Interchurch World Movement 
 of North America 
 
 Work and Relations 
 
 of the 
 
 Survey Department 
 
 Headquarters of the Movement 
 111 Fifth Avenue New York City 
 
The Work and Relations of the 
 Survey Department 
 
 I. THE WORK OF THE SURVEY DEPARTMENT 
 
 1. The Survey Department of the Interchurch World Movement 
 will make a study of the religious conditions of the entire world. 
 
 For the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii and the West 
 Indies, this study will seek to reveal the outstanding needs in the 
 realm of Home Missions, Education, Religious Education, Hos¬ 
 pitals and Homes, and Ministerial Support and Relief. 
 
 For foreign lands it will seek to reveal the outstanding needs in 
 all phases of missionary enterprise. 
 
 By cities and counties in this country and by well defined geo¬ 
 graphical units in foreign lands, it is proposed that the exact facts 
 as to religious conditions and religious responsibilities be discov¬ 
 ered to the end that the needs of each community and region 
 may be appraised and the whole task of the church put in clear 
 light and due proportion. 
 
 2. It will supply the results of its survey to all home and foreign 
 missionary agencies in the United States and to all other agencies 
 or organizations whose work is surveyed. 
 
 3. It will offer assistance to all of these agencies or organizations 
 in preparing plans commensurate with their responsibilities in 
 their respective fields and types of work. 
 
 4. It will formulate a united statement of the program and budget 
 covering those plans for the financial campaign of the Interchurch 
 World Movement. 
 
 5. It will furnish to the appropriate departments of the Inter¬ 
 church World Movement material for publicity in this campaign. 
 
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II. HOW THE SURVEY DEPARTMENT DOES ITS WORK 
 
 The information which the Survey Department requires is to be 
 
 secured from the following sources: 
 
 1. All published reports and survey material already available. 
 
 2. Libraries, reference bureaus, etc., for general facts concerning 
 all areas studied. 
 
 3. Interviews with those whose specialized experience in any line 
 of work renders their judgment authoritative. 
 
 4. Special investigations to be made by such deputations as may be 
 sent out from time to time. 
 
 5. Conferences with leaders and experts on special problems as they 
 arise in the field. 
 
 6. Direct inquiry by letter or questionnaire. 
 
 7. Direct and personal study of the fields involved in cooperation 
 with local leaders and with their approval. 
 
 For directing such a study, and for the collection and classifica¬ 
 tion of the desired material, the Survey Department is organized 
 into the following divisions: 
 
 a. The Home Missions Division will formulate the statement of 
 the program and budget covering the responsibilities of the 
 American home mission and church extension agencies for the 
 needs of the United States, Alaska, Hawaii and the West Indies. 
 It will also attempt to help self-supporting local churches to dis¬ 
 charge their parish and community responsibilities of a mission¬ 
 ary character. 
 
 b. The Educational Division will make a study of denominational 
 and independent colleges and theological seminaries; also state 
 universities and other tax-supported institutions and secondary 
 schools in the United States. It will formulate the statement 
 of the program and budget covering the responsibilities of relig¬ 
 ious bodies for meeting the needs of Christian education in the 
 United States and for the preparation of an adequate force of 
 Christian leaders. 
 
 4 
 
c. The Religious Educational Division will study the problems of 
 religious education in the home, the local church and the com¬ 
 munity in order to secure a definite body of facts upon which 
 to base a program of religious education for the United States 
 which may be budgetted in terms of men and money. 
 
 d. The Ministerial Support and Relief Division will formulate the 
 statement of the program and budget covering the responsibilities 
 of the various denominations in the United States for the support 
 of their ministers and for the relief of aged and dependent min¬ 
 isters, missionaries, and their families. 
 
 e. The Hospitals and Homes Division will formulate the statement 
 of the program and budget covering the responsibilities of those 
 agencies engaged in such benevolent enterprises in the United 
 States. 
 
 f. The Foreign Division will present a new study of the situation 
 and need in all foreign mission fields, in such terms as will assist 
 the missionary agencies of the United States to formulate a pro¬ 
 gram and budget commensurate with their share of responsi¬ 
 bility for Christianizing the world. 
 
 III. RELATION OF THE SURVEY DEPARTMENT TO DENOM¬ 
 INATIONAL AND OTHER SURVEYS 
 
 * 
 
 Note: The plans for cooperation suggested below apply in principle 
 to all denominational and other agencies whose work will be studied 
 by the Survey Department. 
 
 The organizing principle of the Interchurch World Movement has 
 been characterized as a thorough-going plan of cooperation among 
 such missionary, educational and benevolent agencies of the evan¬ 
 gelical bodies in North America as now are or may later be included 
 in the plans and program of the Interchurch World Movement. 
 
 The Survey Department will do a work of fundamental importance 
 and value only as it receives the fullest cooperation of all the agencies 
 which are now engaged, or which may be engaged in making sur¬ 
 veys of their own work. With this cooperation the Survey Depart¬ 
 ment will be enabled to make a study of the entire world in order 
 that the whole task of the church may be put in a clear light and in 
 due proportion. 
 
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With the full cooperation of the leaders at home and abroad, a 
 survey statement can be secured which will not only furnish denom¬ 
 inational programs approved by denominational leaders and based 
 
 * 
 
 upon scientific data, but also a united program for all evangelical 
 bodies of the United States, for their missionary, educational and 
 benevolent work. We believe that such a statement is demanded 
 by the Christian forces today. A united program statement of this 
 character in the nature of the case will be more than the sum of all 
 the individual programs independently arrived at. Such a program 
 must be made in collaboration with all the forces on the field, sup¬ 
 plemented by such independent investigations as may be necessary. 
 
 This cooperation may be realized in the following practical ways: 
 
 A. By denominational and other agencies: 
 
 1. In coordinating their survey processes with those of the Survey 
 Department of the Interchurch World Movement. 
 
 2. In urging the help of their leaders on the field, at home and 
 abroad, to secure the information needed in the formulation of 
 these programs. 
 
 3. In informing the Survey Department how far plans for the expan¬ 
 sion of their own work have already been developed, and in 
 coordinating these plans with the -program of the Interchurch 
 World Movement. 
 
 4. In supplying the Survey Department with the findings of their 
 various deputations being sent out from time to time. 
 
 B. By the Survey Department: 
 
 1. In recognizing all such surveys as an integral part of the world 
 survey. 
 
 2. In applying to those agencies such necessary graphic and statis¬ 
 tical facilities as will make uniform the presentation of all facts. 
 
 3. In receiving the findings of such deputations as may be sent out 
 from time to time. 
 
 4. In furnishing to the several agencies a standardized form for the 
 statement of their complete programs. 
 
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It is believed that such a plan of cooperation involving a sym¬ 
 pathetic coordinated study of the whole range of activities now 
 being carried on by the evangelical bodies of North America will 
 result in the largest economy, and will make available to all con¬ 
 stituents information and facilities which would be difficult or 
 impracticable for them to provide for themselves. 
 
 IV. FINAL STATEMENTS OF THE SURVEY DEPARTMENT 
 
 As has been indicated, the final stage in the work of the Survey 
 Department will be the preparation of united program statements, 
 based on the entire body of facts gathered and on the programs of 
 the participating agencies. These statements will be used in the 
 financial campaign of the Interchurch World Movement. Such 
 program statements will be assembled in two volumes, one for the 
 United States and one for foreign lands. A “Program Statement” 
 is an authoritative analytical statement of the objectives of any 
 agency or organization in a given enterprise and of the resources 
 in men and money needed to attain those objectives. Program 
 statements of this kind may be made for a definite geographical 
 unit, for a single institution, for work of a given type, for the work 
 of a given denomination or organization, or for the entire evangelical 
 enterprise at home or in foreign lands. The authoritative character 
 of such a statement will be derived from the approval of it by the 
 various agencies or organizations concerned. 
 
 The Survey Department, by presenting such a united and propor¬ 
 tionate study of the evangelical forces of North America, may be¬ 
 come a clearing house of information for all agencies involved and 
 will be of assistance to all of them, without in any way interfering 
 with their naturally constituted authority. 
 
 September 22, 1919 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 No. 152. I. 3. Sept. 1919