treasurer is authorized to with¬ hold the salary during the period of such unauthor¬ ized absence. 24. The term "foreign missionary ” has been defined by the Board of Managers as meaning a native Meaning of of the United States, working as a missionary in a foreign field under the authority of the Board of Managers, or such other person as shall have been accepted for such work by the Not to Leave the Field Foreign Missionary 18 Manual of Missionary Society Board of Managers of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and duly appointed. ( 25. When persons are received into Annual Confer¬ ences or Missions in foreign countries, they should be definitely informed at the time that such Acceptance of reception gives them no claim to recognition on the Field foreign missionaries, or to receive the full salaries of missionaries, or allowance for chil¬ dren, or furloughs, or pensions, at the expense of the Missionary Society. In view of the fact that the reception of persons into Conferences and Missions in the foreign field is becoming frequent, and by reason of the growth of our work will be increasingly so, rendering it impracticable for the Missionary Society to assume the responsibility of their financial support according to the scale of salaries fixed for mission¬ aries, it is the policy of the Board to recognize such persons as missionaries only in exceptional cases, and for special reasons. 26. It is expected of all our missionaries that they will devote their first and chief attention to the acquisi¬ tion of the language of the people with whom Must Learn the Language they labor; that they will within two years acquire the language so as to be able to ‘ preach, or teach, or conduct services in it. Failure * to acquire the language will be deemed a sufficient Methodist Episcopal Church 19 reason for the recall of a missionary at the end of two years, and, unless such missionary can be given work in his native language, the Bishops in charge of Foreign Missions are requested to recommend to the Board of Managers the return to this country of those who thus fail. Missionaries who have been several years on the field and returned home, but have not acquired the lan¬ guage, will not be returned to the field, except on a pledge to give all diligence to acquire the same within two years. Missionaries who are sent expressly for work in the English language, or who are assigned to exclu¬ sive English work in institutions of learning by proper authority, may be excepted from these rules. In case of illness or other unavoidable cause, by vote of the Mission, with the approval of the Presiding Bishop, the time for acquiring the language may be extended. 27. There is no specified term of service in the field. At appropriate times and for sufficient reasons the con¬ sent of the Board of Managers will be given to the return on furlough of a missionary and his family to this Furloughs country at the expense of the Society. Such returns are mutually beneficial to the missionaries and to the home churches; they are soften necessary for rest, recuperation, and medicaf^treatment; and are always invigorating to the faith and religious life of the men and women who have dwelt for years amid hea- 20 Manual of Missionary Society thenism. Too frequent returns or returns for insuffi¬ cient reasons are harmful. Those desiring to return should make application through the Finance Com¬ mittee of the Mission, stating reasons therefor, with the Bishop’s approval, furnishing medical certificate if it be on account of health. The application should be forwarded to the Corresponding Secretaries for pres¬ entation to the Board. Missionaries are expected to spend their furloughs in the United States. If any contemplate remaining any portion of the time in any other country, statement of the fact should be made in the application to the Board. 28. The furlough begins when the missionary leaves the field, not when he arrives at home. After he has entered upon his leave from the Mission and for a period of one year, but not longer unless specially authorized by the Board, he will be paid the salary fixed by the Board for mission¬ aries on furlough. If, for any reason, a missionary has left the field not to return to it, and is in good health, he must cease to be a charge to the Missionary Society at the earliest moment he can be employed. For this end he should report his expected return promptly to the Church officers, whose duty it may be to open a door for his employment in this country. 29. One of the important duties of every mis- Furlough Methodist Episcopal Church 21 sionary is the preparation of reports and statistics of his work and the prompt forwarding of the same at the proper time to the person or persons whose duty it is to gather the reports and statistics for the district or mission and to forward the same to the Mission Rooms. The An¬ nual Report of the Missionary Society is the great historical document of the year. Its comprehensive statements and statistical summaries based on the reports from all fields are given wide publicity through the Church and secular press. Moreover, the Annual Report is the document most consulted in reference and research libraries by those seeking special information about Methodist Missions. Most important is it therefore that accurate and adequate reports be submitted from all fields promptly and at designated intervals, so that each year the An¬ nual Report of the Society may be a complete survey of the work of that year. 30. In order to prevent undue delays in the issuing of the Annual Report it is necessary that reports and statistics reach the New York Sending in December 1 each year. Presiding Elders are requested, with this end in view, to have their reports and statistics ready by October 31, and to place them in the hands of 22 Manual of Missionary Society the Treasurer or Corresponding Secretary or other officer of the Mission, that they may be promptly and safely forwarded. in. The Finances of the Missions A, Treasurers and Their Duties 31. A Treasurer for each Mission will be appointed by the Board of Managers of the Missionary Appointment gp^iety. The Mission may nominate or rec- of Treasurer . ommend, but appointment and removal are wholly in the power of the Board. 32. The Mission Treasurer is an officer under the Board of Managers. He is responsible for the Responsible proper performance of his duties as Treasurer Only to the Board only. He shall guard its interests and shall, through the Corresponding Secre¬ taries, receive from time to time his instructions. 33. He shall receive such remittances as may be sent to him by the Corresponding Secretaries, and disburse the same as directed by them, and in To Disburse Remittances no other way, receiving for each payment a voucher, which shall be regularly marked and numbered on the back and filed. If the payments are made through a presiding elder or other person, he shall require each voucher to be returned to him to be dealt with as above. Salaries and other items of appropriations should be paid monthly. Methodist Episcopal Church 23 May Not Loan Funds May Not Make Drafts 34. He shall make no loans from any of the funds in the Mission Treasury under any circum¬ stances, and he is forbidden to receive money on deposit or for investment on personal ac¬ count in any enterprise or security. 35. No treasurer, missionary, or other person, ex¬ cepting the Corresponding Secretaries, is allowed to make drafts on the Treasurer for Foreign Mis¬ sions, except on letters of credit duly issued. The Bishops are the persons authorized to draw for Domestic Missions, except such as are outside of Annual Conferences, for which drafts will be sent out by the Corresponding Secretaries. 36. The exchange of the Society must not be sold until the Mission is in actual need of the cash, and no drafts should be made upon letters of credit beyond immediate necessity. 37. Appropriations and balances of appropriations of any Mission, unexpended at the close of the fiscal year, whether in the hands of the Treasurer Lapsed^Ap- Society or any of its agents, shall lapse to the Treasury of the Society, and may not be thereafter used for the purposes for which they were appropriated, except to discharge authorized pre¬ existing obligations. The Board has no authority to reappropriate such balances after they have lapsed. Sale of Exchange propriations 24 Manual op Missionary Society 38. The Finance Committee of every Mission should provide for an audit quarterly and annually, of all accounts within the Mission, not only expendi- Auditing tm>es on account of regular approiiriations, but of all other moneys. The Auditing Committee should certify this audit upon the books, and the accounts of the Treasurer of the Mission forwarded to the Mission Rooms should have a like certificate. 39. In books or on forms provided solely for that pur¬ pose, and which shall be the property of the Missionary Society, he shall keep a full and detailed account Detailed receipts and disbursements on account of Accounts the appropriations, grants by the Board, special gifts, and any Mission funds whatever, referring to each voucher by its number, and particularly designate by number of exchange each remittance and the amount received for it in the currency of the country; and transmit at the close of each quarter a full account, on blanks provided for this purpose, to the Mission Rooms at New York. He shall also keep in the same books such other accounts as may be necessary to a perfect understanding of the financial affairs of the Mission; and shall preserve all letters received, and copies of all letters sent, upon the business of the Mission. All books and accounts, files and records, shall be delivered by the Treasurer to his successor in Methodist Episcopal Church 25 Bank Accounts Guard Ex¬ penditures office, and shall be open to the inspection of any member of the Mission at any proper time. 40. If a bank account is kept by the Treasurer of the Mission it should never be a personal account, nor in any way be mingled with his personal affairs, but should be in the name of “-, Treasurer of -Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church, or his Successor in office,” and be recognized by the bank as the property of the Missionary Society, to fall at once, and without any process of law, into the hands of the succeeding Treasurer of the Mission whenever, by death or otherwise, the present incumbent shall cease to hold the office. 41. The Mission Treasurer shall in no case, either directly or by assuming obligations for the future, or at the request or by the direction of any person or persons, allow to be expended for the year more than was authorized by the General Missionary Committee and Board of Man¬ agers. He may not exercise in the name of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church any authority that is not expressly conferred upon him by the Board of Managers. All matters involving unauthorized obligations should be referred to the Board. 26 Manual of Missionary Society 42. He may pay no bills except such as are distinctly covered by the annual appropriations, or Pay No Un- special gifts, or other Mission funds in hand. Bills authorized by the Board of Managers. All claims not authorized should be referred immediately to the Board for its action. 43. He should require promptly of each Expense missionary arriving on the field an itemized Accounts of , , . r 1 • • e Missionaries outgoing expenses, a copy of which he should send to the office in New York without delay. 44. Real estate accounts should be kept apart from those for the current expenses of the Mission. Each piece of property should have a distinct ac¬ count, and the condition of each should be reported to the Corresponding Secretaries every quarter; and at the end of the year, and especially when a transaction is completed, a full balance sheet should be furnished the Corresponding Secretaries. 45. Real estate may be purchased for the Society and improvement made on real estate, by the erection of buildings or otherwise, only hy direct order of Board, and by persons specially authorized to make such purchase or improvement, whether such purchase be made from Mission funds, funds specially contributed for the purpose, or private Real Estate Accounts Real Estate Methodist Episcopal Church 27 funds. When an authorized purchase and its record are completed, the Treasurer should at once forward a copy of the title deeds, with translations of the same, to the Mission Rooms. 46. Titles should always be taken, if it is lawful so to do, in the name of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, incorporated by the State of New York, U. S. A. Where this is unlawful, the Board must determine how titles should be held. 47. Unless otherwise directed by the Board, the Treasurer shall keep all deeds to Mission property and all other papers representing pecuniary value, and shall receive and credit to the Missionary Society all issues and incomes of its properties in the Mission, and report the same to the Cor¬ responding Secretaries, and shall exercise a general supervision over its real estate and report the con¬ dition of the same to the Society from time to time as he may think requisite, or as requested by the Corresponding Secretaries. 48. When any of our missionaries in foreign lands desire to make payments in the United States (^^ficates support of their families, or for friends here, the money may be paid to the Treasurer of the Mission, whereupon he shall issue a certificate of Care for Mission Property 28 Manual of Missionary Society deposit of the prescribed form to the order of the person making the deposit, which, if properly indorsed, and countersigned by a Corresponding Secretary, will be duly honored on presentation to the Treasurer of the Society at New York. This transaction should be immediately entered by the Mission Treasurer in his account of receipts. He must in no case issue a certificate of deposit for more than 1200; nor more than one certificate for that amount to the same missionary in any month; nor upon a constructive deposit or a promise to deposit, but only upon actual deposit; nor to persons not connected with our Missions. Notice of each certificate of de¬ posit should be sent, by the first mail after the issue thereof, to the Mission Rooms, on blanks prepared for that purpose, showing date, number, and amount. And at least once m each quarter a full statement of all such issues for the quarter shall be sent to the Cor¬ responding Secretaries. 49. In case any of our missionaries desire to make purchases in the United States, a bill for the same, ac¬ companied by an order from the missionary BUls for payment, may be presented to the Missionaries Corresponding Secretaries for audit, and upon their approval may be paid by the Treasurer of the Society, and the same reported as so much cash Methodist Episcopal Church 29 remitted to the Treasurer of the Mission, whose duty it shall be to deduct the amount from the next payment to the missionary. The bill and order for the same shall be the proper voucher in such cases of the Treasurer of the Society. The order for pay¬ ment must be written or printed, and must be sent to the Corresponding Secretaries, whether a copy goes to the firm or not. If a duplicate bill is desired the missionary must require it of the dealer. The order should never be part of a letter, nor on the same sheet, nor in such form that it can be used as a draft on the Society. 50. The Corresponding Secretaries will send to each Mission with each remittance, or oftener, a list of all payments of bills on account of missionaries Lists of aggregate of which shall at Payments once be credited to the Society as so much remittance. If any of the items are excepted to, notice shall be given to the Secretary that he may explain the charge. B. Finance Committees and Their Duties 51. Finance Committees will be appointed by the Board for all Missions. They do not represent , the Board of Managers, the General Mission- Appomtcd ary Committee, or the Missionary Society, but their advice and opinion will receive full considera- 30 Manual of Missionary Society Prepare Estimates tion. Nominations should be made by the Missions for confirmation by the Board. Finance Committees have the following duties and powers, a majority of the committee resident at or near the place where the Treasurer resides, to form a quorum for the trans¬ action of business: 52. To prepare estimates for each and every object for which appropriations are needful, according to the rules of, and on forms provided by, the Board of Managers. These estimates should be prepared in seven columns; the first should give the total amount necessary for each object; the second, the amount to be raised locally; third, the amount expected from outside sources (special gifts, etc.); fourth, the amount necessary for the work as it is; fifth, what is required for new work; sixth, amounts asked from the Society; seventh, appropria¬ tions of the previous year. The first five columns should be in the currency of the country; the sixth and seventh in United States currency. The rate of exchange should always be stated. New work should be distinctly specified as such. Letters should accompany the estimates, explaining with great particularity and care the reasons why the re¬ spective appropriations asked should be granted. 53. It is very desirable that native churches should Methodist Episcopal Church 81 do all they can for the support of their pastors, and for the erection and maintenance of their church properties; also, that, as far as possible, tuition in schools be paid for by those who attend them; and that papers, tracts, and Bibles should not be wholly gratuitous; and, therefore, all missionaries are expected to give con¬ stant attention to the matter of self-support in the Mission, however small the amount that in Missions may at fu-st be raised. The smallest amount that will be needed should be asked of the General Committee, and the largest possible portion left to be raised in the field. 54. The estimates should embrace the salaries of all persons connected with the Mission, whether in the field or out of it; and also, all expected outgoing and return expenses, and amounts needed for all reinforcements. The General Committee is -not accustomed to leave any sums contingent or un¬ appropriated, and no Mission is at liberty to apply to the contingent fund of the Board except to meet unexpected emergencies. 55. The estimates thus prepared should be in the hands of the Corresponding Secretaries at least one month before the annual meeting of the General Committee, that they may be deliber¬ ately considered by the appropriate committee, which. Estimate to Include When Prepared 32 Manual op Missionary Society by the request of the General Committee, in the case of Foreign Missions, is usually the committee of the Board having charge of such Missions respectively. The Treasurer of the Mission should in all cases retain a copy of the estimates and the accompanying letters sent forward. 56. To arrange the redistribution of the appropria¬ tions made by the General Missionary Com- ArrangeRe- ^]^g concurrence of the Presiding distribution . . ’ ^ Bishop, subject to the approval of the Board of Managers, whose instructions must be followed in all cases. 57. To approve bills presented to the Treas¬ urer for payment, for legitimate purposes within the appropriation. 58. To make improvements on real estate after appropriations for the same have been duly made by the General Committee and authorized by the Board of Managers. 59. To purchase real estate for which an appropriation has been made by the General Committee, and which has been authorized by the Board of Managers. 60. To sell or exchange, where the inter- of Mission require it, real estate of a value not exceeding $250. Approve Bills Real Estate Improve¬ ments Purchase Real Estate Methodist Episcopal Church 33 Provide for Emergencies 61. To provide for unexpected emergencies im¬ periling life or property where the exigency does not permit of delay. See paragraphs 9 and 10 on pages 8 and 9. 62. To provide for a thorough auditing of all the accounts of the Mission Treasurer quarterly, as required by the forms provided by the Board, also annually, the report of the annual audit to be Accounts . sent to the Corresponding Secretaries, and to be published in the minutes of the Mission Confer¬ ence. Care should be taken not only in the exam¬ ination of vouchers and to see if footings are correct, but also to ascertain that the disbui'sements are in accordance with the appropriations. 63. To determine what are the legitimate moving expenses of pastors, the rate of allowance for traveling expenses to and from the Annual Meeting of Mission or Conference, and to esti¬ mate the amount and character of Mission furniture to be ordered, and determine where it is to be placed. 64. To consider all applications to be made to the Board of Managers for special grants; for per¬ mission to use funds in hand, other than appro¬ priations, for specific objects or for other pur¬ poses; and recommend or refuse to recommend such applications. penses^ etc. Pass Upon Requests to Board 34 Manual of Missionary Society Recommend Furloughs 65. To recommend for the action of the Board, the presiding Bishop concurring, the return of mission¬ aries to the United States on furlough. Fur¬ loughs should be so planned that a sufficient number of missionaries shall always be in the field to carry on the work of the Mission. 66. To regulate the salaries of preachers and workers employed in the field, subject to reports on Salaries of their progress in the prescribed course of Workers studies, and having regard to their usefulness, the size of their families, and the cost of living in the places to which they are assigned. C. Administration of Special Gifts and Other Funds 67. Article X of the Constitution of the Missionary Society provides for special donations as follows: “Whenever any charge, including the Sunday school, shall raise its full apportionment for Missions, then any attendant of said charge shall have the privilege of making special do¬ nations to any Mission or work in such Mission under the supervision of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and such special dona¬ tions shall be received by the Missionary Society for the specified purpose, and be credited to said charge.” Constitu¬ tional Provision Methodist Episcopal Church 35 68. It is very important that all special gifts should pass through the Treasury of the Missionary Society; o . , ^ , first, because if contributors send their money Special Gifts through direct to the field, the Treasurer of the Society Society cannot give receipts for it, and pastors will have Treasury vouchers which can be accepted at Confer¬ ence; second, because special gifts sent direct may go astray, and without record such as is made by the Missionary Society it might be difficult to trace them. No charge whatever is made by the Mission¬ ary Society for handling special gifts, and its bills of exchange are known and honored in all parts of the world. Missionaries are required, in communica¬ ting with special contributors in the United States, to request them to forward their special donations to the Treasurer of the Society in New York, who will promptly furnish receipts to the donors, 69. Missionaries receiving contributions or special gifts for current work, whether from persons Deposited on the field or in the United States or else- with Mission must deposit them at once with the Mission Treasurer, and itemized bills shall be presented to the Mission Treasurer for the applica¬ tion of such funds, to be receipted when paid, au¬ dited by the Finance Committee, and filed by the Treasurer. 36 Manual of Missionary Society Income on the Field Gifts for Property Rentals^ etc. 70. Money received for tuition in schools, and as medical fees, shall be disbursed under the direction of the Mission Treasurer, on a plan approved by the Finance Committee, to which full report with vouchers shall be made quarterly. 71. All contributions for building and property received by missionaries on the field shall be deposited with the Mission Treasurer, to be drawn out only with the consent of the Finance Committee. 72. All income from rentals, etc., of property owned by the Society shall go to the MissionTreasury, to be paid out only on the authority of the Board. 73. The Society expects and requires that all our work shall become self-supporting as rapidly as pos¬ sible. Its well-defined policy is that churches English- fQj, English-speaking and other peoples of Prot- estant origin shall be established only where they can become immediately self-supporting, our Mission funds being designed exclusively for evangel¬ istic work among non-Christian or non-Protestant peo¬ ples. Preachers are appointed to English charges in the mission field on the same terms as to pastoral charges in this country, to accept such support as the charges can afford, the Missionary Society being under no obligation to maintain salaries at a fixed rate. INDEX The numbers refer to the paragraphs. Acceptance of Missionaries on the Field, 25. Accounts, Detailed, 39. Bank, 40. Expense, of Missionaries, 43. Real Estate, 44. Audit, 62. Administration of Missionary Society, 4, 6. Of Special Gifts and Other Funds, 67-73. Allowances, 13, 20, 25. American Bible Society, 1. Annual Conferences, 5, 6, 20, 22, 25. Annual Report, 21. Applications, 10, 12. Appropriations, 37, 41, 42. Audit Accounts, 62. Auditing Committee, 38. Balances, 37. Bank Accounts, 40. Bills, 16, 42, 49, 57. Bishops, 3, 4, 10, 22, 26, 27, 35, 56, 65. Board of Managers, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 31, 32, 37, 41, 42, 45, 47, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 62, 64, 65. Call to Service, 11. Candidates, 11,12. Certificates of Deposit, 48. Charges on Freight, 15. Charter, 2. Children, 15, 25. Church Extension, 1. Constitution, 2, 3, 5, 22, 67. Contingent Fund, 8, 9, 10, 54. Corresponding Secretaries, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 27, 30, 32, 33, 35, 44, 49, 50, 55. Delegates, 5. Deposits, 34, 69. 38 Index Detailed Accounts, 39. Disburse Remittances, 33. Dispose of Real Estate, 60. District Conferences, 5. Domestic: See Home. Drafts, May Not Make, 35. Emergencies, Provide for, 61. English-Speaking Work, 73. Estimates, 52, 54, 55. Examination of Candidates, 12. Exchange, 36, 39. Expenditures, Guard, 41. Expense Accounts of Missionaries, 43. Extraordinary Cases, 9. Farewell Visits, 13. Field and Home Salaries, 19. Field, Foreign, 19, 21-28. Finance Committees, 10, 18, 20, 27, 38, 51-66, 70, 71. Finances of the Missions, 31-73. Foreign Field, 19, 21-28. Foreign Missionaries, 22, 24, 25. Foreign Missions, 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10. Freight, Charges on, 15. Freight, Passage and, 14. Furloughs, 15, 19, 25, 27, 28, 65. Furniture, Mission, 17. General Conference, 2, 5, 6. General Conference Districts, 3. General Missionary Committee, 3, 4, 6, 8, 41, 51, 55, 56, 59. Gifts, Special, 67-69, 71. Home Missionaries, 22. Home Missions, 1, 3, 6, 9,10. Home Salaries, 19. Improvements, Real Estate, 58. Income on the Field, 70. Language, Must Learn the, 26. Lapsed Appropriations, 37. Leave, 24, 28. Letters of Credit, 35, 36. Letters, Preserve, 39. Life Insurance, 16. Index 39 Lists of Payments, 50. Loans, Make No, 84. Managers: See Board. Methodist Episcopal Church, 1, 7. Mission, 26, 30, 31, 37, 38. Mission Conference, 5. Mission Finance Committee : See Finance. Mission Furniture, 17. Mission Property, 47, 71, 72. Mission Treasurer : See Treasurer. Missionaries, Bills for, 49. Expense Accounts of, 43. Qualifications and Selection of, 11-30. Missionary Society, 1-10, 51, 67, 68. Missionary Work, 1, 5, 6. Missions, 5, 7, 9, 25. Medical Examination, 12. Fees, 70. Moving Expenses, etc., 63. Native Workers, Salaries of, 66. No Outfit Allowance, 13. Orphans, 20. Outfit, 13. Pass Upon Requests to Board, 64. Passage and Freight, 14. Pastors, Moving Expenses of, 63. Paying Bills for Missionaries, 16. Payment, Lists of, 50. Pensions, 25. Pianos and Organs, 15. Place and Work of Missionary, 21. Premiums, 16. Prepare Estimates, 52. Presiding Elders, 10, 30, 33. Property, 47, 71, 72. Purchase of Real Estate, 45, 59. Purpose of Missionary Society, 1. Qualifications and Selection of Missionaries, 11-30. Quarterly Conferences, 20. Real Estate, 44, 45, 47, 58, 60. Recording Secretaries, 3, 14-16. 40 Index Records, Preserve, 39. Redistribution, 56. Remittances, 33, 39. Rent at Horae, 18. Rentals, etc., 72 . Reports, 29, 30, 39. Responsible to the Board Only, 32. “Request to Certify Bills,” 16. Requests to Board, 64. Salaries, 19, 20, 25, 28, 33, 54, 66. Sale of Exchange, 36. Secretaries, 14, 16. See Corresponding, Recording. Self-Support, 50, 73. Service, 11, 12, 27. Special Gifts, 67-69, 71. Statistics, 29, 30. Status of a Missionary, 22. Sunday School Union, 1. Superannuates, Widows, and Orphans, 20. Superintendent of Mission, 10. Support of Missions, 7. Tract Society, 1. Treasurer of Mission, 14,17, 30, 31-50, 55, 57, 62, 69-71. Treasurer of Missionary Society, 2, 3, 68. Tuition, 70. Vacations, 23. Visits, Farewell, 13. Voucher, 33, 39. Widows, 20. Work of Missionary, 21.