/S~z? \ a . in nt-' The Church School of Missions A HANDBOOK By WILLIAM A. HILL BAPTIST BOARD OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF MISSIONARY EDUCATION 276 Fifth Avenue, New York City 1926 MODERNIZING MISSIONARY METHODS There is no modernized commission. Our Lord’s command: “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel” has stood un¬ altered for two thousand years. There is no modernized plan of salvation — 11 For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” The Christ of our salvation is an un¬ changing Christ—“Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today and forever.” But in carrying out the unchanging com¬ mission to give an unchanging plan of salvation through an unchanging Lord and Saviour, to an ever-changing world, we may use every modern discovery and method. The men and women who insist on carry¬ ing on mission work exactly according to the methods of our fathers should be required to forego street cars, telephones, cables, air mail service, and radio in their daily living and to revert to stage coaches and ox carts or to cave-dwelling customs. Missionary methods may be modernized without becoming devitalized or despiritu- alized.—M rs. E. C. Cronk. —Missionary Review of the World. A MISSIONARY MEASURING ROD “Our Interest in Missions Measures our Christian Character. “Our Knowledge of Missions Measures our Christian Attainment. 11 Our Participation in Missions Mea¬ sures our Christian Efficiency.” —Henry C. Mabie. V CHRISTIANITY IS FUNDAMENTALLY MISSIONARY By this we mean 1. That the missionary ingredient is an original, essential, necessary and indis¬ pensable major element in it; 2. That the missionary spirit is no off¬ shoot or by-product, but belongs to the very central core of our religion. 3. That Christianity is not itself with¬ out it; 4. The professing Christian, who does not see and feel this, has yet to learn what real Christianity is. —Frederick L. Anderson. The Church School of Missions v Page Definition . 5 Preparation . 5 I. Committees . 6 II. Leaders. 8 III. Pastor's Relation . 9 The Plan . 9 I. Time Period. 9 II. Time Schedule . 11 III. Study Courses . 11 The Method. 12 I. Supper . 12 II. Class Period . 12 III. Prayer or Worship Service . 12 IV. Suggestions for Closing Night. 14 Missionary Education Standards . 15 I. Certificates and Awards . 15 II. Standards . 15 Materials . 17 Some Results . 19 Successful Church Schools of Missions ... 23 Sample Class Attendance Card . 37 Sample Church Publicity Material. 38 THE CHURCH SCHOOL OF MISSIONS DEFINITION HE Church School of Missions is the A new idea of great promise in mission study. It is the whole church membership organized into at least three graded classes, studying simultaneously for a period of from six to ten weeks, the whole world field. It is not a theory. It is a clearly con¬ ceived and successfully operated plan of missionary education which seeks to include the entire church in its classes. It has passed beyond the experimental stage, and is being commended on every hand. It has been tried by many churches large and small, city, suburban and rural, in our own and other denominations throughout the United States, and all are enthusiastic about it. It is adaptable to local conditions. It works. PREPARATION Plenty of time should be allowed for preparation. Plans should be made sev¬ eral weeks in advance and in close coopera¬ tion with the Pastor, leaders of the Sunday School and Young People’s Societies, and 5 of the Women’s Societies and Men’s Classes. A missionary cabinet or committee may be appointed, made up of representatives of each society or organization in the church, and this may become the function¬ ing committee on the Church School of Missions. Where there is a committee on Missionary and Religious Education, it may be charged with the responsibility. This Cabinet or Committee should ap¬ point the following sub-committees several weeks prior to the opening of the school: I. Committees 1. Committee on Courses and Leaders. This committee will decide on sub¬ jects for study, text-books to be used, lecture courses to be given (if any), and the selection of teachers for courses. This committee will also supervise the ordering of text-books. 2. Committee on Publicity and Pro¬ motion. This committee has an im¬ portant service to render. It will devise and use appropriate means to arrest the attention and enlist the interest of the entire church. The following suggestions may be of value: Seek the pastor’s counsel and ask him to preach on the Church School of Missions as a theme. Have printed an advertising an¬ nouncement. (See sample in back of this booklet.) 6 Place notices in weekly calendars, if issned. Post announcements on bulletin boards. One large church placed this responsibility in the hands of a group of young business men, who systematically cultivated the entire church for weeks. This school en¬ rolled 400 members. Use local newspapers wherever possible. 3. Committee on Enrollment. This committee, cooperating with the Committee on Publicity, will seek to enroll the class attendance in ad¬ vance of the opening of the school. Printed enrollment blanks or cards make this an easy task. (See sample in back of booklet.) 4. Committee on Equipment. This committee will see that the necessary rooms are secured, that tables, chairs, blackboards, maps and stere- opticon are in place and that the heating and lighting are satisfactory. 5. Committee on Special Features. This committee will render special ser¬ vice wherever it is desirable to con¬ clude the School with a Pageant, or Missionary Play, or Stereopticon Lecture. Such a committee should make its plans early. The Depart¬ ment of Missionary Education will furnish suggestions for dramatic materials, and costumes may be 7 rented from the Department. Ask for Costumes Folder. Write Stere- opticon Department for titles of Slide Lectures. II. Leaders It is important that local schools should develop local leaders or teachers so far as possible. It is a mistake to import special¬ ists to teach classes in the School of Mis¬ sions. A specialist attracts undue attention from other classes, and individual study and discussion, which are most important, are interrupted. The permanency of the school is best assured by using locally trained leaders. College, high school and grammar school teachers are at once the preferred class from which to recruit the teaching staff. A teachers ’ training class led by the pastor, a professional man, or a Normal teacher, is an admirable method for secur¬ ing teachers. Such a class should be held prior to the opening of the school. No training plan is superior to the fol¬ lowing : Encourage leaders and prospective teachers to attend a Summer Conference where special preparation is afforded un¬ der missionary specialists. The Mission¬ ary Education Movement Conferences are conducted for this special purpose. (Write for information.) Note: In Southern California the churches pick out their leaders for the dif¬ ferent study classes, months in advance, and send them to the Asilomar Conference, in many instances paying their expenses. 8 III. Pastor’s Relation Experience shows that in almost every case where a Church School of Missions has been a conspicuous success, it has had the enthusiastic backing of the Pastor. Often he has trained the leaders, sometimes he has taken a class in the School. He should usually have the closing period of worship in his care. In preparation for the School, and it may be also to tie up its impressions, he should make missions and the large ideas of the School prominent in his preaching. No one can better adver¬ tise the School. If he assumes the attitude, “Here’s a great opportunity and we’re all going to make the most of it, ’ ’ he can great¬ ly stimulate attendance. The Pastor will want to keep very close to the work of the School, and the impres¬ sions being made in it, that he may conserve its results. THE PLAN I. Time Period Two sessions of the Church School of Missions are recommended, one in the autumn for the study of the Home Mission Theme, and another session in the period between January first and Easter, for the study of the Foreign Mission Theme. In case it is impossible to conduct two schools, classes for both Home and Foreign texts should be planned. < The well-planned Church School of Mis¬ sions should have at least six study sessions 9 meeting weekly at such an hour as may be best adapted to the local conditions. The closing session later referred to should be an extra session, which may be held on a Sunday evening. The School may be held at any one of the following hours, depending upon local re¬ quirements : 1. Evening of regular mid-week prayer meeting. The majority of churches in the east prefer the regular mid-week service because it avoids another appoint¬ ment and in many cases has solved the problem of attendance at the prayer meeting. Adjournment from classes to prayer service benefits both school and church. 2. Special evening. In some communities it is desirable to hold the school on a special eve¬ ning. The choice should fall upon the evening which promises the at¬ tendance of the largest proportion of the congregation. 3. The Bible School hour. Other churches wishing to secure co¬ operation of adult and young peo¬ ple’s groups in the Church School of Missions have scheduled the classes at the regular Bible School hour for a period of six weeks, using the text-books for all grades. (See instance of Baptist Church at io Shinglehouse, Pennsylvania, noted in back of booklet.) 4. Sunday evening Young People’s hour. This is the night most favored by our churches in the far west, where great enthusiasm attends the plan. The Young People’s Society co¬ operates by giving up its regular service and becoming one of the classes of the Church School of Mis¬ sions during this period. II. Time Schedule The time schedule must be locally ar¬ ranged. The following arrangement is common and suggestive: 6 :00-6 :45—Supper. 6 :50-7 :50—Classes. 8 :00-8 :45—Prayer or Sunday Evening Service. III. Study Courses Most churches will wish to use the cur¬ rent mission study books on Home and Foreign Missions. Some may wish to study some special field or theme within the broad range of Home and Foreign Missions. Some will wish to include classes in Stew¬ ardship and in the Missionary Message of the Bible. We strongly urge that both the last named subjects be included. The number of classes will depend upon ii church membership and leaders available. Each Church School should include classes for all grades whenever this is possible. Special study books for men’s classes and special groups will be recommended by the Department of Missionary Education on request, together with lists of current study books and other valuable materials. THE METHOD I. Supper It is a good arrangement to have the memoers of the School come directly to the church from their work. A simple supper may be served, thereby affording social fel¬ lowship and a saving of time. II. Class Period Immediately following the supper each class should meet its own leader in a sepa¬ rate room for at least an hour of intensive study and discussion. The best work will be secured by a leader who doer, not lecture nor narrate missionary incidents merely, but who uses maps and charts, makes as¬ signments and asks questions leading to discussion. A room where teacher and students can sit around a large table makes an ideal arrangement. III. Prayer or Worship Service This will depend upon the night chosen for the work. If it is a regular prayer meeting evening, a period of prayer will follow the class study. The pastor may 12 wisely dovetail his service into the study class theme. The following suggestions may be of value: 1. Talk on the spiritual values in mis¬ sionary service. 2. Use of the prayer calendar. 3. Use of the missionary hymns of the church. 4. Call for two-minute reports from rep¬ resentatives of each mission study class. 5. Special intercession for those looking forward to Christian service. The following suggestions may be found helpful if the School is held on a week-day: 1. Ten-minute “surprise’’ program giv¬ en before assembled school each night. 2. A dramatic sketch. 3. An exhibition of missionary curios; an interesting story told with the ex¬ hibit of a curio. 4. Two-minute reports from the classes. 5. Ten-minute stereopticon pictures. 6. Special prayer for fields studied. If Sunday evening is used (and this has proved to be a very popular time), the preaching service may be changed into a continuation of the School with appropriate lectures illustrated by stereopticon, or with a returned missionary speaker, or some es¬ pecially prepared missionary address. 13 One of the oldest, largest and most suc¬ cessful Schools of Missions is in the First Baptist Church of Redlands, California. They have a large wall map of Asia, with an electrically lighted cross above it. Golden chains extend from the cross to each one of our Baptist Mission Stations. When the whole school stands and begins the hymn, “0 Zion, Haste, thy Mission High Fulfilling, ’ ’ the lights flash out on the cross and remain during the singing. This is a feature of every Sunday’s session. Another successful device is to have a large map of the United States with Baptist Mission Stations marked by tiny electric light bulbs so attached that different col¬ ored lights may be flashed on the various fields. IV. Suggestions for Closing Night of the School 1. A resume of the findings of the classes in their study of the subject. 2. A public debate on some topic in the study book. 3. Exhibition of hand-work. In addition to hand-work prepared by the chil¬ dren, this might include White Cross work with short talks telling where it is to be sent and some of the needs it will fill. 4. An address by a missionary, or a stereopticon lecture on the subject studied. 14 5. A pageant in which different classes present some part or episode. 6. Life decision meeting. MISSIONARY EDUCATION STANDARDS The Department of Missionary Educa¬ tion has received frequent requests for some form of recognition for work done in Mission Study. After careful study and conference with the Missionary Societies, and in coopera¬ tion with them, Missionary Education Standards are issued, and certificates awarded as follows: Certificates and Awards A Certificate will be given by the Department of Missionary Education to each church winning 100 or more points, for classes beginning on or after May 1, 1924. The number of points will be stated on the certificate. A Trophy will be awarded to the/ District reaching the highest percentage of points on these Standards in proportion to its membership. Trophy may be retained until won by another District. Standards Bible School Points Systematic presentation of Missions in the Bible School. For each quarter in which Missions is sys¬ tematically presented. 10 15 Plays and Pageants Points By this is meant the longer productions. Short plays or episodes should classify as a part of programs . 10 Debates A missionary debate for which careful prep¬ aration has been made. 10 Summer Conferences Attendance Missionary Summer Conference, Assembly or Institute . 10 Any church having representation in Mission Study Classes in Summer Conference, Assembly or Institute. Program Meetings At least five meetings on one or more study books or other missionary topics. 10 Reading Courses 5% of total church membership reported in last State Annual, reading five books in Na¬ tional Missionary Reading Contests. 25 Mission Study Classes 1. Lecture Course Lecture course on missions in the local church, consisting of at least six meetings... 10 Children’s groups in which the study book is presented by the leader in story form—at least six meetings counting as a course. 10 2. Discussion Class Reading groups which cannot make previous preparation but which meet at least six times for reading and discussing any study book... 10 3. Delay Study Class The Relay Study Class is one in which the chapters of the study book are presented by different persons, in at least six meetings, re¬ viewing the main points, adding outside facts 16 Points and incidents. Questions should be assigned in advance by the leaders and points discussed by members of the class.15 4. Extensive Study Class Large class in which one leader presents the book. The members read their text-books, pre¬ pare topics assigned by the teacher and spend part of the time in discussion, meeting at least six times but not doing what can be called intensive work . 20 5. Intensive Study Class The Intensive Study Class is the ideal method. It is usually limited in numbers, its members owning and studying their text-books, meeting together for a period of weeks of in¬ tensive study under the direction of a leader who does not lecture nor narrate missionary incidents merely, but who uses maps and charts, makes assignments and asks questions leading to discussion . 35 Note: No additional credit is given for a Church School of Missions, since each class in the Church School receives credit according to its type. MATERIALS 1. The Current Mission Study Text-Books See folder, “ Mission Study Books, ” supplied by the Department of Missionary Education on request. For Classes in Stewardship “Stewardship for All of Life,” Lovejoy, cloth, 75 cents. “The Larger Stewardship ,’’ Cook, cloth, $1.00; paper, 25 cents. “The Stewardship of Life,” Agar, cloth, 75 cents. 17 2. Helps for Study Class Leaders “The Mission Study Class Leader’’ (revised;, T. H. P. Sailer, cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 75 cents. “Mission Study Class Manual”— B. C. Millikin . 10 cents “Suggestions to Leaders” or “How to Use” for each study book. 15 cents Mission Study Class Enrollment Card.. Free Missionary Education Standards folder Free Mission Study Text-books folder.Free MISSIONS—Single annual subscription $1.25 In clubs of five or more.. $1.00 “The Missionary Review of the World,” per year . $2.50 Note: . The City Library is a valuable aid, and will provide books and lists of references if pre¬ viously requested. 3. Sunday School Sunday School Graded Missionary Stories .. 35 cents Sunday School and Study Class Pic¬ ture Charts . 35 cents 4. Programs and Organizations Programs and Literature Packets on Current Themes. 35 cents Literature of the World Wide Guild and Children’s World Crusade. 5. Reading The Stewardship Library. Model Missionary Libraries folder (re¬ vised) . Free National Missionary Reading Contests folder . Free 6. Dramatic i i Introduction to Dramatic Sketches of Mission Fields.” Pageants and Plays. (Information fur¬ nished on request.) Costumes, “Costumes of the Mission Fields,” (folder) . Free 18 SOME RESULTS Out of the many letters reporting Church Schools of Missions in our denomination we have selected typical instances giving a variety of results. What the Church School of Missions Did for the Temple Church, Los Angeles, Cal., 1923 “It aroused great enthusiasm among all our people. “It furnished instruction and inspiration for completing the New World Move¬ ment financial campaign. “It brought a great spiritual blessing to the whole church.” —J. Whitcomb Brougher, Pastor. The Three Year Record of This Church Year Attendance Average 401 452 732 2404 2714 4391 1921 1922 1923 First Baptist Church, Rome, N. Y. “Our church people feel tremendously repaid for the venture of a Church School of Missions. As a creator of an urgent atmosphere, the School was an abounding success. One of our very strongest men, who previously had been interested in New 19 World Movement matters mostly from the financial side, praised the educational feature unstintedly. Many wanted to con¬ tinue the study weeks longer. “The effects will last. For instance, we are to have a Church Committee on Litera¬ ture through whom a number of things will be worked out, such as Workers’ Library for the Church School, Reading Courses in Missionary Education, Campaign in Maga¬ zine Subscriptions and perhaps a Church Book Table. Some of our outstanding peo¬ ple have been reading quite widely in refer¬ ence and supplementary books. We feel without reservation that we have made such a success of the School as shall make its re¬ currence desired.” First Baptist Church, McMinnville, Oregon “The six weeks period of intensive mis¬ sion study of the Home Mission book began with an attendance of 163 in the classes and closed with 297, all keenly anxious for the beginning of the Foreign Mission course. A state worker who preached in the church on the closing night requested those who had definitely determined to do some type of Christian service to rise. Between eighty and one hundred filed up to the platform. Following this with an invita¬ tion to those who would give Christ right of way in their lives and who would settle upon no vocation without first considering Christ’s claim to their service, twenty-seven, most of whom were high school or college students, stood up.” 20 First Baptist Church, Everett, Washington “After three years of trial it is our con¬ viction that the Church School of Missions is the most practicable and effective means yet devised for bringing the missionary task and achievements to the attention of the whole church and its constituency. Among the benefits are these: a realization of the world’s needs; a better understand¬ ing of the many avenues of Christian ser¬ vice; such a knowledge of missionary work and of the nations of the world as gives reality and concreteness in one’s thinking of them; while the missionary entertain¬ ment which has each year followed the School has made a strong appeal to a larger constituency than that reached by the School directly.” First Baptist-Peddie Memorial Church, Newark, N. J. “At the last meeting of the Church School of Missions held last year in the church, Deacon Sherwood, who was teach¬ ing the Men’s Class on ‘The Bible and Missions,’ was so impressed with the desire of the class to go on that he arranged for them to organize a Men’s Missionary Society. Thirty charter members joined that night. The next year, Deacon Sher¬ wood not only taught this class of men, but also another class in a neighboring church. ’ ’ 21 First Baptist Church, Creston, Iowa Some weeks after the close of the Church School of Missions, the pastor sent in the following results: “Our church is now in the midst of a quiet revival. Twenty have been recently baptized and five more will probably be baptized next Sunday. Five others have come into the church by experience. Still others are interested and we look for them to confess the Saviour soon. “The revival interest that now prevails has been credited by some directly to the influence of our Church School of Missions. It would be more correct to say that our present interest is due to the fact that early last fall our church adopted a program for the year adapted from the one recom¬ mended by the Northern Baptist Conven¬ tion. Since the new year, we have been strenuously carrying forward our plans that included the Church School of Mis¬ sions, the Stewardship Campaign in Febru¬ ary, a pastoral Evangelistic Campaign be¬ ginning March first and functioning largely through the B. Y. P. U. and Sunday School, and also the denominational Con¬ tinuation Campaign. “As a direct result of the Church School of Missions, we have two organizations—a Junior B. Y. P. U. and a Junior W. W. G. I have conducted a Saturday afternoon Children’s Class, preparatory to baptism and church membership, and I have been greatly interested by the missionary char¬ acter of the prayers that the children have offered.” 22 SUCCESSFUL CHURCH SCHOOLS OF MISSIONS On Special Week Night Emerson Ave. Baptist Church, Indianapolis, Ind. The Emerson Avenue Baptist Church of Indianapolis, Paul Judson Morris, minis¬ ter, conducted a seven weeks’ school of missions. One evening each week for seven consecutive weeks the church met for supper at six-thirty o’clock. The evening meal was followed by a devotional period, after which four groups—Adults, Young People, Junior and Primary—assembled for a forty-five minute study period, using the Foreign Mission text books on Japan. After the class hour the church again re¬ assembled in the gymnasium for a social hour which lasted until nine o’clock. The attendance ranged from 80 to 150, Only two evenings did the attendance drop below the one hundred mark. Especially notable was the attendance and interest of the men and the young people during the sessions of the school. The instruction was supplemented by the presentation of dramatic sketches by the young women of the church and by the use of the stereopticon lecture, “Fighting for Character in the Cities of Japan. ’ ’ In addition to these classes, six groups of women, with an enrollment of over fifty, under the leadership of Mrs. C. M. Dins- more, wife of the Superintendent of the Indiana Baptist Convention, met once 23 a week to study the book, ‘ ‘ The Child and America’s Future.” The Church expected to spend a week under the instruction of Dr. M. D. Eubank, M.D., of China. At Bible School Hour First Baptist Church Shingeehouse, Pa. On April first the First Baptist Church of Shinglehouse, Pennsylvania, started study classes in the Bible School according to the following schedule: 4 3 2 2 1 2 2 classes using 1 ‘Stay at Home Journeys’’ “ “ c( Under Many Flags” “ “ “ The Kingdom and the Nations” “ “Making Life Count” 11 “ “Playing Square with Tomorrow” t ( t i t ( n “From Survey to Service” “World Friendship, Inc.” 16 classes in all with a total class attendance of 179. The Department of Missionary Educa¬ tion provided teachers’ helps for these classes. The total enrollment of this Church School of Missions was greater than the total church membership. “The Blue Hills Church of Hartford, Conn., which has a local membership of 100, is just closing its first School of Mis¬ sions. The pastor worked through the existing church organizations in setting up the school, first choosing capable leaders for the four study groups. 24 “A Primary group was maintained for the convenience of parents having small children they could not leave at home. The Junior class was the Junior department of the Church School. The Young People’s Society kindly gave up their Sunday eve¬ ning meeting and became one of the study groups. The Adult section was composed of all above the age of the Young People’s group. “By vote of the church the School con¬ vened on Sunday evening. The people gathered in the church vestry at six o’clock for a social period with a light lunch. Then came a five minute devotional period fol¬ lowed by forty-five minutes of instruction. The regular course on China formed the basis of the work done. After the study period the school reassembled for a ten minute “surprise” at which time different sketches illustrating some phase of the general topic, China, were enacted by members of the school. “At the regular evening service hour of the church a varied program of genera] missionary interest was given by outside speakers. The Foreign Work of the Y. M. C. A. was presented by a local layman sup¬ plemented by Mr. D. M. Hsu, secretary of the Y. M. C. A. in Chefoo, China. Mrs. May Baker of Ongole, India, gave two strong addresses and there were two illus¬ trated lectures given by our state officers, Mr. E. E. Gates and Mr. H. B. Sloat, the latter dealing with the China of today. The practical application of the whole 2 5 course was ably presented by Miss Mary Howard, President of the Woman’s Bap¬ tist Mission Society of Connecticut. “The School was easily financed by a voluntary offering of the members. There was a total attendance of 546 which makes an average attendance of 91 per cent based on the local membership of the church. Also is it noteworthy that the evening at¬ tendance of the church more than doubled during the School. “The Juniors did the most spectacular bit of work as they set up under the gui¬ dance of adult leaders the model of a Chinese Mission Hospital as given in Friendship Center. “It is planned to close the School with a week-night gathering at which a group of the young people will give ‘Chee Moo’s Choice, ’ a play having a Chinese reference. There will also be an exhibit of the Juniors’ work and Chinese curios.” On Prayer Meeting Night Mount Vernon, N. Y., 1923 The idea of a Church School of Missions took definite shape at the Northern Baptist Convention at Atlantic City. In June a committee was appointed, made up of rep¬ resentatives of each of the principal organ¬ izations of the church: the Men’s Club, Woman’s Society, the World Wide Guild and the Sunday School. The Baraca and Philathea classes had representatives of their own. This committee met once be¬ fore summer, to lay plans, appoint sub- 26 committees, and act as an advertising agency. “In September final preparations were made, leaders not already secured were enlisted, study books decided upon and dates fixed. The School was set up as fol¬ lows: Six Wednesday nights beginning October 17th and ending November 21st, to be given over to the study of Japan, for men, women and young people; six Sun¬ day mornings of the Church School to be used likewise for all except the Primary and Beginners Department and the Men’s Class; six bi-weekly meetings of the Younger Women’s branch of the Woman’s Society on Monday evenings, beginning October 29th and carrying through till December. “The whole project was launched on Sunday, October 14th, with an impressive pageant, ‘Winning Japan/ given before the whole Sunday School by members of the School, and by a stirring sermon by the pastor that morning on ‘The Christian, a World Citizen.’ These two factors gave a powerful impetus to the whole thing. “As can be seen, the aim from the first was to make it a church-wide affair, and the groupings were made with that in mind. There was one men’s group on Wednesday nights, with an enrollment of over 35 and an average attendance of nearly 30. There were two women’s groups, each having about 30. The young people’s group, of young men and women, likewise had about 35 enrolled. Finally, a group of teachers in the High School De- 27 partment of the Sunday School met as a group on Wednesday nights to discuss the material and manner of presentation to their classes the next Sunday. “The regular procedure on these Wed¬ nesday nights was a fifteen minute devo¬ tional period at 7:45, then the division into classes until 8:45, when all reassem¬ bled for any special feature that was planned. On the second, fourth and sixth sessions, respectively, we were fortunate in having Mr. Galen Fisher (whose book the men were studying), Mrs. John Dearing, and Mr. Theodore Walser, speak to us out of their experience. Those three addresses alone would have made the School worth while, in the estimation of many, aside from the profitable study of the books themselves. “All the leaders of the groups were from our own people, and much credit is due them for the success of the School. The enthusiasm and patient study they put into it carried many along in spite of them¬ selves, and aroused an abiding interest in the missionary enterprise. “In the Church School, the Junior and High School Departments and the Baraca Class gave their entire attention to the study for the six weeks, even using the open¬ ing worship for some phase of the study The Juniors used ‘The Honorable Japa¬ nese Fan’ for their study book; the High School Department, ‘Japan on the Up¬ ward Trail,’ and ‘The Woman and the Leaven in Japan.’ Each class became automatically a study group, and the 28 teacher became the leader. A map of Japan was provided for each class, also a number of views, both of the earthquake and fire, and of Japanese life before the earthquake. The treasury of the Church School bought study books so that every child might be sure to have one, which proved to be a wise procedure. “The Junior Department dramatized parts of their book, and as a kind of clos¬ ing time, gave their dramatization before the whole school the Sunday following the close of the study. It made such an im¬ pression that several requests came in to have it given before the church, which was done the following Sunday at the time of the children’s talk. The most effective part of it all was a painting on a canvas screen, taken from the cover design of their book, and set up on the platform, with back binding and edges of leaves made out of paper, out of which the characters stepped through a doorway cut in the screen. The characters literally ‘came out of the book’ to speak to us. An artist in the church very kindly painted the scene, and much of the realistic effect was due to his brush. “The High School Department superin¬ tendent carried out a novel plan in the opening worship, taking the children on an imaginary trip from Mount Vernon to Japan and through Japan after they ar¬ rived. Different ones spoke, according to what they were most familiar with. He took the first part, showing how one goes about it to make the trip to Vancouver and thence to Japan. Then the cause of earth- 29 quakes; the kind of buildings that have to be constructed because of the earthquakes; something of Japanese life, by a woman of our church who had lived there four years, and Japan’s position in relation to the other Oriental nations, were all taken up in turn. “All seem to have felt that the School of Missions was well worth while. Many have said so, enthusiastically, and we know of several who have become interested in the work of the church and are now regular attendants, because of the six weeks’ course. Others have said they hoped that we would have another course in the near future. A few very naturally could not get over the idea of ‘sacrificing’ the regular mid¬ week prayer meeting for such a thing as the study of Japan. But their fear was not borne out by the facts, for the prayer meeting attendance more than doubled during the six weeks’ study, going from 40 or 50 up to 80 or 90, with an attendance one night of 102. Since it was my first experience with managing one of these Schools, and the first time to my knowl¬ edge that such a thing has been done in this church, the attempt was not as thor¬ ough or complete in the workings as we should hope it would be another time. But it was an honest beginning, and for the 300 total number enrolled, I believe it ac¬ complished the goal we set for ourselves: ‘An increase of intelligent love for the people of Japan.’ “Finally, in order that all thought of Japan might not be dropped when our 30 study closed, we secured a list of Japanese students and young business men in Japan, from which different groups or individuals might select a name and start a correspon¬ dence. So far, only three names have been appropriated, one by a woman’s group, and two by boys’ classes in the Sunday School. What may come of this correspondence, no one can as yet tell. On Sunday Evening Temple Baptist Church Los Angeles, Cal. Every church can do it! Temple Church is a great body of more than three thousand people. Of course it can put on big things, but other churches, large and small, can do the same on a large or lesser plan. Temple Church has always been strong in the spirit of Missions. Each summer it sends a group of its people to Asilomar, where missionary conferences are held, and programs, methods and objectives are studied. The interest return on the invest¬ ment is immediate and dynamic. Schools of Missions were held in the fall of 1921 and 1922. This established a precedent. Last year—the third—the attendance to¬ taled 4,391, more than 1,000 being enrolled. The last night, the actual attendance was 916. There were two months of intensive preparation for a six weeks’ school. The General Committee consisted of the Director of Religious Education,, all chair¬ men of sub-committees, the Director of Dramatics, secretary, treasurer and libra- .21 rian. There were committees on music, decorations, electric lighting, advertising and special features. The faculty and assistants numbered twenty-five. There were numerous other helpers. A circular was prepared for general dis¬ tribution, giving names of courses, teachers, age, classifications and the list of drama¬ tizations to be given each night. These were distributed by the Sunday school pupils, in their own homes and immediate neighborhoods. At the women’s social circles, for weeks prior to the school, thou¬ sands of yellow paper chrysanthemums were made. These, with enrollment cards, were given to every member of the congregation on the Sunday morning preceding the open¬ ing of the school, by young Japanese men and women, after a missionary sermon by Dr. Brougher. Burdette Hall, where prayer meetings and social functions are held, was decorated as a Japanese garden. Paper lanterns (lighted by electricity) were hung. Pop¬ corn, colored pink, fastened to boughs, made a perfect mass of i i cherry blossoms ’’ as a stage background. The great Buddha was drawn on the blackboard, and Mt. Fujiyama, and pagodas, etc. All this was done a week before, for advertising pur¬ poses. A special enrollment card was prepared. Perforated in the center, one-half gave name, address and telephone, and on the levelse side, a place to check the courses selected. The other half listed the drama¬ tizations, text books and school directory. 32 A button was also prepared, weeks be¬ fore, bearing this inscription: “Temple Baptist School of Missions,” in red letter¬ ing on a white ground. It was Sunday night at 5:30, covering the time when our seven Christian En¬ deavor Societies met, all of which were temporarily absorbed in the School of Missions. This is a better time than prayer meeting night, if it is worth while to reach others than the prayer meeting group. The Christian Endeavor Societies form a nucle¬ us. It relates itself to the church services. It tempts outsiders to come early. It dis¬ covers a large number, young and old, for an evangelistic field. It widens the reach of missionary instruction. It makes it pos¬ sible for the whole family—even when there there are small children—to attend. Simultaneously, however, on Wednesday nights, Dr. Hudson gave a course of ad¬ dresses on: “ The Authority for Missionary Enterprise.” These were given an hour before prayer meeting, and were attended by hundreds. The subjects were: “The Authority of the Scriptures”; “The Au¬ thority of a Christian Conscience”; “The Authority of Human Need”; “The Author¬ ity of Success”; etc. At 5:30 sharp, Mr. Joy called the School of Missions to “attention.” Necessary an¬ nouncements were made. Next, some fea¬ ture of interest was put on, such as a group of singing Japanese children; a Japanese choir in costume; a tea ceremony; etc. At 5.45 all were dismissed for separate classes, these being arranged for men and women, 33 and for young people and children, accord¬ ing to age. Classes lasted for fifty minutes, when they were promptly recalled to wit¬ ness a dramatization requiring twenty min¬ utes. Then all were dismissed, and went to reserved seats for the evening service. On the Friday night after the closing Sunday night, a great concluding pageant was given, representing many nationalities : Italian, Mexican, Japanese, Russian, In¬ dian, Negro, etc. and the church as the agency in Christian Americanization. These different groups sang their national anthems and folk songs. The results of the School were far reach¬ ing. The whole church was awakened, as never before, to think “Missions.” The Christian Endeavor was given a vision. It showed the importance of pageantry. It was a feeder to the church. The whole family had something in common for home conversation, and a common interest in the Christian world program. Temple Church believes in a Sunday night School of Missions once a year, con¬ ducted with all the pep and color and char¬ acter that its versatile people can put on. A Five Years’ Record First Baptist Church, Redlands, Calif. The First Baptist Church of Redlands, California, has held a Church School of Missions for five seasons. The first and second sessions used the regular study text¬ book, while the third used “The Survey.” 34 The first School had five classes ; the men averaging 35; women, 44; senior B. Y. P. U., 45; high school B. Y. P. U., 23; junior, 23. In the second School there were eight classes, and the total attendance each week ran 268, 275, 263, 276, 287, 294. The third session of five weeks with seven classes averaged 196. Results noted were: reading of mission¬ ary literature was increased; the men organized for mission study; a desire to do as well as study Americanization brought a group of Japanese children into the Bible School. In the fourth session the largest atten¬ dance was 321, and the lowest 252. The allotment of this church for the New World Movement was $67,250. The church sub¬ scribed $68,185, added 187 members dur¬ ing the year, and reported a total member¬ ship of 663. The fifth session had eight classes, seven of which were intensive. There were 464 enrolled and an average attendance of 375. According to the report received May 1, 1924, Redlands had increased its member¬ ship to 898 and had given during the year over $13,000 to local expenses and nearly $15,000 to benevolences. Fine Record in First Church Los Angeles, 1923-24 The First Baptist Church of Los Angeles, California, has made an unusual record during the past year from both an educational and financial standpoint. They 35 not only had a Church School of Missions, but also organized study in various groups, aggregating forty-seven Mission Study Classes, which entitled them to 650 points on their certificate. This is the highest educational record reported in any of the Northern Baptist Churches last year. In addition to this, the pastor, Dr. James A. Francis, never lets a Sunday go by with¬ out calling attention to world issues and world needs. As a result of his carefully prepared educational program, the church has made the following wonderful record in giving: $32,000 Home Expenses $40,500 Missions $12,500 Other Benevolences. This makes their per capita giving (resi¬ dent members) $27.00 for Missions, or $56.66 for all objects. Immediately following the close of the fiscal year, their objective for Missions for 1924-25 was set at $45,000, which is a fine advance in view of the building project the church has on hand. 36 Sample Class Attendance 37 Sample Church Publicity Material ■s c$ ■§ © m x o o U U - si o h 3 •a U Fh )h a; o JCj y 3 cd 3 43 O . Fh 3 43 u u D a T 3 —i H > (B Q 43 H •*■» Fh rt 3 bO O c • ^ 3 O u o fca «& fl) Cw JT3 w 3 ^ r* C/3 ©is a o w CQ P4 O w s p R cB o to • H 43 H 00 © Fh P -M & © fH Fh c3 Pi O • rH CO m © •rH © © P< OQ © rO £ © Fh 43 00 ^ P © a © _ o Qj Pi P £ -4> ^3 © • rH Fh © O Pi PI °£? bO g ,a £ •+H © © a fn Fh O «H Fh

c 3 £ © 43 P 42 © t m © m m d *c3 © £ «H O BO Fh © © a Fh O «H © o 'o r\ o CO d T3 © t> Fh © CO © £ © © PI c£ t> f©! d Fh © PH Pi P^-rH P OQ to HH> © M © 39 Address . YES SUPPER—jvjq (Detach enrollment slip and hand in ) 1. “HOW THEN SHALL THEY CALL ON HIM IN WHOM THEY HAVE NOT BE¬ LIEVED ? And 2. ‘ ‘ HOW SHALL THEY BELIEVE IN HIM OF WHOM THEY HAVE NOT HEARD ? And 3. “How SHALL THEY HEAR WITHOUT A PREACHER ? AND 4. “HOW SHALL THEY PREACH EXCEPT THEY BE SENT?’ ’ —Rom. 10:14-15. re T IS strange how some Christians can with- I hold from the world, without compunction, the best news that ever came into it.” No. 239-M.E.-II-5M-October, 1926.