The Missionary Life 
 
 of the 
 
 Theological Seminary 
 
 J. Lovell Murray 
 
 Student Volunteer Movement 
 
The Missionary Life 
 
 of the 
 
 Theological Seminary 
 
 BY 
 
 J. Lovell Murray 
 
 Educational Secretary 
 Student Volunteer Movement 
 
 New York 
 
 Student Volunteer Movement 
 
Copyright, 1918, by 
 Student Volunteer Movement 
 for Foreign Missions 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introductory ...... I 
 
 Developing: Missionary Intelligence . . 6 
 
 Promoting: Missionary Liberality . . .27 
 
 Stimulating: Missionary Intercession . . 30 
 
 Propagating: Missionary Interest . . -35 
 
 Enlisting: Missionary Lives . . . .38 
 
THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF THE 
 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 In the mission lands of the world God has been 
 preparing the way for wide expansions of His 
 Kingdom. Door after door has swung open. Whole 
 nations have turned their backs on political and 
 educational systems whose age is counted in mil- 
 leniums. Great convulsions have shaken the eco¬ 
 nomic and social order of Asia and Africa. 
 Democracy is spreading apace over the whole non- 
 Christian population of the earth. The dead are 
 alive and the sleeping are awake to the ideals of 
 reform and progress. What was static is now ad¬ 
 vancing. What was petrified in custom is now 
 plastic. The leaven of new ideas has been working 
 through the mass. And an encouraging Christ-ward 
 movement among the educated classes has been 
 paralleled by a colossal drift towards Christ of tens 
 of millions of the lower classes. It is the supreme 
 opportunity for the forces of Christianity. 
 
 “The decisive hour of Christian missions” it was 
 called a few years ago. Then came the Great War, 
 the results of which will increasingly tend to make 
 the opportunity more wide and the demand more 
 
2 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 urgent. In this opportunity and this demand the 
 Church of Christ cannot fail to see the beckoning 
 finger of her Lord and to hear His summons, “Be¬ 
 hold I have set before thee an open door.” Her 
 faith is quickened that the Lord God omnipotent 
 reigneth. “It is the doing of the Lord,” she says, 
 “and it is marvelous in our eyes.” 
 
 On the other hand, a new missionary impulse has 
 come into the life of the Church herself. The 
 preparation of a vast world opportunity for Chris¬ 
 tianity has been matched in the Divine wisdom by 
 a conspicuous preparation of the Church for the 
 opportunity. The Student Volunteer Movement, 
 the Laymen’s Missionary Movement, the Mission¬ 
 ary Education Movement and the new development 
 and co-ordination of the work of the Women’s 
 Missionary Societies are evidences of this mission¬ 
 ary awakening. The emergence of a science of 
 missions, the rapid growth in volume and quality 
 of missionary literature, the great missionary Coun¬ 
 cils of War at Edinburgh in 1910 and at Panama 
 in 1916 are further evidences. So too are the in¬ 
 creasing missionary revenues of the churches. The 
 world consciousness that has come over the think¬ 
 ing of recent years becomes, when it touches relig¬ 
 ion, a missionary consciousness pure and simple. 
 The social emphasis of today, given a world scope, 
 becomes a missionary emphasis. The doctrine of 
 internationalism so current at the present time is 
 on its religious side a doctrine of foreign missions. 
 The peace movement which now is gathering such 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 3 
 
 momentum can be fundamental and enduring, so its 
 most thoughtful exponents are discovering, only if 
 it implies a movement to give Christ to the nations. 
 The mass of Christians are therefore ready today 
 to be enlisted in a great conquering Crusade for the 
 evangelization of the world. God has abundantly 
 been preparing His Church to enter the field which 
 also He has prepared. 
 
 Far from retarding this preparation the outbreak 
 of the War greatly advanced it. The interests and 
 sympathies of Christians became international as 
 never before. The spirit of loyalty and of personal 
 sacrifice found new expression on every hand. 
 Lives and treasure were laid down lavishly at the 
 feet of a great cause. The necessity of Chris¬ 
 tianizing all of our international relations came 
 home to every thoughtful disciple of Christ. It is 
 not surprising that the missionary leaders of the 
 Church have laid plans for largely expanded pro¬ 
 grams. Not only have they discerned the signs of 
 the times within the Church and throughout the 
 world; they have read their Christian history aright. 
 The war and post-war periods of the 19th century 
 were periods in which the missionary life of the 
 churches leaped into new activity. Indeed those 
 periods gave birth to some of the leading Missionary 
 Societies of Great Britain and America. Today 
 Church history is repeating itself. A new and 
 mighty advance for world occupation is upon us. 
 
 These considerations lead directly home to the 
 theological seminaries. The undertaking is so vast 
 
4 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 as to call for the mobilization of the entire Church, 
 her energies, her intercession, her treasure, her man¬ 
 power. The directors of this mobilization must 
 come from the theological seminaries, which are 
 the officers’ training camps for the forces of Chris¬ 
 tianity. There can be no question that the mis¬ 
 sionary enterprise stands or falls with the ministry 
 of the Christian Church. It is true that there is an 
 alert missionary spirit in the Church, that multi¬ 
 tudes of devoted women have been beyond praise 
 in their activity and that hosts of laymen have be¬ 
 come militant for missions. But overwhelmingly 
 the reason for this has been the vision and leader¬ 
 ship of missionary pastors. More and more the 
 theological seminaries have widened their horizons 
 to include the total of humanity. “The world is 
 my parish,” said John Wesley, and it was a start¬ 
 ling declaration in that day; but it is a standard con¬ 
 ception in many a modem divinity school. Granted 
 that the seminaries have not measured up to their 
 full responsibility in the matter and that there is 
 a measure of truth in a recent observation that they 
 have plenty of skylights but too few windows, it 
 remains true that the ministry of the Church has 
 been the main factor in the modern missionary 
 uprising and that there has been a large output of 
 missionary zeal from the theological seminaries. But 
 the decisive hour has struck and the new advance is 
 on. If the ministry is to hold the lead, the seminaries 
 must be true to their traditions and multiply their 
 missionary product. Every graduate should come 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 5 
 
 forth a well-informed, convinced and enthusiastic 
 advocate of foreign missions. There is no option. 
 It is for him either to volunteer for overseas service 
 or become a leader at the home base, helping to 
 mobilize the resources of the Church for her world 
 undertaking. 
 
 The purpose of this pamphlet is to indicate how 
 students may make their seminaries veritable train¬ 
 ing grounds for missionary leadership. Perhaps in 
 no seminary will it be possible to adopt all of the 
 suggestions made in the following pages. But ex¬ 
 perience has shown that every one of these sugges¬ 
 tions is quite practicable in schools of divinity. There 
 should be in every such institution a strongly 
 manned committee, other than the Volunteer Band, 
 having this matter in charge. But whatever the 
 auspices may be under which the work is done, and 
 however the committee may be composed, success 
 is usually dependent upon the energy of some two 
 or three men who are heart and soul devoted to 
 the undertaking. Indeed it has been shown over 
 and over again that even without a committee at 
 all a missionary triumph has been won through the 
 faith and aggressiveness of one man whose heart 
 was aflame with missionary passion. Surely in every 
 seminary at least one such student may be found. 
 That man, even if he has no organized group of 
 workers behind him, may regard this pamphlet as 
 his handbook on method. But the desirability of 
 having a vigorous committee directing the work will 
 be evident as we proceed to discuss the various lines 
 
6 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 of missionary effort that should be covered in a 
 theological seminary. 
 
 DEVELOPING MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE 
 
 The foundation for vigorous, sustained and well- 
 directed missionary activity is missionary intelli¬ 
 gence. This thesis is so self-evident as to require 
 no discussion. But two main practical values which 
 are supplied to a theological student by a thorough 
 knowledge of missions may be mentioned here. 
 
 In the first place, it equips him as a prospective 
 pastor to educate his congregation in missons. 
 Speaking of the value of mission study classes in 
 this direction Professor Harlan P. Beach of the 
 Yale School of Religion says: 
 
 “Every course of study furnishes workable out¬ 
 lines for such meetings and suggests the very best 
 sources of information. Not only may the results 
 of the study be immediately reproduced in the meet¬ 
 ings of the Church and of the young people for 
 which theological students are responsible, but many 
 of the topics and programs prepared are suitable 
 for later use in the exacting work of one’s early 
 pastorate, when any suitable material at hand is a 
 most acceptable aid. 
 
 “A more formal contribution to the young pas¬ 
 tor’s repertory, derivable from the mission study 
 class, is the full missionary address which can read¬ 
 ily be prepared after a course of study has been 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 7 
 
 completed, when its varied and interesting infor¬ 
 mation is still in mind. If co-operative work is 
 done by the class members and a note-book has been 
 faithfully used, the student will be surprised at the 
 ease with which addresses are put in shape, as well 
 as at their breadth and value. 
 
 “Students of the middle year and especially 
 seniors, who for a prolonged period have been 
 studying missions, will be prepared thereby to pro¬ 
 duce sermons on important and always timely 
 themes of study, which can be used not only when 
 acting as a supply but in future years. 
 
 “All seminary students are engaged in gathering 
 illustrations for future sermons and addresses and 
 are entering them in note-books, scrap-books, etc. 
 They thus avoid the danger of repeating trite illus¬ 
 trations found in well-known collections of that 
 sort. The missionary enterprise furnishes anecdotes 
 and illustrations of peculiar value, partly because 
 of the freshness and strangeness of the material col¬ 
 lected, and partly from the simple and apostolic na¬ 
 ture of the work thus incidently pictured. So help¬ 
 ful to the clergymen of the Church of England are 
 these missionary illustrations that an index of them 
 accompanies each issue of the Church Missionary 
 Society’s Annual Report. Mission study furnishes 
 a far wider field for profitable gleanings. 
 
 “Preparation for missionary leadership in the 
 local church results from the forms of work above 
 named, but missionary study furnishes a more 
 dynamic if less tangible service in the deep convic- 
 
8 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 tions which it imparts through the sober facts re¬ 
 vealed; in the glad delight which the student feels 
 as his doubts concerning the power of Christ to 
 save and to work moral miracles disappear before 
 the indubitable evidence coming from every land 
 and the most degraded peoples; in the inspiration 
 derivable from the experiences and triumphs of men 
 like himself, who have been driven to God through 
 the manifold difficulties and dangers surrounding 
 them, and who have found in Him the secret of 
 peace and of victorious service; and in the vision 
 of a new earth which, with Christ as leader, is pos¬ 
 sible to a believing ministry and an awakened 
 Church. 
 
 “But the denomination has a wider claim upon 
 its ministers than does the local congregation. If 
 it is to be awakened and do its share in bringing 
 the Gospel to the submerged nations, its young 
 and strong leaders must do some effective thinking, 
 writing and speaking. The annual meetings of the 
 various boards, the manning of their committees, 
 articles on the subject in denominational papers and 
 missionary magazines, call for men wholly informed 
 concerning the missionary enterprise. The semi¬ 
 nary mission study scheme should so acquaint stu¬ 
 dents with the best sources of information—first 
 hand, as far as possible—and form in them such a 
 strongly entrenched habit of using the information 
 obtained, that the demands of the denomination may 
 be fully met by its seminary graduates/’ 
 
 Moreover, a wide knowledge of missions enables a 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 9 
 
 seminary student to select wisely and safely the 
 field of his ministry. It is impossible, to be sure, 
 for him to choose the precise location. But as be¬ 
 tween the two main fields of the work of his com¬ 
 munion, the field at home and the field abroad, he 
 can and must make his choice. If he selects neither 
 the one nor the other, he will, of course, remain 
 in the home country, just as though he had delib¬ 
 erately made his choice. Now it is true, as Pro¬ 
 fessor Henry Drummond puts it, that “there is a 
 will for career as well as for character”; and the 
 full truth is that career implies the field as well as 
 the calling. Everyone must ask two questions. What 
 is God’s will as to my calling? What is God’s will 
 as to my field? It is both perilous and unworthy, 
 having entered one’s vocation by choice, to enter 
 one’s location by circumstances. If there were any 
 presumption that because one has been born and 
 brought up and educated in a certain land he should 
 render his life service there, it would be safe enough. 
 But since there is no such presumption, it is as un¬ 
 sound and arbitrary to contribute his life service to 
 the land of his birth as it would be to give it to 
 the state or province or county of his birth. The 
 two great possible fields of ministry must be given 
 at least an equal chance. As definite a call from 
 God must be ascertained to serve in the United 
 States or Canada as would be looked for to serve 
 abroad. 
 
 But how is the call of God to be known? Cer¬ 
 tainly it cannot be known until one has become 
 
10 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 familiar with at least the broad conditions of need 
 and opportunity and crisis both- at home and 
 throughout the non-Christian world. It is an un¬ 
 fortunate fact that many students do not carry with 
 them into the seminary a knowledge of mission lands 
 sufficient to make their choice unprejudiced, in¬ 
 telligent and safe. Inevitably, unless they acquire 
 that knowledge in their seminary days some of these 
 men will miss the place of their calling by remain¬ 
 ing in the home land and the resulting loss will be 
 great indeed. Speaking of this loss, Robert P. 
 Wilder reminds us that “a car off the track not only 
 stops, it blocks traffic.” It is tragic sometimes to 
 hear a minister say, “If I had only had enough 
 missionary knowledge when I was determining 
 where I should exercise my ministry, I should pos¬ 
 sibly be serving in some mission land today.” 
 
 How is a broad missionary knowledge to be given 
 to seminary students? 
 
 I. Through Curriculum Courses. While there 
 
 are still many theological seminaries whose cur¬ 
 ricula make no provision for this discipline, there 
 has been a striking advance in this direction, partic¬ 
 ularly within the last decade. More than one-third 
 of the Protestant seminaries in North America are 
 apparently making a serious effort to give a reason¬ 
 able attention to the science of missions as a subject 
 of instruction. A number now have professorships 
 or part-professorships of missions and a few have 
 recently begun Departments of Missions. In the 
 large, however, the curricula of our schools of divin- 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 11 
 
 ity are sadly deficient in their consideration of the 
 world aspects of the Christian religion. Until this 
 branch of instruction is favorably developed, espe¬ 
 cially at the hands of professors of missionary pas¬ 
 sion, the rank and file of ministers of the Christian 
 Church cannot be expected to do their religious 
 thinking internationally and to become the inspiring 
 statesmen of a world Kingdom. 
 
 Nothing can take the place of curriculum instruc¬ 
 tion in missions. It represents a thorough-going, 
 systematized and scientific study of a very broad and 
 intricate subject. It is as technical as any other 
 department of curriculum instruction. 
 
 There are two things which a missionary com¬ 
 mittee can do to make this agency effective. It 
 can, where the curriculum is weak or void in respect 
 of missions, engineer a petition to be signed by all 
 the students and presented to the seminary authori¬ 
 ties asking for the introduction of new courses in 
 missions. A few years ago this was done in one 
 of the leading American divinity schools. At that 
 time nothing of a missionary character was being 
 offered beyond a few lectures by missionaries and 
 Mission Board secretaries. Very soon substantial 
 missionary courses were introduced into the cur¬ 
 riculum. Today there is a flourishing Department 
 of Missions in that seminary and the end is not yet. 
 There is little doubt that the appeal of the students 
 was a strong factor in initiating this development 
 The other contribution which the missionary com¬ 
 mittee can make lies in encouraging their fellow- 
 
12 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 students to elect those missionary courses which are 
 optional. 
 
 II. Through Voluntary Study and Discussion 
 Groups. These groups travel under various names 
 such as Round Table Discussion Groups and World 
 Parish Groups and are of various types. Six famil 
 iar types may be mentioned. 
 
 1. The Text-hook Study Group. This is of the 
 nature of the Mission Study classes which are cur¬ 
 rent in the colleges but is adapted to meet the needs 
 of seminary men. It is pre-eminently a discussion 
 group under student leadership. It should be dis¬ 
 tinctly understood that the one appointed to have 
 charge of such a group is its “leader” and in no 
 sense its “teacher.” At the same time it provides 
 for the intensive study of a text-book. 
 
 It may be asked, Of what value is such a method 
 if strong courses in missions are provided in the 
 curriculum? The answer is fourfold: 
 
 (1) It makes provision for students who are 
 
 not taking curriculum courses in missions. In the 
 large majority of seminaries these courses either 
 
 are entirely elective or are required only in a cer¬ 
 tain portion of the three-year curriculum. The for¬ 
 mation of voluntary groups makes it possible for 
 even the busy student to pursue a study of the 
 world aspects of Christianity during the periods 
 when he is not receiving classroom instruction in 
 the subject. 
 
 (2) It makes possible the study of many phases 
 of the subject not covered in the curriculum. At 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 13 
 
 some time during his seminary course each student 
 should find opportunity to consider the history of 
 missions; the missionary motive and aim; the pres¬ 
 ent situation in each of the great mission fields of 
 the Church, together with a general background 
 study of these lands and peoples; the religions of 
 the world; the principles and practice of missions; 
 and the particular missionary work of his own de¬ 
 nomination. In the Text-book Study Groups he can 
 cover ground that is not touched on in his class¬ 
 room work. Members of the faculty should be con¬ 
 sulted with reference to the selection of the themes 
 for voluntary study. 
 
 (3) It is calculated to lead to personal opinion 
 and conviction regarding the missionary enterprise. 
 This is, of course, part of the aim of curriculum 
 work. But the curriculum approach usually has less 
 of the discussional element, it is more formal, it is 
 more technical and scientific, and so is less qualified 
 to produce a convinced commitment of each indi¬ 
 vidual student to the missionary undertaking of the 
 Church. This is the distinctive aim of the voluntary 
 group. The members talk freely about the problems 
 raised and their own relation to them and make their 
 group of the nature of a prayer circle. 
 
 (4) It gives experience in the method of mis¬ 
 sionary education which is becoming general in the 
 churches. The mission study class which a few 
 short years ago was an innovation in congregational 
 activity is now recognized as the most effective 
 method of promoting missionary intelligence. No 
 
14 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 small part of the recently quickened missionary in¬ 
 terest among Christians is due to the development 
 of this agency. Its best days are ahead. It is of 
 great importance that every minister should come 
 to his first parish equipped to give expert guidance 
 to its mission study program. In the years of his 
 seminary preparation he should familiarize himself 
 with the mission study class method. During his 
 college course he may have belonged to more than 
 one mission study class. But he may not have come 
 to understand the genius of this study method or to 
 have acquired practice and skill in the direction of a 
 class. In the Text-book Study Group he finds this 
 opportunity. It may be advisable for the members 
 of the group to take the leadership in rotation in order 
 to distribute evenly the experience. This will, of 
 course, be done under the direction of the group 
 leader. Coupled with this practice work each one 
 should read Dr. Sailer’s “General Suggestions for 
 Leaders of Mission Study Classes” and Miss Day’s 
 “Mission Study Class Method.” A fuller treatment 
 of the subject is to be found in G. T. Manley’s help¬ 
 ful book “Missionary Study Principles.” 
 
 There is an abundance of excellent material to use 
 in these groups. While many books, pamphlets and 
 periodicals may be employed for auxiliary reading, 
 it is advisable to use some one volume as the basis 
 of the course. Among the books most suitable for 
 the purpose are those named in Appendix A. 
 
 2. The Research Group. This group does if 
 anything a more substantial type of work. It meets 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 15 
 
 under faculty direction and considers scientifically 
 such missionary subjects as the history of missions, 
 comparative religions, the unoccupied fields, the mis¬ 
 sionary and his critics, the problems of the native 
 Church, missionary administration, the home base 
 of missions, etc. There are wide fields for original 
 investigation and the thorough-going work at¬ 
 tempted in these courses will be found richly re¬ 
 warding. Some faculties will allow credits for work 
 done in such a group. 
 
 The DeForest Club at the Yale School of Re¬ 
 ligion is a good illustration of this type of group. 
 The Club, which is a well-known organization at 
 Yale, does very solid work and is conducted much 
 like a seminar. It is under the expert direction 
 of the faculty members in the Department of Mis¬ 
 sions, but most of the discussion of papers is car¬ 
 ried on by the students themselves. 
 
 3. The Missionary Problems Group. This group 
 devotes its weekly sessions to the discussion of some 
 live missionary problem. For example, the bearing 
 of the War upon the missionary enterprise is a topic 
 which offers unlimited possibilities. The social as¬ 
 pects of foreign missions is another. Co-operation 
 and unity on the mission field is another. And the 
 number of suitable themes might be multiplied in¬ 
 definitely. Special attention, of course, is given in 
 each case to the missionary problems of the denomi¬ 
 nation to which the seminary belongs. Pamphlets 
 which may be procured from the office of the Mis¬ 
 sion Boards, selected chapters from recent mission- 
 
16 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 ary books, and editorials and articles in periodicals, 
 both missionary and otherwise, offer all the mate¬ 
 rial necessary. 
 
 4. The Current Events Group. From week to 
 week this group carries on a discussion of present 
 day events and movements in mission lands. In 
 our day missionary history is being made with be¬ 
 wildering rapidity. To be abreast of the times one 
 must get the score by innings. This is possible for a 
 circle which meets weekly to review the most recent 
 happenings in the mission world. The responsibility 
 for keeping track of events may be divided, one 
 member being detailed to report on Africa, another 
 on China, another on the Moslem world, another on 
 unoccupied fields, etc. Special attention is given to 
 the mission fields of the seminary’s denomination, 
 or the entire discussion may be focussed on the work 
 of the missionaries of that denomination. For such 
 a group few books need be consulted, the necessary 
 material being taken from missionary magazines and 
 other periodical literature, the daily press being not 
 forgotten. This group might be made responsible 
 for posting fresh information on the Bulletin Board 
 as referred to on page 23. 
 
 5. The Missionary Biography Group. Compar¬ 
 ative studies in missionary biography present one 
 of the most inspiring themes for discussion, as well 
 as one of the most attractive and educative. A cer¬ 
 tain number of notable missionaries are selected, 
 preferably representing different countries and 
 different types of work. These are assigned to the 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 17 
 
 members of the group, one biography being covered, 
 if the size of the group makes it necessary, by several 
 members. The successive meetings will deal with the 
 successive stages or with different features of the 
 careers of the missionaries. For example, the first 
 session may be devoted to their early years, the next 
 to the question, How the call came, the next to the 
 matter of preparation and appointment, the next to 
 the first impressions and occupations after reaching 
 the field. At other sessions the striking difficulties 
 met, the missionary’s relation to the native people 
 and the native Church, the victorious elements in 
 his character, the distinctive methods of his work, 
 the abiding contribution made by his life to the 
 Christianizing of the land and similar topics may 
 be dealt with. 
 
 6 . The Mock Mission Board. The number of 
 persons participating in this should, if possible, com¬ 
 prise all of the students in the seminary. The 
 meetings of the Board furnish an opportunity to 
 consider in an attractive fashion the practical 
 present-day problems of missions. The group con¬ 
 stitutes itself a Foreign Mission Board, correspond¬ 
 ing with the Board of its denomination, with the 
 necessary officers appointed. At one of its meetings 
 the problems of the selection and appointment of 
 missionary workers may be considered, candidates 
 being examined or the recommendations of the Can¬ 
 didate Secretary being discussed and appointments 
 actually made. The reasons for accepting or re¬ 
 jecting candidates and the reasons for reinforcing 
 
18 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 the missionary staff in this field or that would have 
 to be canvassed thoroughly. To prepare for such a 
 meeting it would be advisable to secure from the 
 Board application blanks, the manual for mission¬ 
 aries and other material, not forgetting the last 
 annual report. From the same source much valu¬ 
 able literature could be secured for other meetings, 
 when pleas for buildings, for more workers and 
 for the opening up of new territory would be 
 weighed and apportionments agreed upon, when 
 the conflicting claims of concentration and diffu¬ 
 sion would be debated, when proposals for union 
 efforts with other missions, for the transference of 
 authority to native Christian leaders, for altering 
 the conditions of Church membership and other 
 moot problems would be discussed. If any foreign 
 students are studying in the seminary, they may 
 be invited occasionally to speak on these subjects. 
 At times students representing missionaries on fur¬ 
 lough might be asked to address the Board. A. J. 
 Brown’s “The Foreign Missionary” and the recent 
 files of the missionary magazine of the denomi¬ 
 nation will help greatly in the preparation for these 
 sessions. 
 
 III. Lecture Courses. This agency is so general 
 
 and so well understood as to call for no expla¬ 
 nation. Such courses are now being delivered on 
 missionary foundations in many seminaries. In 
 others they can be provided for with a little effort. 
 The co-operation of the faculty and trustees in mak¬ 
 ing them possible can in most cases be assumed. 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 19 
 
 Capable lecturers may be secured from the ranks 
 of theological and other professors, missionary pas¬ 
 tors, Mission Board Secretaries and missionaries on 
 furlough. One or two courses of six to ten 
 lectures each year are better than unrelated ad¬ 
 dresses which lack continuity and hence fail of the 
 largest usefulness. 
 
 One seminary sets aside an hour one evening each 
 week for the presentation of missionary themes. 
 These addresses are given by members of the faculty 
 and others who thus are able to make a personal 
 appeal to the students which is impossible in the 
 curriculum courses. 
 
 IV. The Organized Reading of Missionary 
 Books. This is one of the simplest methods to put 
 into effect and is highly valuable. Every seminary 
 student does a certain amount of side reading and 
 would probably agree that he should cover at least 
 one missionary volume in the course of the year. 
 The stock of really good missionary literature is 
 being enriched annually by scores of new books, 
 strong, informing, inspiring, well-written volumes. 
 The problem is to secure a selected number of these 
 books, make them available to the students, give 
 them publicity and actually get them read. The plan 
 works out after this fashion: The Committee makes 
 a selection of, say, ten new, attractive and informing 
 volumes. If they are not already in the library it 
 should easily be possible to have them added. Or 
 certain students will doubtless be ready each to 
 purchase one. The list is posted or is read to the. 
 
20 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 student body, with a descriptive comment on each 
 title. Every student is then invited to read one of 
 the books according to his own preference and a 
 definite period is set during which that volume will 
 be assigned to him. For each book one student is 
 made responsible and he is to see that it moves from 
 one person to another according to the schedule. 
 The value of this method is increased if late in the 
 seminary year a Book Review meeting is held at 
 which a brief interpretation is given of each of the 
 ten volumes by one who has read it. 
 
 A few of the modern missionary books which 
 may be used for this purpose will be found in Ap¬ 
 pendix B. Most of the titles suggested in Appendix 
 A for study by World Parish Groups belong also 
 in this list. The Educational Secretary of the Stu¬ 
 dent Volunteer Movement may be consulted at any 
 time for definite suggestions. 
 
 V. Supplementary Methods of Developing Mis¬ 
 sionary Intelligence. 
 
 The methods already referred to call for the sys¬ 
 tematic and consecutive consideration of missionary 
 questions. They should be supplemented, however, 
 by other methods providing for a consideration of 
 the subject which is less intensive but which in each 
 case has a distinctive value. 
 
 1. The Missionary Meeting. The place of this 
 meeting cannot be filled by any other agency. It 
 should be held at least monthly, its programs should 
 be widely varied and it should prove the missionary 
 rallying centre for the student body. The most 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 21 
 
 thoughtful care should be given to the preparation 
 and advertising of these meetings, which ought to 
 earn the reputation of the livest and most profitable 
 gatherings in the seminary. Many suggestions will 
 be found in the pamphlet “Missionary Meetings/’ 
 published by the Student Volunteer Movement. 
 
 2. The Reading-room and Library. Every theo¬ 
 logical seminary has on the shelves of its library 
 a large number of missionary books. Not always, 
 however, is this department of the library kept up 
 to date. It is important that each year the best of 
 the new missionary books should be added. If the 
 missionary committee will appropriately petition for 
 the purchase of these books and certain older stand¬ 
 ard books of reference which are not in the library 
 but which students may wish to consult in prepa¬ 
 ration for such investigations and discussions as 
 are named above, it is more than likely that their 
 request will be granted. Recently one seminary 
 considered favorably a petition for 150 missionary 
 books. Due publicity should be given to the 
 addition of new missionary books to the library. The 
 whole collection of missionary books is in some 
 cases consolidated in a “missionary alcove” of the 
 library. Where they are distributed in various sec¬ 
 tions a catalogue of them all should be prepared and 
 kept up to date and accessible. 
 
 Also on the reading tables of every theological 
 seminary certain missionary magazines are to be 
 found. The missionary committee may profitably 
 examine what is available and if necessary take steps 
 
22 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 for the addition of any others that are of special 
 value. A minimum list of missionary periodicals 
 which should be taken by every theological semi¬ 
 nary would include: 
 
 The missionary magazines of the Church with 
 which the seminary is connected and of some other 
 denominations as well. 
 
 The International Review of Missions. 
 
 The Missionary Review of the World. 
 
 Men and Missions. 
 
 World Outlook. 
 
 The Student World. 
 
 Missionary Ammunition. 
 
 In addition, certain periodicals dealing with spe¬ 
 cific fields, most of them published in mission lands, 
 should be found in the seminary reading-room. Some 
 such periodicals are: 
 
 The Moslem World. Quarterly. 
 
 The Christian Express (Africa). Monthly. 
 
 The Chinese Recorder. Monthly. 
 
 The Harvest Field (India). Monthly. 
 
 The Indian Witness. Weekly. 
 
 The Japan Evangelist. Monthly. 
 
 The Korea Magazine. Monthly. 
 
 To this list might be added some valuable non¬ 
 missionary publications, such as: 
 
 Asia (Journal of the American Asiatic Associa¬ 
 tion) Monthly. 
 
 The Near East. Weekly. 
 
 The South American. Monthly. 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 23 
 
 3. The Bulletin Board . In every seminary there 
 should be a missionary bulletin board and a member 
 of the missionary committee should be delegated to 
 be its custodian. On the board there may be posted 
 references to new books and to magazine articles, 
 clippings from newspapers, letters from alumni on 
 the mission field, good photographs, etc. Only fresh 
 material should be shown and nothing should be 
 left on the board more than a few days. The effect 
 will be all the greater if only a few things are dis¬ 
 played at a time and if the material is artistically 
 arranged and set under striking captions. 
 
 The Bulletin Board furnishes an excellent medium 
 for keeping the seminary in touch with its alumni 
 who are on the mission field. A campaign of corre¬ 
 spondence should be kept up throughout the year 
 with these men. Many of their replies, even though 
 they have been read in chapel or at some other 
 gathering, should be attached to the Bulletin Board 
 for a limited period before being filed. There they 
 can be seen and read leisurely by all who care to 
 do so. For this purpose a number of brief, crisp 
 letters would be more useful than a few lengthy 
 ones. 
 
 In the grinding stress of his life on the field the 
 missionary should not be expected to maintain fully 
 his end of the correspondence with a number of 
 students. But let it never be supposed that the 
 missionary is being bored by letters from the old 
 seminary. Far from it. In the midst of his busy 
 life as a missionary John Hyde DeForest wrote 
 
24 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 many a letter back to Yale Seminary in response 
 to the requests of the students for information re¬ 
 garding general conditions and his own life in 
 Japan. In one of these letters, written twelve years 
 after he had left home, he asks, “Knowing that I 
 am a Yale man, why didn’t you follow the Golden 
 Rule and fill up the rest of that small sheet of paper 
 with some of the gossip of the seminary?” Every 
 man among these theological graduates is hungry 
 for such news and for the assurance that a new 
 generation of students back in the old chapel and 
 dormitories and class rooms is following his work 
 with sympathetic and prayerful interest. But how¬ 
 ever much the missionary alumni may be helped 
 by this correspondence the advantage to the semi¬ 
 nary is far greater. 
 
 4. Chapel Service. The daily chapel service of 
 the seminary furnish an excellent opportunity for 
 bringing missionary information to the entire stu¬ 
 dent body. Most seminaries receive visits several 
 times a year from Mission Board secretaries and 
 furloughed missionaries and these are almost in¬ 
 variably asked to speak at the daily chapel service. 
 The missionary committee may be able to bring 
 to the notice of the chapel committee of the fac¬ 
 ulty the names of other missionary speakers of 
 ability who may be in the vicinity. At other services 
 not distinctly missionary it is appropriate to bring 
 striking items of missionary information to the at¬ 
 tention of the audience or to read letters from 
 alumni who are serving on the mission field. 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 25 
 
 5. Visits from Missionaries. It is desirable in 
 every seminary to plan each year for an unhurried 
 visit from at least one missionary of the Church 
 who is home on furlough. This missionary should 
 be easy of approach and should represent in him¬ 
 self the highest standards of missionary service, even 
 though he may not be greatly gifted as a speaker. 
 His visit should be long enough to allow each stu¬ 
 dent to have one or more extended interviews with 
 him. It is always possible to ascertain from the 
 offices of the Mission Board what missionaries of 
 this type are available for such visits. 
 
 6. A Missionary Day. Those seminaries that 
 set apart one or more days each year for the con¬ 
 sideration of missionary questions are enthusiastic 
 as to the value of the custom. For example, at 
 McMaster University, Toronto, on one day each 
 term the regular work, not only of the theological 
 department but of the whole university, is suspended 
 and students and professors give themselves to con¬ 
 ference and prayer in the interest of foreign mis¬ 
 sions. One entire day each month is spent at the 
 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, 
 Kentucky, in a similar way, under the auspices of 
 the Society for Missionary Inquiry. At the Vander¬ 
 bilt School of Religion, in Nashville, there is held 
 annually a Missionary Conference covering three 
 days. The conference is attended not only by all 
 the students and professors of the seminary but also 
 by a large number of graduates who eagerly come 
 in from their pastorates to freshen their missionary 
 
26 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 vision, discuss missionary methods for their 
 churches, and pray together for the foreign mis¬ 
 sionary interests of their communion. This method, 
 with suitable modifications, is worthy of wide adop¬ 
 tion among the theological seminaries of Canada 
 and the United States. 
 
 7. A Missionary Room . This would classify 
 perhaps as a piece of equipment rather than as a 
 method. But it has distinct educative value. In 
 some seminaries a room is set apart for missionary 
 meetings. Perhaps the best example is “Prayer 
 Hall” at the -Episcopal Theological Seminary in 
 Alexandria, Virginia. On the walls of this room 
 there are photographs of the missionary alumni 
 of the seminary and also a map of the world show¬ 
 ing the location of these graduates in the various 
 mission fields. There are also missionary curios 
 from different countries. In such a room there 
 could be kept a circulating missionary library, a 
 collection of the best missionary pamphlets, an ex¬ 
 hibit of the Mission Board of the denomination to 
 which the seminary belongs, a file of the Board’s 
 reports, a catalogue of the missionary books in the 
 seminary library, maps of various mission fields, and 
 the desks of the chairman of the missionary com¬ 
 mittee of the student organization of the seminary, 
 and of the leader of the Student Volunteer Band. 
 This room could be used for united intercession, for 
 World Parish Groups, missionary seminars, mis¬ 
 sionary meetings and kindred purposes and should 
 be the headquarters for all the missionary interests 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 27 
 
 of the seminary. It is of great importance that this 
 room should be made and kept thoroughly attrac¬ 
 tive; otherwise it may discount rather than dignify 
 the missionary enterprise. 
 
 8. Conference and Conventions. Every year 
 theological seminaries are invited to send repre¬ 
 sentatives to certain missionary conferences and 
 conventions and to other gatherings in which mis¬ 
 sions hold a prominent place. Such invitations 
 ought to be considered carefully and delegates should 
 be chosen with discrimination. The only way to 
 protect the investment of time and money involved 
 is to send the right men and to follow them with 
 prayer. On their return they should make a 
 thoughtfully prepared report to their fellow- 
 students. If it is worth while to send delegates 
 to any such gathering it is worth while to give them 
 a full hearing after they come back. The report 
 should always be followed by a practical discussion 
 as to how the message of the conference may be 
 incorporated in the life of the seminary. 
 
 PROMOTING MISSIONARY LIBERALITY 
 
 There is a rich value in an adequate campaign of 
 missionary giving among the students of a seminary 
 far beyond the results which their contributions 
 make possible on the mission field. Let it be said 
 first that the financial undertaking should be on a 
 scale to demand genuine sacrifice. Some theolog- 
 
28 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 ical seminaries are in the front rank of educational 
 institutions in the matter of missionary liberality, 
 the gifts in certain cases going beyond ten dollars 
 per student in the seminary. The spiritual reac¬ 
 tions on individual students and on the entire semi¬ 
 nary of such a program of giving are readily under¬ 
 stood. It serves, too, to establish in the students’ 
 lives habits of generous giving, which are formed 
 more easily in student days than later and estab¬ 
 lishes the circumference of their sacrificial interest 
 where it ought to lie, out beyond the farthest needs 
 of humanity. 
 
 Nor should it be forgotten that standards can be 
 set here for the missionary giving programs of con¬ 
 gregations. The missionary finance campaign in 
 the seminary should serve as a model which each 
 student can keep before him later when as a mis¬ 
 sionary pastor he leads his congregation in its sim¬ 
 ilar undertakings. This will set the giving program 
 of the seminary on a high plane and will call for 
 very thorough work. The most approved methods 
 of such propaganda in congregations should be care¬ 
 fully considered and so far as is possible adopted 
 for the seminary. An every member canvass will 
 be in order. The most effective publicity methods 
 will have to be adopted. The principles of pro¬ 
 portionate and systematic beneficence will have to 
 be proclaimed. The most suitable plans of payment 
 will have to be determined. 
 
 The money raised should, of course, be devoted 
 to the missionary work of the seminary’s denom- 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 29 
 
 ination. It is usually found a great advantage if 
 the gifts of the seminary are directed to the work 
 of a definite mission station and accompanied by 
 specific and intelligent intercession. Letters and 
 photographs from the station will do much to de¬ 
 velop interest and liberality from year to year. 
 
 The missionary giving campaign of the seminary 
 may be made the occasion to quicken among the 
 students of the seminary a just and truly Christian 
 sense of stewardship. We quickly recognize in 
 stewardshp one of the fundamental issues not only 
 of church life and activity but of individual Christ- 
 like development. It would be well worth while 
 to have this subject discussed at several consecu¬ 
 tive meetings of the whole student body, possibly 
 as part of the regular schedule of meetings of the 
 Young Men’s Christian Association, the Missionary 
 Society or some other organization. Or there might 
 be called together into a special group for the con¬ 
 sideration of this theme any students who desired 
 to make a thorough examination of the question of 
 stewardship. In either case, some of the best liter¬ 
 ature on the subject should be secured and studied. 
 In this list primacy would be given, of course, to the 
 Bible itself, the efifort being to discover by inde¬ 
 pendent investigation the truly Scriptural ideals of 
 stewardship. The literature published by the Lay¬ 
 men’s Missionary Movement contains helpful sug¬ 
 gestions. Some of the best available pamphlets on 
 the subject are “Money: Its Nature and Power,” by 
 A. F. Schauffler; “Stewardship,” by Sherwood 
 
30 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 Eddy; “New Testament Conception of the Disciple 
 and His Money/’ by E. I. Bosworth; “The Elements 
 of Stewardship,” by H. R. Calkins, “Proportionate 
 Giving,” by Robert E. Speer; “The Basis of Stew¬ 
 ardship,” by G. S. Pentecost; “Stewardship of Life,” 
 by J. N. Shenstone and J. Campbell White, and 
 “Christian Stewardship,” by a commission of lay¬ 
 men. 
 
 STIMULATING MISSIONARY INTERCESSION 
 
 Without superhuman leverage the missionary 
 load will never be lifted. The only suggestion that 
 Jesus had to make as to missionary method directed 
 attention to it. “Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of 
 the harvest.” It is a tragic error to multiply con¬ 
 ferences and committees and movements and cam¬ 
 paigns and neglect intercession. Think over the 
 methods that have been discussed in the preceding 
 pages. How far could they be effective apart from 
 prayer? Missionary intelligence that does not lead 
 to prayer will be worth little; indeed unless it is 
 laid under tribute to the prayer life all one’s added 
 knowledge will prove a peril. Missionary liberality 
 will neither go far nor last long nor accomplish 
 much unless it is coupled with missionary prayer. 
 Organization will languish and grow bankrupt un¬ 
 less dynamized by prayer. 
 
 Every theological seminary of the Christian 
 Church should be a radiating centre of the energies 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 31 
 
 of God for world redemption. In this it should set 
 standards for all the congregations of the Church 
 and train leaders for the evangelization of the na¬ 
 tions who will be champions in prayer. It should 
 be foremost in accepting the invitation, ‘'Concerning 
 the work of my hands, command ye Me.” 
 
 Dr. John R. Mott recently uttered solemn and 
 inspiring words when he said: “The living God is 
 the source of triumphant spiritual love and energy. 
 History and experience show that He manifests 
 Himself with loving power in answer to the prayers 
 of His children who call upon Him with pure hearts 
 
 and in a spirit of faith and true humility. 
 
 It is indeed true that ‘He that saveth his time from 
 prayer shall lose it. And he that loseth his time for 
 communion with God shall find it again in added 
 blessing and power and fruitfulness.’ ” 
 
 How is missionary prayer to be promoted in a 
 seminary? It may be said that prayer shrinks from 
 the touch of organization and mechanics. But it may 
 be methodical and systematized without becoming 
 mechanical. And just because it is so fundamental 
 and so tremendously effective an agency Christians 
 should plan aggressively for its promotion. 
 
 I. Many ways for promoting united prayer for 
 missions readily suggest themselves. There is a large 
 opportunity for missionary intercession in the daily 
 chapel services. While petitions with reference to 
 the wider reaches of the Church’s work are proba¬ 
 bly included in all of these services, it is possible 
 to make this feature more prominent and effective, 
 
32 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 both by special periods of missionary intercession 
 and by the announcing of special subjects for prayer 
 which have to do with the pressing missionary prob¬ 
 lems of the Church and with the seminary’s partici¬ 
 pation therein. Such definite suggestions would 
 doubtless be welcomed by the seminary’s committee 
 on chapel services. A similar opportunity is afforded 
 in groups for study and discussion, Young Men’s 
 Christian Association meetings and other gather¬ 
 ings of students. 
 
 Special services expressly for missionary inter¬ 
 cession may be held weekly or even daily. At 
 Princeton Theological Seminary a few years ago 
 the plan was begun of writing during the summer 
 to a number of alumni in various mission fields 
 asking them to tell of some of their problems and 
 requirements. Every Sunday morning during the 
 following seminary year the students would hold 
 a meeting for prayer at which the reply from one 
 of the missionaries would be read and thanksgiving 
 and intercession offered in the light of the condi¬ 
 tions described in his letter. Besides the usual morn¬ 
 ing chapel held each day at the Rochester Theo¬ 
 logical Seminary, there is a special prayer service 
 once a week expressly for missionary intercession. 
 These noon meetings are vigorous and vital in the 
 life of worship in that institution and might prove 
 to be equally so in other divinity schools. 
 
 It will be found helpful to indicate on the Bul¬ 
 letin Board the name of one missionary alumnus of 
 

 THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 33 
 
 the seminary as a special subject of prayer for the 
 day. The name may be changed daily. 
 
 Many seminaries observe a Day of Prayer for 
 Missions. Students and professors should co¬ 
 operate in making detailed preparations for this and 
 if possible some foreign missionary or a Secretary 
 of the Mission Board of the denomination con¬ 
 cerned should be in the seminary for that day. The 
 Day of Prayer for Students, the scope of which is 
 world wide, should be observed faithfully in every 
 seminary. Suggestions for this may be had from 
 the Student Department, International Committee, 
 Y. M. C. A., 124 East 28th Street, New York City. 
 
 There are limitless possibilities in small prayer 
 circles. No amount of public intercession can take 
 the place of the little informal groups which meet, 
 usually in a student’s room, for prayer for the 
 world’s evangelization. The Haystack group at 
 Williams College in 1806 changed the channels of 
 the history of the Protestant Church in North 
 America and is bringing light and healing to the 
 needy nations of the world today. Many another 
 group less famous than that has influenced pro¬ 
 foundly the missionary undertaking of the Church. 
 In this very year just such small groups of earnest 
 seminary men who are carrying in their hearts the 
 wishes of Christ and the needs of the world may 
 set mighty forces in motion that eternity will not 
 measure. 
 
 II. Let the volume of social prayer for missions 
 be what it may, the ultimate value of missionary in- 
 
34 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 tercession lies in the prayer life of the individual. 
 Each student must enter into his own inheritance 
 of obligation and privilege and cower bv becoming 
 an effective prayer agent. The importance of this 
 should be brought home convincingly to every man 
 in the seminary. He should be helped to recognize 
 that in his own life of intercession he holds the key 
 to a vast world problem. It is desirable that some 
 of the best literature on the subject be circulated 
 among the students each year. The following are 
 a few messages that are thoughtful and persuasive: 
 
 The Morning Watch—Mott. 
 
 Secret Prayer a Great Reality—Wright. 
 
 Prayer for Missions—Warneck. 
 
 Intercessors; The Primary Need—Mott. 
 
 Intercessory Foreign Missionaries—Street. 
 
 Prayer and Missions—Speer. 
 
 Consecration—Mott. 
 
 Spiritual Prerequisites—Fraser. 
 
 The Secret Prayer Life—Mott. 
 
 The Discipline of Prayer. 
 
 The Possibility of Prayer—Oldham. 
 
 How Make Jesus Christ Real—Mott. 
 
 With Christ in the School of Prayer—Murray. 
 
 The Meaning of Prayer—Fosdick. 
 
 With God in Prayer—Brent. 
 
 Prayer: Its Nature and Scope—Trumbull. 
 
 The Communion of Prayer—Carpenter. 
 
 A Chain of Prayer Across the Ages—Fox. 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 35 
 
 Many find it useful, in order to make their prayer 
 more systematic and definite, to follow some regular 
 program week by week or day by day. Several of 
 the Mission Boards have put out Cycles of Prayer 
 for the work and workers in their own fields. A 
 more general one, the Cycle of Prayer, published by 
 the Student Volunteer Movement, is being widely 
 followed by a host of students, pastors, missionaries 
 and others in all parts of the world. One seminary 
 recently prepared a Cycle of Prayer for missionary 
 alumni with a view to its use not only in the daily 
 chapel services but in the personal devotions of the 
 students, professors and graduates of the seminary. 
 A prayer document is issued from time to time by 
 the Continuation Committee of the Edinburgh Con¬ 
 ference, 1 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, which con¬ 
 tains timely suggestions for missionary interces¬ 
 sion. 
 
 In directing missionary petitions to specific ob¬ 
 jects helpful use may be made of the requests for 
 prayer that occasionally come from the Mission 
 Board rooms and of the Bulletin of the Student 
 Volunteer Movement. 
 
 PROPAGATING MISSIONARY INTEREST 
 
 Enthusiasm is contagious and missionary interest 
 is as contagious as any other. It should be the aim 
 of theological students not only to become well fur¬ 
 nished to create and deepen a missionary spirit in 
 the congregations of which later they will be the pas- 
 
36 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 tors, but during their seminary days to quicken the 
 missionary life of as many churches as they can 
 reach. Their world vision, their knowledge of world 
 conditions and their zeal for world evangelization 
 are talents for immediate investment. 
 
 The churches of the community in which the sem¬ 
 inary is located, even those belonging to other de¬ 
 nominations, furnish a field for the missionary 
 energies of seminary men. Presumably every theo¬ 
 logical student is participating actively in the life and 
 work of some congregation in the community where 
 the seminary is located and naturally his missionary 
 efforts will be directed primarily to the requirements 
 of that congregation. But some students will find it 
 possible to assist in stimulating the missionary spirit 
 of other churches as well. The pastors of neigh¬ 
 boring churches should be informed that certain 
 students are ready to give help, so far as time will 
 permit, in the missionary activities of these congre¬ 
 gations. At times they may be asked to give mis¬ 
 sionary addresses and sermons and for these the 
 note books they have used in their study and dis¬ 
 cussion groups, in their reading of missionary books 
 and in their class-room work will be found im¬ 
 mensely useful. They can also give brief talks in 
 Sunday Schools, suggest missionary programs, start 
 mission study classes and take the leadership of 
 some of these, or it may be train a normal class of 
 mission study leaders. They can help to organize 
 missionary giving campaigns in Young People’s 
 Societies, establish or enrich collections of mission- 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 37 
 
 ary books and in many other ways strengthen the 
 hands of the pastors. To be of the greatest service, 
 however, they should acquaint themselves with the 
 literature of their Boards dealing with the mis¬ 
 sionary cultivation of churches. Similar service can 
 be rendered in the home churches of the students 
 and more influentially still in the parishes in which 
 they preach during their seminary course. Another 
 field which should not be overlooked is to be found 
 in neighboring schools, and in some cases even col¬ 
 leges, in which the missionary interest is at a low 
 ebb. 
 
 By way of preparation to render most effectively 
 a specific piece of service in nearby churches or 
 schools, one of the Mission Study groups should 
 study the foreign missionary text-book that is being 
 generally used in that year. This would be some¬ 
 what of the nature of a normal class. It should 
 make continuous use of the special “Suggestions to 
 Leaders” on the text-book and of the pamphlets 
 by Dr. Sailer and Dorothea Day referred to on page 
 14. 
 
 It will repay seminary men to invest time and 
 energy in these outreaching ways of service, even if 
 real sacrifice is involved. This is true not so much 
 because it will all come back with interest com¬ 
 pounded to the men who are to be pastors in the 
 homeland as because the investment will bring large 
 results in the expansion of the Kingdom of God. It 
 has been true of many a seminary man that the ser¬ 
 vice he rendered in these ways has brought a great- 
 
38 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 er missionary fruitage than anything he was able to 
 do in later years. As the fires of enthusiasm glow 
 in the lives of theological students, opportunities 
 should be sought and seized to start other fires near 
 and far. 
 
 ENLISTING MISSIONARY LIVES 
 
 If the four main lines of effort already described 
 in this pamphlet are faithfully carried on in a sem¬ 
 inary they can hardly fail to eventuate in the volun¬ 
 teering of some students for the overseas service of 
 the Church. This is the crowning result of a Mis¬ 
 sionary Committee’s work. 
 
 Students who decide to invest their lives in for¬ 
 eign missionary service should be encouraged to 
 sign the Declaration Card of the Student Volunteer 
 Movement, which reads “It is my purpose, if God 
 permit, to become a foreign missionary,” and to 
 enter the membership of the Movement. 
 
 The Missionary Committee should keep in mind 
 two facts with reference to the securing of prospec¬ 
 tive missionaries from the ranks of seminary stu¬ 
 dents. One is that the call for missionary candidates 
 is larger today that at any previous time in the 
 Church’s history. The other is that a large propor¬ 
 tion of the men who go out must be men of theo¬ 
 logical training. This gives a high honor to the 
 seminaries, but it also gives them a most solemn 
 
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 39 
 
 responsibility. Part of this responsibility lies in the 
 fact that the ideals and message which these men 
 are to carry to the non-Christian world, to be multi¬ 
 plied there in a native ministry, are fashioned within 
 the nurture of the home schools of divinity. And 
 part lies in the obligation to so help students to 
 consider the entire world field that those who are 
 called of God to serve in the regions beyond shall 
 recognize their call. Every student who enters the 
 seminary without a clear summons from God to stay 
 at home is ready presumably to give open-minded 
 consideration to the comparative claims on him of 
 the home field and of the field abroad with a view 
 to choosing the place of his ministry. It is doubt¬ 
 less true, however, that some theological students, 
 convinced of having a call to the Christian ministry, 
 have visualized it in terms of a parish at home and 
 have interpreted their original thinking of it as a 
 divine summons to a parish at home. 
 
 No one Christian can ever determine the duty 
 of another Christian. Nothing is farther from the 
 function of the Missionary Committee than the 
 calling out of this man and that to be foreign mis¬ 
 sionaries. It can help, however, in bringing to the 
 attention of the students the claims of the mission 
 world. In promoting all of the activities mentioned 
 in the foregoing pages the members of the commit¬ 
 tee should have in mind the possible recruiting of 
 missionaries. They can also facilitate interviews 
 between the students of the seminary and visiting 
 missionaries and Mission Board secretaries. They 
 
40 
 
 THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF 
 
 can bring prominently before the students the calls 
 for workers of the Mission Boards contained in the 
 Bulletin of the Student Volunteer Movement and 
 correspond with the Candidate Secretary of the 
 Movement with reference to the filling of some of 
 these positions by students or recent graduates of 
 the seminary. They can be in frequent communi¬ 
 cation with the Candidate Secretary of their own 
 Board in regard to its specific demands, as they 
 arise, for ordained missionaries, laying these de¬ 
 mands before the entire seminary and in particular 
 before individual students who might qualify for 
 such service. They can circulate some pamphlets 
 which have helped many students to recognize the 
 meaning of a call to missionary service and the 
 claims of the service upon them, particularly Eddy’s 
 “The Supreme Decision of the Christian Student”; 
 Speer’s “What Constitutes a Missionary Call,” and 
 Turner’s “What is Involved in Signing the Declara¬ 
 tion of the Student Volunteer Movement.” They can 
 also in a spirit of humility remind their fellow stu¬ 
 dents in personal conversation of the vast oppor¬ 
 tunities and urgent requirements of mission lands 
 in respect of Christian ministers, and, if they are 
 themselves looking forward to a missionary career, 
 can tell how they came to form this life purpose. 
 And they can avail themselves none too greatly of 
 the supreme missionary method, praying the Lord 
 of the harvest that from their seminary He will 
 thrust forth laborers into His harvest. 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 Suggested Textbooks for World Parish Groups. 
 
 Barton —Educational Missions. 50 cents; 75 cents. 
 
 Beach —Renaissant Latin America (an interpretation of 
 the Congress on Christian Work in Latin America held 
 at Panama in February, 1916). $1.00. 
 
 Brown— Rising Churches in Non-Christian Lands. 40 
 cents; 60 cents. 
 
 Capen —Sociological Progress in Mission Lands. $1.50. 
 
 Farquhar —A Primer of Hinduism. 75 cents. 
 
 Faunce —Social Aspects of Foreign Missions. 40 cents; 
 60 cents. 
 
 Findings of the Continuation Committee Conferences in 
 Asia, 1912-13. $1.75. 
 
 Mott— The Present World Situation. 50 cents; $1.00. 
 
 Mott— The Pastor and Modern Missions. 50 cents; $1.00. 
 
 Murray— The Apologetic of Modern Missions. 25 cents. 
 
 Robinson —History of Christian Missions. $2.75. 
 
 Saunders —The Story of Buddhism. $1.10. 
 
 Speer —The Light of the World. 35 cents; 55 cents. 
 
 Speer —South American Problems. 50 cents; 75 cents. 
 
 Zwemer— The Unoccupied Mission Fields of Africa and 
 Asia. 50 cents; $1.00. 
 
 Zwemer —Islam: A Challenge to Faith. 40 cents; 60 cents. 
 
 To this list should be added books published by various 
 Mission Boards dealing with the missionary work of their 
 denominations. Each year the addition of new books 
 to the list will be necessary, as well as the elimination of 
 any that have been superseded or have become out of date. 
 
APPENDIX B. 
 
 Suggested Books for an Organized Program of Reading. 
 Bashford —China: An Interpretation. $2.50. 
 
 Brown —Unity and Missions. $1.50. 
 
 Clough —Social Christianity in the Orient. $1.50. 
 
 Davis —Davis, Soldier Missionary. $1.50 
 Farquhar —Modern Religious Movements in India. $2.50. 
 Fleming —Devolution in Missionary Administration. $1.50. 
 Fraser —Among India’s Rajahs and Ryots. $4.00. 
 
 Horne —David Livingstone. 50 cents. 
 
 Lambuth —Winning the World for Christ. $1.25. 
 Livingstone —Mary Slessor of Calabar. $1.50. 
 
 Mackenzie —Black Sheep. $1.50. 
 
 Nitobe —The Japanese Nation. $1.50. 
 
 Pennell —Among the Wild Tribes of the Afghan Frontier. 
 $3.50. 
 
 Speer —Some Great Leaders in the World Movement. $1.25. 
 
 Ussher and Knapp— An American Physician in Turkey. 
 $1.75. 
 
 Wilson —Modern Movements Among Moslems. $1.50. 
 
 This list, like that given in Appendix A, will need 
 amending from year to year. 
 
APPENDIX C. 
 
 Material Mentioned in this Pamphlet, 
 
 Other than Lists in Appendixes A and B. 
 
 Bos worth —New Testament Conception of the Disciple 
 and His Money. 5 cents. 
 
 Brent —With God in Prayer. 50 cents. 
 
 Brown —The Foreign Missionary. 68 cents. 
 
 Calkins —The Elements of Stewardship. 3 cents. 
 Carpenter —The Communion of Prayer. $1.00. 
 
 Christian Stewardship. 5 cents. 
 
 Cycle of Prayer of the Student Volunteer Movement. 
 5 cents. 
 
 Day —Mission Study Class Method. 5 cents. 
 
 Eddy —Stewardship. 5 cents. 
 
 Eddy —The Supreme Decision of the Christian Student. 
 5 cents. 
 
 Fosdick —The Meaning of Prayer. 50 cents. 
 
 Fox—A Chain of Prayer Across the Ages. $2.00 
 Fraser —Spiritual Prerequisites. 5 cents. 
 
 Manley —Missionary Study Principles. 50 cents. 
 
 Mott— How Make Jesus Christ Real. 5 cents. 
 
 Mott —Consecration, 5 cents. 
 
 Mott —Intercessors: The Primary Need. 10 cents. 
 
 Mott —The Morning Watch. 5 cents. 
 
 Mott —The Secret Prayer Life. 5 cents. 
 
 Murray —Missionary Meetings. 5 cents. 
 
 Murray —With Christ in the School of Prayer. 35 cents. 
 Oldham —The Possibility of Prayer. 25 cents. 
 
 Pentecost— The Basis of Stewardship. 3 cents. 
 
 Sailer —General Suggestions for Leaders of Mission Study 
 Classes. 5 cents. 
 
 Schauffler —Money: Its Nature and Power. 5 cents. 
 Shenstone and White —Stewardship of Life. 5 cents. 
 
Speer— Prayer and Missions. 5 cents. 
 
 Speer —Proportionate Giving. 3 cents. 
 
 Speer —What Constitutes a Missionary Call. 5 cents. 
 Street —Intercessory Foreign Missionaries. 3 cents. 
 
 The Discipline of Prayer. 30 cents. 
 
 Turner —What is Involved in Signing the Declaration of 
 the Student Volunteer Movement. 5 cents. 
 
 Trumbull —Prayer: Its Nature and Scope. 50 cents. 
 Warneck —Prayer for Missions. 5 cents. 
 
 Wright —Secret Prayer a Great Reality. 5 cents. 
 
 Periodicals 
 
 ,Asia (Journal of the American Asiatic Association)— 
 Monthly. $2.00. 
 
 Men and Missions—Monthly. 50 cents. 
 
 Missionary Ammunition—Quarterly. 10 cents per copy. 
 The Chinese Recorder—Monthly. $2.00 (Gold).- 
 The Christian Express—Monthly. 5s. 
 
 The Harvest Field—Monthly. $1.00. 
 
 The Indian Witness—Weekly. $2.00. 
 
 The International Review of Missions—Quarterly. $2.00. 
 The Japan Evangelist—Monthly. $2.00 (Gold). 
 
 The Korea Magazine—Monthly. $2.00 (Gold). 
 
 The Missionary Review of the World—Monthly. $2.50. 
 The Moslem World—Quarterly. $1.25. 
 
 The Near East—Weekly. £ 1 . 
 
 The South American—Monthly. $1.00. 
 
 The Student World—Quarterly. 25 cents per year. 
 
 World Outlook—Monthly. $1.50. 
 
 The Foreign Missionary Magazine of one’s own Board. 
 
 Any of the literature named in this pamphlet may 
 be ordered through the Student Volunteer Movement, 
 25 Madison Avenue, New York City. 
 
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