MANUAL FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES AMERICAN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS AMERICAN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS MANUAL FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES AND FOR APPOINTED MISSIONARIES BEFORE ENTERING THEIR FIELDS Revised Edilion, igi6 CONGREGATIONAL HOUSE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Columbia University Libraries https://archive.org/details/manualformissionOOamer_0 CONTENTS PAGE Classes of Missionaries.6 Need of Candidates.7 Qualifications.8 Ordained Missionaries Educational Missionaries Medical Missionaries Missionary Nurses Women Teachers Life Appointment and Term Service.11 When to Apply.12 How to Apply.13 Preparation of Papers.14 Explanation of Papers.17 Papers of Wives and Fiancees. ^9 Papers of Single Women.20 Action by the Board.20 Correspondence after Designation.21 Training Conference for New Missionaries. ... 22 Commissioning Service.22 Salaries.23 Outfits.24 Debts.25 Passport.26 Life Memoranda.26 Reading Courses.26 Ecclesiastical Relations.27 Extracts from the By-Laws of the Board .... 28 Extracts from the Rules of the Board.28 (• 1.1 ■■ H 4',S.:.,; '^1.. 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When their studies are complete, or practically so, they need definite instructions as to the preparation of their papers and the subsequent steps to be taken, should they receive the appointment of the Board. It is sought in this Man¬ ual to meet both of these needs. It covers a wide range in order to answer as many as possible of the questions which rise in the minds of candidates between the time of vol¬ unteering and the time of offering their services to the Board. It will be presumed that candidates have made them¬ selves acquainted with the contents of these pages, and that nothing need be repeated to them which is herein con¬ tained. MISSIONS OF THE AMERICAN BOARD The M issions of the Board are: South Africa Mission (Zulu Branch; Rhodesia Branch) West Central Africa Mission Balkan Mission Western Turkey Mis.sion Central Turkey Mission 6 MANUAL Eastern Turkey Mission Marathi Mission (India) Madura Mission (India) Ceylon Mission Foochow Mission (China) South China Mission North China Mission, including Shansi Japan Mission Micronesia Mission Mission to the Philippines Mission to Spain Mission to Austria Mexico Mission These fields offer great variety in climate, population, government, religion and social environment. Candidates will do well not to commit themselves as to their field without careful study and consultation with the officers of the Board. It is unwi.se to settle this momentous question through hearing a single missionary address or reading a single biography, or through becoming acquainted with natives of certain countries. The better way is to leave the question of field open until one’s general education is complete. We particularly appreciate candidates who take into consideration the needs and opportunities of the Board, as well as personal preference, in deciding upon country and mission. CLASSES OF MISSIONARIES The development of missionary work in modem times has brought about a considerable degree of specialization. While the main purpose of all workers is identical, viz., the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom throughout the world, certain well-defined lines of work have emerged for which special training is requisite, and which result in differen- FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 7 tiation of service upon the field. For convenience we classify our missionaries as follows; Ordained missionaries Educational missionaries Medical missionaries Missionary nurses Industrial missionaries Business agents Single women missionaries Wives of missionaries The above order is purely for convenience, and is not intended to indicate relative importance. Several of these classes may also be sub-divided. For instance, educational missionaries include professors in colleges and theological seminaries, heads of high schools and normal schools, also directors of systems of elementary schools. The highly important class designated “Single women missionaries” overlaps somewhat certain other classes, but it is convenient to treat it separately, since most of these workers are related not only to the American Board but to one of the Woman’s Boards. This class includes not only general teachers in all grades, but kindergartners, domestic science teachers, music teachers, evangelistic workers, as well as physicians and nurses. NEED OF CANDIDATES Except in some of the more restricted lines, such as business agents, architects, music teachers, the need is never supplied. Through the dropping out of mission¬ aries by retirement and death and the steady expansion of the work, the supply of recruits never overtakes the de¬ mand. Usually the Board is looking for a dozen or fifteen ordained men, about as many physicians, and not less 8 MANUAL than thirty unmarried women. The number of new mis¬ sionaries sent out each year varies from about fifty to seventy-five. Thus far the Board has not been compelled to hold back candidates for financial reasons. Although the lack of funds is often keenly felt, it has been possible to send all properly qualified candidates to the field with¬ out delay. QUALIFICATIONS It is not as necessary as formerly for each Board to ex¬ plain in detail its standards for missionary appointment, since the leading societies unite in sustaining the Board of Missionary Preparation, whose publications represent the consensus of best opinion. We would call the attention of our candidates to the special report written by President MacKenzie upon the general qualifications for missionary service (5c.); to the Third Annual Report of the Board of Missionary Preparation upon the specific qualifications for ordained, educational, medical and women missionaries (25c.); to the Fourth Annual Report upon qualifications for certain countries, China, India, Japan, The Near East, I-atin America, Pagan Africa (50c.); and to the forth-coming report upon qualifications as related to the non-Christian religions. We assume that candidates have familiarized themselves with so much of this literature as applies to their own cases. These reports should be consulted as early as possible in one’s course of preparation.* It perhaps should be added that the American Board regards the standards of personality, training and char¬ acter, presented in the above mentioned reports, not merely as an ideal to be sought after, but as something actually * The address of the Board of Missionary Preparation is as Madison Avenue, New York City, the director being Rev. Frank K. Sanders, D.D. FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 9 to be attained. The qualifications of certain classes of missionaries call for special mention. Ordained Missionaries. —Ordained missionaries need the highest training in their line. As the interpreters of Christian truth, the builders of the native church, the trainers of the native pastors, the leaders in evangelistic activities, the makers of vernacular literature, often also as the heads of educational institutions, their efforts bear directly upon the main purposes of the Board. By per¬ sonality and training they must be prepared for the most exacting kind of leadership. To a considerable extent this applies also to women missionaries engaged in evan¬ gelistic or Bible work. On the intellectual side this demands that they should be graduates of college and theological seminary and that in these institutions they should give evidence of true spirit¬ uality and demonstrate their capacity for leadership. Increasingly ministerial candidates are inclined to take a year of post graduate work, that they may pursue special studies and activities bearing upon foreign missions. Educational Missionaries. —The Board considers it highly desirable, if not necessary, for its educators, men and women, who are life appointees, to take a course in some divinity school, or its equivalent. This course need not be that for ordained men, but it should include Bible study, apologetics. Church history, and such other branches as are essential to an understanding of the sys¬ tem of Christian truth and practice. In no other way can educators answer the religious questions which are always arising in their classes, and meet the spiritual needs of the people. We do not separate education and evangel¬ ization, but seek to co-ordinate these as closely as possible. It is often allowable for such a worker to combine a course in theology with courses in the theory and practice of edii 10 MANUAL cation. It is not necessary for educators to become or¬ dained, although such a step often adds to their usefulness* and prestige on the field. Medical Missionaries. —The practice of medicine is now a highly specialized calling on the foreign field as at home. The medical missionary is usually in charge of a hospital and is often obliged to cover a wide area for vis¬ itation work. As a rule, he has little time for sermons or religious addresses. All the more is it necessary that the physician should be distinctly missionary in his motive. Few workers have more opportunities for exerting a favor¬ able influence upon individuals or for the breaking down of the prejudices of multitudes. On the medical side the work of the missionary doctor is most exacting, since he often covers the entire range of medicine and surgery and works without consultation. The Board requires the very best of training for its medical missionaries. They should take, if possible, a full collegiate course, and should choose a medical school of the first rank, one rated "A” by the American Medical Association. The institution should be of the ‘‘regular school.” The medical course should be followed by an interneship in a large hospital, or by its equivalent in actual practice. Certain lines of postgraduate study are strongly advised, such as general surgery, obstetrics, the treatment of the eye, and tropical diseases. In some cases the Board makes it possible for accepted medical candidates to take a postgraduate course in tropical medicine, either at the Harvard Medical School or in London. When it is found to be necessary, the Board votes the medical appointee a special grant for equipment. Missionary Nurses. —Those who plan to take up nursing should bear in mind that the missionary nurse is usually superintendent of a hospital, and also the trainer of FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES II native nurses. The position calls for qualities of leader¬ ship as well as knowledge of professional nursing. The question of personality must first be considered, and then that of adequate training, it being assumed that consecra¬ tion is not lacking. The nurse should have at least a high school course; she must be a graduate of a high grade training school for nurses and have experienced a wide variety of practice in a hospital. She should be especially skillful in the operating room. Women Teachers. —Most of our single women teach¬ ers are college graduates, but the Board accepts a good normal school course as an equivalent. In either case the candidate must have an actual teaching experience of one or two years, in which she has demonstrated her ability. She must be apt to teach and also strong in organization and discipline. The missionary teacher is the head of a school or in the line of succession, and she will ordinarily have under her a number of native teachers. So here again leadership is a prime consideration. LIFE APPOINTMENT AND TERM SERVICE What has been said as to qualifications relates primarily to those who plan to fit themselves for foreign missions as a career, in the expectation that, God making it possible, they will spend their lives in this service. In recent years there has been such a rapid development of our colleges, especially those where English is used in the classes, that the Board sends out each year a certain number of in¬ structors for a term of three or five years. Full missionary training is not expected of these term appointees. Usually they go out immediately after graduating from college, expecting to take their professional training upon their return to the home land. It is, of course, expected that 12 MANUAL they will give promise of efficiency as teachers and be earnestly Christian. Their work is teaching the English language, science, history, and other branches as the need may be. They are expected to interest themselves in the religious and social welfare of the students, and, if they are skilled in athletics, they will find a large opportunity in that line. They are not expected to learn the vernacular, and they are not voting members of the Mission. The Board is gratified to find how many of these term men be¬ come attracted to the work and return to fit themselves for a missionary career. The character cff the work of the Woman’s Boards is such that ordinarily they cannot use term service workers, but occasionally there is an oppor¬ tunity for temporary service, pending the securing of a regular missionary. WHEN TO APPLY The Board desires to become acquainted with candidates as early as possible, so that they may not come to us as strangers. A friendly relationship running through several years furnishes the best possible ground for reaching a decision as to service and field. Speaking generally, a candidate should make formal application after his train¬ ing iscompleted and thecourseof practical experience which he has laid out for himself is drawing to a close. Specifi¬ cally, physicians should apply toward the close of their in- terneship; nurses, .soon after graduation; teachers, after they have demonstrated their success in actual school work. With ordained men it is somewhat different, as their intel¬ lectual training and practical experience run along together. As a rule, it is best for a theological student to establish his status with the Board during his middle year, in order that he may turn the last part of his course in the direction of special studies. FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 13 Looking at the matter from a different angle, it is de¬ sirable that the candidate should secure his appointment from eight months to a year before the time of sailing. Since the Training Conference for new missionaries is held yearly, early in June, and the best time for sailing, as a rule, is mid-summer, the appropriate time to apply for appointment is in the preceding fall. If, however, cir¬ cumstances have prevented an early decision, the candi¬ date should not hold back, but should file his application as soon as possible. It should be remembered that it ordinarily requires a month and a half for the preparation of papers and the securing of the action of the Prudential Committee. In the case of missionaries going out under one of the Woman's Boards in view of the fact that the action of two boards is essential, two and a half months should be allowed. HOW TO APPLY Many of our applicants are well known to the secretaries of the Home Department when they formally offer their services. Where such a relationship has not been estab¬ lished, it is necessary to have considerable preliminary correspondence before an offer of service is formally enter¬ tained. A blank form calling for "Preliminary Informa¬ tion’’ is used in the early stages of correspondence, and this often leads to a gathering of testimonials from one’s friends, which can be used later on, if a formal application is entertained. At every stage in the gathering of papers the officers of the Board seek to deal with the candidate with Christian sympathy and entire frankness, in the realization of the fact that the interests of the candidate and of the Board are identical. Where each party seeks earnestly to know the divine will, the outcome should not be doubtful. 14 MANUAL PREPARATION OF PAPERS For convenience, we divide the making out of papers into four steps, as follows: I. Offer of Service II. Life Sketch III. Motive and Message IV. Relation to the Board When a formal application is entertained, blank forms are sent to the candidate which, for the most part, are self-explanatory. In order that the process may be made clear from the beginning, we print below a copy of these forms, omitting spaces for written answers. AMERICAN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS Congregational House, 14 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. HOME DEPARTMENT Application for Missionary Appointment 1 . Offer of Service 1. I hereby offer my services to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions for missionary work abroad. 2. State if you desire life appointment or service for a term of years. If the latter, state the number of years. 3. State the nature of the service which you anticipate, whether that of an ordained minister, physician, nurse, educator, industrial worker, business agent, wife of a missionary, etc. (If educator, state what branches you are qualified to teach.) FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 15 4. State when you expect to be ready to sail. 5. Are you married or single? If the former give full name of wife, with age, and names and ages of children, if any. If the latter, state if you are engaged to be married, with full name and address of party. 6. Are you in debt financially? If so, state the amount of your debt and the manner in which you are carrying it. 7. Are any near relatives to such a degree dependent upon you, or likely to become so, that you are under obliga¬ tion to make provision for their support? 8. Enclose a recent photograph of yourself, preferably one with front view, distinct outlines, and printed on smooth white paper, suitable for half-tone reproduction. 9. Fill out the first two pages of the Medical Blank enclosed, take your medical examination and have the physician mail the completed form to the Board. 10. Make out your list of testimonials, using the enclosed blank form, and having in mind the suggestions in the Manual. Send this list at once. II. Life Sketch Tell briefly the story of your life, covering such points as these: birth (date and place); parentage and ancestry; early home life; educational course; religious experience; church membership; religious work; the habits you have formed for the cultivation of the spiritual life; missionary interest and study; business and practical experience; musical ability; facility in acquiring languages; attitude of parents. III. Motive and Message I. What motives lead you to desire foreign missionary service? (This should be answered with great care and entire frankness.) i6 MANUAL 2. What is your message to the non-Christian people to whom you may be sent? (This question is of the utmost importance. You pro¬ pose to go to a foreign land in order to transmit the Chris¬ tian religion, if not by public address, certainly by personal contacts. It is necessary that you should have a clear and definite idea of what this religion is. Any positive state¬ ments upon Christian faith and practice which you wish to make should be set forth here, and will naturally in¬ clude your idea of God, Jesus Christ, the redemptive work of Christianity, duties to our fellow men, the Bible, the Church, together with such other leading truths as you would expect to embody in your message. Theologically trained candidates will naturally answer this question more fully than others, but in each case such condensation is desired as may be consistent with a satisfactory setting forth of your views.) 3. State frankly any doctrinal views you may hold which are probably not held by the majority of Congregation- alists. 4. What is your attitude toward the non-Christian religions? 5. Have you considered the deprivations, hardships, and perils which may be incident to this service, and what is your attitude toward these? IV. Relations to the Board 1. Do you hold any views of Church Government which would interfere with your loyal service under this Board? 2. Are you willing and ready, so long as you remain in the Mission, to recognize in your missionary asociates the same conscientiousness in respect to views and methods that you expect them to recognize in yourself, and to ac¬ cord to them the same tolerance you expect from them; and will you conform loyally to the decisions of the Board and FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 17 of the Mission, so long as you remain in the service of the Board ? 3. Do you assent to the rules and regulations of the Board, or is there anything in its organization or rules, or in the organization or manner of conducting its missions, of which you disapprove, or which would prevent your laboring cheerfully and happily under its direction, and in conformity with its regulations and those of the missions? (Extracts from such regulations of the Board as are of special interest to candidates are printed in the back of the Manual for Missionary Candidates. The full regula¬ tions are printed in a separate manual of 73 pages, entitled Hand Book jor Missions and Missionaries. Any candidate who is unwilling to answer the above question in the af¬ firmative without a full knowledge of the regulations, should send to the Board for the above hand book. EXPLANATION OF PAPERS The application forms contain suitable directions and suggestions but it seems best to emphasize certain matters by additional comment here. Health Examination. —Good health is so essential to successful work abroad and the strain upon health is so severe in certain climates, that the Board takes the utmost pains to ascertain if the candidate is physically sound. It is to the candidate’s advantage to oo-operate with the Board in this matter, holding back no information which might bear upon the case, and objecting to no measures which might be of physical benefit. When the health blank is received with the application form, the personal questions should be answered as soon as possible, and the form taken to a physician who will make an ex¬ amination and, after answering the remaining questions, report to the Board. The Board has official examiners i8 MANUAL in the leading centers and the candidate will be informed if he should go to one of these. The candidate may go to his personal or family doctor in case the Board is satisfied such doctor is trustworthy. The final decision is with the Board’s medical expert in Boston, to whom all physi¬ cal papers are submitted. It happens not infrequently that the candidate is asked to go to a specialist for the correction of some weakness, which has been revealed by the examination. In case of long delay after appointment, the candidate may be asked to take a fresh examination before sailing. It is advisable to have the teeth and eyes examined and put in the best possible condition before taking the medi¬ cal examination. The Board requires vaccination against smallpox and typhoid fever. The former should be at¬ tended to before the examination or by the examining doctor. The latter would better be done a few months before sailing. Photographs. —If the candidate wishes to please the Board, he will attend to this matter promptly and fol¬ low the directions given. Old photographs, fancy pic¬ tures, crude snapshots, group pictures, are not satis¬ factory. In case great haste is required in making out the papers, it may be necessary to send an unsatisfactory picture, but as soon as possible a good picture should be secured, having in mind that the Board may wish to have a half tone reproduction made for use in its publications. Hazy photographs of the impressionistic style, now in vogue, and sepia tints are well nigh worthless for repro¬ duction. Profiles are less satisfactory than front or three- quarter views. Testimonials. —The testimonials are gathered by the Board, not by the candidate. The candidate, however, furnishes the list of names. Entire frankness is ex- FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 19 pected in this matter. If there has been lack of success in one’s career, or lapse of character, or if there is difference of opinion among one’s friends as to fitness for missionary work, the Board should be referred to the proper parties. Investigations are not confined to the persons listed in the testimonial blank, as often vague hints and qualifying remarks need to be followed up. The list should mention both men and women who have known the candidate well in different relationships. It should include the name of the candidate’s pastor, several college and professional instructors, a business man, a woman of discretion and a personal friend. CARE IN PREPARATION OF PAPERS In the making out of papers upon which depends, in no small measure, one’s life work, it should not be necessary to urge care in phrasing, spelling and legibility. Yet candidates—men more than women—are often strangely negligent at this point. The answers to the questions and the more extended statements should be made with care as to form as well as to substance, and the entire document should be re-read before sending to the Board. PAPERS OF WIVES AND FIANCfiES A wife or a fiancee is expected to make out her papers separately from her husband or the man she is to marry. This is because the Board regards her as a missionary in her own privilege and right. She receives her own ap¬ pointment and becomes a working and voting member of the Mission. Even though she may be occupied largely in the care of her children and home, she is doing missionary work of great importance, since the Christian home is the highest product of our religion. Usually she has enjoyed 20 MANUAL special training like her husband, and is anxious to under¬ take some special responsibility on the field. In any event her husband’s case as a candidate is largely involved in her own. If, not having studied doctrine, she wishes to sub¬ scribe to her husband's statement of belief, that is allowed; but all other questions should be answered in her own words. PAPERS OF SINGLE WOMEN In the case of single women it frequently happens that the preliminary correspondence and interviews are with the officers of one of the Woman's Boards. In such cases the secretaries of the Home Department enter into the process after it has been decided to encourage formal application. The steps outlined in the preceding section are those followed by the Home Department of the Ameri¬ can Board and are additional to any steps which may be necessary on the part of the Secretary of the Woman’s Board in seeking early information. Throughout the process of preparing the papers of unmarried women can¬ didates the correspondence will be conducted in close co-operation with the Woman’s Board. ACTION BY THE BOARD—APPROVAL, APPOINT¬ MENT AND DESIGNATION After the papers of a candidate have been presented to the Prudential Committee, if he or she is judged to be qualified for the work, the first action is "Approval of the papers.” In the case of male candidates and wives this is usually followed immediately by appointment. It may happen, however, that considerable time elapses between approval and appointment. Uniformly, in the case of candidates of the Woman’s Boards, appointment is de- FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 21 ferred until one of these Boards has taken action looking to the adoption of the applicant and provision for her support. It should be understood, also, that appointment and designation are two distinct things. Designation has regard to assignment to a particular mission, and for ob¬ vious reasons this determination cannot always be reached at the time of the appointment. In the designation of missionaries to particular fields, the utmost care is taken to secure for each the position for which he is best fitted, w'here, all things considered, he may hope for the largest possible service to the cause of Christ. Regard is had to the needs of the Board at the particular time, but also to the wishes, convictions and qualifications of the candidate, and the conclusion in a given case is reached only after a full and free conference. The Prudential Committee never desires a missionary to go where he cannot labor cheerfully, and in accordance with his own sense of duty and privilege. Candidates should understand that the Prudential Committee does not ordinarily designate to a particular station or instituiton, but to a mission. It is left to the mission to decide where within the mission a newly ap¬ pointed missionary can work to the best advantage. At the same time it often happens that a mission has requested a worker for a given station or institution, so that the Committee has this particular position in mind in reaching a conclusion. The above statement applies to appointees supported by the Woman’s Boards, as well as to those supported directly from the treasury of the American Board. CORRESPONDENCE AFTER DESIGNATION After missionaries have been designated to their field, correspondence regarding date of sailing, journey to the 22 MANUAL field, passports, outfit, etc., should be addressed to the Foreign Department. Correspondence in regard to the commissioning service, training conference, support by churches, or engagements to speak is with the Home Department. TRAINING CONFERENCE FOR NEW MISSIONARIES Every year the Board holds in the missionary rooms at Boston a seven days’ Training Conference for newly ap¬ pointed missionaries and candidates whose papers have been approved. This conference is of the utmost value, and attendance is required except upon an excuse being accepted by the officers of the Board. The program covers matters which will affect the missionary’s usefulness in no small degree, and which cannot be understood except in this personal way. The acquaintance between the officers of the Board and the new missionaries, brought about by the Conference, is found to be of mutual advantage and pleasure. The spiritual value of the meetings also is marked. Candidates should make their plans early with reference to being free for this Conference, which usually comes the last week in May. The Board expects to pay traveling expenses to and from the Conference, except that, as a rule, we do not so provide for wives, fiancees and single women appointees west of the Rocky Mountains. COMMISSIONING SERVICE The commission of the Board is usually bestowed upon the missionaries at a public service just before they sail. The home church is ordinarily selected for this purpose, but the wishes of the missionaries are consulted as to time and place. These services are very impressive in nature. FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 22 > and are of great value in developing a missionary spirit in the home churches. Commissions are not given to those engaged for term service, but only to life appointees. In this connection we would call the attention of candi¬ dates and appointees to the rare opportunity they have to enlist a new circle of friends in the work of the Board during their time of preparation. No opportunity of this kind should be lost. It often happens that the appoint¬ ment of a new w'orker results in our securing sufficient new gifts to cover his support. New missionaries have a great opportunity also in the influencing of others to volunteer. SALARIES It is unfortunate that we have to use the word salary in connection with missionary service, since the stipend allowed by the Board is not to be considered as a compen¬ sation for labor performed, or as graded according to the value of the service rendered. The amount allowed by the Prudential Committee is supposed to express simply what is necessary in the way of pecuniary support to the missionary’s efficiency in his chosen field of labor. It is desired that the missionary should be free from anxiety in regard to the means of living so as to leave heart and hands at liberty for the largest possible service in the cause of Christ. Compensation for this service he will find in the consciousness of engaging in the highest of all callings and in the abiding presence of his Lord. So far as practicable all missionaries, old and young, male and female, of all classes, are placed on the same financial basis, the inequalities of families and circum¬ stances being met by special allowances in accordance with carefully worked out regulations. The salary varies with the cost of living in the different countries and locali¬ ties, as ascertained by the missionaries themselves. An 24 MANUAL average salary for a married couple is $i,ooo, to which are added allowances for children, a language teacher, summer vacation, etc., according to the circumstances of the differ¬ ent fields. A suitable residence is always provided and the Board pays the traveling expense to the field and returning. While on furlough the missionary receives an allowance suited to the situation in the home land. Candidates who have received their appointment cannot begin to draw upon the Board for their traveling expenses until arrangements for the journey have definitely been made. OUTFITS All appointed missionaries are entitled to an outfit allowance in order that they may be suitably equipped for beginning work abroad, in the matter of clothing, furniture, books, etc. For a married couple the outfit allowance is $500 before sailing, and $150 additional a year after arrival upon the field. For single men the allowance is $300; for single women, $250. Some portion of the furniture can ordinarily be procured in the country to which he is going. Should it resemble the furniture used by the natives, so much the better, if it can be rendered convenient, as that will make both him and his home more attractive to them. Missionaries, however, like to have a certain amount of their furniture of the home kind. It is wise ordinarily to hold back some of the outfit allowance until arrival on the field. Necessary traveling expenses preparatory to embarka¬ tion, and the cost of passage, though paid by the Board, are not included in the outfit. The Treasurer is not au¬ thorized to pay the freight of outfit to the place of destina¬ tion beyond six tons, ship measurement, forty cubic feet to a ton, for a married missionary, or one half that amount for a single missionary. FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 25 It is desirable that the relatives and personal friends of the candidate should, so far as they are able and disposed, aid in furnishing the outfit. Of course those parents who would have aided their children with funds to commence housekeeping, had they been married with a view to resid¬ ing in this country, will not withhold their aid because their children become missionaries. Missionaries now are quite generally supported by local churches, societies or individuals. In such cases the supporting constituency should be encouraged to provide for the outfit as well as for the salary. The missionary should report to the Board any aid he may receive in such ways. At least $50 of the outfit allowance should be reserved, to be expended after reaching the mission field. The missionary's private library should be eminently select. A large library is desirable for but few mission¬ aries. In some countries it is e.xceedingly difficult to pre¬ serve books from the ravages of insects. In uncivilized countries they will be exposed to numerous casualties, and will often suffer for want of the care it is impossible to render. Should it happen that necessary books are not taken when the missionary goes out, they can be sent for and received by mail or otherwise. The Purchasing Agent of the Board will furnish detailed information in regard to outfit, method of purchasing, packing, etc., when designation is made to a particular field. He will also assist the missionary in making his purchases, if desired. DEBTS Many volunteers are burdened with debts acquired in the process of getting an education. Unfortunately the Board is not in a position to lift these burdens. The rule is not to pay the debts of those who receive appointment and 26 MANUAL usually appointment is deferred until the debt can be liquidated. The officers of the Board are glad to give advice and encouragement, but candidates are expected to devise their own plans for overcoming this difficulty. They should be scrupulously careful to see that all claims against them are cancelled before they leave the country. Candidates should not expect to provide for dependent relatives out of the missionary salary. PASSPORT A passport, obtained from the Secretary of State at Washington, is indispensable to missionaries going to most Eastern countries. Missionaries should consult the For¬ eign Secretary on this matter a month at least before their departure. Naturalized Americans should apply for regis¬ tration to the American Consul immediately upon their arrival at their port of entry. LIFE MEMORANDA Before sailing the missionary should make out the blank form furnished by the Home Department, entitled “Life Memoranda.” This is of the utmost importance, and under no circumstances should be neglected, as it supplies information in regard to relatives to be notified in case of sickness, accident or death, and other matters which the Board desires to have in brief and authoritative form for ready reference. READING COURSES The Board requires all appointees who have not attended a theological or mission training school to pursue a course of reading covering the Bible, systematic theology, apolo- FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 27 getics, Church history, comparative religion, Christian missions, the history of the Board, and books on the coun¬ try where they are to labor. The course is scientific, yet popular; it can be covered in a year by faithful use of spare time. The better way is to begin reading several years before seeking appointment. The candidate is expected to report to the Home Department as to the finishing of this course. The list of books required will be sent to such candidates as need them. The books can be pur¬ chased through the Board at reduced prices. ECCLESIASTICAL RELATIONS The Board is not an ecclesiastical body. It does not undertake to establish standards of orthodoxy or to set men apart to the ministry. All such matters are left to the denominations to which the missionaries belong. While the Board is Congregational in its controlling con¬ stituency, in its broader aspects it is undenominational. Its purpose abroad is not to build up Congregational churches or to place any denominational label upon its converts. For this reason it has never required its mis¬ sionaries to belong to Congregational churches. As a matter of fact a large majority of them are of this con¬ nection, but should a candidate from some other religious body wish to retain the church relationship in which he or she was brought up, that privilege is allowed. In the matter of ordination, a clerical missionary having received official notice of appointment, should make arrangements with the church or ecclesiastical body with which he is connected, for being set apart as a minister. Care should be taken that the service be such as to promote in the high¬ est degree possible, the interests of the missionary cause. The Board is usually represented in the ordaining council of its missionaries, by one of its officers or by a written communication. 28 MANUAL EXTRACTS FROM THE BY-LAWS OF THE BOARD COVERING THE APPOINTMENT OF MISSIONARIES The secretaries to whom, at any time, the Home De¬ partment is assigned shall endeavor to promote a mission¬ ary spirit at home, and to secure from the churches and the friends of missions the missionaries and the means re¬ quired for the support and constant enlargement of the work abroad, in order to a speedy promulgation of the Gospel throughout the world. They shall present to the Prudential Committee applications for appointment to missionary service, and such information as, in accordance with the By-Laws and other instructions of the Board, they have obtained in regard to the qualifications of such applicants. The secretaries are expected to use their best judgment as to the amount of encouragement which should be given to candidates for appointment, yet each candidate who desires to make application may, upon request, have his papers presented directly to the Prudential Committee. All candidates desiring to have a personal interview with the Committee may have such request presented by the Home Department. EXTRACTS FROM THE RULES OF THE BOARD The rules of the Board governing the conduct of missions and setting forth the relationship of individual mission¬ aries to the Board are found in the Hand Book for Missions and Missionaries, a pamphlet of seventy-three pages. Ex¬ tracts from the Hand Book are printed herewith in order that the candidates may understand the rules which bear especially upon the individual missionaries. FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 29 It is understood that all newly appointed missionaries cordially accept these rules and regulations and will, to the best of their ability, strive for their orderly mainte¬ nance. Relations of Missionaries to the Board The missionaries are the Board in action. The Board at home exists only for the purpose of promoting the work on the field to which the missionaries devote their lives. The missionaries err in speaking of themselves as “em¬ ployed by the Board.” The acts of the missionaries are the acts of the Board, and so long as one bears the Board’s commission he cannot separate himself and his acts from the Board’s work. This view of the missionary’s life is the one taken not only by the Prudential Committee and the officers of the Board but by those with whom the mis¬ sionary comes into contact, both in this land and in the mission fields. The work of the Board in the large is judged by the work and character and bearing and spirit of the missionaries who represent the Board. An unworthy act of a missionary brings discredit upon the Board, the work it aims to do, and to Christ himself, and so the entire body suffers; while creditable and distinguished service contributes to the joy, satisfaction and honor of all con¬ nected with the organization, as well as of the Master. This applies not only to the personal conduct of the mis¬ sionaries but to means and methods of work. Knowledge of the Vernacular The Board regards the ability to write, but especially to speak the native language as an indispensable quali¬ fication for missionary service. To aid in securing this the several missions are required, through a competent committee, to provide for proper language instruction and 30 MANUAL to examine all new missionaries at the close of the first and second years of service, and at such other times as the mission may deem wise, as to their knowledge of the native tongues, and report the result to the Foreign Secretary of the Board in charge of the correspondence with the mission. No exemption from such examination shall be made without the consent of the Prudential Committee. It is expected that new missionaries will not be given the right to vote in a station or mission until they have passed examinations satisfactory to the station and mission, show¬ ing commendable progress in the mastery of the vernacular. Exceptions to this rule must be with the knowledge and approval of the Prudential Committee. Functions of the Mission Each mission shall, at each annual meeting, direct the location and work of individual members so as best to promote the work as a whole. No new station shall be established, or extended tours of exploration made, or important changes inaugurated or work undertaken, except by vote of the Prudential Committee, on recommendation of two thirds of the mission. No missionary work whether literary, educational, in¬ dustrial, medical, or evengelistic, shall be undertaken or carried on by individual members unless approved by a two-thirds vote of the mission. The work of translating and preparing religious or educational books should not be undertaken by individuals without the consent or direction of the mission. No missionary should use a printing establishment of the Board for private work or for any missionary publications except under authorization of the mission. It Is essential that no line of work in a mission or at any station shall come to be regarded as belonging to an in- FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 31 dividual or station rather than to the mission. All work carried on by a missionary of the Board within the bound¬ ary of a mission is a part of the work of that mission, and should be reported to the mission and to the Board, and be subject to the control of the mission. Any ex¬ ception to this general rule must be with the approval of the mission and of the Prudential Committee, and also must be made a matter of record, both in the mission and in Boston. Individual Reports In addition to the annual reports, each missionary should write freely to the secretaries in charge of the Foreign Department regarding his own personal work as well as upon more general questions. It is only by fre¬ quent correspondence that the Board can keep in such relations to the missionaries and the mission that the largest .service can be rendered. The conditions, successes, and needs of the work should be kept constantly before the Prudential Committee through the Foreign Depart¬ ment, and this can be accomplished only by free, frank, and full correspondence. Mission Estimates All individual or station requests for grants or appropria¬ tions must come to the Prudential Committee through the mission, except upon circumstances of extraordinary need and emergency. If, however, a missionary shall feel aggrieved by the action of his mission, he may appeal to the Prudential Committee, a copy of such appeal being given to the Secretary of the mission at the same time. Personal Funds All missionaries are cautioned as to investing private funds in mission enterprises. All such funds when so 32 MANUAL applied must be regarded as belonging to the Board and the mission and subject to the direction of the mission. Private ownership and control of mission work and insti- stutions cannot be recognized and the investment in mis¬ sionary work of private funds or of funds given by personal friends cannot be regarded as conferring any right of per¬ sonal control. In addition, it is not expected that private funds and funds privately collected, even though given to the mis¬ sion and for the support of the work, will be used except with the approval and under the direction of the mission. Principles Governing Specials No missionary should appeal for any special gift to a church or any organization in a church such as the Sunday School, Christian Endeavor, Men’s Club, etc. The churches and their subsidiary societies are the exclusive field of the Board for securing general funds. Not only is this course necessary for the interests of the Board, but pastors and church treasurers, together with the Appor¬ tionment Commission of the National Council, are insisting upon it in order to protect the apportionment of the churches. Under the Apportionment Plan of Benevolence devised by the Council “Contributions for special objects which are outside the regular current work of the societies’’ are not counted upon the church apportionment. Such appeals as may properly be made for specials should be directed to individuals and organizations not directly connected with a church. No missionary should appeal for any specific work of any kind or nature that has not already received the ap¬ proval of his colleagues in the station of which he is a mem¬ ber and, if the work is of considerable importance or in¬ volves a question of policy or commits the mission in any FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 33 new line of work, such appeal should have the approval and endorsement of the mission and of the Prudential Com¬ mittee. Whenever special gifts are received by an individual for the work or for any purpose that is not purely personal, these gifts should not be expended except under the gen¬ eral approval of the station of which the missionary is a member, and if the gift is of considerable importance, say if it exceeds $100 gold, or involves a question of policy, its expenditure should have the approval of the mission. These statements make it clear that, as a fundamental principle, special gifts whether received by individuals or by the mission, become at once a part of the mission assets and should be so recognized both by the Board and by the mission. In other words, the fact that a gift for any special line of work comes to an individual does not give the individual final authority over the use of the gift. It is, of course, understood that, if the gift thus received cannot be used in accordance with the expressed wish of the donor, it shall be held until correspondence has been had with the donor to ascertain if the conditions cannot be changed. If, however, the donor does not consent to a change, no alternative remains but to return the gift. The Prudential Committee looks with disapproval upon the building up of a work in any mission field which is de¬ pendent, in any large measure, upon the annual solicita¬ tion of specials upon the part of the missionary in charge. The Committee cannot assume any responsibility for the conduct of such work or for any debt which may thus be incurred by the missionary. All specials received by individual missionaries shall be reported to the mission, with statement both of the amount received and of the manner in which the money is expended. The account for specials shall be audited in each mission and in the station, the same as all other accounts. 34 MANUAL Personal gifts to missionaries, sent through the Treas- surer, from friends to promote the comfort and usefulness of the missionary himself are not classified as special donations for the work. Property of the Board The property of the Board should always be held in its corporate name when the laws of the country allow such tenure, and if there are no serious disadvantages in so holding it. If such property stands in the name of in¬ dividual missionaries, or others, such individuals should at once file with the mission treasurer a deed of trust show¬ ing that the real owner is the American Board. The mission treasurer should see, on the removal of the in¬ dividual from the locality or mission, that the title is promptly and legally transferred to some resident repre¬ sentative of the Board before the departure of the title holder. Outfits Outfits being furnished for use in mission fields are to be regarded as the property of the Board, and in case of with¬ drawal of missionaries within five years from the time of arrival on the field all articles of such outfits as were not for personal use are to be left at the station in care of its treasurer, who shall at once send an inventory of them to the Secretary of the Board in charge, that they may be placed at the disposal of the new missionaries. All surgical and medical outfits, in case of the retire¬ ment of the missionary physician from practice in the mission, are to be turned over to the mission treasurer and held subject to direction from the Prudential Committee for use of another physician or otherwise. An inventory shall be made and sent to the Secretary of the Board for the information of the new physicians. FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 35 Business Dealings with Outsiders Unless authorized by the mission in cases of emergency no missionary shall borrow money of natives or foreigners in mission fields, either for himself or for his missionary work; the Board can in no wise be held responsible for such obligations. No missionary shall make commercial investments of any kind, in the country where he serves, without the knowledge and approval of the Prudential Committee, nor should he under any circumstances make personal loans to the natives. Every missionary should keep him¬ self as free as possible, consistently with necessities grow¬ ing directly out of the missionary work, from business relations and complications with the people dwelling in the country' where he is located. Outside Work No missionary in the field shall engage in any employ¬ ment other than that of the regular work of the mission without the approbation of the mission and of the Pruden¬ tial Committee. Incaseof work so approved, all remunera¬ tion received therefor shall be paid to the mission treas¬ urer for the Board, unless by previous arrangements with the Prudential Committee other plans are devised. This rule is not intended to exclude the writing of occasional articles for publication for which remuneration may be received. Life Insurance of Missionaries It is desirable for missionaries to carry life insurance in so far as their incomes allow, and the Board stands ready to aid them in maintaining their policies so long as it is understood that no legal financial responsibility is assumed. Policies may be left with the Treasurer, who, if desired, will pay the premiums and charge to the personal account 36 MANUAL of the missionaries, on receipt of proper notice of pre¬ miums due. An order for such payments should be left with the Treasurer before sailing, or returned to him before the first premium is due. The Board cannot make special grants for this purpose or take into account the payment of premiums in fixing the salaries of missionaries. Educational Work The educational work of the Board is subordinate to the evangelistic work, and cannot be sustained by the time and strength of the missionaries and the funds of the Board unless it is clearly auxiliary to the preaching and teaching of the gospel, the preparation of a Christian native agency and the creation of native Christian leaders. No schools of any grade shall be established or carried on in which there are restrictions upon the presentation of the gospel. No grants from local governments should be sought or accepted if made with conditions prohibiting or hampering the missionary purposes of the Board. Furloughs Seven years have been agreed upon as a regular and uniform term of service in the field for a missionary, with the exception of East and West Africa, Mindanao and Micronesia, where the term of service is fixed at five years. After the completion of such a term in the field each missionary, with the approval of his mission, is entitled to a year’s furlough at home, making generally an absence from the field of about fourteen months. It is expected that this furlough will be entered upon just before the heated term or vacation period in the mission, and that the missionary will be back upon the field at the close of the heated term the following year. It is expected that fur¬ loughs will be spent in the United States. FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 3 It is recognized that when a missionary reaches his field at the close of the heated term he will be entitled to ask for his next furlough to begin before the heated term after six years and nine or ten months actually in the field. When the missionary reaches his field late in the year, it is not expected that he will ask for a furlough to begin until after the completion of the full term in the field, and until the following heated term, in many cases making some months over seven or five years of service. Traveling Expenses When furlough is granted, the Board will defray the expenses of the journey, by the most direct and economical route consistent with health, from the mission station to the missionary’s home. These expenses include freight on personal effects as above indicated. All other freight, also duties on curiosities, etc., must be paid by the mis¬ sionary. Expenses of delays on the way, unless absolutely required by health or otherwise unavoidable, are not to be charged to the Board. Salaries of missionaries cease on leaving their station. They will receive funds from the station and mission treasurers for the expenses of the journey, such funds to be charged to the Treasurer of the Board and at once reported to him, to be accounted for by the missionary on arrival home. Missionaries leaving the mission should always bring a certified statement of their account from the mission or station treasurer as settled up to the time of their departure, or a draft on the Treasurer at Boston for the balance due the missionary, so that their accounts with the mission may be closed. Natives of the country must not be brought home by the missionaries at the expense of the Board, except in case of sickness when special attendance is pronounced neces¬ sary by the attending physician. 38 MANUAL Whenever a missionary comes home with no reasonable probability that he will return to the field, arrangements should be made at once with reference to severing official relations with the Board. This step aids materially in making arrangements for supplying the vacancy in the mission, and for caring for the work. If the missionary prolongs for any reason his stay at home after the expiration of the furlough period, it must be done with the consent of the Prudential Committee. Accounts of traveling expenses to the missions should be kept, and on arrival at destination rendered by the missionary to the Treasurer of the Board (not to the mission treasurer), and the balance not needed for the journey should be placed at credit of the Board with the mission or station treasurer, whose receipt for same should accompany the account to Boston. Expenses of “sight¬ seeing,” and of delays for such a purpose, are at private charges. The most direct route should be taken, unless health or economy require otherwise. Return of Missionary after Furlough Prior to the authorization by the Prudential Committee of the return of any missionary to his or her field after a furlough, the question of such return shall be acted upon by the mission and the result forwarded to the Foreign Secretary. This vote shall ordinarily be taken at the annual meeting of the mission which follows the beginning of such furlough. However, by unanimous consent, the mission may take this action at a meeting previous to the departure, the missionary in question retiring while the subject is under deliberation and when the vote is taken. Dismission or Recall of Missionaries Whenever any missionary has, in the judgment of the Prudential Committee, violated the instructions giv'en FOR MISSIONARY CANDIDATES 39 him, whether before or after entering the field of his mis¬ sionary labors, or has failed to perform any duty reasonably required of him, the Committee are authorized to dis¬ miss him, in case they deem it expedient, from the service of the Board. In all cases, however, where the missionary has actually been named in any of the official publications of the Board as having been received under its patronage and direction, the individual so dismissed shall have the privilege of submitting his case to the revision of the Board at an annual meeting. In order to secure the harmony and efficiency of action essential among the missionaries at the several missionary' stations, whenever the Prudential Committee shall become satisfied that an individual missionary, for any cause, is unable to work in harmony with his brethren, or to exert such influence as is deemed truly promotive of the cause of Christ or as warrants his continuance in that field, the Committee may recall such missionary, and terminate his relations w'ith the Board. Whenever, before the time of sailing, the Prudential Committee is convinced the appointment of a new mis¬ sionary was a mistake, because of new evidence or for any other reason satisfactory to the Committee, the right is reserved to recall or cancel the appointment. Disabled Missionaries No pensions are provided under any circumstances; but if missionaries, when aged and infirm, remain in the field, with the Board’s consent, an allowance may be given them as retired missionaries. Should they for cause return to the United States, with the consent of the Board, suitable provision shall be made for them. It is understood that missionaries after long service with the Board may, on account of advancing years or the 40 MANUAL infirmities of age, retire from active service, with the un¬ derstanding that, if necessary, the Board will make pro¬ vision for their support. Transfer to United States The Board will pay the expenses of the journey of the children of missionaries to the United States, whose com¬ ing, for education or health, on an application of their parents, has been authorized; but it does not engage to pay the expenses of their return to the mission after the age of twelve years. Children of missionaries are not ordinarily expected to be sent to this country under the age of twelve. Education Abroad A grant may be made for the education of missionaries’ children in foreign countries in schools and under condi¬ tions approved by the Prudential Committee. Homes for Missionaries' Children By the kindness of friends, homes have been established for such missionary children as cannot be placed with relatives or others—one at Auburndale, Mass., one at Oberlin, Ohio, and one at Claremont, Cal. These are held and controlled by trustees, not by the Board, except in the case of Auburndale. Children received are expected to pay for their board and clothing at cost price, and will receive the best of Christian care and nurture. Parents or guardians will have the entire charge and responsibility of the finances of their children, in correspondence with the trustees of the homes.