fORjQmi nmkom ©? tm g&QgMP GHV%&tMW£V& MWtt rvm&yj &0h to^>OI«ifi»N3MASSlOWS^ Wj^b^ik. w £ y . WSm I iMWIt 25 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Columbia University Libraries https://archive.org/details/handbookofforeigOOrefo /* if • 1>k*w Thko^ogicax Sbhikary Library. HANDBOOK of FOREIGN MISSIONS of the REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES * BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS Fifteenth and Race Streets Philadelphia, Pa. - ' Handbook of Foreign Missions of the Reformed Church in the United States. Historical Sketch. On the 29th day of September, 1838, the Board of Home Missions in making its annual report to the Synod of the United States then in session at Organization Lancaster, Pennsylvania, recommended the formation of a Board of Foreign Missions. There was little or no opposition, the Church seemed ready for this new enterprise, the Board was elected and pledges and contributions made to the amount of $945. Having not yet chosen a field, and being unable to find men willing to go into foreign lands, it was decided to join some other board in its work. As Relation early as 1840 the Reformed Church had to the paid into the treasury of the American American Board one thousand dollars in support Board of the Rev. Benjamin Schneider who was working in Broosa, Asia Minor. This arrangement was continued until 1865, up to which time the Church contributed some $28,000 to the Central Turkey Mission. For several years there had been a growing desire that the Church maintain a foreign work of its own, hence it was proposed that the American Board transfer the work 3 113172 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE of Dr. Schneider to the Board of the Reformed Church. After much discussion it was considered unwise to make this transfer, and the Church decided to discontinue its contributions to the American Board, making its last pay- ment in 1865. Now for a period of thirteen years the Church was so occupied with other matters that there was little attention given to the work of Foreign Missions. Occasional con- tributions came into the treasury which by order of Gen- eral Synod were paid over to the German Evangelical Foreign Missionary Society to be used in support of the Rev. Oscar Lohr and the Rev. Jacob Hauser, who were organizing a work in India. At the meeting of the General Synod held in Lancas- ter, Pennsylvania, in 1878 there was a strong sentiment in favor of a renewal of the foreign Japan Chosen work, and the Foreign Board was in- as Field structed to look about for a field in which the Church might establish a mission of First Mission School, Tokyo. 4 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES her own. Japan was soon chosen as the field, and on September 30th of the same year the Rev. Ambrose D. Gring was appointed the first missionary of' the Reform- ed Church to Japan. After spending a year irf language study regular mission work was begun in Tokyo in 1880. Some seven years later the northern part of Japan was opened to us, and it was decided to occupy the city of Sendai, which has since that time become the centre of our operations in Japan. Here have developed the North Japan College, the Theological Seminary, the Miyagi Girls’ School, and a strong evangelistic work which has extended its influence to a number of the large cities of the north. The General Synod meeting at Tiffin, Ohio, 1899, in- structed the Foreign Board to begin work in China. The Rev. William Edwin Hoy, D. D., was in- Work Begun structed to seek out a location for this in China new enterprise. After much careful in- vestigation the old and conservative pro- vince of Hunan was chosen as our field, and the city of Yochow, at the eastern extremity of the Tungting Lake, as the centre from which to work. Here have grown up a flourishing evangelistic work, the Lakeside Schools for boys, the Yochow Girls’ School, and a hospital and dispensary work. In 1903 an opportunity came to us to open work some three hundred miles farther west in the city of Shenchowfu. In this city the Church owns one of the best plants for mission work in Central China. This station is developing a strong evangelistic work, a boys’ school, a girls’ school, and medical work for men and women. 5 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE Foreign Missionary Policy of the Reformed Church in the United States. Adopted by the Board of Foreign Missions, March 10, 1909. The Conference of the Boards of Foreign Missions in the United States and Canada, held at Nashville, Tenn., three years ago, began to request the various bodies which it represents definitely to declare their intentions as to the part they would have in the work of evangelizing the world. Last year in New York City it was resolved, “that this Conference urge upon each of the Boards to present to its constituency in clear, concise, definite form its distinct denominational responsibility.” The peculiar conditions of our age force the Church of Christ to recognize its responsibility toward the un- evangelized portions of the human race more distinctly than ever before. If such responsibility rests upon the universal Church, a considerable part of it rests upon the Reformed Church in the United States. We believe that our people would welcome a reasonable estimate of our share of that responsibility based upon our experi- ence in the work and our proportionate ability. We have been led by Providence into positions of great strategic importance. In Japan we recognize a large responsibility for the population of the Northern prov- inces of Miyagi, Fukushima, Yamagata, Akita and Nii- gata, comprising over 5,000,000 souls, besides our older interests in the city of Tokyo and in Saitama Province. We may reasonably hold ourselves responsible for 3,500,000 Japanese. Our present expenditure in and for Japan amounts to nearly $50,000 a year. The Board has long been convinced that in order to utilize to advan- tage the educational and evangelistic plant we now have in that Empire our forces ought to be doubled. But in G REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES order that the Gospel might be presented to every man, woman and child of the three or four millions in such a manner that each would have a fair opportunity to believe and be saved, our present expenditure should be multiplied at least sixfold. It is our purpose to depend mainly upon Japanese workers, but largely also upon well- selected American missionaries co-operating with them. In Hunan, China, conditions are much the same as those that confronted us in Japan twenty-five years ago. Situated as we are at Yochow and Shenchow, in the midst of a population of over 22,000,000, it is but reason- able to hold ourselves responsible for the evangelization of 3,500,000 and an ultimate expenditure of $300,000 a year. When we contemplate the wider field of the world we are impressed by the steady growth of Mohammedanism. Of all the needy fields those under the power of Islam now send the loudest call to Christendom. The first foreign work of our denomination was done in Turkey by Dr. Benjamin Schneider, and it was successful. We have reason to believe that the Reformed Church has been historically prepared to deal with the problem of the evangelization of a portion of the Mohammedan world. Moreover, it will be necessary for the present to expend in the United States along the lines of administration, finance and dissemination of information from six to ten per cent, of the annual income of the Board. It is the sense of the Board that the goal of its en- deavors should be the evangelization of a population of ten millions, and that the offerings of our Church should increase until the annual income will be $1,000,000. This prospect may appall those who have not given the matter serious thought. Let it be remembered that the income of the Board was doubled between 1896 and 1902, and that between 1902 and 1908 it was doubled 7 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE again. Even now the average gift is but thirty-three cents per member for one year, which is by no means the limit of our financial or moral ability. Our policy means simply that the average communicant should give the equivalent of one or two days’ work in a year. An average of five cents per member a week would suffice. Since the many will do less the few must do more than their share until the whole constituency has come to a proper appreciation of the missionary crisis that confronts the American Church in our age. Policy of the Japan Mission of the Re- formed Church in the United States. Adopted August 21, 1909. The Japan Mission of the Reformed Church in the United States is the leading mission in North Japan, a territory which embraces a population of about eight millions. Hence the Christian future of North Japan depends not merely on the number of workers and the amount of money put into the immediate work of the Mission, but also upon the wisdom, far-sightedness and efficiency of its leadership. It is therefore important, especially in view of a number of circumstances peculiar to the present stage of missionary work, to outline more definitely than before a comprehensive policy to be con- sistently followed both by the Mission on the field and its Board in America in the future carrying on of the work. It is the policy of the Mission first of all to foster the growth of Christianity by assisting its development from within rather than by superimposing its efforts from without. Upon the basis of this policy the Mission goes on the presumption that the chief part of the work of bringing the Gospel to the Japanese people must be done by the Japanese themselves, and that therefore the func- 8 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES 9 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE tion of the Mission consists in carrying on educational and evangelistic work in such a way, and only in such a degree, as will enable the Japanese Church itself, as early as possible, with reasonable certainty of success, to take full responsibility for the complete Christianiza- tion of Japan. On the basis of the same policy the Mis- sion seeks to carry on its work as far as possible on the principle of hearty co-operation with the Japanese Church, and to foster the spirit of self-dependence, both financially and spiritually. It is further the policy of the Mission to strive toward supplying the field with a con- siderable number of men, both missionaries and Japanese, who, through their superior scholarship and culture, are able not only to preach to the masses and encourage the regular evangelists, but able to influence effectually the thinking part of the population. The Mission is convinced that the utmost promptness is needed in fully equipping the Japan work. Japan has been passing through a wonderful transition period, materially and intellectually and spiritually. But there are numerous signs that the country is now beginning to settle down to permanent convictions, and unless prompt action is taken to extend greatly an intelligent knowledge of the Gospel, these convictions will take the form of agnosticism with many, and others will rest in the belief that, after all, the old religions, perhaps in modified form, are best adapted to Japan. The Mission has chief responsibility for the missionary work of Miyagi, Fukushima, Yamagata and Akita Pre- fectures; it also has responsibility to assist in the mis- sionary work of Tokyo City and of Saitama, Iwate, Aomori and Niigata Prefectures. For the full equipment of the work of the Mission, so that the responsibility of the Reformed Church for the Christianization of Japan may be discharged, the follow- ing things appear to the Mission to be necessary: i. In the sphere of the evangelistic work. In order to REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES to discharge the Mission’s full responsibility to the pre- fectures of Miyagi, Fukushima, Yamagata and Akita, it is necessary to have at Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, one man exclusively for evangelistic work, and one man for work among students of government schools ; in Fuku- shima Prefecture, two men; in Yamagata Prefecture, two men; in Akita Prefecture, two men. Also for Tokyo City and Saitama Prefecture one man is needed, and for Iwate, Aomori, and Niigata Prefectures, each one man. Counting Revs. J. P. Moore, D. D., H. K. Miller, W. E. Lampe, Ph. D., FT. H. Cook and H. H. Casselman, now on the roll of evangelistic missionaries, an additional force of seven men will be required. It is also necessary to have one lady missionary in Tokyo, two in Fukushima Prefecture, and one in Akita Prefecture; also two ladies for a Bible Women’s Training School mentioned below. This will require five lady mis- sionaries, in addition to Miss B. Catherine Pifer, now on the roll. 2. The erection of fifteen more churches at important points. 3. The erection of twelve more missionary residences. 4. A Mission Treasurer, whose duty it will be also to attend to the various business interests of the Mission. 5. For North Japan College, in addition to the present equipment: (a) additional land; (b) a building for the Higher Department; (c) provision for additional courses in the Higher Department; (d) a library building with one large outlay for books; (e) several more small dormi- tories; (f) a dormitory for the Industrial Home; (g) another minor building; (h) a considerable increase in the annual appropriation; (i) an endowment fund. 6. For Miyagi Girls’ School, in addition to the present equipment, (a) additional land; (b) provision for a higher department and additional courses; (c) an increase in the annual appropriation; (d) an endowment fund. 7. A Bible Women’s Training School. 11 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE 8. A Kindergarten. The following are reasons why the above policy should be seriously taken up and vigorously pushed, both by the Mission on the field and the Board of Foreign Missions of the Reformed Church in the United States, from this point in the history of the Japan work. There is without doubt a new awakening in the home churches on the subject of foreign missions, and a new conviction of duty to make serious, business-like efforts to bring the Gospel to the whole world. This awaken- ing manifests itself in the activities of Young People’s Missionary Societies, and Laymen’s Movement, the plans of the coming Edinburgh Conference, and of other agencies. At the same time there is a new feeling of need for more missionary efforts in Japan. This feeling grows out of a consciousness of the greatness of the task that still confronts the Christian forces before the country can be brought within reasonable hope of being evangel- ized. More than four-fifths of the population of Japan is in the villages, and this part of the population has scarcely been touched at all. Even in the great capital city only a fringe of the vast population has been touched. Japanese workers feel unable to cope with the situation there alone. Recently one of the most prominent pastors of the Kumiai (Congregational) Church, seconded by an- other leading pastor, urged the American Board Mission to call for twenty more missionaries. During the present summer Secretary Shore, of the Canadian Methodist Board, visited Japan with the preconception that mission- ary work in Japan could gradually be decreased. But largely through the representation of Japanese workers he came to the conclusion that Japan is still a mission field of prime importance, and at his instance the Mission has called for thirty-four more men for evangelistic work, and six more men for educational work, within five years. The Methodist Episcopal Mission re- 12 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES cently built two very large new buildings for its school for young men in Tokyo, and there are plans on foot for a much larger expansion still. The American Episcopal Mission, united with the Church of England Missions, is planning the expenditure of several, hundred thousand dollars in building up an educational plant of university grade, and both missions have been and are increasing their forces rapidly. The Southern Methodist Mission, during the past five years, put $50,000 into its educational work, and is now besides asking for a large increase in its evangelistic force, planning such an enlargement of its educational plant for young men as will require an annual appropriation of from $15,000 to $18,000. The Presbyterian Missions, North and South, are asking for some twenty families and fifteen single ladies at once or in the near future. The Baptist Missionary Union Mis- sion asks for seven families and four single ladies at once. The Southern Baptist Mission asks for twenty families in five years. Other missions are making similar requests. The most significant feature of these figures is that a few years ago there were almost no requests for increase of force. Looking at this Island Empire from the standpoint of civilization and humanity, as well as from the standpoint of the future success and progress of the Christian Church, Japan is undoubtedly the most urgent and one of the vastly important mission fields of the world. The Reformed Church, by virtue of thirty years’ effort, has a work here well started on wise lines and full of promise. May she with the help of God put forth her strength and carry this work to a successful completion. ACTION OP THE BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, SEPTEMBER 14, 1909. Resolved, That this Policy for the Japan Mission be presented to the laymen of the Church, with the hope that they may help in making it effective. 13 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE Notes on the Japan Policy. A committee appointed by the Mission to present notes on the policy adopted by the Mission and the Board for the work of the Reformed Church in Japan offers the following on the several items of the policy : Item i. No comment needed except that of urgency and of good quality in the persons selected. Item 2. Church Buildings. We have ten places defi- nitely in view now that need church buildings, and we leave five more to be determined upon later, as the work, especially in Akita, Iwate, Aomori and Niigata Prefec- tures, develops. The ten places we have now in view are as follows, given in the order of urgency (the order to be flexible): I, Wakamatsu ; 2, Koishikawa, Tokyo; 3, Ishinomaki; 4, Kanda, Tokyo; 5, Akita; 6, Koriyama; 7, Tsurugaoka; 8, Sakata; 9, Taira; 10, Turukawa. Excepting Kanda, Tokyo, the average cost of these Chapel at Shinorshi. 14 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES churches should he about $2500, exclusive of land. Kanda Church, Tokyo, is again coming under the Mis- sion, and before it can again start out on a career of inde- pendence with any hope of success, it will need a new church building. An important work that Kanda should do, in addition to working for the salvation of the popu- lation of Tokyo, is to gather in the people that go from our churches and schools in Tohoku to the capital city. To make our work in Tokyo worth while, we need a large church centrally located, something approaching the Sendai (Nibancho) Church. For such a church, includ- ing land, $15,000 would be the lowest figure to be thought of. Item 3. There are now just enough residences for all the missionaries on the field, excepting Miss Gerhard. But when Drs. Moore and Larnpe, Revs. Miller and Cook, Prof. Gerhard and Miss Pifer return from fur- lough, we shall be six residences short. Any new mis- sionaries sent will require so many residences in addition. Item 4. If the above building operations are to be carried out soon, in whole or part, a man who can super- intend the erection of buildings intelligently and keep accounts accurately ought to come very soon as Mission Treasurer, so that he may acquire a knowledge of the language before he is required to take up responsible work. Item 5. The Christian schools throughout Japan are waking up to the fact that if Christian education is to hold its place in the national life and thus fulfill its mis- sion in the Christianization of the nation, the Higher Department (corresponding in the main to the American college course) must be strengthened. Other schools are already planning for advance in this respect. We are confronted with the same necessity. Additional build- ings, additional equipment and additional men will be required. 15 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE Item 6. There should be at least one Christian girls’ school, with a collegiate department, in North Japan. There is none now. Miyagi Girls’ School is the school in all North Japan best fitted on account of location, size and present reputation and constituency to take up this responsibility. Item 7. This item has already been favorably acted upon by the Board. Buildings will be needed. Item 8. This item is representing itself to the Mission at present with much favor. It is likely, however, that the women of the Church will take it up speedily. But perhaps they cannot manage the matter of the buildings. There is one more representation that this committee desires to make, one that has a bearing upon nearly all the above items. It is on the subject of land. It is the conviction of this committee, and of the Mission as a whole, that a great mistake has been made in failing to secure much more land for our work when prices were low. The prices of land in the towns and cities have increased from five to twenty-five fold during the past twenty years. In a few cases other missions have been more far-sighted, and are now reaping enormous advan- tage from their wisdom. The Methodist Mission bought the large Aoyama compound for- only about one twenty- fifth of what it would bring now. Recently they sold off a narrow strip along their front for the widening of the street, and with the proceeds were enabled to build their imposing new school chapel. The Canadian Meth- odists are selling some property, that cost them only a small number of thousands years ago, for about $100,000. The Dutch Reformed Mission at Nagasaki is faring simi- larly. But prices have not stopped rising yet. Espe- cially in Sendai prices are still low. In some of the out- lying towns also it is still a good time to buy. We need much more land— -for churches, for missionary dwellings, for our schools (very much more if they are to have a 16 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES permanent future), for the Bible School and for the Kindergarten. If we had $75,000 now to buy land we could expend it wisely and with immense advantage to the future of the work. We believe, therefore, that the Reformed Church, in order to carry out its policy in Japan, should immediately take steps to secure sufficient land for all its work, whether it can be utilized at once or not. On most land purchased there would be some income from rents on existing buildings and taxes are very low. Even if here and there a mistake were made in location, in most cases the mistake could be remedied without loss and sometimes even with gain. Concerning Our Work in China. In a report to the Board of Foreign Missions written last year Dr. Hoy says concerning the state of affairs confronting the missionaries all over the Conditions Chinese Empire: “There are tremendous in changes under way. The growing in- China sistence of the demand for a constitu- tional form of government, the opium question, the boycott of the Japanese, and extraterritorial- ity ; educational, military and official reform ; the im- provement of the currency, and the development of the postal system; the projection of railroads and the open- ing of mines ; foreign relations and the new problems arising therefrom ; and the sending of many commis- sioners to Western lands for observation and research at first hand, convince one that the day of renaissance has actually dawned. Every thoughtful man, therefore, reflecting on the signs of the times, will silently pray, ‘Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to China?’ and his soul’s desire will be that the evolution 17 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE of the Middle Kingdom will indeed be along Christian lines.” ‘‘The best and wisest thinkers in China them- selves discern in these momentous days True Men what is required here is not the mere the multiplication of schools and arsenals, Need not even hordes of wealth and Western methods and modern material, but true men. Men the Gospel can give to this nation.” This Gospel the Christian people of the world can give to the Chinese. In adopting a Foreign Missionary Policy the Reformed Church assumed responsibility for giving the news of Jesus Christ to some 3,500,000 of the inhabitants of the northern part of the Province of Hunan. While the stage of development of our work in this province is not suffi- ciently advanced to warrant us in forming the ultimate plans, it may be well for us to consider those which have been laid for the next few years. Believing that the Christianization of China must be accomplished by the Chinese we have regarded the train- ing of men and women for leadership as Training our most important function. Hence in Leaders each of the three departments of our mission work special attention has been given to the fitting of the Chinese to carry on the activ- ities of the respective agencies employed in our endeavor to direct the evolution of China along Christian lines. The three branches of mission work now being carried on by the China Mission of the Reformed Church in the United States, are Evangelistic, Educational and Medical. In order that the evangelistic department may more effectually accomplish the task set for it there should be two men at Yochow City, two families Immediate a t Huayung, two men at Shenchowfu Needs and one family at Changteh. This would involve the purchase of ground at Hua- 18 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES 19 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE yung and Changteh, the erection of two chapels and three missionary residences. At each of these places at least one Bible Woman is needed, and at Yochow and Shenchowfu provision should be made for the training of Chinese Bible Women. At the Lakeside Schools, Yochow, in addition to the three men already there, another man is needed, and there should be an associate sent to the Shenchow Boys’ School at once. At least three teachers’ residences should be provided for; one of these is an immediate need. A chapel and a gymnasium would increase the efficiency of the Lakeside Schools. In each of the Girls’ Schools at Yochow and Shenchow there should be two missionary teachers. The greatest need at the present moment is a building at Yochow to accommodate from fifty to one hundred pupils. In the medical department at Yochow we are looking forward to the time when the foreign staff will consist of three physicians, two men and one woman, and two trained nurses. The women’s wing of the hospital should be erected and suitable grounds and buildings should be provided as a home for lepers. At Shenchowfu our two splendid hospitals challenge us to send an associate physician for Dr. Kelly. Two nurses are needed at this station. In the region around Shen- chow are many lepers ; to provide a home for these a leper hospital is needed. To accommodate this enlarged working force two addi- tional physicians’ residences will be needed, one at Yochow and one at Shenchowfu. To put these plans into successful operation we need largely increased contributions from the church, and, more important still, we need the sympathy and unceasing prayers of God’s people in the home land. 20 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES Our Mohammedan Responsibility. Meeting of the Board of Foreign Missions, April 15, 1909. Rev. S. M. Zwemer, D. D., of the Reformed Church in America, was present and made a most earnest plea to the Board that our Church might join them in their Arabian Mission work. His address made a profound impression on the members. A vote of thanks was tendered Dr. Zwemer for his kindness in coming to our meeting and for his excellent address. The following resolution was read from the Board of Foreign Missions of the Reformed Church in America: “Resolved, That this Board extends a very cordial welcome to the Reformed Church in the United States to co-operate in missionary work in Arabia or Persia, if the brethren of that Church see their way clear to under- take such work.” This Board deeply appreciates the action of the Board of Foreign Missions of our sister Reformed Church in asking us to join them in their noble work in Arabia. We can only record our thanks for this new opportunity for service in a field so full of promise for the Master, and to express the hope that the day be not far distant when our Church will regard it a privilege to establish a mission in Arabia. Annual Meeting of the Board, March 8, 1910. A communication from Dr. Henry N. Cobb enclosing the following action taken by the Arabian Mission of the Reformed Church in America in January, 1910, was read : 21 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE “It was moved and carried that the Arabian Mission express its pleasure at learning of the intention of the Reformed Church in the United States to look into the matter of mission work in Arabia or the Persian side of the Persian Gulf, and that the Arabian Mission extend its hearty sympathy and encouragement, and will do any- thing it can to help.” The following action was taken by our Board : “Resolved, That the Board is gratified to receive this communication from the representative of the Dutch Reformed Church Board, and while expressing its gratification, in the present circumstances of the Board, it does not feel warranted in undertaking this work in Arabia until after its reference to the General Synod.” First Group of Christians at Sendai. 22 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES Evangelistic Work in Japan. We have sent our missionaries to Japan to make Jesus Christ known and loved by the Japanese and to help build up a self-supporting, self-propa- gating, and self-governing Christian Church. We have engaged in educa- tional work on an extensive scale, and have carried on some industrial and some literary work in order to contribute to this main purpose. Our first missionaries gave themselves entirely to evangelistic and literary work. For eight years the preaching of the Word was their chief concern. Then the necessity of a trained native ministry and of other native Christian workers became increasingly apparent, and the importance of schools as direct evangelistic agencies was ■ recognized, and our schools for boys and girls were established ; but all of this is in order that the Church may be built on a sure foundation. The first preaching in our field in North Japan was done by the Japanese themselves, and it was they who in 1887 invited our mission to come north to help them. At that time there were only a few scattered Christians here and there, but the groups were organized and increased rapidly in num- bers. The native pastors and the foreign missionaries went everywhere preaching, and many long evangelistic tours were made. Our Mission even helped to make this work possible in the northern island of Hokkaido. At times there have been obstacles and discouragements, but there have usually been more openings than there have been workers to fill the places. Preaching the Gospel A Native Church the Goal of Missionary Endeavor 23 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE Stations Where Missionaries Reside New Stations Because nearly all the missionaries have lived in Sendai, teaching in the two schools, and because they and the Japanese teachers, and even the Christians among the pupils could lend their help, most of our churches and preaching places are in Sendai or in cities or towns that may be reached in a few hours’ journey. Tokyo has usually had a resident missionary and there are one church and six preaching places in that city and the adjacent province of Saitama. Our only other station so far has been the city of Yamagata, which is the capital of a province of approximately a million inhabitants ; one missionary and a half-dozen Japanese workers preach regularly at ten places. A new station is to be opened this year at Wakamatsu, which is the largest city in a province of a million and a quarter people, among whom the only foreign missionaries are two Episcopalians and one Roman Catholic. Until now we have taken almost no part in the evangelization of nearly a million people in Akita Province, for we have never sent a foreign mis- sionary, and only one Japanese pastor, there to live. Nothing whatever is being done to discharge our re- sponsibility for the people in the other provinces. The Reformed Church has to-day on the field in Japan only two foreign missionaries, who are giving all their time and energy to evangelistic work among the three and a half millions of Japanese for whom we are responsible. Five congregations, varying in membership from 150 to 600, have become altogether self-supporting. Several others are growing in numbers and influ- Membership ence, and will reach that stage within a few years. The total membership of all the churches and of the unorganized groups of believers to whom the Gospel is regularly preached in upward of 24 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES fifty places is about 3000. Including the baptized chil- dren and adherents these would probably represent a Christian community of ten thousand. Wherever there is a church or preach- Sunday-Schools Mg place there is a Sunday-school, and there are many Sunday-schools in places where the next step will be the opening of a preaching place. The importance and the excellent results of Sunday-school work in Japan can scarcely be overstated. Church buildings are few. Much of the preaching is done in rented private dwellings. Our greatest needs in Japan to-day are for churches and Needs chapels and for residences for mission- aries to be sent out to do evangelistic work. Four or five single young women to engage in evangelistic work should be among our first new mission- aries to Japan. North Japan College. The Tohoku Gakuin, North Japan College, is an insti- tution that has grown out of a small Training School for Christian Evangelists which was estab- To Train lished in 1886. This little school was car- Native Ministry r ied forward at first amid great diffi- culty and at the cost of much self-denial. The founders were Rev. Masayoshi Oshikawa and Rev. William E. Hoy. They saw the need of pastors and evangelists to enter the open doors of service. They knew that the fountain- head of the Church’s wisdom and life centers in the Theological Seminary. The Seminary moulds the min- istry and the ministry moulds the people. In the course of time the Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis- 25 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE sions of the Reformed Church in the United States com- menced to give aid to the school. Under the encourage- ment of this aid the school gradually grew in numbers and strength. The Tohoku Gakuin is the only Christian school for young men in the northern half of Japan, and, in accord- ance with its constitution and the purpose of its founders Theological Seminary, Sendai. and supporters, it aims to be a thoroughly Christian insti- tution of learning. It labors to send out into the Chris- tian ministry and other callings a body of men who will be a new leavening power in the nation. The school consists of two main departments, a college and a theological seminary. The college course covers eight years and includes what is usually Course the preparatory course of an American college. To harmonize with the govern- ment system the division is into a middle school course of five years and a higher literary course of three years. 26 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES There are two theological courses, one for graduates of the college and another for such young men as for various reasons are unable to take a college course, but are qualified for training as Christian pastors. The faculty of the school consists of twenty-five Jap- anese teachers and seven Americans. At present there is an enrollment of about 300 in the mid- Facu| ty die school course, and about. 50 in the and literary and theological courses. Graduates Over 150 have been graduated from the middle school department, over 50 from the literary course, and more than 50 from the theological courses. The Miyagi Girls’ School. The Miyagi Girls’ School, located at Sendai, is to-day one of the largest Christian schools for girls in Japan. In 1886 Miss Lizzie R. Poorbaugh and Miss Mary B. Ault, the first lady misionaries of our church, were sent out from America and in the same year opened the Girls’ School, in a Japanese house. In 1888 a frame building was erected, and this was the home of the school until 1902, when it was totally destroyed by fire. During the following year the present large buildings were erected and are now the home of the school. The course of the school is five years, preceded by a preparatory course and followed by a post-graduate course for those graduates who become Bible women. Beginning and Buildings. 27 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE There are 13 Japanese and 4 American Facult y teachers on the faculty. The present en- and rollment is about 200. There have been Graduates. more than a hundred graduates of the school, and with hardly a single excep- tion all have been Christians. A large number of the graduates have been Bible women ; some have become teachers in our own and other schools ; and some have become wives and helped to make Christian homes. One of the American teachers is Miss Clara Mosser. who is a trained kindergartner. It is hoped that our Church will very shortly engage in kindergarten work on a scale that will in some degree meet the present oppor- tunity. The Industrial Home. Increasing emphasis is being put upon industrial work as an important part of the foreign missionary enterprise in some non-Christian lands. Through Helping Young the Industrial Home of North Japan Men to Help College — Tohoku Gakuin — is carried on Themselves one branch of the work of our Japan Mission. Its purpose is to assist worthy young men who have not sufficient means to obtain a Christian education. There are three departments, a printing press, a dairy and a farm. Regular work is provided for which the young men receive one and one-half cents per hour, and by working three hours every day and five hours on holidays a large 28 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES part of one’s support can be earned. Nearly all of the students in the Home come from the country, where lies the great strength of Japan. If we can help the agricul- tural population by educating some of their sons we will aid materially the evangelization of the Japanese Empire. These strong young men, after graduating as Christians, will, under divine guidance, help to insure the perpetuity, prosperity and triumph of the Christian Church. There is a Savings and Surety Deposit Fund in which all persons employed by the Home must deposit at least five per cent, of their earnings. In September, 1906, an Endowment Fund was started. Each student now enter- ing must contribute three yen ($1.50) toward this; the older students who entered before it was begun also make contributions to this Fund, when they leave the Home. This Fund already amounts to yen 120, and it is hoped that it will be increased rapidly. The Dormitory is almost ready to col- The Greatest lapse. The alumni and friends have Need a Dormitory started a building fund and have already collected nearly $200.00. However, $5000 will be needed to rebuild. Some of the most learned and able professors of North Japan College and some of the most successful pastors and evangelists are men who began their The Christian education in the Home. They First cheerfully testify to the good start given Fruits them bv the Home. 29 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE China — Evangelistic Work. The chief test of successful evangelistic work in China is not the number of adherents gained, but the spiritual activity of the souls within the Church. The Test It j s q U ite easy to add converts. The of incomprehensible methods that the native Success church member can utilize to intimidate others, to avenge his enemies, or to pre- vent the revenge of his enemies upon himself by the use of the foreigner’s name or of the influence of the Church, put a premium on church membership. Even the most cautious missionary finds it difficult to keep those out of the Church who come with impure and selfish motives. Tt has been the recent sad experience and testimony of an old and faithful missionary, that his work during the year was not to baptize new converts, but to get rid of old ones. The most successful missionary societies testify to the fact that the success of Christianity in China depends on intensive rather than on extensive work. This has been and is the policy of our evangelistic department. So that, while the usual itinerating trips have been made, the Gospel preached and the Word of God given to those afar off, the chief emphasis has Training of been put on the work in the immediate Workers vicinity, and the training of those within Our Function the Church and among the seekers. The results seem to justify our meth- ods. There are those within the Church who have been tried and tested and proved faithful, upon whom we can lay our hands and claim them as the chosen of God. 30 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES In an attempt to carry out the above policy there were opened three street chapels at three strategic points in the city of Yochow, one in the heart of street the business portion, the other two on Chapels the two main thoroughfares leading into this section. In these three chapels books, tracts, portions of the Scripture, and Christian calendars are sold daily, and the Gospel is preached. Here are gathered sometimes a large crowd of men. sometimes only a few, but in any case the story of Jesus Christ is told in simple language, and many of the men learn to think seriously of the Saviour. In these chapels the men are allowed to have their pipes, to eat peanuts, and in cold weather to gather around the firebox to warm the hands and feet while hearing the Gospel story, or some other new thing that will increase their interest in life and help them to a higher plane of living. All of them are invited to the regular services in the Church, and those who manifest particular interest are brought into the enquirer’s class where a course of instruction is given preparatory to a public confession of faith and baptism. 31 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE Regular preaching services are held in the church on Sunday, and during the week. On Thursday afternoons a special service is held for women. What the Several times each year the missionaries Evangelists j n charge visit a number of cities and Are Doing villages in the surrounding country, preaching and selling books, Bibles and Christian pamphlets. In the schools and hospitals regular evangelistic work is being carried on daily. Missionaries in charge — The Revs. William A. Reimert and Paul E. Keller. At Lakeside a vigorous evangelistic campaign is carried on amongst the students and in the surrounding country. Many of the men and women come in from the farm villages and listen eagerly to the Gospel story. Special work is being done for the women and children of this region. Missionaries in charge of the evangelistic work at Lakeside — Dr. and Mrs. William Edwin Hoy. At Shenchowfu there are regular Sunday church services, a daily vesper service to which the public is invited, and a street-chapel work similar Shenchow to that carried on at Yochow. Special meetings are held for women, who attend bringing their babies in peculiar baskets strapped to the mother’s back. Visits are made from time to time to the villages and cities in the neighboring Work at districts, but this station is so under- Shenchow manned that the evangelistic work cannot be prosecuted as vigorously as its im- portance demands. The field is large, the harvest is ripe, but the reapers are few. The Rev. and Mrs. F. H. Heinrichsolm are in charge of the evangelistic work at this station. 32 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES China — Educational Work. Very early in its history the Reformed Church in the United States became interested in Christian education, endorsing the organization of Franklin Reformed Church College in 1787 and opening a theological and Education school of its own in 1825. The school house has always been intimately related to the Church, and the education of the young people has been regarded a highly important function. So in the prosecution of our mission work the educational feature has been made prominent. Having been one of the founders of our most excellent educational work in Japan, it was only natural that Dr. William Edwin Hoy in his first plans for the China Mission should include institutions of learning for both men and women In 1903 the Boys’ School was formally opened in Yochow. From the three or four boys who were given private instruction the school rapidly The Beginning grew to a number far beyond its capacity. at Of those in attendance some believed Yochow that a few months would be quite suffi- cient for obtaining a knowledge of all the “Western learning” that was worth knowing; these were disappointed and soon fell out ; those remaining were willing to do serious work. After several years of earnest work in the temporary quarters the school moved into its new buildings at Lakeside. This served as a stimulus to teachers and pupils, and assured the com- munity of the permanency of the institution. The school now offers courses in Chinese and English up to the Freshman year in college. The aim is to give 33 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE a complete liberal arts course, and then Aim offer a course in theology which will fit men for the Gospel ministry. The aver- age attendance last year was about sixty pupils in all grades. Hoffman Hall Dormitory. The tone of the School is distinctly Christian, and regu- lar instruction in the teachings of the Bible is given. As a result there are not a few applications for baptism, and a number of the Christian boys are actively engaged in preaching the Gospel to their countrymen. Missionary teachers in charge: Rev. William E. Hoy, D. D., Rev. J. Frank Bucher, and Prof. Horace R. Lequear. Three years ago school work for boys was begun by our station in the city of Shenchow. This school has from the beginning been under the neces- Sch ° o1 sity of limiting the number of pupils Work because of the fact that we have not at supplied the teaching force needed for Shenchow a large number of students. If we are really desirous of doing our share in the 34 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES evangelization of China we must not neglect our educa- tional work. An educated ministry is just as essential there as in the home land. The Boys’ School at Shen- chowfu is quartered in a good building erected especially for school purposes. The Rev. E. A. Beck is in charge of this work. The Girls’ School at Shenchowfu was organized three years ago. With a fine equipment in the way of buildings it was prepared to offer the community The Girls’ something much better than was ever School at dreamed of for the girls of the city. As Shenchow was to be expected in a country where women do not count for much, the growth of the school was not rapid, but its influence is growing. The pupils are taught not only the subjects usually taught in schools of similar grade, but they are taught to know the principles of Christianity. Habits of right living are taught by precept and example, and some are led to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Mission- aries in charge: Miss Rose Spangler and Mrs. F. K. Heinrichsohn. The Girls’ School at Yochow, China. We are hoping to erect a building in the near future to accommodate about one hundred pupils. What is our aim ? The Aim A leader in the Educational Movement tells us “The aim of education is to pre- pare for complete living. To live completely means to be as useful as possible and to be happy.” No second-class instruction will satisfy the hungry minds of our Chinese girls. They demand the very best we have. Therefore we aim, first of all, to give the child a knowledge of our 35 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE kind Heavenly Father, and our Saviour, the greatest Teacher the world has ever known. Instruction Upon a Christian foundation, therefore, we hope to build. Common school branches, Chinese classics and industrial work meet our present needs. We look into the future and feel our responsibility in training or preparing young women who shall some day enter upon the work of directing the awakening youth of the Great Empire. The work of the school will within a few more years require two or three more foreign teachers. In the outlying districts of Yochow at present you will find a large number of towns and villages where no educational advantages whatever are provided for Chi- nese girls. In such places where the Evangelistic Depart- ment may establish work, either under foreign or native supervision, we hope to establish day schools. To touch, to direct, to influence a human soul can be 36 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES done successfully only by those who sit at the feet of the Great Teacher and learn of Him. “No matter what works on Pedagogy one may study or neglect, the great- est and one never to be neglected is the life and methods of Jesus Christ.” Therefore since the work of opening Training day schools will necessarily devolve upon Scho01 native Christians, one of our great needs for will be a Bible Woman’s Training School Women and also a Normal School. In working and praying for the success of our work the friends will remember that in addition to the routine work of the school we have household duties to plan and arrange. Here a girl should learn the delight of living in clean, well-ventilated, well-lighted rooms, of eating wholesome food, of cleanliness and of cultivating right habits. It is one thing to teach, but to see that an attempt is made to carry out that which is taught, is a task more difficult. We look to the Reformed Church for consecrated women to carry on our share of the Master’s work. China— Medical Work. The medical work of the China Mission of the Re- formed Church in the United States is carried on in two centers in the Province of Hunan. This Beginnings branch of our mission work was first organized in the city of Yochow early in 1903. Begun in a modest way in very unsuitable quarters it has grown steadily in equipment and in the confidence of the community. 37 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE The first marked advance was the erection of the Frantz Dispensary, the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Adam Frantz; the second was the building of Equipment the Hoy Memorial Hospital, the gift of. the Church at large. A good beginning in the way of equipment has been made, so that under its present management the Medical Mission is prepared to offer the Chinese of the community up-to-date medical and surgical care when they are ill. The evangelistic work done in the dispensary and hos- pital and in following up the men is the most important feature of the department. The hospital Evangelistic evangelist, a trained man, sees all the Work patients who come to the dispensary and actually lives in the hospital, sleeping in one of the wards and making it his business to establish friendly relations with all the patients. Coming thus into personal touch with the men he secures a friendly hearing for the story of Jesus Christ. At the city of Shenchowfu our second medical work was begun some years ago. At this station are two ex- cellent hospitals, one for men and one Plant f or women, and a dispensary building, at These buildings were paid for out of the Shenchow indemnity fund intrusted to the China Mission by the British Government. The equipment of these is not yet complete, but sufficient for good, serious work. At the present time these hospitals are closed. Why? The medical mis- Two sionary, after ten years of hard service Physicians on the field, needs a furlough for study Needed and recuperation. There is no associate or substitute, so the work is shut down, the plant is idle. This is not good economy. Let us send out at least two more consecrated medical men. Let us do it very soon. 38 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES Our Mission Fields Established Japan 1879 1 China 1900 Missionaries Ordained 11 6 Unordained men 1 1 Physicians 2 Wives 12 8 Lady Teachers 5 4 Lady Evangelists 1 Nurses 1 Total Missionaries . . . 30 22 Native Workers Ordained 12 Unordained Preachers 27 11 Teachers (Men) 31 8 Teachers (Women) 8 4 Bible Women 21 5 Total Native Workers . . . 99 28 Organized Churches 6 3 Other Places for regular meetings . . 48 9 Communicant members 2452 126 Sunday Schools 49 3 Sunday School Officers and Teachers . 160 25 Sunday School Pupils 2324 Theological Seminaries 1 Pupils in same 26 Day and Boarding Schools 2 4 Pupils in same 518 135 Hospitals and Dispensaries 4 39 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE Approximate Cost of the Missions for One Year. The expense of maintenance of a mission station is such a variable quantity from year to year that nothing less than an itemized statement from the accounts of the Board could claim any degree of accuracy. The follow- ing figures are an approximation of the cost of maintain- ing our missions with their present working force. JAPAN MISSION. Missionaries’ Salaries and Incidentals $21,000 North Japan College 8,000 Miyagi Girls’ School 4,00c Evangelistic Fund 7, 50c Bible Women’s Fund 2,000 Insurance and Taxes 1.500 Miscellaneous, Incidentals and Buildings 10,000 $54,000 CHINA MISSION. Missionaries’ Salaries and Incidentals $17,000 Boys’ Schools 2,500 Girls’ Schools 1,400 Bible Women 500 Evangelistic Fund 1,500 Hospitals 2,500 Insurance 600 Incidentals, Miscellaneous and Buildings 5,000 40 $31,000 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES Shall We Not Do Our Part Now? What are we to do with all these calls for the Gospel message? Pray the Lord to close the gates of progress until we are ready to enter them ? Ask Him to hold the awakening mind of heathenism a little longer in the slum- ber of ignorance, and let idolatry and superstition post- pone the world’s emancipation day? If so, how vainly have we prayed and labored to come into this time of universal change. If we are doing all we can and con- scientiously believe that the Church has no more men and no more money to give, we are not blameworthy. God does not demand the impossible. The utmost of human ability and sacrifice is all He may reasonably expect, and it is all He does expect. Consider the millions that Christian men are lavishing on the luxuries of life, which are increasing daily in their costly allurements, and how small is the dole which many members give for the world’s conversion. There are thousands and tens of thousands able to give something who give nothing; a multitude who give the merest trifle, carelessly or grudgingly ; many who give to the Lord as though they were throwing alms to a wayside beggar. When all who profess to follow Christ gladly obey His command to render unto God the things that are God’s the cause of the Gospel will no longer languish. Meantime, while the awakening of the Church to a more generous and universal response proceeds, what shall be done with the urgent calls from our great fields abroad? Can we not provide in part for the needed reinforcements ? Are there not men and women willing to contribute specially for the support of one or more missionaries as 41 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE their personal representatives in the field ? Paul was able to preach, supporting himself. Some do so now ; the great majority cannot do so, for they give all their time and strength and thought to the Lord’s work and are worthy of their hire. But what a glorious privilege to men and women who cannot go themselves to send others in their places ! It is a direct contribution to the evan- gelization of the world. What a meaning such a sacrifice gives to the prayer, “Thy kingdom come.” If our missionaries, sick at heart over repeated disap- pointments and passing opportunities, knew that at last reinforcements were coming what a joy would fill their hearts, what new zeal would kindle their souls and how gloriously their spirits would revive. It can be done ; let us add. it shall be done. Our Immediate Needs JAPAN— Five ordained men for evangelistic work. Four single ladies for evangelistic work. Forty thousand dollars for chapels and missionary residences. China- Two physicians. Two nurses. Two male teachers. One lady teacher. Twelve thousand dollars for school buildings, chapels and missionary residences. 42 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES Directory of Our Foreign Missionaries JAPAN. Date of Arrival. Name. Residence. 1883. Rev. J. P. Moore, D. D., and wife* Tokyo 1887. Rev. D. B. Schneder, D. D., and wife Sendai 1892. Rev. Henry K. Miller and wife Sendai 1895. Rev. Christopher Noss, D. D., and wife Sendai 1896. Prof. Paul L. Gerhard and wife* Sendai 1900. Rev. William E. Lampe, Ph. D., and wife*. ... Sendai 1900. Miss Sadie Lea Weidner Sendai 1900. Rev. Allen K. Faust, Ph. D., and wife Sendai 1901. Miss B. Catherine Pifer,* Meiji Gakuin, Shirokane, Tokyo 1902. Rev. Herman H. Cook, Jr., and wife* Yamagata 1905. Rev. Jesse F. Steiner and wife Sendai 1905. Rev. W. G. Seiple, Ph. D., and wife Sendai 1905. Miss Mary E. Gerhard Sendai 1906. Rev. Elmer H. Zaugg and wife Yamagata 1907. Miss Kate I. Hansen Sendai 1907. Miss Lydia A. Lindsey Sendai 1909. Rev. H. H. Casselman and wife Sendai 1909. Miss Clara Mosser Sendai CHINA. 1900. Rev. William E. Hoy, D. D., and wife, Yochow City, Hunan 1902. Rev. William A. Reimert and wife*. Yochow City, Hunan 1902. Miss S. Emma Ziemer Yochow City, Hunan 1899. Rev. William Kelly, M. D., and wife,* Shenchowfu, Hunan 1905. Rev. Paul E. Keller and wife. .. .Yochow City, Hunan 1906. Rev. J. Frank Bucher and wife*. Yochow City, Hunan 1906. Mr. Horace R. Lequear Yochow City, Hunan 1906. Miss Anna C. Kanne Yochow City, Hunan 1906. Rev. Edwin A. Beck and wife .... Shenchowfu, Hunan 1906. Miss Rose A. Spangler Shenchowfu, Hunan 1908. Miss Alice E. Traub Yochow City, Hunan 1908. Rev. F. K. Heinrichsohn and wife, Shenchowfu, Hunan 1908. Rev. W. F. Adams, M. D., and wife, Yochow City, Hunan 1910. Miss Rebecca Messimer Shenchowfu, Hunan *Home on furlough. 43 HANDBOOK OF FOREIGN MISSIONS The Board of Foreign Missions. Organized 1838. Reorganized 1878. Incorporated 1881. Income, 1905-1908, $264,283. President, Rev. James I. Good, D. D. Vice-President, Rev. John H. Prugh, D. D. Secretary, Rev. Allen R. Bartholomew, D. D. Treasurer, Joseph L. Lemberger, Ph. AI. Rev. John Bachmann, D. D. Rev. A. S. Bromer. Rev. Conrad Hassel. Rev. Emil P. Herbruck, D. D. Rev. J. Spangler Kieffer, D. D. George F. Bareis. John K. Bowman. Legal Adviser, John W. Apple, Esq. Medical Examiner, Dr. Henry C. Welker. Annual meeting Wednesday following Easter. The Executive Committee meetings are held quarterly on the second Tuesday of June, September and December. 44