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 LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 
 JflissimtHnes in the ISest Jitdies. 
 
LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 FROM 
 
 THE MISSION DEPARTMENT 
 
 OF 
 
 THE ELDERS’ CONFERENCE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 (Jlutrrh of flu 4 luitd 
 
 TO THE 
 
 MISSIONARIES IN THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 Dear Brethren, 
 
 When our Lord Jesus Christ sent forth His disci¬ 
 ples, after His resurrection, He commanded them, say¬ 
 ing : Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to 
 every creature.”—(Mark xvi. 15.) 
 
 Obedient to this command, and urged on by tender 
 love for the perishing heathen, our first Brethren went 
 out to the West Indies in the year 1732, not long after 
 they had found a new home at Herrnhut. Many others 
 have followed their noble example, and in the course of 
 time Missions of our Church have been established in 
 eight of the West India Islands, which the Lord has 
 owned and blessed. 
 
 A 
 
2 
 
 It is no small tiling to serve aright a congregation 
 gathered from among the heathen : to watch over the flock 
 after the example of the “ Chief Shepherd ;” to “ make 
 it lie down in green pastures and lead it beside the still 
 waters ;” to nurse the sick; to heal the bruised, to seek 
 the lost, to reclaim the straying; in short, to deal with 
 immortal souls, that “ have been redeemed with the pre¬ 
 cious blood of Christ.” 
 
 With the view of aiding and encouraging you in this 
 great and responsible work, we put these instructions 
 into your hands, which have been drawn up in accordance 
 with a resolution of the Missionary Conference held at St. 
 Thomas, from June 15 to 25, 1863. (See Report, Chap, 
 vii. § 3.) 
 
 They will point out to you— 
 
 I. Your Duties as Missionaries of the Brethren’s 
 Church. 
 
 II. The principles, ivhich are to animate and guide you 
 in the performance of the same. 
 
 Notice then:— 
 
 I.—YOUR DUTIES AS MISSIONARIES OF THE 
 BRETHREN'S CHURCH. 
 
 § 1. Preaching the Gospel. 
 
 Your first and great duty is : to preach the Gospel, 
 in all its fulness, freeness and extent. 
 
 As “ messengers of the Cross” you go forth with the 
 Apostle’s holy determination “ not to know anything 
 among men, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”— 
 (1 Cor. ii. 2.) 
 
3 
 
 Tlio Lord has been pleased to bestow upon the renewed 
 Brethren’s Church the precious jewel of a clear and 
 heartfelt perception of the “ doctrine of the Cross,” i. e. 
 of salvation by grace, and not of works, through faith in 
 the merits of the life, sufferings, and death of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 
 To make known this alone saving truth will henceforth 
 be both your sacred duty and blessed privilege. You are 
 not sent forth, as were the prophets of the old Covenant, 
 to proclaim the stem message of wrath; but like the 
 apostles of the new Covenant, to preach the Gospel of 
 peace, “ the good tidings of great joy,” that “ Jesus Christ 
 came into the world to save sinners.” The “ law worketh 
 wrath,” (Rom. iv. 15) ; it is apt to kindle the corrupt 
 enmity of our heart, but the Gospel touches the tenderest 
 chords of nature in our breasts. It disarms the sinner of 
 his natural enmity against God, and constrains him to 
 receive Jesus as his Saviour, Lord and King. Whilst 
 you will, therefore, not neglect preaching the Law, (C for 
 the law is good, if a man use it lawfully,” (1 Tim. i. 8,) 
 the great and constant theme of your discourses and the 
 end of all your preaching will be Christ crucified, “ who 
 of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and 
 sanctification and redemption.” (1 Cor. i. 30.) 
 
 We do not intend giving you any special instructions 
 as to the time when, and the places where, you are to 
 preach the Gospel. We would just give you a few hints 
 as to the manner how, and the people to whom you ought 
 to proclaim it. 
 
 When imparting spiritual instruction to your hearers, 
 study, first of all, plainness and simplicity. Endeavour to 
 place your ideas in the clearest light, to employ only 
 
4 
 
 such words as will be easily understood, and to draw your 
 illustrations from such objects of nature or art as are most 
 familiar to them. You will find this to be no easy task, 
 but if you do not shun the labour, you will be richly re¬ 
 warded by the marked attention of your hearers, and 
 the evident benefit they will derive from your preaching. 
 
 And, secondly, in all your discourses we would recom¬ 
 mend you to be short. Though your people professedly are 
 fond of long meetings, it remains true, that they are, like 
 vessels of small dimensions, easily filled. Their sitting out 
 long sermons without any apparent sign of weariness, is 
 only a proof, that much of what the minister says, is wholly 
 lost upon them through want of attention. But whilst 
 we recommend you to be short, we would also exhort you 
 to be frequent in your ministrations, in order to firmly 
 impress the truths of the Gospel upon their hearts and 
 minds to the saving of their souls. 
 
 As to the people to whom you are to minister, you will 
 consider, first of all, the spiritual wants of the souls under 
 your immediate care. The “ Candidates* ** and the “ Con¬ 
 gregation** meetings will afford you welcome opportuni¬ 
 ties for instructing the younger members of your flock, 
 and building up the older ones in their most holy faith, 
 and at the same time, making both old and young ac¬ 
 quainted with the history and principles of our beloved 
 Church. But, secondly, do not forget, that there are 
 perishing sinners living around you, some of whom you 
 may be privileged to lead to Christ. The “ meetings at 
 outposts’* may prove blessed means for reaching the 
 hearts and consciences of such as will not come to church, 
 but will frequently attend those meetings, held at their 
 very doors. 
 
§ 2. Pastoral Visits. 
 
 Pastoral visits at the homes of your people form a 
 second part of your duties, and an important one. 
 
 There are the sick, who long for your spiritual comfort 
 and advice, and to whom you may administer it for the last 
 time, if their sickness be unto death. We beseech you, 
 not to delay your visit, when you are sent for. 
 
 There are the old and infirm , who but for your visiting 
 them, may be left without spiritual food, and who need it 
 so much. Your people, as a rule, not having learnt to 
 meditate, are unable to “ inwardly digest” former food, 
 and, therefore, require frequent new supplies, lest their 
 souls be starved. 
 
 Again, there are the careless , who need looking after, 
 lest they be altogether lost to the church. 
 
 Last, but not least, are the Helpers of the several 
 “ districts,” who will always be happy to see their Minis¬ 
 ter, and from whom he may obtain information that will 
 be very useful to him in his rounds of visiting. 
 
 There is hardly anything that will make a congregation 
 so much attached to their labourer as faithful and affec¬ 
 tionate pastoral visits, which, at the same time, bring the 
 people to Church on Sunday and give the Minister sub¬ 
 ject-matter for his sermon. We cannot but very strongly 
 urge upon you the duty of pastoral visiting. 
 
 § 3. Speakings. 
 
 Our “ Speakings” at stated times are a third means 
 of benefiting your people, and one peculiar to the Bre¬ 
 thren^ Church. 
 
 We are fully aware, that they are not what they have 
 
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 been and ought to be—private conversations with indi¬ 
 viduals. But we are persuaded, that, even imperfect as 
 they are, they are still productive of much good, when 
 held in the true Moravian way, which implies, that “ the 
 Missionaries’ wives take their respective share of this 
 particular duty, thus endeavouring to exercise that salu¬ 
 tary influence on their own sex, peculiar to a well directed 
 female agency.” (See Report of the St. Thomas Con¬ 
 ference, Chap. vii. § 6.) 
 
 To the Missionary they present a welcome opportunity 
 of becoming acquainted with the individual members of 
 his flock, and of addressing to them “ a word in season,” 
 whilst they bring home to his mind with peculiar force, 
 his sacred obligation of caring for each individual soul. 
 To the members , on the other hand, the speakings impart 
 the comforting conviction, that they are individually cared 
 for, and that they have a friend to whom they may un¬ 
 bosom their souls. Believing, that the “ abundant en¬ 
 trance” the Lord has given us among the black people, 
 both in the West Indies and in Surinam, has been 
 chiefly owing to this individual care for their souls, we 
 would earnestly beseech you, faithfully to adhere to the 
 practice of giving speakings at stated times, in spite of 
 the imperfections inseparable from it, and notwithstanding 
 the fatigue of body and mind it entails. 
 
 § 4. Special Meetings. 
 
 a. INSTRUCTION CLASSES. 
 
 It is your duty to hold special classes for those who 
 desire to be advanced in church privileges. 
 
 There are the Candidates for Baptism or for Reception 
 
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 into the Church, and those for Admission to the Holy 
 Communion. It is advisable to have separate classes for 
 the former and for the latter. Both are to be taught 
 the doctrines of our most holy faith, as set forth in our 
 “ Summary of Christian Doctrine but the former ought, 
 at the same time, to be made acquainted with the history 
 and constitution of our Church. 
 
 These Classes are formed, as occasion requires, of such 
 as give evidence of piety and have expressed a wish to 
 be advanced into higher church privileges. They must, 
 however, first be approved by their respective Helpers, 
 to whom their names are mentioned at the regular 
 “ Helpers’ Meeting.” The classes are held on a fixed day 
 in the week, and continued for about three or four 
 months. 
 
 The Reception or Confirmation takes place on a Sunday 
 in the “ congregation meeting,” in accordance with the 
 form in use in the respective Missions. 
 
 In some Missions imported heathen Africans or Coolies 
 will occasionally present themselves for Adult Baptism. 
 
 These must first attend the church and the Candidates’ 
 speaking for some time, in order that the Missionary may 
 get acquainted with the state of their heart, and that they 
 themselves may learn to know our customs and rules. 
 If they give evidence of a change of heart, they may 
 be taken into the special instruction class, and be baptized 
 in due time. After having received the saci’ament of 
 Holy Baptism, they are considered fit for admission to the 
 Lord’s Supper, and will be allowed to partake of it at the 
 next opportunity. 
 
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 b. helpers’ meetings. 
 
 The “ Helpers' Meetings ” are held at stated times, 
 generally once in eight weeks, for the purpose of transact¬ 
 ing church-business. The Missionary submits to them 
 the names of Candidates for reception or confirmation, and 
 of such as come under church-discipline, makes inquiries 
 after careless members &c. &c., and calls upon them 
 to bring forward any matter they may have to communi¬ 
 cate. Once a year he also lays before them statements of 
 the pecuniary affairs of the congregation, such as the 
 disbursement of the Poors’ Cash, the amounts of the 
 church collections, congregation cash, and missionary con¬ 
 tributions. At these Helpers’ Meetings all such disputes 
 are settled, as could not be disposed of by the respective 
 Helpers of the districts. 
 
 You cannot be too particular in the selection of Bre¬ 
 thren or Sisters for the office of a Helper. You ought 
 never to appoint Helpers without obtaining the aid and 
 advice of your fellow labourers in the conference, or at 
 least of those already in office. Neither can you be too 
 careful in seeking to maintain the bond of union, in the 
 spirit of brotherly love, with these your valuable assis¬ 
 tants, without whose aid you will never be able to “ rule 
 well.” May you, by the grace of God, be enabled to 
 bestow upon them the same faithful care and prayerful 
 attention, which the elders at Ephesus enjoyed at the 
 hands of the Apostle Paul, who could declare unto them 
 at parting: “ Ye know, after what manner I have been 
 with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humi¬ 
 lity of mind and with many tears; and how I kept back 
 nothing that was profitable unto you. For I have not 
 
0 
 
 slimmed to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”—- 
 (Acts xx. 18—20, 27.) 
 
 § 5. Church Discipline. 
 
 The administration of church discipline will also be 
 your duty, and a painful one indeed. You must not, 
 however, be surprised or even discouraged, if you should 
 be more frequently called upon to exercise it than Minis¬ 
 ters are at home, for you must consider what sore temp¬ 
 tations your people are exposed to, and how weak they 
 are, upon the whole, to resist them. May you seek for 
 grace to administer it in the spirit of your Master, who, 
 whilst he denounced the proud and hypocritical Pharisees, 
 spoke to the penitent woman and said : “.Neither do I 
 condemn thee; go and sin no more.” (John viii. 11.) 
 The object of all church discipline is, to lead the offender 
 to repentance, and to vindicate the honour of the Church 
 of Christ. There are two degrees of church discipline : 
 suspension from church privileges, and exclusion from the 
 church. The former is administered for minor offences, 
 the latter for graver ones, by which public offence has 
 been given. Such cases are mentioned in a congregation 
 meeting, and the excluded person is recommended to the 
 prayers of the church. 
 
 Your duty will be very plain in all such cases of public 
 scandal, but there will be other cases, where you will need 
 much wisdom, lest you do harm, either by too much 
 leniency, or too great severity. That wisdom will be 
 given you, if “ you ask it of God, that giveth to all men 
 liberally and upbraideth not.” (James i. 5.) We would 
 advise you to consult in all cases of church-discipline, the 
 opinions of your Helpers, who will [frequently know the 
 
respective persons better than yourself. Where practi¬ 
 cable, the consent of the Mission Conference is to be 
 obtained. 
 
 Though the excluded cease to be members of the 
 church, they ought still to remain the objects of your 
 tender solicitude and pastoral intercession. Like the 
 Good Shepherd you ought to follow them even into the 
 wilderness, if, by any means, you may win them back for 
 Christ. Proposals for re-admission are also brought 
 before the Helpers' meeting first, and those Candidates, 
 who are approved, are presented to the Church in a 
 congregation meeting. In some Missions it is customary 
 to sing for them a benedictory verse. Public absolution 
 is in no case to be administered to them, as this would 
 be quite contrary to the spirit of our Church, and might 
 lead to serious abuses. 
 
 § 6. Education op the Young. 
 
 The care for the education of the young will form a 
 very important branch of your work as a Missionary of 
 the Brethren's Church, which, from its earliest days, has 
 bestowed particular attention upon the lambs of the fold. 
 Though we are persuaded that your heart will naturally 
 flow forth in love to the children of your congregation, 
 we desire to place before you some motives, which may 
 lead you to embrace them with peculiar interest. 
 
 First of all, consider the example of Him, who, in all 
 things, ought to be your great exemplar. Can you see 
 Him “ take up little children in His arms, put His hands 
 upon them and bless them" ? Can you hear Him say, 
 “ Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid 
 them not, for of such is the kingdom of God," and remain 
 
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 indifferent to tlie spiritual well-being of the lambs of 
 your fold ? 
 
 Again : Consider what powerful influence you may 
 exercise upon the hearts of the parents through the 
 instrumentality of their children. It is a well-known 
 fact, that parents, who had long remained indifferent to 
 the direct appeals of the servant of God, have, at last, 
 been indirectly won for Christ through their children 
 appealing to their hearts and consciences either by word 
 or example. Besides, there is hardly anything that will 
 win the love of the parents so much, as when they see 
 the Minister loving, and bestowing affectionate care upon, 
 their children. 
 
 Your influence upon the young will be both of a direct 
 and an indirect kind. The former you will exercise when 
 you keep the religious instruction class in the Day-School, 
 or the Children's Meeting, or “ Lesson " in the Sunday- 
 School, or when you otherwise speak “ a word in season" 
 to the young, as you will have opportunity. The latter 
 will be felt through the instrumentality of your Teachers. 
 It is, therefore, of the greatest importance, that you 
 should have the right men as Teachers, and that you 
 should skilfully direct and faithfully superintend their 
 efforts for the mental and spiritual improvement of the 
 rising generation. 
 
 a. DAY-SCHOOL TEACHERS. 
 
 Your Day-School Teachers will be, with few excep¬ 
 tions, men or women who have passed through one of 
 our Training-Institutions, and who, therefore, may be ex¬ 
 pected to know how to teach and manage a school. They 
 will, however, still require a good deal of direction or en- 
 
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 eouragement, lest they adopt a wrong method, or grow 
 weary in well-doing, when they think that they labour 
 in vain. It will be your duty, as frequently as possible, 
 to visit their schools, and besides to give them private 
 advice and instruction. Let it always be your faithful 
 endeavour to treat your Teachers with confidence and 
 respect, and, by so doing, to win their love and esteem. 
 Whilst you may bring to bear upon them the power of 
 your mental and moral superiority, never let them feel 
 the weight of your superiority of office. May you have 
 grace given you, to acknowledge and appreciate the 
 talents the Lord has endowed them with, without being 
 either jealous or disheartened. Make it a practice, never 
 to rebuke or find fault with a teacher before his pupils, 
 but to speak with him privately. 
 
 b. SUNDAY-SCHOOL TEACHERS. 
 
 Your Sunday -School Teachers being, for the greater 
 part, lay members of your congregation, who have 
 had no further education beyond what our Day-Schools 
 afford, it is absolutely necessary that you should 
 carefully prepare them for their duties on the Sabbath. 
 For this purpose the “ Teachers’ Meeting” is kept on 
 some week-day, at which the lesson for the coming 
 Sunday is carefully gone through, and otherwise useful 
 instruction imparted to them. You cannot be too par¬ 
 ticular in selecting your Sunday-School Teachers, lest by 
 the fall of one backslider the work of many faithful 
 teachers be marred, and many “ little ones be offended.” 
 Never prefer a clever man to a pious one, but, in every case, 
 let piety be the main thing you look for. For the chief 
 object of the Sunday-School is to bring souls to Christ, and 
 
vs 
 
 “ how can the blind lead the blind V’ Always treat your 
 Sunday-School Teachers with brotherly confidence and 
 affectionate regard; bear with their deficiencies, and 
 patiently try to remedy them. If you work with them in 
 harmony and love, you will have a band of faithful fellow- 
 labourers, whose influence for good will be felt among 
 young and old. 
 
 § 7. The Raising op a Native Agency. 
 
 Closely connected with your labours for the young 
 will be your efforts towards raising a native ministry. 
 
 You will understand, that, in course of time, every 
 Mission must become self-sustaining, i.e. raise its own 
 native agency. Our West India Missions having been 
 served by European labourers for upwards of a century, we 
 may reasonably expect, that by this time they could 
 dispense with foreign aid. But, alas ! how small is yet 
 the number of native ministers ! We do not stop to 
 inquire how to account for this deficiency, but would most 
 earnestly beseech you to do all that lies in your power to 
 remedy it. It is from among the Teachers that those 
 men must be selected who, in God’s providence, are to be 
 the future labourers of our West India congregations. 
 Hence springs another most powerful motive for you to 
 bestow the greatest possible care and attention upon your 
 Teachers in guiding their private studies, correcting the 
 essays and sermons they write under your direction, and 
 pointing out to them the faults and deficiencies of their 
 public addresses. But, whilst doing so, be careful lest 
 you inspire any with the hope that, as a matter of course, 
 they will become Ministers of the Gospel in days to come. 
 Rather point out to them, how much is required to qualify 
 
14 
 
 a man for such a responsible post, and how, on the other 
 hand, they may disqualify themselves by impropriety of 
 conduct or by choosing an unsuitable partner for life. 
 May you not be discouraged, if, in some cases, your 
 efforts should not be productive of such results as you 
 had expected, or even seem to be altogether lost, but 
 ‘‘ be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work 
 of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labour is 
 not in vain in the Lord.” 
 
 § 8. Efforts towards Self-support. 
 
 Another object which you ought to keep in view and 
 labour for is the self-support of your Mission. 
 
 There are three ways of supporting a Mission, viz. : 
 
 1. By supplies from home. 
 
 2. By commerce or trades , carried on by the Mission¬ 
 
 aries. 
 
 3. By the contributions of the Mission churches. 
 
 It is the last named which we understand by the term 
 self-support. 
 
 In connection with this subject, we would beg you 
 always to bear in mind that we are “ United Brethren.” 
 Our principle is, that all the congregations, in each 
 respective Island, form one body, and that, consequently, 
 it is the duty of the stronger members to support the 
 weaker ones. We cannot expect to see some of the 
 smaller congregations self-supporting when thrown upon 
 their own resources, nor could we allow the rich income 
 of the larger ones to be spent for the exclusive benefit 
 of those favoured stations. 
 
 You are to labour for this highly desirable end by 
 constantly inculcating upon your members the scriptural 
 
15 
 
 duty of supporting a Gospel ministry on Gospel prin¬ 
 ciples. 
 
 This duty is plainly laid down by the apostle Paul in 
 1 Cor. ix. 14 : “ Even so hath the Lord ordained, that they 
 which preach the Gospel, should live of the Gospel” (read 
 vers. 7—14). 
 
 The principle you find in Matt. x. 10, where our 
 Saviour says: (< Freely ye have received, freely give \” 
 This is the true Gospel principle. The question of Peter, 
 “ What shall we have therefore V’ was legal, and sprang 
 from a heart which had not yet fully passed through 
 into the perfect law of liberty. If you work this legal 
 principle, and appeal to the selfishness of the natural 
 heart, you may meet with much success at first, but it 
 will not be lasting, because its foundation is unsound. 
 But if you faithfully and unremittingly seek to impress 
 upon the hearts of your people their sacred obligations 
 to Him, who loved them first and gave Himself for 
 them: if you shew them how much they have received as 
 a free gift of grace, and how much they, therefore, owe 
 to your Lord and theirs, you will not fail to see their 
 liberality increasing and finally abounding in good 
 works, which will be the sweet fruits of love and 
 gratitude. 
 
 In order to aid your people in making their contri¬ 
 butions regular and systematic, you will do well to direct 
 their attention to 1 Cor. xvi. 2, and, on the strength of 
 the apostle’s injunction laid down there, enjoin upon them 
 the regular practice of laying by every week a certain 
 portion of their earnings, say one tenth. 
 
16 
 
 § 9. The care of the Poor. 
 
 The care of the Poor will form another part of your 
 pastoral duties. 
 
 Such there will be in every congregation, and it is the 
 duty of the members to provide for them according to 
 their ability. There have been different modes adopted 
 in the several Missions of raising the poor’s cash. In 
 whatever way collected, the funds will be under your 
 administration. You will require a good deal of prudence 
 and caution, lest you support the undeserving at the ex¬ 
 pense of such as are really in need, or lest you encourage 
 idleness. Your Helpers will enable you to find out, who 
 are the poor indeed, if you ask them collectively. You 
 will do well to follow the directions laid down by the 
 apostle in 1 Tim. v. 1—16. We would advise you not 
 to make it a practice to give alms to the poor and infirm, 
 when you visit them in their homes; lest the expectation 
 of the pecuniary aid detract their attention from the Word 
 of God you read to them. You had better send them 
 regular weekly allowances through the hands of their 
 Helpers. We would also advise you to lay an annual or 
 quarterly account of the distribution of the poor’s cash 
 before your Helpers, or Committee Members. 
 
 § 10. Mission Conferences. 
 
 It will be your duty, or rather your privilege, to 
 attend the Mission Conferences, which are held at stated 
 times. 
 
 The object of these Conferences is to deliberate and 
 decide on matters relating to the welfare of the Mission 
 in the Island. Minutes are kept of the proceedings. All 
 
17 
 
 tlio Brethren are expected to attend, unless prevented by 
 some adequate cause. 
 
 When stating your opinion in Conference, do it always 
 in the spirit of Christian humility and meekness. Avoid 
 making long speeches, as well as engaging in private 
 conversation with your neighbour, whilst a discussion is 
 going on. Let it be your faithful endeavour to manifest 
 the same interest in the concerns of your Brethren, as you 
 would in those of your own Station, and to advance the 
 general cause even at your own personal sacrifice. These 
 Conferences will also be welcome opportunities to you for 
 meeting with dear fellow-labourers, and having your 
 hands strengthened and your soul refreshed by them. 
 (Prov. xxvii. 17.) 
 
 In the larger Islands Helpers’ Conferences have been 
 established, which appoint the Brethren and Sisters to 
 their respective Stations, and have the general oversight 
 of the Mission. May you have grace given you cheerfully 
 to follow its calls, for the Lord’s sake, whilst you love and 
 esteem its members as dear fellow-labourers. In cases of 
 dispute, you will have the right of appeal to the Helpers’ 
 Conference, which will endeavour to settle the matter, 
 and, if unable to do so, will refer it to the Unity’s Elders’ 
 Conference for its final decision. 
 
 § 11. Duties towards the Mission-Board. 
 
 We would next direct your attention to the duties 
 you owe to the Mission-Board. 
 
 It is of great importance for the prosperity of the work, 
 that the Mission-Board be well informed on the internal 
 and external condition of each Mission. To this end the 
 Superintendents and Wardens of the several Missions 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 carry on a regular correspondence with the Brethren of 
 the Mission Department of the Unity’s Elders’ Confer¬ 
 ence. But beside this— 
 
 a. Every Brother in the service is expected to ivrite at 
 least once a year to the Unity’s Elders’ Conference, and 
 to forward through the Superintendent a Report and nu¬ 
 merical Returns of Congregation and Schools. In your 
 letters you will make it a point, we trust, to be both 
 candid and confidential towards your Correspondent, 
 knowing that neither will your candour be disapproved 
 nor your confidence put to shame. Taking a paternal in¬ 
 terest in you and in your work, the Mission-Board desires 
 to learn from your letters, both how you are, in a tempo¬ 
 ral and spiritual point of view, and what success has at¬ 
 tended your labour under the blessing of the Lord. We 
 do not expect you to send us only favourable accounts. 
 If you tell us also of your trials and discouragements, we 
 shall be the better able to sympathise with, and to pray 
 for, you. Any suggestions you may have to offer will be 
 received in a brotherly spirit, and meet with due con¬ 
 sideration, if stated in humility. Be very careful, lest 
 you bring an unfounded accusation against any of your 
 fellow-labourers, and, in all such cases, observe the rule 
 laid down by our Saviour. (Matt, xviii. 15—17.) 
 
 b. You are expected to keep a Diary, in which you enter 
 all important occurrences connected with your Station. 
 Great things often spring from small sources. The entries 
 you make will not only be interesting, but also profitable 
 to your successor, by enabling him to judge present cases 
 from past occurrences. We would, therefore, strongly 
 urge upon you to keep your Diary with care, so that it 
 may present a faithful record of the work carried on at 
 
19 
 
 your Station, of your cares and sorrows, your joys and 
 encouragements, and, above all, of the Lord’s mercy and 
 faithfulness to you and the people entrusted to your care. 
 
 c. Be faithful and punctual in making your entries in 
 the Church-book at your Station, whether they relate to 
 Births and Baptisms, Receptions, Confirmations, Mar¬ 
 riages, or Deaths. All entries are to be made in your 
 own handwriting. If a Brother from another Station is 
 obliged to make them, let him sign his name. An extract 
 from the Church-book of the births, baptisms, marriages, 
 and deaths occurring in the Mission family is to be sent 
 annually to the Unity’s Elders’ Conference through the 
 hands of the Superintendent, as well as the annual state¬ 
 ment of the income and expenses of your Station, with 
 your signature , through those of the Warden. 
 
 § 12. Duties towards your Neighbours. 
 
 We would still say a few words about the duties you 
 owe to your neighbours. 
 
 If they are Missionaries of other denominations, “ en¬ 
 deavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
 peace.” “ Love them as brethren, and esteem them very 
 highly in love for their work’s sake.” Let it be your 
 delight to embrace the opportunities that will offer for 
 meeting them on Missionary or Bible platforms. Whilst 
 you respect their private views, faithfully maintain your 
 principles, as members of the Brethren’s Church. “ Rejoice 
 with them that do rejoice and weep with them that weep.” 
 Ever guard against proselyting, but if members of other 
 churches are led by change of residence or by marriage 
 to seek fellowship with us, receive them, yet not without 
 a letter of recommendation from their Minister. 
 
20 
 
 If your neighbours are colonists, observe the apostolic 
 rule: “ If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live 
 peaceably with all men.” (Rom. xii. 18.) Whilst you 
 will be careful not to form an intimate acquaintance with 
 the ungodly, you will withdraw from none in time of dis¬ 
 tress, and endeavour to benefit all in a spiritual point of 
 view. If any of them should seek for admission into our 
 Church, you will receive them in the ordinary way, with¬ 
 out respect of persons. 
 
 In your relation to the authorities, you will feel it your 
 duty both to shew loyalty yourself, and to exhort your 
 people to be “subject to the higher powers, not only for 
 wrath, but also for conscience” (Rom. xiii. 1—7), and to 
 “lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and 
 honesty” (1 Tim. ii. 2), “ that the name of God, and His 
 doctrine be not blasphemed.” (1 Tim. vi. 1.) 
 
 Finally, may you and your people, by the grace of God, 
 be able to fulfil the Apostle’s exhortation : “ Owe no man 
 anything but to love one another; for he that loveth 
 another hath fulfilled the law.” (Rom. xiii. 8.) 
 
 Notice:— 
 
 II.—THE PRINCIPLES WHICH ARE TO ANIMATE 
 AND GUIDE YOU IN THE PERFORMANCE 
 OF YOUR DUTIES. 
 
 “ Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give 
 thee thy wages.” So the daughter of Pharaoh spoke to 
 the mother of Moses, and “ the woman took the child and 
 nursed it.” (Exod. ii. 9.) Her wages she did undoubt¬ 
 edly receive, but it was not these, but a mother’s love, 
 
21 
 
 which made her attend with a mother’s care to the dear 
 boy she had borne. 
 
 In like manner every faithful Missionary will receive 
 his “ reward” (1 Cor. iii. 14), but it is not the reward he 
 labours for. No ; there dwell in his heart higher princi¬ 
 ples, which God implanted there by His Holy Spirit, when 
 He called him to be His own, and which animate him to 
 be diligent in business and fervent in spirit, whilst serv¬ 
 ing the Lord. 
 
 There are three great principles to which we would 
 direct your attention. 
 
 § 1. Gratitude to tiie Saviour. 
 
 The first and greatest is : Gratitude to the Saviour. 
 
 It Avas this principle which filled the soul of the venera¬ 
 ble Founder of our Missions, Count Zinzendorf, after he 
 had beheld the “ Man of sorrows” crowned with thorns, 
 and listened to His appeal: “ This I did for thee ; what 
 doest thou for me ?” and which caused him to go forth 
 with the message of love, not only to his fellow-Chris- 
 tians at home, but also to the poor heathen abroad, in 
 order “ to win souls for the Lamb.” 
 
 And must not the same principle be uppermost in your 
 breast, when you remember what Jesus has done for 
 your soul ? How He loved you and gave Himself for you, 
 that He might redeem you from death and hell ? How 
 faithfully He sought you, when you were yet a wandering 
 sheep how joyfully He took you upon His shoulders and 
 brought you to His fold ? How patiently He has been 
 teaching you in that fold, by His Word and by His 
 Spirit, and thus preparing you for His service ? Yes; 
 and when you call to mind, how all these were free acts 
 
22 
 
 of sovereign mercy on His part, without any worth 
 or merit on yours ? “ Freely ye have received, freely 
 
 give !** Being animated by this most powerful principle, 
 how fervent will be your 'preaching, how self-forgetting 
 your labour , how humble your service. 
 
 Knowing, that the Saviour yearns after the salvation 
 of your hearers as much as He did after yours, and that 
 “ He shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied,” 
 (Isa. liii. 11,) can you be otherwise than fervent in spirit, 
 when proclaiming the dying love of Jesus and inviting 
 your perishing fellow-sinners to come and “ take of the 
 water of life freely ?** 
 
 Again knowing, that your Master “ took upon Himself 
 the form of a servant, humbled Himself and became obe¬ 
 dient unto death, even the death of the cross,” and that 
 He did it all from love to your soul, can you feel other¬ 
 wise than ready to ‘ spend and be spent* “for Christ ?** 
 Will you account any labour too great, any employment 
 too mean, any sacrifice too costly, which may promote 
 His glory and the salvation of immortal souls ? 
 
 Lastly knowing, that all you have and all you are, is a 
 free gift of sovereign mercy from Him, who deigns to 
 employ you in His service; and that “neither he that 
 planteth is anything, neither he that watereth, but God 
 that giveth the increase/* (1 Cor. iii. 7,) you will not be 
 elated, if the Lord crowns your labours with success, but 
 you will say with the Psalmist: “ Not unto us, 0 Lord, 
 not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy 
 and for thy truth*s sake.** (Ps. cxv. 1.) 
 
23 
 
 § 2. Compassion for Immortal Souls. 
 
 A second principle is: tender compassion for immortal 
 souls. 
 
 Think of the value of an immortal soul. Do you wish 
 to learn it, go to the cross. What an incalculable value 
 must Jesus have set upon the souls of men, when to 
 save them from perdition He shed His own most precious 
 blood ? 
 
 Again, think of the multitudes living around you, who 
 are still without God, without Christ, and without hope 
 in this world ? Think, what misery they now feel, and 
 what greater misery awaits them hereafter,, if they are 
 not saved! 
 
 Must not considerations such as these move your pity 
 and cause your bowels to yearn with tender compassion 
 towards the perishing people around you. And being 
 animated by this tender solicitude, you will not fail to be 
 faithful in seeking the lost, patient in tending those that 
 have been found, and constant in your intercession for all. 
 
 Ah ! dear Brethren, it requires great faithfulness in 
 seeking the lost, for the wandering sheep have gone far 
 astray. Many a weary walk will you take in vain; many 
 an earnest call will be lost in the air ; many a kind en¬ 
 treaty will be slighted. But tender love for their be¬ 
 nighted souls will not allow you to give up your search, 
 till you have found the poor sheep and brought it home 
 with joy. Strong is the power of Satan in holding cap¬ 
 tive the souls of men, but stronger—we trust—will be 
 your compassion for them, which will urge you forward, 
 till you have snatched them out of his hands and brought 
 them as trophies to Immanuel. 
 
24 
 
 And as you have been faithful in seeking the lost, so 
 you will be patient in tending the sheep within the fold. 
 
 If you have learnt to know your own heart, you will 
 not be surprised or discouraged, if you meet with many 
 trials and disappointments in your pastoral care of souls. 
 How many are there in every congregation, who “ run 
 well for a season and then are hindered.” Alas ! and 
 there are some whose progress is hardly anything more 
 than a constant falling and rising again. What is to bear 
 you up under such trials of your faith, such disappoint¬ 
 ments of your sweetest hopes, when you see the fairest 
 flowers drooping and apparently ready to fade for ever. 
 What will give you courage to labour on in hope, even 
 though it seem to be against hope ? What alone will 
 preserve you from using harsh legal measures, which only 
 tend to harden backsliders yet more ? Nothing will but 
 again tender love for the souls entrusted to your care, 
 whom the Saviour bears with unspeakable long-suffering, 
 and whom you may yet regain for Him, if you will but 
 patiently persevere in tending them. 0 that you could 
 say to your flock, what the apostle wrote to his beloved 
 Thessalonians : “We were gentle among you, even as 
 a nurse cherisheth her children: so being affectionately 
 desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto 
 you, not the Gospel of God only, but also our own souls, 
 because ye were dear unto us.” (1 Thess. ii. 7, 8.) 
 
 Lastly, if this tender compassion for immortal souls 
 fills your heart, it cannot but make you constant in your 
 intercessions for thern. 
 
 You see their misery, you know their danger, and you 
 feel your insufficiency to rescue them from perdition. 
 What are you to do but to go to the throne of grace, and 
 
25 
 
 seek tlie help of that Spirit who alone can make “the 
 dead bones live/* and the living souls thrive and prosper? 
 O might you join the prophet and say : “ For Zion’s sake 
 will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake will I 
 not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as 
 brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that 
 burneth.” (Isa. lxii. 1.) 
 
 § 3. Conscientious regard to the expectations op the 
 Church and Congregation. 
 
 A conscientious regard to the expectations of the 
 Church that sends you , and the Congregation you are 
 called to serve. 
 
 Consider the confidence the Church places in you, in send¬ 
 ing you forth, as a soldier of the cross, to occupy a solitary 
 outpost, where no eyes will be upon you but those of our 
 Great Captain. Think also of the childlike confidence 
 with which the members of your flock receive you, a 
 perfect stranger, as a messenger of Christ for their 
 salvation. 
 
 Again consider, what the Church expects of every 
 Missionary she sends forth, which is nothing less than 
 that, like the Apostle, you will be “ ready to spend and 
 be spent for Christ.” Could you disappoint her hopes ? 
 Again, knowing that your congregation expects to receive 
 at your hands the bread of life, could you feel content in 
 offering her nothing but straw ? 0 no ! Your con¬ 
 
 science will make you diligent in your work , circumspect 
 in your walk, and earnest in your prayers. 
 
 You will enter the service with the burning desire 
 to work for the Lord with all your strength. But you 
 will at once meet with an enemy, that will sorely tempt 
 
 c 
 
26 
 
 yon to become “ slothful in "business.” We refer to that 
 lethargy of body and mind, which a tropical climate is so 
 apt to induce. What is to bear you up, lest you fall a 
 prey to the ensnaring influences of this subtle foe ? 
 WTiat but the constant remembrance of the high and 
 sacred expectations the Church at home entertains of 
 your usefulness as a Missionary of the Cross, which will 
 urge you on to maintain a constant struggle with the foe, 
 however painful it may be. Thus you will not fail to be 
 diligent both in your public ministrations and in your 
 private studies. We take it for granted that you are 
 deeply impressed with the fact, that the improvement of 
 your mind is intimately connected with your usefulness 
 as a Missionary, and that you are fully resolved to pursue 
 the studies you have commenced at home. Allow us to 
 remind you, that all your studies should have a bearing 
 on your great work, the salvation of souls. We need not 
 tell you, that you ought to make' the Bible your chief 
 study, following the advice of the apostle Paul, given to 
 his son in the faith, Timothy: ‘"‘"Give attention to reading, 
 to exhortation, to doctrine. Meditate upon these things; 
 give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may 
 appear to all.” (1 Tim. iv. 13—15.) As you will be 
 diligent in your work, so you will also be circumspect in 
 your walk. 
 
 Need we remind you how needful this is for you, who 
 are like a city set on a hill, that cannot be hid; for you 
 who are to be “ the light of the world,” “ the salt of the 
 earth,” the exemplar of your flock ? needful both for 
 your own sakes and for the good of others, doubly 
 needful in a land that “ lieth in wickedness ” ? 
 
 There is a tendency in every thing human to find a 
 
27 
 
 common level. If the standard of piety be low, how 
 readily, alas ! the mind will sink down to it! From this 
 quarter you will be in peculiar danger, therefore “ take 
 heed unto thyself.” 
 
 You will require to be circumspect: 
 
 1st, In your intercourse with men of the world. Situated 
 as you may be in a part of the world, where there are but 
 few educated people, you may not be indisposed to associate 
 with such as there are, and they, on the other hand, may be 
 equally willing to associate with you for want of more con¬ 
 genial society. In your intercourse with such, you will 
 require to be “ wise as serpents, and harmless as doves,” 
 lest you suffer loss in your own soul, lest you give offence 
 to your people, and lest you deter from the kingdom of 
 heaven those men of the world, whom you might have, 
 otherwise, gained for Christ. For let us remind you, 
 though you are called to serve the blacks, you have a 
 mission to the whites also, who are your neighbours, and 
 whom you ought not to pass by in the phaiisaical pride 
 of the priest. 
 
 2nd, In your intercourse with your fellow-labourers, 
 lest you offend your Brother. Consider what the 
 Church at home would say were she to learn, that 
 those soldiers whom she had sent forth to fight the 
 enemies of Christ, had fallen out in their own camp. 
 Let it be your earnest resolution to do all in your power 
 to avoid either giving or taking offence. To this end 
 watch over your tempers; address your Brethren in the 
 language of gentleness, meekness, and charity, and vie 
 with each other in mutual kind attentions and good 
 offices, thus fulfilling the apostle’s injunction: “ Be ye 
 kindly affectionate one to another, with brotherly love, in 
 honour preferring one another.” (Rom. xii. 10.) 
 
28 
 
 But the more faithful you will be in these your endea¬ 
 vours to be both diligent in your work and circumspect 
 in your walk, the more you will find that your strength is 
 “not sufficient for these things.” And therefore you 
 will also be instant and earnest in your prayers for Divine 
 help. And being thus a constant suppliant at the door 
 of mercy, you will learn to know the secret of the apostle 
 Paul’s success, who said: “ When I am weak, then am I 
 strong,” (2 Cor. xii. 16), and who could add and say : 
 “I can do all things through Christ, which strengthened 
 me.” (Phil. iv. 13.) 
 
 Lastly, dear Brethren, whilst these powerful motives 
 animate you in the performance of your sacred duties, 
 you may take to yourself the sweet comfort of God’s holy 
 Word, that “ your labour will not be in vain in the Lord,” 
 and that a reward of grace awaits you in the end. 
 (1 Cor. xv. 38; 1 Cor. iii. 8; Matt. xxv. 23.) 
 
 Hoping that these Instructions, which • have been 
 dictated by love and paternal solicitude for your future 
 usefulness, will be received by you in the spirit of meek¬ 
 ness and love, we “commend you to God, and to the 
 word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to 
 give you an inheritance among all them that are sanc¬ 
 tified.” (Acts xxii. 32.) 
 
 The Members of the Mission Department 
 of the Unity’s Elders’ Conference. 
 
 Bertiielsdorf, November, 1866. 
 

 
 
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