?**• THE MISSIONARY HERALD-EXTRA. j H * Chittenden The Supreme Opportunity. SAMUEL B. CAPEN. £ Zbc Missionary BeralD, Published monthly by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 14 Beacon Street, Boston. Vol. XCVI. Subscription, 75 cents. No. 1 — January. [Entered at the Postoffice at Boston, Mass., as second-class matter.] THE SUPREME OPPORTUNITY AN ADDRESS TO THE Constituency of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, By Samuel b. capen, President of the Board. ftbe /llMssfonars MeraU), Vol. XCVI. Published monthly by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 14 Beacon Street, Boston. Subscription, 75 cents. No. January. [Entered at the Postoffice at Boston, Mass., as second-class matter.] extra. American 25 oar& of Commissioner^ for foreign Ci^iosionO, CONGREGATIONAL HOUSE, BOSTON. ©fficcrs anil Committees. President. — Samuel B. Capen. Vice-President. —D. Willis James. Corresponding Secretaries. Judson Smith. Charles H. Daniels. James L. Barton. Editorial Secretary. — E. E. STRONG. Treasurer. — Frank H. WlGGIN. Recording Secretary. — Henry A. Stimson. Assistant Recording Secretary. — Edward N. Packard. Prudential Committee. Edwin B. Webb. Charles C. Burr. Albert H. Plumb. William P. Ellison. G. Henry Whitcomb. J. M. W. Hall. William W. Jordan. Elijah Horr. Charles A. Hopkins. William H. Davis. Samuel C. Darling. Edward C. Moore. Auditors. Edwin H. Baker. Elisha R. Brown. Henry E. Cobb. &Dbisorp Committee for tlje jFortoarfc ^floiiement. Lucien C. Warner, New York City, Chairman. Howard S. Bliss, Montclair, N. J. E. H. Pitkin, Chicago, Ill. Joseph H. Selden, Elgin, Ill. H. H. Proctor, Boston. E. R. Burpee, Bangor, Me. Charles R. Brown, Oakland, Cal. J. L. Barker, Berkeley, Cal. Luther D. Wishard, Special Representative. Cooperating; New England District. H. H. Proctor. Wm. F. Whittemore. E. R. Burpee. Edward S. Tead. S: B. Shapleigh. Committees. Middle District. Lucian C. Warner. Chas. A. Hull. Howard S. Bliss. John F. Anderson. Dyer B. Holmes. District of the Interior. J. F. Loba. Edward D. Eaton. E. H. Pitkin. David Fales. Joseph H. Seldon. Pacific District. James L. Barker. W. W. Scudder. Chas. R. Brown. Boston, December 12, 1899. To the Members and Friends of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions; Having accepted the presidency of the American Board because I believed it to be not only a trust laid upon me by your votes, but also the will of God, I have felt like being silent as in the very presence of the Almighty, to listen to his voice, to know the meaning of the providences which have brought me here so suddenly, and to learn what he would bid me try to do first in his name. One cannot forget the great men who, in our generation, have gone before; Mark Hopkins, the Christian scholar, the profound teacher; Dr. Storrs, who has so often led us, almost to the very gates of Heaven, by his impassioned and matchless words of devotion to the Master; Dr. Lamson, our brother beloved, whose beautiful character was so manly and so true that he drew all hearts to him. It is not the honor of this position, however, that has been in my thoughts, but its responsibility and its opportunity, and the words of the Master, “ Without me ye can do nothing.” It is impossible for me not to express my gratitude for the many letters which have come to me from all over the country, giving words of cheer, pledges of cooperation, promises of prayer, embodying the most earnest desire for an increased missionary interest throughout our churches. And from what has been expressed I feel that so far from its being considered officious or premature, it may be expected that some statement should be made of points considered of first importance, upon which attention may be immediately centered, in order to secure a new consecration to the work and a vigorous rally of new strength for it, even though we chiefly re-state with earnest emphasis points which have received recent attention and assent, but which need more general, united and energetic adoption. Are not the follow¬ ing points basal for us now ? Missionary work, the center of the life of every church, the supreme test of loyalty to the Master. Therefore, a realization of the true measure of our ability, and gifts truly proportioned to that ability, our present duty. Does it seem to some that I am putting the emphasis in the wrong place ? Let us look at the situation. First. We find the world wide open everywhere to receive the message of Jesus Christ. We no longer offer the prayers of our fathers that God would open the gates of heathen lands.” He answered that prayer years ago. 3 Second. Go back ten years, and the constant petition was for men to go into the hard places. That prayer we have ceased to offer, for there are vol¬ unteers waiting to be sent to the farthest outpost. Third. Neither do our churches as a whole need to pray for more money to do the work. We have that now in our own possession. See how we spend for ourselves out of all proportion to what we give. What we do need, keeping first in our thoughts the missionary work, is to organize all our churches to give to it systematically and proportionately . ORGANIZATION. This is the first purpose of the Committee of Fifteen, chosen a few months since, partly by the National Council, and partly by our National Missions societies, to secure, if possible, a gift every year from every church for each of our six societies. The result is to be attained by having a mis¬ sionary committee in every State, in every conference and in every church, which shall see to it that there is definite planning, and effort in some measure commensurate with the supreme importance of the work. We are to apply modern and successful business methods to the Lord s business. The remark was made in an address at the Providence meeting, that only about one-tenth of our church members give to our missionary work. This is probably an over-statement, but it is true that there is a large fi action who give little or nothing, and who are often conspicuous by their absence on “Missionary Sunday.” We hope that the missionary committees in the churches will reach out after the absentees so that all shall share in this work, not only for God’s glory, but for their good. There is need of a per¬ sonal missionary canvass. This effort for better organization for missionary service has come in the Providence of God in answer to a great need. (i) Only 1,171 churches out of our 5,620, or twenty-one per cent, gave last year to all of the six societies. (2) In those churches which do give, because of the lack of method, many members give nothing. It is a well- known fact that the giving is done by a minority of the membership. (3) Because of ignorance with regard to our six-fold work, large sums of money are wasted every year in gifts to very doubtful experiments. The truth needs to be made more clear that money given to our missionary societies, whose work is constantly open to review, is the money most likely to bring permanent results. Business men have learned that organization always gives efficiency and power, and this is nowhere more true than in missionary work. Officials in our Boards of Organized Charities in our cities will convince any skeptic. If we could only save the waste, there would be full treasuries. In order to see clearly what an organized effort like that proposed by the Committee of Fifteen would do for our missionary societies, let us look at the facts. The total gifts of the living to our six societies have averaged the past ten years about $1,200,000. Last year they were $i, 275 > 965 ' The Com mittee recommend that this amount be increased to $1,600,000. Does this 4 seem too much to ask ? Our church membership is 628,234. Let us exclude for our present purpose more than one-half, say 328,234, as an estimate for children, persons in extreme poverty, etc., and count Wha wou?dDo at '° n as S ivers but 300,°°°. The total amount suggested, $1,600,000, divided among 300,000 members, is $5.33 each per year, or an average of a little over ten cents a week per member. It would really be less than this, for in every parish there are numbers, not enrolled as church members, who give oftentimes generously to missionary work. There are many hundred members in our churches whose annual gifts are from $100 to $1,000 each. There are churches also whose gifts average from $10 to $40 a year per member. When you come to analyze in this way you not only see how absurdly small the average of ten cents a week seems, but it brings out into sharp and clear light the fact stated above, that a very large fraction of our church members give practically nothing for missionary work. And yet, if even this small average was given, it would increase the average income of the American Board over $150,000 per year. We can raise this money easily, and much more also, if we can only have the proposed committees in every State, conference and church do their work. The 300,000 church members spend many times this amount every year in entertainments, concerts and various things which could be easily given up. Consider the in¬ numerable fraternal societies, “ Sons of Adam ” and “ Daughters of Eve,” organizations for the propagation of almost everything under Heaven. Think of the assessments, and the banquets, and the “ outings ! ” If we only put one- quarter of the time and labor and money that go into these things into mis¬ sionary work, every destitute region would, in a few years, be reached and blessed. It is not a question of can or cannot , but of will or will not. We rejoice in the grand work the women have been doing the past few years, and in the amount of their gifts. Only about ten per cent of these come from legacies, and most of the gifts come in small sums. Why have they accomplished so much ? Because of their organization. As a rule they make a canvass of the ladies in the church, securing their pledges in advance, and in many cases they are made at a considerable sacrifice. How about the method in the churches themselves, where the men are reached ? The pastor gives notice that the annual contribution for the American Board will be taken; perhaps he speaks of its importance; often what he says is extremely brief. When the Sabbath comes, those who are present give something. If the weather is pleasant, the gift will be larger than if the day is stormy, but only in a very few churches is there any effort made to secure a gift from the absent members. And when the collection is analyzed, how certainly is it found that some men who spend liberally for trifles pay their missionary obligation in small coin. The money that women gather is raised personally and systematically. What the men give, as a rule, comes without planning, without system and about as it hap¬ pens. Let me give an illustration which has come to me within a few days; it is of a large church in the interior, with many men of ample means, and worshipping in a splendid building. Taking out the gift of one very generous 5 man, the regular contribution to the American Board last year was $i$o. That represents the gifts of the men without organization. The women of the church gave $900 for Home Missions and $800 for Foreign Missions. I hat represented their gifts with organization. That is a story from the West. Here is one from an interior city of the East. It is of a strong church of sev¬ eral hundred members. The missionary contribution was $900. One man gave $500, his wife $250, a second man $100. The rest of that large church gave $50 ! Such illustrations, which could be multiplied, suggest to us the first need, viz., to organize and press the plan of the Committee of Fifteen, until some one proposes a better. To quote from a letter recently received from Dr. Henry Hopkins of Kansas City, “ Your Committee of Fifteen hold, I think, the key to the whole situation.” Is some one surprised that, as president of the American Board, I should be pleading for a plan that has to do with all our societies. In reply let me say that I believe I can do no better service to the American Board than to use such influence as I have to urge just such loyalty. Along the whole want greater unity in our missionary work without thought of rivalry. We need a “ forward movement,” not in one society but in all, and if the churches at home languish, the American Board is certain to suffer. A “ forward movement ” in the American Board, at the expense of the work of other societies, will be sure to react to our injury in the future. The Committee of Fifteen is fully aware of the widespread feeling in the churches that the home societies at least should in some way come closer to¬ gether, either through federation or by an organic union. The resolutions at the National Council at Portland took this into full account. But while we are discussing changes in methods of administration at home, we ought not to per¬ mit the army to suffer at the front. The question has been asked what the recommendation of the Committee of Fifteen was with regard to the proportion of the total amount raised, that should be paid to each of our six societies. I take this opportunity to say that the Committee made no recommendation, and felt that the conditions in the different states were so different that it might be considered almost an imperti¬ nence for the Committee to make a general recommendation for the whole country. We feel that our Congregational churches in the different States would much prefer to propose their own plans of proportions. It seemed to us that our duty was done when we published, as we did, the average gifts of the six societies for ten years, and what each society would receive if the in¬ crease asked for was paid by the churches, provided they followed the same proportions in their gifts as they had done in the past. I print this table over again, that all our churches may see what these yearly averages have been, and what the amount would be for each society if these proportions remain as in the past: 6 Average yearly donation for ten years. Amount on basis of increase proposed. A. B. C. F. M. Congregational Church Building Society Congregational Ed. Society (four years) Congregational S. S. and Pub. Society American Missionary Association Congregational Home Missionary Society ^470,178 00 366,925 00 178,236 00 59,027 00 72,567 00 53,072 00 $626,900 00 489,231 00 237,647 00 78,703 00 96,756 00 70,763 00 $1,200,005 00 $1,600,000 00 Calculating the proportions, we find that for the past ten years the Amer¬ ican Board has had thirty-nine per cent of the gifts ; the Home Missionary Society, thirty and one-half per cent; the American Missionary Association, fifteen per cent; the Building Society, five per cent; the Educational Society (four years), six per cent; the Sunday School Society, four and one-half per cent. Experience has shown that the committee was correct in its position, for I have before me the schedules in three different states, as arranged by their state committees, and there are no two of them exactly alike. Nor has the committee laid out any plan for general adoption in the local churches, as the present methods are so very various. Some take special offerings for each of the societies on special Sundays. Others follow the weekly offering plan, and then give a specified proportion to each. Other churches agree on the gross amount they feel they ought to give for the -whole missionary work, and then divide up the amount in shares, asking pledges from individual members as each may be able. But the plan that may be best in one church would be opposed in another, and any pastor or committee with all the information that is available is fully capable of managing such details. We believe that one of the advantages of the Committee of Fifteen’s plan is that it admits of elasticity, so that it can be conformed to local needs with¬ out in any way interfering with its spirit. The officers of the American Board are in full sympathy with this plan for the better organization of all our missionary work. They have welcomed it from the beginning. It is a pleasant memory that, before this plan was pro¬ posed at the National Council, I discussed it in its various aspects with Rev. Dr. Lamson. It not only had his heartiest approval then, but, last May, be¬ fore his own pulpit, he took me by the hand and his first words were, in sub¬ stance, “We will stand by you in the new plan.” In Christ’s nearer presence, with clearer vision of the infinite meaning of missionary work, may we not believe he has a still keener interest in a plan which, if the churches will, can furnish the money to push the missionary line forward all over America and all over the world. EDUCATION Passing from the need of a more complete organization, I would repeat and urge the plea for better education in our missionary work. Dr. Bradford, in a recent number of “ Congregational Work,” has well said that “before the treasuries of our missionary societies can be filled so that they will stay full, 7 there must be a long and thorough campaign of education, which shall have as its object the teaching of the people who live today, that they and all men need the gospel and Christian institutions.” This education should begin in the home, for the best missionary interest, that which stands the test of time, starts at the fireside. While the church most effectively reaches the home through the parent, yet it has Children 6 ^ ie opportunity to reach the children directly through the Sunday school. It should, therefore, be made more a part of the business of the church to train the boys anid girls to the highest missionary spirit. First. There should be a catechism prepared with such questions as the following, with answers: “ What is missionary work? ” “ Why should I give to missions ? ” “ What is the best way to help in missionary work ? ” “ How many missionary societies have we in the Congregational churches ? ” “ What are their names, their work, etc., etc. ? ” We ought also to recognize modern methods of education in the use of the eye. There should be prepared a handsome illuminated card in large type, with the names of the six societies, to be hung upon the wall in every Sunday school room, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The pastor or the Sunday school superintendent should supple¬ ment the work of the teacher in the class with the catechism, by a general review of the whole school at brief intervals, until the scholars know our mis¬ sionary work as they know the alphabet. Second. When the children have thus been instructed and interested in our splendid missionary work, its stories of matchless heroism, etc., they should be encouraged and expected to give systematically to our six-fold work. Large sums of money in the aggregate are given by our Sunday schools every year. In an article which I wrote in 1890, the amount of the contributions taken up in the Sunday schools was estimated then at $200,000. With proper instruction given to the children it could be largely increased. Let us cease talking to the older boys and girls in our schools about “ penny contribu¬ tions.” It belittles the whole idea. No wonder they put in only coppers. Let us talk about missionary giving and dignify it as it should be. Much of this money is given to miscellaneous objects ; some, at least, of doubtful value ; most, far inferior in importance to our own missionary work. Perhaps the children in our Sunday schools can support some one of the missions. They have given a Adorning Star three times in the past. Let them provide a whole galaxy of stars every year in missionaries supported ReaCh Schooi Unday anc j chqdj-en taught. There is a large revenue here that ought to be directed so far as possible to this its best use. The total gifts of the Methodists last year to Foreign and Home Missions together was $1,162,949, of which the Sunday schools contributed $382,520. By their rules, fifty-seven per cent went to the foreign work, and forty-three per cent to the home. The Presbyterians gave to their foreign work last year $882,087, of which the Sunday schools gave $42,998.31, besides what they gave through the Woman’s Boards. The American Board receipts were $633,016, of which the Sunday schools gave directly but $11,701, including those that went through the Woman’s Boards. I am not urging that all the 8 children's Sunday school gifts should go to the six societies. I here are other worthy objects they should remember. But I am pleading for a fair proportion, and $12,000 is not such a proportion for our foreign work. When I referred to this Sunday school work in my address at Providence, on the report of the Home Department, I did not know what was in the mind of a member of the Prudential Committee, or of the resolution that was to be offered and heartily accepted, asking the Sunday schools to set apart a Sab¬ bath in January for addresses, etc., on foreign missions, and for an offering from each class. The third Sabbath in January, each year, has now been fixed upon as the date. This is definite and practical, and deserve? a univer¬ sal response. I am glad to say that some of the officers of our Sunday School Society are already considering the providing of the catechism and the illustrated card referred to above. For more than fifteen years it has been a pleasure as President of that Society to urge all our churches every year to remember by their gifts the missionary work for the children of America. I am glad of the opportunity now to urge every Sunday school throughout our land to make a contribution to the American Board. From our more than 5,000 Sunday schools we ought to raise the first year $50,000. One Sunday school of only average ability has made the first pledge of $100. I know the broad mission¬ ary spirit of the men with whom I have served for so many years, the secre¬ tary and the executive committee of the Sunday School Society, and its noble superintendents and missionaries in the West. I feel sure there will be a hearty response, so far as the influence of this society can go in endorsing this appeal. Third. This education of the children in our Sunday schools means far more than their present gifts, important as these may be. It means the boys and girls themselves in future years pledged to the support of our whole missionary work. The children are our reserves and the time has fully come to call them out. The great givers of the past were made in child- Trained to j looc p a s h G rt time ago I talked with the late Samuel Johnson Give. 0 about the missionary work of the Old South Church, Boston, where, as is known to so many, there is thorough planning by pastor and com¬ mittee. He told me of his early gifts of a few dollars a year, when his salary was very small. It was that training which led him to respond to every call and give his thousands every year when the day of larger things came to him. It was that training which made it possible for Rev. George A. Gordon, his pastor, to give this beautiful tribute in a recent memorial discourse : “ He was known as the lover of this Church, (Old South) ; at the same time, his concern for foreign missions was his chief religious interest.” “ The child is the father of the man ” in his missionary gifts, more than in almost any other direction. In contrast with the above, a friend went recently to a young man in his church and asked for a gift of ten dollars for foreign missions, but the man felt that that sum was coo much to expect of him. Yet that very week he paid fifteen dollars entrance fee to a club, and fifteen dollars additional annual dues, 9 with many other expenses. Neglect in his early years had brought this young man to such distorted views of proportion in his expenditures. If selfishness rules the boy, benevolence will never rule the man. My second appeal to parents and pastors and teachers is for better missionary education. It is one of the hopeful signs in this missionary education that the leaders of the Christian Endeavor movement have been doing such efficient service the last few years. At the meeting in Montreal in Christian Endeavor. 1893, Rev. Dr. F. E. Clark, in his presidential address, stated that both good citizenship and missionary work must be the basis of Christian Endeavor work in future years. The emphasis then put upon these two ideas has been continued. Especially has every effort been made to develop the missionary spirit. Not only in the great yearly con¬ ventions, but in the local unions, and in prayer meetings this subject has had a large place. It has taken shape partly in the organization of the “ Tenth. Legion,” and the statistics show that the gifts of our young people have very largely increased during the last few years. We know very well from his utterances that Dr. Clark and his associates, will press this idea in the future with all earnestness and enthusiasm, and we can confidently expect an increas¬ ing revenue from this source from year to year. The direct gifts from Chris¬ tian Endeavor societies last year was $21,577 ; we believe in a reasonable time they will be $50,000. BUSINESS FORETHOUGHT. With the better organization already proposed, and the better education of our children, there is a third point which I think needs to be provided for as we face the future. The American Board closed last year with a debt, but not because of a falling-off in the gifts of the living. These made the gratifying gain of $58,000 over the previous year. The legacies, however, were $85,000 less than in 1898. While we regret the debt, it will prove to be a great bless¬ ing in the end if it leads now to a recognition of the great variations in lega¬ cies, and to wise business planning accordingly. To illustrate: in 1892 the legacies of the Board were nearly $250,000; the next year they fell to $147,000. In 1898 they were $187,000, and in 1899 they fell again to $102,- 000. The average of the legacies for the past ten years has been $166,000. If the Board, therefore, the past year, had had the average receipts from lega¬ cies, these receipts would have more than paid its annual expense. With such variations, we see how difficult it is for the executive committee to plan its work. We must, however, get out of debt, and then keep out forever. The appeal so constantly made to raise money to pay debts is not only distasteful to our churches, but it paralyzes in a large measure, the missionary spirit, and rests like a great pall over secretaries and committees, and the brave men and women at the front. What is the solution ? One certainly is, to put all the legacies into a fund to be called the Legacy Fund, a portion only of the amount to be spent each year. In this way the large legacies one year will average with the smaller legacies of other years; there will then be a reasonable uni- formity in the available receipts from this source, and a consequent steadiness in the work. This is no new plan, for it has been practically at work in the Sunday School Society for several years with perfect success, helping to carry them through these last years of business depression without a The Plan Tested, debt. A very able report was presented at the Providence meeting by Dr. L. C. Warner, of New York, in its spirit entirely in harmony with the above plan, and the Board has voted that all leg¬ acies received this year in excess of $100,000 be used to pay the present debt. I know the objection will be raised that we ought to put the money as fast as received into the work and not create a fund. “Trust the churches” and “ trust in God ” has been the constant word at many a meeting. But God has given us experience and reason for guides, and not to recognize certain stub¬ born facts is blind folly. This is not faith, it is presumption. When we are in trouble through no fault of our own, we may then expect Divine help; when we get there through a want of proper care, we must not find fault if he leaves us to suffer for our folly. Satan once invited Jesus to cast himself down from a pinnacle of the Temple, stating that God would take care of him, but he replied, “ Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” A missionary society is tempting Providence when it refuses to accept certain facts as guides to action. There was quite a discussion ten years ago over this ques¬ tion of legacies, some contending that there was what they called “ a regular law of legacies,” and others opposing the idea. Time has proved that the latter were correct. There has never yet been a committee and there never will be one, with the gift of foreknowledge, so that they can either discover the secrets hidden in men’s wills, or know when their Heavenly Father is to take them home, so that these gifts will be available. I believe the creation of such a fund as proposed, viz., to average the leg¬ acies, so that the unusual receipts of one year might be an offset to the small receipts of another, thereby giving steadiness to the available a Legacy Fund receipts, would be approved by every business man. So far from lessening gifts, it would tend to increase them. It would give new prestige and character and confidence everywhere. A business firm is injured if it is known to be doing too much business for its capital. The time has fully come in all our missionary societies, when, if we will do our best work, the ordinary methods of safe and prudent financial manage¬ ment must be adopted. The American Board from its very beginning has had the highest financial standing. It has now, as in all the past, some of the ablest business men in the country upon its Prudential Committee, to care for its interests. Its credit has been of the best in all the world’s markets. Let it recognize now some changed conditions, and take this one further step to prevent all future debts, and it will stand unchallenged as the model of all missionary organizations everywhere. I am glad to know that the officers of the society and its Prudential Com¬ mittee are in sympathy with this plan, and have only hesitated because it would necessitate a curtailment of the work during the transition period. 11 As there is no knowledge of any large gift or legacy likely to come into the tieasury at an early date, which could be used as a basis for this fund, it is important to consider what can practically be done now with regard to it. Our Congregationalist brethren in England have proposed to raise a Twen¬ tieth Century Fund of half a million pounds, the roll to be kept of all sub¬ scribers and collectors, and to be closed on the first day of the twentieth century, January i, 1901. The Methodists in both England and America are at work in a similar way. Why should not Congregationalists in America, following the above examples, raise a Twentieth Century offering to be used as a legacy fund for the purpose already indicated ? Let the privilege be given to have it paid when desired, in two annual payments. As the new century is about to dawn, why may we not expect some large gifts to put this grand old society once for all in a position where debts will be a thing of the past ? Dr. Stimson was correct when in a recent article he called attention to the changed conditions which have come in the business world the last few years, and, as a result, the large fortunes which some Christian men Large Gifts, have made. Ought not such men to recognize the privilege of a large increase in gifts in proportion to their increased ability ? That which a few years ago might have been generous, will now in God’s sight be small and unworthy. He takes note not of the gift, of what we have left. The liberality with which many now give for Y. M. C. A. buildings, hospitals, etc., in sums of from f>$,ooo to $2^,000, will in the twentieth century be the new standard for their missionary gifts. There are also many of smaller means who ought to be eager to make a special thank-offering because of what has been done in the old century, to plant the cross in the dark places of the earth. I am, as a rule, opposed to special appeals. They usually take from the regular gifts, they are a weariness to the pastors and the churches, there is sure to be a reaction, so that the net gain from the appeal is usually very small. But with the opening of a new century, the only one we shall ever see, there seems to be a peculiar fitness in an effort to raise this Twentieth Century Fund to be used as a legacy fund for all the future. To recapitulate, the first duties are better organization , better education , business forethought. THE pastor’s INTEREST ESSENTIAL. For the success of all this planning there is one condition which is abso¬ lutely essential, the intellige?it interest, the enthusiastic codperatio7i of our pastors. They hold largely the key to success or failure of any plan : it will be like so much dead machinery without their support. As a rule, the interest of the pastor in missions measures the interest of his church. The remark is often made that the ministry does not have the influence it once did. While admitting that times have changed, and that the pastor is no longer the only educated man in his parish, yet still he is our “ pastor and teacher.” He is by our side in the hour of sorrow; he still marries our children and buries our dead. His touch of love still binds us to him, and he may, if he will, lead his people on to higher and better things. It is for the pastors, by their own enthusiasm, to kindle a passion for missions which shall stir the careless and the indifferent, and make all feel that missionary zeal is at once the heart and the life blood of the church of the Pilgrims. It is to the credit of our minis¬ try that so many are thoroughly aroused, and are practically at work in vari¬ ous ways. A friend recently told me of a plan he once followed of having every Sabbath morning, before his sermon, a five-minute prelude on missions, adapted especially to the men of his church. In contrast with this, a pastor recently, who came from another denomination, abolished the whole system of our denominational missionary work, on the ground that these collections cut into the money wanted for current expenses. A man who has not suffi¬ cient interest to make a missionary plan for his church, and a heart to push it when made, ought not to be settled over a Congregational church. To quote from Dr. McKenzie, “ The American who does not believe in foreign missions, denies his ancestry, his country and his God.” There is one thing certainly every pastor can do, viz., provide at least once a month, in the mid-week, a missionary meeting. I fear in a major¬ ity of our churches, the old “ Missionary Concert,” so called, has gone. I would not ask for a revival of this exactly, but for a service ThC itervice' 11 ^ shall take its place ; a service which shall make a study of missions in the whole world. In our late Civil War the heart of the nation was with the army, for every family had some representative “ at the front.” Our churches ought to consider our missionaries at home and abroad as our representatives “ at the front,” and follow them as we did the army. Lay out a whole year’s work and assign different portions of the field to different individuals for them to study and report upon. There is no story more glorious or fascinat¬ ing. Why do all our churches want to hear the missionaries ? One reason certainly is that they have something to say of personal and definite work. Let us make our meetings very definite and practical, with the latest facts. What a place in these meetings to study God in history! And the man who reads history without this thought has left out the key. Such a study broadens men. Professor Irving Wood, of Smith College, has said, “ No subject for study will give culture more than the study of missionary work. Philistinism is provincialism, and nothing opposes provincialism and broadens sympathy as the study of missions.” Change the name of the meeting. Call it “ The work of the army at the front,” in India, or China, or Alaska, or Porto Rico, as the case may be. There will be a new definiteness and earnestness in our prayer. Our thoughts will follow not the “flag” only, but the “cross,’’ without which there would never have been a flag worth following. Yes, with a new purpose, we want together to plan the work and then wo?'k the plan. 13 And I would press this interest in missions upon the pastors of small and feeble churches, as of equal importance to them as to those settled over stronger churches. From experience on Home Missionary Boards I know very well the discouragements in the little communities, and sym- Small Churches pathize with the burdens of the men who are placed over the feeble churches. But is it not true that one reason for discour¬ agement is the narrowness of their vision ? It is the home missionary church that especially needs the uplift that comes with the broader outlook. Even if the gift of the little church is but a few dollars, it would feel that it was definitely connected with the great movements of the age, even to the end of the earth. It is a part of the great army, and is, therefore, no longer small. It has fallen into line, having put on the uniform of the king, and is doing ser¬ vice in his name. Let the pastors everywhere make it known that missions are the business of the church, and not its pastime, and the world will honor the church as never before. We glory in the “ Student Volunteer Move¬ ment,” and their enthusiasm to be sent to the front. Let us kindle a new fire in our churches that shall provide the money to put these young soldiers, as fast as they are ready, out on the fighting line. We rejoice in the splendid leadership of so many of our pastors in all missionary work; and may we not urge upon all the magnificent opportunity to be earnest and true in this holy war, not only to save America, but to carry the gospel of the Son of God into all the earth. THE MOTIVES. And what is the motive for all this effort to gather more that we may scatter more ? It is God’s command surely. The Bible in the Old Testament and the New clearly shows the emphasis that he put upon it. Giving was a part of worship. “Ye shall not appear before the Lord empty; every one shall give as he is able.” Again, “ Let each one of you lay by him in store as he may prosper.” It is “ each ” and “ every one,” and in proportion to ability, in the Old Testament and the New alike. The scriptures always lay the emphasis upon these two points, universality and ability. God apparently keeps his record differently from ours; the church treasurer counts what he receives ; God, with knowledge of our ability, counts what each man has left. Giving is a test of discipleship. But the positive command is not the chief motive. It is love , the same which brought Jesus Christ into the world, “ to seek and to save that which was lost.” Man’s need as the awful background, and a passionate desire, in loyalty to the Master, to follow along the path he trod, have for nineteen cen¬ turies furnished the supreme motive which has led men to suffer and to sacri¬ fice in order to plant the cross in the darkest corner of the world. POWER OF PRAYER. It is so fundamental to all right thinking and action that it might seem unnecessary to allude to one condition of success, without which all else counts for nought, viz., the blessing of our Father in Heaven in answer to 14 heartfelt and therefore constant and earnest petition. I allude to this, not only because I am unwilling to make this first public statement without a recogni¬ tion that all human effort apart from God is valueless, but especially because in the many letters I have received, the thing which has touched and impressed me most is the repeated statement that special prayers are now being offered for the new presence and power of the Infinite One to be mani¬ fested in the work of the Board. Methods, organization, personal work, all will prove insufficient and disappointing without such constant prayer. From the time when the prayers of five young men under the haystack at Williams- town led to the formation of the American Board, to this hour, it has won all its victories through the power of the Holy Spirit in answer to such requests.. “ Prayer makes a person a magazine of power.” PRESENT DISCUSSION. There are two other points, much in the thoughts of the churches, which I would also notice. First, the importance of the closest possible connection between the officers of the Board and the field. My whole experience in the home work has led me to the strongest conviction that to do our best work there must be constant visitation by the secretaries and members of executive committees, wherever possible, to the front, wherever the front may be. At the bar today, it is not always the lawyer who can make the most fervid appeal, but the one who, a master of facts in the case, can most clearly put them before a jury, that wins. And it will prove so in the work of this Board. A year and a half ago, when preparing the paper on “ Modern Methods in Missionary Work” for the National Council, I wrote the following paragraph : but this with sev¬ eral others were omitted largely for the sake of brevity. “ IVe must have a closer touch between the field and the home churches. Certainly no mer¬ cantile house could carry on business in all the world intelligently and successfully, if there was not constant personal communication between the home office and its representatives in other parts of the world. Several years ago, the Sunday School Society had in mind the commissioning of a man in a distant state to do its work, but he declined and went into the service of another organization, giving as a reason subsequently that if he worked for the Congregational Sunday School and Publishing Society, he would have to go to the front, and he preferred to do his work for another organization, where he could do his work largely from his home. Is it not a fact that in some of our societies we have tried to care for the work too much from the office ? This certainly is one advantage that our Methodist friends have over us, in the rotation of their bishops. They are sure to have at each yearly mission¬ ary gathering not only men who have been all over the world, but men who have that very year come from mission stations, and who know by personal inspection the requirements of the field. In Scotland and England, almost every year, they have ministers and laymen mak¬ ing a tour of their missions. In the year 1S83 the American Board sent a deputation to Constantinople. For many years there had been more or less friction over various questions, connected with the Turkish Missions. This deputation visited some stations and met dele¬ gates from them all. As a result of the conferences, everything was settled harmoniously,, and there has been no question raised since. This service was worth ten times what it cost. We are glad that the American Board, after working more than sixty years in China, has this year sent a delegation to look after its interests in that great empire. We can see in the case of Robert E. Speer, one of the foreign secretaries of the Presbyterian Board, John R. Mott of the Student Volunteer Movement, and of our own Francis E. Clark, all of whom. IS have made long journeys around the world, how they are wanted by the churches everywhere to tell what they have seen and heard at the front. It is well said by another, ‘ We are entering upon the second stage of missionary work and readjustment must come, but the solution will not be discovered by a mass-meeting of pastors of American churches or through the discussions of secretaries at the home offices. Personal inspection of the fields by intelligent experts is needed.’ ” The heartiest commendation can be given to the practical value of the Japanese deputation sent in 1895, which was without expense to the Board. It is also a pleasure to state that at an early date Dr. Barton is expected to visit India. While we wish to use all possible economy of expenditure, I believe the cost of Dr. Smith’s recent visit to China, and of Dr. Barton’s pro¬ posed visit to India will bring large returns directly and indirectly in the future work of the Board. The second point relates to the “ Forward Movement ,” so called, urging churches to such increased offerings as would give many of them their own missionary. This is not a movement outside of the Board but is a branch of its own work and carried on in full sympathy with it. There is great inspi¬ ration to any individual or to any church to know who its personal represen¬ tative is at the front. There is a definiteness in the interest and a definite¬ ness in the prayer which is worth much. The Presbyterian Board, as is well known, has made very much of this plan, and believes heartily in it. Yet I found a year and a half ago, in talk¬ ing with one of their secretaries, that there are some difficulties which they have to guard against, and we shall be obliged to do the same as time goes on. The Advisory Committee and Mr. Wishard, who is so earnestly and so ably representing the Board in this work, are fully conscious of them. We do not want what has been called “ over-specialization.” But within proper lim¬ itations I hope the movement will be continued, not by churches only, but especially by individual laymen in large numbers. I believe especial care should be taken that where churches assume the support of a pastor in the foreign field, they shall not absorb that which has been given by the women to their distinctive work. The Woman’s Boards are a branch, and a most important one, of the American Board, and anything which cripples them in their work would be a calamity. To prevent any pos¬ sible misunderstanding, that should hinder Mr. Wishard in the work that he is doing, I would say that he is in full sympathy with the above statement. OUR MISSIONARIES. I do not wish to present this address without recognizing in a very defi¬ nite way our missionaries all over the world, who in a special sense are fight¬ ing our battles for us. If there are any persons in this world who are entitled to our deepest sympathy and love, they are the brave men and women who have gone away from home and friends and many comforts to hold up the cross of Christ in the dark places of the earth. It will always be a great pleasure to me that some of these missionaries were at home on a furlough, and that I could take them by the hand at Providence. The words which they spoke then and since have been most encouraging. I wish to say to all 16 our missionaries in the whole world, that, in common with so many others, you will be very frequently in our thoughts and prayers. I believe we are coming to a new day when it will not be necessary for the Board to ask you to cut down every item to its lowest terms, and hold you back in new work, but there will be such an increase of gifts that you can be allowed to press for¬ ward, as you are very eager to do, to the fields that are yet unoccupied, and that are waiting ready for the message of light. I believe the churches are now to follow up their prayers in a more liberal way. I am reminded of a hard- headed New England farmer who was asked one day by one of his neighbors to pray for a poor widow. His reply was, “ I will send my prayers in a cart, and before night he made his promise good with a load of provisions. So we in America hope and expect not to pray less, but to provide more. May God’s richest blessings be upon you, every one! RESULTS. There are two phases of missionary work to which at this time I can only briefly allude and yet they are most important and most inspiring. I refer first , to the wonderful results already wrought in heathen lands in the less than a century since this Board was organized. And these results are to be meas¬ ured not only by the number of converts, the pupils in the schools, etc., but by what has been accomplished in the undermining of the hold which false religions have had upon the people, and the consequent rapid preparation which has been going on everywhere for the universal acceptance of Chris¬ tianity. Following the missionary closely, come the railroad and the telegraph and the new ideas of Western civilization. As a result, the old religions of the East are fast losing their hold upon the people, and Christianity is march¬ ing on to triumph. The success of missionary work is to be the chief perma¬ nent glory of the Nineteenth Century. Second, we should notice the reflex value to America of our foreign mis¬ sionary work. Not only has it broadened our sympathies, and inspired us in our home work, but it can be shown that this work has become a large asset in the nation’s wealth and prosperity. It is the missionary who has practically been the pioneer in opening up many new markets for America’s manufac¬ turers. It is stated that a large cargo recently went from Boston to Honolulu, containing furniture, musical instruments, etc., merchandise wanted only by a civilized community, and the profit of that single cargo to the shippers was a sum equal to one-tenth of the whole cost of the missions to the Sandwich Islands! If the skeptical would look at the facts, they would not so often sneer; if Christians would keep the facts more clearly in mind, their gifts would be more generous. We are not working in a lost cause, we are on the winning side. PERSONAL APPEAL. And this leads me to my final thought of a special appeal to the business men of the country for a new interest in missions. As one of you, I am sure we can come very close together in sympathy. Modern methods and changed conditions have made a revolution in business in the past few years. Compe- 17 tition is fierce; the strain and pressure are exhausting. It is a “ strenuous life.” Such a surcharged worldly atmosphere is full of peril to our Christian characters. What shall save us ? To consecrate our business more than ever to God, and to so increase our gifts that we shall have our own personal repre¬ sentative in some far-off land, preaching the gospel in our stead. Business, life itself, will then have a new meaning. For nearly a century the Board has been sending out into the darkness with the light of life some of the bravest men and women the world has ever known. They have faced peril and famine and pestilence and war, not only with courage, but with joy that they were counted worthy thus to suffer. There is no story so glorious as that of the heroism of missions. The writer of the Hebrews left a record of the great worthies in the past and laid down his pen. But God has carried on the record through the centuries with the names brought up to this hour, and many of our missionaries will be found in that list when the record stands completed by the final victory of the cross. When the reveille sounds in the resurrection morn, and that grand list is read, what an honor to be counted among the number ! Can our names be there ? Years ago a young man in Boston was so moved by a missionary address that he gave himself to that work. He had not the gift to teach or preach, but none the less was he a missionary. He lived frugally, and for many years gave money enough to support a missionary at the front. Out of an income of -$1,500 he sometimes gave more than $1,000 to such work. If our own names can have no place, we can have our parttier's there, the one whom we sent, and methinks the Master will recognize in some sense the oneness of the work. It may mean sacrifice. But that is just the reason I urge it. Mazzini was right when he said, “No appeal is quite so powerful in the end as the call, ‘ Come and suffer.’ ” Lieutenant Hobson found no difficulty in getting volunteers, even though the men knew it was almost certain death. It may call us to give up some of our pleasures, some of our ease, but it is a small life that will not respond to its fullest ability in this crisis of the world. Is not the opportunity to share in the final victories worth any cost ? There is not an angel in heaven that would not speed in his flight if he could have our chance for service and sacrifice. LEGACIES. As a part of this “ personal appeal,” I would like to allude to the privi¬ lege which God’s favored ones have of leaving legacies to the great missionary work of our churches. When our feet touch for the first time the streets of the celestial city, and we begin to see what “ God hath prepared for those who love him,” will it not be a joy in that hour if we have left behind us some gifts which shall continue to be used for his kingdom ? Recently, a gentleman became so much interested in the “ common sense ” of the new “ Forward Movement,” that he not only pledged $800 for the yearly salary of a mission¬ ary to represent him, but he promised also to leave a fund, at his death, which should continue to pay for such a representative for all the future, until time shall end in eternity. He is putting his money, not into bricks and mortar, 18 but into pulsing, throbbing life. What will be the joy of that man in the heavenly mansions to know that his representative is still out on the fighting line, and when he drops out of the ranks there is another volunteer ready for the place ! Everything in heaven will be made the more glad because of it. When a rich man dies and leaves his wealth for the public weal, how the world rejoices! Hospitals, and libraries, and colleges are being splendidly endowed and made permanent. Let the children of God be as true to their great missions, and help to make permanent our work in all the world. There is one phase of the foreign missionary work which is most attrac¬ tive, and appeals to men and women of moderate means, when they are seri¬ ously facing the future. Because of the moderate cost of living in the East, a few thousand dollars, left either for the general work or for some special mission, will go as far as many times that amount left for work at home. I always rejoice in reading the records of a will to find all our societies and all parts of our work represented. It speaks of breadth and loyalty. But if, because the dollar goes so much farther than in some phase of the home work, foreign missions has a large place in the will, shall we not feel that the man has been wise ? When we pen the missionary clauses in our wills, we can feel sure that the Master’s face is bending over us with his approval. CONCLUSION. We have recently held in Boston the Second International Council. With the greatness of that council and what it has wrought for good we are all familiar. But I believe its chief glory will, in future years, be found to be the new inspiration it has given to our missionary work. If, as has been prophesied, “ America is destined to be the head steward in the great house¬ hold of the world,” she is to show that in her new devotion to missionary work. There seems to be already a new purpose finding expression in many ways. With the improved business outlook in our country we should be expect¬ ing larger gifts. In fact, I do not see how we can go on as we have gone in the last few years, closing outstations, calling in helpers, retreating before the enemy. Do you ask my reason for this expectation ? Let me tell you an incident of our late spring in our own New England. The winter continued very late, and the ground was covered with snow. The brooks were frozen, and the farmers were in distress. One of them spoke with his neighbor Leavitt as he rode by and said, “ I do not know what we are going to do. I have fed out all my fodder to the cattle, and they are beginning to suffer. There is no sign of a breaking up.” “ Well,” said neighbor Leavitt, “ I see a great sign of an early spring.” “ Do you, though ? I have not seen any, and I have been on the lookout. What is your sign ? ” “I see a great sign of an eaily breakup because I do not see how we can get along without it.” And sure enough, in a few days, the cattle were cropping the sweet grass that had grown underneath the snow, and the streams were running again to the ocean. Because “we don’t see how we can get along without it,” can we not feel that there is a promise of something better ? 19 The signs point already to an awakened interest all over our country, which is to gather new force with every month. With better organization to secure universal cooperation, and with the new enthusiasm already aroused, wealth as never before is to recognize not its duty but its supreme opportunity, and the standard of the cross will within this generation be raised in every province of the world. We are to move so steadily forward that it will be said of this grand Board: “ Where the vanguard rests today, The rear shall rest tomorrow.” I am glad to add that the general plan, as herein outlined, has the hearty approval of our Vice-president, D. Willis James, and he has permitted me to add his endorsement. Believing that this address would have very much added weight if it could be accepted as an expression of the united policy of all officials of the Board, I have withheld its publication until I could ascertain their judgment in the matter. With this in mind it has been read to the Prudential Com¬ mittee and the Executive Officers in Boston, and the plan for substance has been considered by the cooperating committees in Boston, New York, Chicago and the Pacific coast. I take pleasure in saying that the plan for work as outlined has the approval of all. For the minor points considered, the writer must be held responsible. May our Lord and Master, without whose help all plans are valueless, add his blessing! Faithfully yours, SAMUEL B. CAPEN. 20