NO.3064- 
 
 Ifl'Z. 
 
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 Mission Study 
 Meetings 
 
 WHAT THEY ARE 
 HOW ORGANIZE THEM 
 
 The Educational Department, Board of 
 Missions, 281 Fourth Avenue, New York 
 
Mission Study Meetings and 
 How to Conduct Them 
 
 I. WHAT THEY ARE 
 
 The programmes for mission study meetings 
 which are prepared by the Educational Depart¬ 
 ment are intended to provide those who wish to 
 hold a series of missionary meetings with a 
 careful and thorough plan of action. Guilds, 
 brotherhoods, auxiliaries, sewing circles often 
 desire—or if they do not, they should—to de¬ 
 vote a certain number of their meetings, say 
 during Advent or Lent, or both, to a systematic 
 study of some phase of the church’s work. Or, 
 again, groups of people decide, quite apart from 
 any already existent organization, to undertake 
 a course of this kind. Now it is to meet such 
 demands, and to see that they are met in the best 
 and most scientific manner, that series of pro¬ 
 gramme meetings are arranged by the Educa¬ 
 tional Secretary. 
 
 II. THEIR VALUE 
 
 Of course, the extensive and more exacting 
 work of the “study class” is the best way in 
 which to learn about the progress of the King¬ 
 dom, but for one reason or another it is not 
 always practical to hold study classes. Failing 
 this, the best thing to do is to follow out a 
 course of these prepared meetings. Perhaps 
 their greatest value lies in the fact that they are 
 an improvement upon the old-fashioned meet¬ 
 ing, which failed so often to produce the de¬ 
 sired results in the way of a real awakening of 
 interest and zeal. 
 
 Never forget this fearful fact: Every mis¬ 
 sionary meeting either does harm or good! 
 That is to say, if the Master’s work is not pre- 
 
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sented in an attractive way, it is in an wwat- 
 tractive way, and when this last occurs harm is 
 done. How could it be otherwise, seeing the 
 issues that are involved? 
 
 Now the programme meetings are so made as 
 to obviate as far as possible this danger. So 
 far as possible they aim to show how the sub¬ 
 ject may be presented in an attractive and 
 forceful way, and if those who organize them 
 will but endeavor to carry them out in the spirit 
 in which they are prepared they may at least 
 feel that they have done all they can to help the 
 cause. Doubtless some can invent still better 
 programmes than those offered by the Educa¬ 
 tional Department. It makes no boast that its 
 scheme is the only one. It merely seeks to help 
 those who, unassisted, do not know how, or 
 feel able, to conduct a series of meetings in a 
 profitable way. 
 
 III. HOW TO ORGANIZE THEM 
 
 1. The first thing to do is to get a pro¬ 
 gramme committee. If there has been a study 
 class in your town get some members of it to 
 be the committee, as they will be well equipped 
 for the work. Otherwise select three or four 
 persons who are enthusiastic and earnest and 
 willing to work. 
 
 2. The programme committee having been 
 selected, they should, if it has not already been 
 done, write to their diocesan Educational Sec¬ 
 retary, if there is one, or, if not, then to the 
 Educational Secretary at 281 Fourth Avenue, 
 New York, for material and programmes. In 
 reply they will receive a book of suggestions 
 for a series of meetings, at the beginning of 
 which will be found indicated all the books 
 and material necessary for the carrying out 
 of the series. 
 
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For the booklet a charge of 5 cents is made; 
 the necessary material for conducting and pre¬ 
 paring for a meeting costs $2.00. 
 
 Having received the booklet and then hav¬ 
 ing sent to the New York office and obtained 
 the literature, the programme committee pro¬ 
 ceeds to make its plans. As a rule there will 
 be six meetings outlined, and each one will 
 be divided into three or four topics. These 
 topics deal with different phases of the subjects 
 to be discussed. It is generally best for these 
 topics to be assigned to different members of 
 the group other than those on the committee. 
 The committee should reserve themselves for 
 the purpose of enlivening the meeting. 
 
 For example, let us say that the meeting is 
 to be upon the religions of Japan, and that there 
 are three topics. One is given to one member 
 and another to another and the third to a 
 third. Three of the members of the committee 
 make it their duty to help, one for each, the 
 individuals to whom the topics have been as¬ 
 signed, and they take to them the books in 
 which the information needed for preparation 
 is to be found and give them all the help they 
 can in preparing their paper or talk. And then, 
 when it comes to the meeting, if the talk or 
 paper lags, these helpers from the committee 
 interject remarks, or throw in suggestions which 
 not only help the speaker but enliven the affair. 
 All the members of the committee should, as 
 far as possible, be up on each and every topic, 
 and each and every one of them should feel it 
 his duty as far as possible to make a success 
 of each and every paper. Those who know how 
 much interjections help a stupid paper and en¬ 
 lighten a heavy one and improve a good one. 
 
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and generally turn a formal talk into an in¬ 
 formal one, can realize how important a part 
 of the work this is. Of course, as far as pos¬ 
 sible, the speaker should carry the burden of the 
 subject, and too many interruptions should not 
 occur; but only the common sense of the com¬ 
 mittee can tell them how far to carry this mat¬ 
 ter. The whole idea is to keep things lively 
 and interesting. 
 
 It may be asked, why not give the presentation 
 of the topics to the members of the committee? 
 If on their shoulders must rest the responsibility 
 for the effectiveness of each paper and its de¬ 
 livery, why not let them do it all? And the 
 reply to this is that the members of the com¬ 
 mittee are interested in the meetings, to begin 
 with, and that the rest of the people are not 
 necessarily so, and that by giving out the topics 
 to others the committee makes use of the best 
 of all expedients to meet this situation, and 
 secure the interest of all concerned. 
 
 So this device is a vital part of the plan, 
 since (1) it enlists the co-operation of a large 
 number, and (2) it still keeps the general di¬ 
 rection in the hands of those who are best 
 qualified. 
 
 It is, of course, evident that a great deal de¬ 
 pends on the committee—the ultimate value of 
 the scheme depends on their earnestness and 
 activity. This being so, certain requirements 
 are to be understood. They must be prepared to 
 pray without ceasing that they may perform 
 their part well. The whole thing depends on 
 prayer. It has already been emphasized that 
 stupid meetings do harm. Let it now be further 
 emphasized that no pedagogic devices can in¬ 
 sure the elimination of stupidity. There is only 
 one way in which this can be done, and that is by 
 
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the earnest, honest desire on the part of the 
 members of the committee to make of the meet¬ 
 ings a real contribution to the progress of God’s 
 Kingdom. So, unless prepared to pray deeply 
 for the plan, it is best not to undertake it. 
 
 Then next to prayer the committee should be 
 ready to give time and thought to the work. 
 If they will familiarize themselves with the 
 subjects and be up on the various topics, then 
 they need have no fear—after they have prayed 
 —for the success of the meetings. 
 
 Lastly, the committee should realize that what 
 they are doing is direct and definite work for the 
 cause. They are engaged upon a missionary task, 
 and they must approach the work from the point 
 of view of missionaries. They must be interested 
 in the people who attend; they must be eager 
 to open their eyes more widely to the needs and 
 meanings of the church’s campaign; they must 
 never let an opportunity pass to help the people 
 whom for that meeting God has intrusted to them. 
 
 As to the way in which the various topics 
 should be treated, the following suggestions 
 should be given to those who present them; 
 
 1. A talk is always more attractive and vivid 
 than a paper, and if the persons appointed for a 
 topic can possibly talk without notes they should 
 be urged to do so. With the help of the com¬ 
 mittee member who has worked with them this 
 should not be so difficult, as a form of dialogue 
 might be made use of. 
 
 2. If a paper is read see to it that it is not a 
 compilation of dry facts. No audience ever profits 
 by hearing a sort of census report or a paper 
 which sounds like a page from an encyclopedia. 
 Only use facts and figures to illustrate. Let them 
 be incidental rather than essential, by which is 
 meant that all lists of missions or enumerations 
 
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of converts or dimensions of buildings, or what¬ 
 ever else of dry fact there may be—that these 
 should not be the principal part of the paper. In 
 fact, the best and most interesting papers are 
 those from which all of these uninteresting things 
 could be cut out without hurting its continuity. 
 Remember that a list of any kind, or a date, can 
 have no interest for the person who has no vital 
 understanding of that which it refers to. Re¬ 
 member that it makes no difference to me whether 
 Ingle was born in 1700 or 1800, until I become 
 interested in him as a person of like passion with 
 myself. Remember that unless the things related 
 are told in terms familiar to the hearers, they will 
 make no sufficient impression, and, therefore, in 
 the paper tell everything in a way that will sound 
 familiar to the audience. For example, use local 
 illustrations: say how Japan compares in size to 
 the State they live in; use local situations to il¬ 
 lustrate conditions in the field. Never neglect an 
 opportunity to make the audience realize what it 
 would be like if they lived in the midst of the 
 thing of which the paper treats. If possible, for 
 further ideas on how to catch the ear of an audi¬ 
 ence, read “The Point of Contact,” by Patterson 
 Du Bois, published by Dodd, Mead & Co.; it is 
 elementary but very suggestive. 
 
 So much for directions to those who handle the 
 topics. Now a word about the “summing ups,” 
 for which a place is made at the end of each 
 meeting. These should be handled by the chair¬ 
 man of the committee, and should be serious at¬ 
 tempts to restate in a forceful way the most im¬ 
 portant points which have been brought out in 
 the papers. These summings up should be given 
 in order to drive home the purpose for which the 
 people have come together. 
 
 At the beginning of each programme will be 
 
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found an “aim.” “Now this “aim” indicates the 
 object of the meeting. That is to say, the peo¬ 
 ple do not come together merely to hear some 
 interesting facts. All missionary meetings are for 
 inspiration rather than information. But since 
 without the latter we cannot gain the former, it 
 is necessary that a certain amount of information 
 be given. Now the summing up should be the 
 turning of that information into inspiration. 
 
 In other words, the relation between the “aim” 
 given for the meeting and the summing up is im¬ 
 mediate. The latter is done in order to bring out 
 the former. The various points which have been 
 made and the facts which have been brought out 
 should be gathered together and brought before 
 the audience in such a way as to send them to 
 their homes eager to know more in order that 
 they may do more. That is what is meant by 
 turning information into inspiration, and that is 
 the whole point and purpose of the meeting. 
 
 Unless the people are sent home with a clear 
 resume of the subjects treated and a resume 
 which will bring directly before them the im¬ 
 portance to them of the issues involved; unless 
 the people are sent home with a direct message, 
 then the meeting is apt to have been held in vain. 
 Hence, the chairman must prepare the summing 
 up carefully. By conferences with the rest of the 
 committee it will be possible to know just how 
 the topics are to be presented, and with this in¬ 
 formation it will not be difficult to sum up so as 
 to enforce the “aim” of the meeting. 
 
 The Bible readings and prayers suggested on 
 the programmes are a vital element and are in¬ 
 tended to strike as nearly as possible the same 
 note as that struck by the “aim.” The chairman 
 should take them himself. In many places it will 
 be found most helpful to use extemporaneous 
 prayers in order to pray about the exact things 
 that have been dealt with, and whenever this can 
 be done it is seriously recommended. 
 
 For further information and suggestions, write 
 to your own diocesan Educational Secretary or to 
 the Educational Secretary at 281 Fourth Avenue, 
 New York. 
 
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