* k,. Regulative. F Standards^ in the work "statin. ; • ■ "A ■' - * '•*' i^Jorth Ameriifea TIBfe AMEtltii: IHOMB i^liC Ne\sH FOREWORD These Regulative Standards are a response of the Board to repeated calls from workers in the field for something of the kind bearing definitely on one point and another in the practical conduct of missions. It is much easier to work "when one knows in advance on what to depend, how to plan and for what goals to strive. Standards are rec- ognized essentials in efficiency. In connection with attendance at the Panama Congress on Christian Work in Latin America, the Field Secretary and the Superintendent of Edu- cation gave ten Weeks to close study of the work- Most of the principal stations in Cuba and Porto Rico were visited afresh. All our missionaries from the United States were at Regional Confer- ences in these countries and many of the native workers. The leaders also from Mexico and El Salvador were with us at Panama. We had not less than fifty days of continuous intercourse with the men on the field. Notes were taken of all suggestions made by individuals or groups. On the return voyage fifty of the suggestions were clas- sified under twelve heads and laid before the Mis- sionary Committee of the Board, which asked that a Special Committee be appointed to study the questions involved. The Special Committee of the Board, Dr. Rob- ert E. Farrier, Chairman, found that nearly all the other great missionary societies had formu- lated full and careful regulations. These were obtained and studied. For the sake of denomina- tional uniformity the Committee adopted the pre- cise form of words used by the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society wherever they were applicable. All the vital questions Were submit- ted to the Superintendents of our work In Latin America. Two of them visited the Rooms before the work ’’^ns completed and gave invaluable aid. May this outgrowth of the Field itself help both in germinating and in gathering the great harvests of the future. Field Secretary. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Columbia University Libraries https://archive.org/details/regulativestandaOOamer Regulative Standards In The Work Of The American Baptist Home Mission Society In Latin America (These are to become effective April 1, 1917, ex- cept that all new appointments made after October 10, 1916, shall be on the terms of these regulations.) I. SPIRITUAL QUALIFICATIONS OF THE MISSIONARY. 1. He should be possessed by an all-controlling loyalty to Jesus Christ and an earnest eager- ness to do His will. 2. He should manifest a passion for the salva- tion of men and communities wherever his lot may be cast, having had experience in individual work for individuals and in vari- ous other forms of Christian service. 3. He should have a missionary spirit such that he will be willing to be appointed to any field or station where the Board may re- quire his services, being always free, how- ever, to show a satisfactory reason why he should be assigned to a specific field. II. TECHNICAL TRAINING AND PERSON- AL QUALITIES OF THE MISSIONARY. In Mexico, Cuba, Porto Rico and Central America, as in other foreign lands, a man must have all the qualities needed for work in the United States, and several other quali- ties in addition. For example, in Latin America he must be exceptionally gracious in his manners, or he will seem to the people to be a barbarian. The cultivated leaders of Latin American life and thought often are highly educated in both America and Europe. They are alert, keen and eager. No slipshod mental equipment can meet them with any hope of helping them. The missionary must also have unusual tact and gift in administrative affairs, because he will have xmder his direction a number of local workers. They must be guided with wis- dom, with strong fraternity, and also with a teacher’s gift of suggestion and inspira- tion. 1. The candidate must have both College and Seminary training (except that Seminary training will not be required of candidates for teachers’ positions in our primary or sec- ondary schools, or for technical or in- dustrial positions). 2. Successful experience in Spanish-speaking work elsewhere may be accepted when de- sirable, in lieu of completely meeting the re- quirement as to both College and Seminary training. 3. He must have facility in acquiring the Romance languages. As a rule, a new mis- sionary should not be more than thirty years of age when he reaches the field. 4. He must have associative aptitudes and co- operative spirit. “Those who fail as mis- sionaries do so almost without exception because they cannot re'’ on with others.” 5. He must have executive gifts. 6. He must have physical fitness for the Tropics (tested by medical examination as per blanks furnished by the Board of the Society and passed upon by its Official Medical Examiner). 7. Similar requirements shall be made for wife or fiancee as to items 4 and 6, together with a sincere missionary spirit and the equiva- lent of at least a high school education. 8. A man with a family will not be appointed as a rule, unless he has already resided in a Latin American field. 9. His standing must be such that when his intention is announced the common senti- ment of those who know him will be that he is well qualified for the work. 10. As there is little chance for a missionary to lay by money or to pay back debts, all ap- plicants must be practically unencumbered financially. 11. Wives may be commissioned, when in the judgment of the Board such action is de- sirable. III. PROBATION PERIOD. 1. The first appointment shall be for a period of three years, the first of which is regarded as a year of probation, at the end of which the appointee’s connection with the Society may be severed should it appear then that he is not adapted to the service for which he was appointed. If, however, the candidate is not advised by the Society within one month after the close of his first year’s service, that his appointment is canceled, the original appointment for three years thereby becomes automatically confirmed. The second and subsequent appointments shall be for periods of five years each. 2. During this first period of three years the appointee, under the direction of two or more designated examiners, shall take semi- annual examinations in the language of the country in which he is serving, with a view to enabling the Board to determine whether he is making satisfactory progress in it. 3. At the end of two years and a half, a thor- ough medical examination shall be taken, and its findings submitted to the Board of the Society and passed upon by its Official Examiner. 4. The probation year will be devoted prin- cipally to language study and to special as- signments of service made by the General Missionary. IV. SUPPORT. The allowance for the support of a mis- sionary is not to be ’•egarded in any real sense as compensation for labor performed; nor is it graded to suit the varying abilities or success of different individuals. It is sup- posed rather to express simply what is necessary, in the way of pecuniary support, to his efficiency in his chosen field of labor. In reality it is a grant in aid, made by the churches at home through the Society. It is desired that the missionary should be free from anxiety in regard to means of living, so as to leave heart and hands at liberty for the largest possible service in the cause of Christ. Compensation for this service he will find in the consciousness of engaging in the highest of all callings, and in the abid- ing presence of his Lord. He is not to en- gage in any money-making pursuits for per- sonal profit or private gain. /. SALARY. (a) Married Men; For the first five years on their field, $1,000 per annum; for the next five years, $1,100; after ten years, $1,200. (b) Single Men: For the first five years, $700 per annum; for the next five years, $800; after ten years, $900. (c) As affected by death of husband or wife: The salary shall remain unchanged for one year, then pass to the basis of a single man or woman in case of active continuance with the Society, provision for children being unchanged. No change in salary will be made until after correspondence with the Missionary, special conditions always being con- sidered with a view to adequate provi- sion in each case. (d) Provision for Children: For each child under six years of age an allowance of 5% of the above-designated salary is made. Recognizing the increasing ex- pense involved in educating one’s chil- dren as the years go on, the following provision is made : When they are from six to twelve years of age 10% of the above-designated salary is granted; twelve to twenty years 15%, except that such allowance is not granted to more than three children in any family at one time. (e) Beginning of salary; In the case of new appointees, salary begins with the requirement of their full time by the Society. 2. RESIDENCE. The Society provides a residence for married missionaries, or in lieu thereof, an allowance of not to exceed $300 per annum. Single men are allowed a grant of not to exceed $150 per annum for rental. 3. OUTFIT. (a) Where residence has not been already partially furnished for the missionary, married men may draw upon the Board for such purpose to the amount of not to exceed $400, single men to the amount of not to exceed $200. Such purchases from funds of the Board to belong to the Society. (b) In case of purchasing household equip- ment the missionary shall do so in con- sultation with the General Missionary, whose experience on the field will en- able him to know what furnishings are best adapted to the country and what the Society will need for permanent use. 4 TRAVEL EXPENSES. The necessary travel expenses in journey from the home to the field and return, when made by the officially designated route, will be paid by the Society. (a) Excess cost by indirect route is borne by the missionary. The plan for a longer journey with intervals of resi- dence en route will be submitted for ap- proval, and the class of passage chosen shall not be lower than that provided by the Society. (b) Cost of transportation of freight to the extent of two tons, or equivalent (ship’s measurement, which figures by cubic space as well as weight), for each full ticket, is met by the Society and a pro- portionate amount for each half or quarter ticket. (c) Customs dues in foreign ports as apply- ing to the normal outfit are met by the Society. 5. EXCEPTIONAL COST OF LIVING IN CERTAIN LOCALITIES OR POSITIONS. (a) In large cities: As a rule an increase of 10% upon the local salary is deemed just; the amoimt and the cities to which it is to apply being determined by the Board in consultation with the Gen- eral Missionary. (b) In positions involving unusual expense, as e.g., in the entertaining of guests, special provision is determined by the Board under advice from each mission field. 6. MEANS OF CONVEYANCE ON THE FIELD. When recommended by the General Mis- sionary as required for the mission work, necessary means of conveyance may be pro- vided by the Society. V. FURLOUGHS OF MISSIONARIES FROM THE UNITED STATES. 1. An annual vacation of one month is author- ized and insisted upon, same to be arranged on the field in consultation with the General Missionary early in the year, this vacation to be taken at the missionary’s own expense. 2. A furlough of six months is granted every five years, in addition to the necessary travel time, four months to be given to promotion service for the Society, or study or other work in preparation for increased useful- ness, the remaining two months for com- plete rest. The first furloughs in inaugurat- ing this plan are to be arranged by the Board with a view to a rotation of workers, both on the field and in the promotion service. 3. Transportation for the missionary, his wife and minor children who are dependent upon him for support, to and from the field on the regular furloughs, will be met by the Society. 4. Every missionary and his family on return to America on furlough will have medical examinations upon the basis of which the physician examiner will give those ex- amined and the Board answers to the fol- lowing three questions: (a) Do they require any special treatment while on furlough? (b) If so, what? (c) Do the cases suggest the necessity of further medical examination toward the end of the furlough, to determine fitness for return to the field? 5. Unusual expenditures necessary because of treatment prescribed as a result of the ex- amination, wiU be taken under consideration by the Board. 6. Pension: When permanently disabled after a long period of service, the Board will de- termine what allowance shall be made. VL ORGANIZATION OF THE FIELD. 1. There shall be a General Missionary whose chief fimctions are: Organizing, supervis- ing, assisting the other workers and serving as field representative for the Board. 2. There shall be a Missions Council composed of all the American missionaries of the So- ciety on each field. The General Missionary shall serve as chairman of this Coxmcil. The Missions Coimcil shall hold at least one regular meeting each year, and two such meetings where practicable. Other meet- ings may be called should necessity require them. The Missions Coimcil shall decide with the approval of the Board: (a) The general policy of the mission. (b) The annual budget. (c) The educational policy. (d) The selection of sites. (e) The purchase of property. (f) The erection of buildings. (g) The distribution of native workers. (h) All other matters pertaining to the ad- vancement and good of the work. 3. The missionaries from the United States, as well as the native missionaries, shall report to the General Missionary monthly, and to the Society quarterly through the General Missionary, and shall render such special reports in addition as occasion may require. The monthly payroll is made on the basis of these monthly reports. 4. The General Missionary will render to the Society quarterly reports and such other reports as may be required. VII. SELF SUPPORT AND BENEVOLENCE OF MISSION CHURCHES. 1. The following plan is adopted with a view to promoting self support among our mission churches: (a) Every mission station is expected to meet its nmning expenses, other than the salary of the missionary, at the beginning. (b) Every mission station should seek to be- come entirely self-supporting as soon as possible, thus enabling the Society to use its funds in other destitute fields. (c) The missionary’s salary should be in- creased with the growing strength of the station. (d) In order to effect (b) and (c) each sta- tion will be expected to raise the fol- lowing percentages of the INITIAL SALARY of the missionary, one-half of which shall be devoted to the increase of his salary and one-half toward the lessening of the amount received from the Society, except that where the local missionary in charge of the church is unordained, when his salary reaches $600 per year, all additional amounts raised thereafter shall be devoted to lessening the amount received from the Society. (1) Beginning with the second year 5% and an additional increase of 5% each year for the next three years. (2) The sixth year the increase over the previous year will be 10% of the ini- tial salary, with a like increase each year for the next three years. (3) The tenth year the increase over the previous year will be 15% of the ini- tial salary, with a like increase each year for the next three years. (4) The fourteenth year the increase over the previous year will be 20% of the initial salary, and a like in- crease each year for the next three years, after which time the church will be self-supporting. /. EXAMPLE. (1) Let the initial salary be $400. The first year the Society meets the en- tire amount. The second year the station raises 5% of the salary, or $20. The pastor’s salary becomes $410, of which the Society gives $390, with corresponding changes the third, fourth and fifth years, at the end of which time the pastor’s salary will be $440, of which the church will be paying $80 and the Society $360. (2) The sixth year the church will raise $120, an increase over the previous year of 10% of the initial salary. The pastor’s salary will then be $460, of which the Society will pay $340, with corresponding changes in the seventh, eighth and ninth years, at the end of which time the pastor’s salary will be $520, of which the church will be paying $240 and the Society $280. (3) The tenth year the church will raise $300, an increase over the previous year of 15% of the initial salary. The pastor’s salary will then be $550, of which the Society will be paying $250, like increases being made in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth years. (4) The fourteenth year the church will raise $560, an increase over the pre- vious year of 20% of the initial salary. The pastor’s salary will be $680, of which the Society will pay $120, with corresponding increases in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seven- teenth years, at the end of which time the church will have become en- tirely self-supporting. (e) Should the station during any year fail to raise the above percentage, the pas- tor’s salary shall be at an equal loss with the Society on account of such failure, i.e., the pastor’s salary shall be increased by only one-half of the amount raised. (f) Wherever possible it is desired and ex- pected that the church will become self- supporting at a more rapid rate than that indicated above. 2. BENEVOLENCE: Our mission churches are asked to contribute: (a) To their own Regional work. (b) To the American Baptist Home Mission Society. (c) To the American Baptist Foreign Mis- sion Society. It is confidently expected that, as they are able, they will also contribute to Christian education and to other approved forms of Christian ministry for their people. VIII. APPOINTMENTS AND RELOCA- TIONS. 1. All appointments of missionaries must be made by the Board of Managers of the So- ciety, except that in an unforeseen emer- gency a temporary appointment for not to exceed three months may be made by the General Missionary, and in the event that such temporary appointment is made, he shall at once submit the facts to the Board with his recommendations in the premises. 2. Missionaries may not be transferred from one location to another or be “relocated” without previous sanction of the Board, ex- cept in an unforeseen emergency, and then such transfer or relocation shall be tenta- tive only, and subject to confirmation by the Board. The facts in such cases shall be at once submitted to the Board by the Gen- eral Missionary, together with his recom- mendations as to the action that should be taken. IX. IMPROVEMENT OF NATIVE MISSION- ARIES ALREADY AT WORK. 1. Pastors who have not had the advantage of a full theological training are required to pursue regular courses of study approved by the General Missionary, and to take regular (monthly or quarterly) examinations cover- ing the work done. 2. A special annual summer institute, continu- ing for two weeks or thereabouts, at our principal training school on each field, will be provided for our native pastors and mis- sionaries and attendance thereon required of all. 3. The necessary traveling expenses incident to such attendance will be paid by the Society. 4. Native missionaries will be instructed to take a vacation of two weeks each year in addition to the summer institute period, and be held to diligent work the rest of the time. The date of this vacation will be determined in consultation with the General Missionary. X. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 1. Our educational policy provides for the establishment and maintenance of a school in each of our general Latin American fields for the training of the people of the country for Christian leadership. Where practicable this should be in the vicinity of a large educational center. 2. Until a general school system in these coun- tries makes provision for the sorest needs of an impoverished life, our educational policy contemplates provision also for such other educational work as is required to meet these needs. 3. Our educational policy includes also the following provision for the education of the children of our native ministers in Latin America: (a) Years one to twelve: Aid is not granted for these years. It is felt by the Board that the local church should make such provision for their pastor as will enable him to provide adequately for his chil- dren while they are still at home. (b) Years twelve to twenty: A grant of $100 per annum, for each child in at- tendance at a school approved by the Superintendent of Education will be made, and will be paid to the school di- rect for each child of our native pastors, provided that this aid shall not be given to more than three children in any family at one time. And provided further, that any child so admitted shall satisfactorily maintain the standard re- quired by the Superintendent of Educa- tion; it being expected also that, should any child so educated not enter upon some form of distinctive Christian ser- vice after leaving school, he will return to the Home Mission Society, as he is able, the full amount the Society has paid out for his education. XL DEVELOPING OUR CONVERTS IN CHRISTIAN LIFE AND WORK. Our policy contemplates securing for our Latin American fields quickeners of the pas- tors and churches in special directions, such as: 1. In Sunday School work. 2. In community betterment. 3. In evangelism. XII. INTERDENOMINATIONAL COOPERA- TION. 1. In general, cooperative advancement in win- ning the world for Christ must be along positive rather than negative lines. Allot- ments of responsibility are inclusive rather than exclusive. In our age of freedom no wall can be built, or ought to be built, for the purpose of shutting anybody out of any field of usefulness where duty calls. At the same time, no portion of the human race should be left outside of the field of explicit responsibility on the part of someone. Co- operative arrangements are not for the pur- pose of limiting activities, but on the con- trary, for the purpose of increasing and in- tensifying activities. The aim is not restric- tive, but altogether and only constructive. 2. As regards delimitation of territory, we ap- prove the acceptance by each Board at work in any country, of primary responsibility for certain portions of the field, the acceptance of such responsibility not, however, to be interpreted per se as restricting the Board solely to activity within the portion of the field for which it has assumed such re- sponsibility. 3. As to salaries of native workers, we believe it is desirable that there be as great a uni- formity as possible in any given field in the salaries of these employes of the several Boards. To the end that this may be se- cured, we believe that the matter of the uni- fying of salaries of native workers may well be suggested to a Conference Committee of the Boards concerned, for its consideration and recommendation. 4. In imion evangelistic campaigns it is felt that the fullest and freest cooperation be- tween all the local evangelical churches is desirable. 5. In social service the largest practicable co- operation should be secured. 6. In education cooperation to the extent of avoiding unwise competition or reduplica- tion of work, should always be sought and maintained. Particularly in higher educa- tion should cooperation be the rule. Even in the training of young men for the min- istry some general course can well be given to all alike, reserving to each denomination the giving to its own students of certain courses that have to do with matters of doctrine and church polity. 7. In the publishing and distributing of Chris- tian literature the fullest cooperation of all should be maintained. 8. In Sunday School betterment cooperation through utilizing the services of special workers in the training of leaders, etc., and also through the Sunday School Literature Department is advisable and should be en- couraged.