/(^ll 
 
 t ’'is c. 
 
 QUESTIONS 
 
 RELATING TO 
 
 POLICY AND METHODS 
 
 IN 
 
 FOREIGN MISSIONS. 
 
 PREPARED FOR THE COMMITTEE ON POLICY AND METHODS OF THE BOARD 
 
 OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF 
 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE U. S. A. 
 
 LIBRARY. 
 
 Board of Foreign Missions 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE U. S. A., 
 
 FIFTH AVE. AND TWELFTH ST,, 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 

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MISSIONARIES. 
 
 I. Preparation and Character of Candidates. 
 
 (1) Qualifications. 
 
 (2) Is the Seminary education adequate ? 
 
 (3) Could special training be given to candidates under appoint¬ 
 ment? If so, what? 
 
 (Authorities : Shanghai Conference, 1890, page 145; Shanghai Con¬ 
 ference, 1890, page 162; London Conference, 1888, Vol. II., pages 1-26; 
 “ Missionary Methods,” Cust, page 193; Anglican Conference, 1894.) 
 
 II. Salary and Perquisites. 
 
 (1) What are the perquisites? 
 
 (2) Would not a consolidated salary be preferable? 
 
 (3) Should salary vary with fluctuations in exchange? 
 
 (4) Are the salaries with perquisites now excessive ? If so, in what 
 Missions or Stations ? 
 
 IH. Mode of Life. 
 
 (1) Is criticism that missionaries live extravagantly justifiable? 
 
 (2) Does it tend to produce a chasm between missionaries and 
 natives ? Can this be avoided ? 
 
 (3) How far does it interfere with effectiveness ? 
 
 (4) What proportion of time is given to actual mission work ? 
 
 (5) Relations of missionaries to foreign residents, extent and influ¬ 
 ence? Preaching to foreigners; education of their children.) 
 
 IV. Efficiency. 
 
 (1) Do any of our missionaries fail to acquire a thorough working 
 knowledge of the language ? 
 
 (2) Is there reason to believe that an}^ through indolence or in¬ 
 judiciousness, are so lacking in efficiency as to warrant admonition or 
 recall ? 
 
 (3) Is there a lack of spiritual power and purpose? (Anglican Con¬ 
 ference, 303.) 
 
 (4) How may their efficiency be increased ? 
 
 (5) Would a form of personal report embracing searching and com¬ 
 prehensive questions be advisable ? 
 
 V. Unmarried Men. 
 
 (i) Should men be encouraged to go to the field unmarried ; if so, 
 to what extent ? 
 
 VI. Laymen. 
 
 (i) Should laymen be sent ? If so, for what purposes and to what 
 extent ? 
 
 VII. Vacations on the Field, and Health Trips, 
 
 (1) Where spent ? 
 
 (2) How far can they be utilized for work ? 
 
 (3) How ordered and who pays expense of ? 
 
NATIVE CHURCH AND AQENT5. 
 
 (See “ Methods of Mission Work,” Nevius.) 
 
 I. Cliurcli Organization and Methods. 
 
 (1) Is it wise to impose upon the Native Church the forms of organ¬ 
 ization and methods of work prevailing in the United States? 
 
 (2) Is there danger of the churches being dominated by the mission¬ 
 aries ? 
 
 (3) Should all unordained missionaries become members of native 
 churches ? 
 
 II. Native Christians. 
 
 (1) What is the character of native Christians ? 
 
 (2) How far should they be encouraged to abandon native customs ? 
 (Shanghai Conference, 1890, pages 603-609.) 
 
 (3) To what extent are native Christians dependent on the mission¬ 
 aries ? 
 
 (4) Does the placing of ministers, supported by the Board, over con¬ 
 gregations, weaken the people’s sense of responsibility for the spread of 
 the Gospel, and for the attainment of self-support ? 
 
 III. Self-Support. 
 
 (1) To what extent has it been attained ? 
 
 (2) Are pastors installed over churches non-self-supporting in whole 
 or in part ? 
 
 (3) What is the attitude of native helpers on the subject? 
 
 (4) Bearing on self-support of the methods and habits of giving ? 
 
 (5) Are salaries so guaranteed by the Mission as that any failure of 
 the people to meet their obligation must be met by the Board ? 
 
 (6) To what extent is self-support possible ? 
 
 (7) How develop self-support ? (Paper by Dr, Duncan, Report of 
 New York Conference, January, 1894. Shanghai Conference, 1890, 
 pages 415-436.) 
 
 IV. Native Agents. 
 
 (1) How do their salaries compare with those of same class of people 
 in other callings? 
 
 (2) Character and qualifications ? 
 
 (3) Supplementary training in Conferences, etc. ? 
 
 (4) What classes or grades of native agents have we ? 
 
 (5) Attitude of Board toward natives trained in America ? 
 
 (6) Relations to missionaries ? 
 
 METHODS. 
 
 I. Educational. 
 
 1. Number of schools, location and character, classes of, as day, 
 boarding, theological, etc. ? 
 
 2. Number of missionaries employed in teaching, and how much time 
 devoted to the work ? 
 
3. How man}^ native agents employed in this work, and how many 
 of these are Christians ? 
 
 4. Education of native helpers ? 
 
 (r) What aid do they receive? Effects of such aid on students? 
 
 (2) Is any manual labor required? 
 
 (3) What practical training in evangelistic work ? 
 
 (4) To v/hat extent should study and practical work be combined? 
 
 (5) Is the school or apprenticeship system, /. training in practical 
 work by individual missionaries, preferable ? 
 
 (6) Is the course of study adapted to the needs of the men and the 
 field ? 
 
 5. High class education ? 
 
 (1) To what extent is it or should it be given to non-Christians of 
 either sex ? 
 
 (2) Total cost? To what extent self-supporting ? 
 
 (3) Evangelistic character of ? 
 
 6. Do our methods educate children away from their own people ? 
 
 7. Use of other languages than the vernacular. 
 
 8. What proportion of pupils from Christian and heathen homes? 
 
 9. What religious instruction is given, and by whom ? 
 
 10. Enlargement of schools at expense of missionary effectiveness ? 
 
 11. To what extent are the expenses of schools met by the people ? 
 
 12. How are the schools controlled? By Mission, Station or indi¬ 
 vidual ? 
 
 11. Evangelistic. 
 
 (1) How many missionaries engaged in ? And what portion of time 
 given to it ? 
 
 (2) Itineration. How much is done ? What proportion of the year 
 devoted to it ? How directed ? 
 
 (3) How many natives so employed ? and by whom paid ? How is 
 their work directed and controlled ? 
 
 (4) Is there lack of faith in, and of effort for, the conversion of 
 adults ? 
 
 (5) Are all desirable forms of evangelistic work made use of ? 
 
 (6) Should not the missionary be regarded as an evangelist or a 
 director of evangelists, rather than as a pastor? 
 
 (7) Relation of central stations to outlying districts, and methods 
 of systematically visiting towns and villages. 
 
 HI. Industrial. 
 
 (1) What responsibility have missions and missionaries for the social 
 condition of converts? 
 
 (2) Where should industrial work be introduced, and to what extent? 
 
 (3) What should be its character and its relation to other depart¬ 
 ments of the work ? 
 
 IV. Medical. 
 
 (i) What should be the character and extent of medical work? 
 
(2) Is there danger of building up large medical establishments at 
 the expense of their missionary character and influence? 
 
 (3) To what extent is medical work evangelistic ? 
 
 (4) Is it wise to send trained nurses from the United States? 
 
 (5) Should payment for treatment and medicines be expected or 
 insisted upon ? 
 
 V. Trinting and Printing Presses. 
 
 (1) How many printing establishments and presses are connected 
 with our missions ? 
 
 (2) How far should they be used for other than our own Mission 
 purposes and needs ? 
 
 (3) What relation should such establishments sustain to the Mission 
 and the Board? 
 
 (4) Is it wise to permit the introduction of presses by individual 
 missionaries or stations for their own use and under their own control ? 
 
 (5) How far should ordained missionaries be charged with the busi¬ 
 ness supervision of printing presses ? 
 
 VI. Woman’s Work. 
 
 (1) Relations of wives of missionaries to active work? 
 
 (2) Is the present ratio of single women to the entire missionary 
 force satisfactory? 
 
 Woman’s work is included in the other general divisions of the 
 subject. 
 
 ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 I. Home Administration. 
 
 (1) What is the Home Work, and how should it be apportioned and 
 organized ? 
 
 (2) Relation of the Board to its sources of revenue and our ecclesi¬ 
 astical system ? 
 
 (3) Relation of the Board to the other Boards of the Church in dis¬ 
 seminating information and stimulating giving? 
 
 (4) Relation of Women’s Boards and Societies to this Board? 
 
 (5) Development of lay interest, men’s leagues, etc. ? 
 
 (6) Question of special objects ? 
 
 (7) Literature of the Board ? 
 
 (8) Home expenditure, is it excessive? If so, how reduce it? 
 
 II. Administration Abroad. 
 
 (1) Is government by Missions the best? If so, are their present 
 powers and functions adequate ? 
 
 (2) Would greater efficiency be secured by the appointment of a 
 Superintendent, especially in our larger Missions ? 
 
 (3) Relation of the Mission to the Presbytery and the Native 
 Church. 
 
(4) Relation of the Mission to the individual missionary ? Does it 
 exercise the control required by the Manual ? 
 
 (5) Employment of Business Agents to take charge of the treasury, 
 and other secular interests ? 
 
 III. Relations at Home and Abroad. 
 
 1. Relations of Missions and Board to Governments ? (Shanghai Con¬ 
 ference, 1890, pages 23-32, 401; Gust’s book, pp. 42-70). 
 
 (1) What is the teaching of the New Testament? 
 
 (2) Forms of appeal and reliance ? 
 
 (3) Influence of such appeals and reliance ? 
 
 2. Relation to other Churches, Societies and Missions? 
 
 (1) In what fields and in what forms of work can there be economy 
 by means of co-operation ? 
 
 (2) Church union on mission fields? 
 
 IV. Estimates and Appropriations. 
 
 (1) Does the Mission examine and criticise estimates in detail ? 
 
 (2) Is the grade of appropriations too high ? 
 
 (3) What is the effect of the distinction on the estimate sheets be¬ 
 tween “old” and “new” work? 
 
 (4) The fiscal year and the best time for considering estimates ? 
 
 PROPERTY, 
 
 1. Shall the policy be that of renting or of building and owning ? 
 
 2. Style of mission buildings? 
 
 3. Ownership and maintenance of buildings used by the native 
 Church? 
 
 4. Character, location and maintenance of Sanitariums ? 
 
 FIELDS. 
 
 I. Methods and Development. 
 
 1. Policy as to emphasis and development, as between fields? 
 
 2. How far shall tangible results determine the Board’s policy? 
 
 3. What policy as to methods and enlargement shall be pursued in 
 each Mission ? 
 
 II. Review by Board. 
 
 Annual consideration by the Board of fields, to study each and 
 review the policy ? How and when ? 
 
 HI. Visitation by Representatives of Board. 
 
 (1) Should the missions be visited periodically by the Secretaries? 
 
 (2) Will the benefits of such visitation justify the expense of travel 
 and loss of time from official duties ? 
 
 (3) Flow often should each field be visited ? and should the stay be 
 short or prolonged ? 
 
 (4) Should the Secretary make an excursion to one or two missions ? 
 or an extended tour, occupying a year ?