Missionary Meetings J. LOVELL MURRAY Student Volunteer Movement : •- iV <£ *‘-;-3r **•> UfmJ.'-. r V 'f ' The Missionary Meetings of the Student Christian Association BY J. Lovell M URRAY, M. A. Educational Secretary Student Volunteer Movement New York Student Volunteer Movement 1911 Copyright, 1911 , by Student Volunteer Movemen for Foreign Missions Introductory Note HP HE suggestions offered in this pam- A phlet are the outcome of an inves¬ tigation recently made into the problem of the missionary meeting in colleges and universities. Many valuable hints were contributed by the leaders of the religious work among the students of North America. The average college has been kept in mind. Modifications of these suggestions would require to be made for preparatory schools, profes¬ sional schools and theological seminaries. Attention is directed to an article, “Educational Missionary Meetings,” by Dr. T. El. P. Sailer in The Missionary Review of the World, December, 1909, and to the pamphlet, “Religious Meet¬ ings for Students,” by A. J. Elliott. In the files of The Inter collegian, 1898-1908, some very suggestive out¬ lines will be found in the series of ar¬ ticles entitled “The Monthly Missionary Meeting.” 3 The Missionary Meetings of the Student Christian Association T N not a few colleges the missionary A meeting ranks among the important occasions of the month. It is the most successful among the religious meetings that are held. It helps the popularity and influence of the Christian Association. And there is every reason why it should do so. Rightly planned and conducted, it has an appeal for every wholesome type of student. For the missionary theme is thoroughly practical, thoroughly modern, and abounds in action and human interest. It satisfies alike the matter-of-fact person and the idealist, it sweeps the whole horizon of the new world-consciousness, it touches the most vital issues of society and comprehends the most exalted forms of human en¬ deavor. Little wonder that, well under¬ stood and utilized, the meetings devoted to this theme are of absorbing interest and exceptional value. In some other colleges the missionary meeting proves a dead failure. It can¬ not carry its own weight and is a drag on the Association that doggedly and wearily maintains it as a necessary fea¬ ture. 5 MISSIONARY MEETINGS Where there is difficulty it usually lies with those responsible for the missionary meeting. They may lack in convictions regarding the missionary enterprise and, regarding the missionary enterprise and, sibilities of a meeting devoted to the consideration of it. They may lack in definiteness of aim in regard to the meetings. In their preparation for the meeting they may fail at the point of judgment, initiative, organization or energy. And defeat may oftenest be traced to the absence of definite, de¬ termined prayer for real and permanent results. THE COMMITTEE’S RESPONSI¬ BILITY A newly appointed committee should be convinced beyond any question of the downright importance and vast possi¬ bilities of these meetings. For any stu¬ dent who is chosen because of his fitness for the missionary committee and is will¬ ing to think into the subject, this convic¬ tion not only may be cultivated, but is inevitable. The committee should lose no time in making a careful study of the situation with which it is to deal. It should study the past successes and failures of mis¬ sionary meetings held in the college. It 6 MISSIONARY MEETINGS should study the methods which are suc¬ cessfully pursued in other colleges. It should study the local student field, to determine the background of missionary intelligence, the general attitude to mis¬ sions and any special interests that may lie in certain mission fields or in certain aspects of the missionary enterprise. While the whole student body should be included in this careful survey, at¬ tention should be concentrated on the students of special ability and influence. They should be considered with a view not only to their being reached by the missionary interest but also to their be¬ ing enlisted for participation in the meet¬ ings. The committee should know what it proposes to accomplish through the mis¬ sionary meetings of the year. A num¬ ber of important aims may be served through this means which could not be so well realized in any other way. (1) A new interest is given to the religious meetings of the Association by reason of the whole range of absorbing themes which the missionary meetings contribute. (2) The cultural value of these meet¬ ings is of the greatest importance. They should serve as a corrective of paro¬ chialism—as regards intelligence, inter- 7 MISSIONARY MEETINGS est, prayer and service; and in the wide sweep of the information they bring they should be a real educational force in the college. (3) They form a valuable part of the Association’s general programme of promoting missionary intelligence and thus help to lay foundations and furnish equipment for missionary activity at home and abroad. (4) They have a distinct spiritual value. We do not consider the living work of the living Christ bringing men and nations into subjection to Himself, we do not receive fresh convictions re¬ garding the greatness and universality of our faith, we do not have our devotion challenged to gifts and acts of heroic loyalty to Christ, we do not study the experiences and achievements of valiant men and women who, with the Son of God, go forth to war in remote and difficult fields, we do not have our sym¬ pathies enlarged and our intercession quickened, without gaining a new spirit¬ ual uplift and a new anchorage for our faith. (5) Moreover, they unite with the other meetings of the Association in rep¬ resenting the religion of Jesus Christ in its true richness and completeness. The other religious meetings emphasize the 8 MISSIONARY MEETINGS resources of Christ for the individual. They stand for the intake of the reli¬ gious life. These meetings represent its outflow. They reveal the Christian reli¬ gion in its great applicability and out¬ reach. They set forth the idea of Chris¬ tian social service pushed to its logical and world-wide conclusion. It may be questioned why the Mis¬ sion Study classes do not suffice to ac¬ complish these purposes. In answer it is to be said that the missionary meeting reaches often a larger constituency than the mission study groups, that it fre¬ quently captures the initial interest of students for the missionary enterprise and so lays foundations for its subse¬ quent study, that it gives to the mem¬ bers of each group a larger and truer conception of the enterprise by present¬ ing it in new aspects and bearings, that it provides for more variety, more at¬ tractive features and a wider range of topics, including some of immediate in¬ terest, that it unifies and co-ordinates the work of the classes and that it forms a rallying center for the missionary inter¬ ests and activities of the college. But not only should there be in the minds of the committee a clear concep¬ tion of the function and purpose of these meetings; there should be a distinct aim 9 MISSIONARY MEETINGS also for each meeting of the series. “If I miss, I pitch on this,” is apparently the method of some committees. With pa¬ thetic loyalty to an appropriate and gen¬ erally accepted policy they hold on grimly to the idea of a missionary meeting each month, but lacking a definite objec¬ tive they utterly fail to realize the large and ultimate purpose of the meetings. A committee should not hold a mission¬ ary meeting merely for the sake of hold¬ ing one. There is no duty of the kind. The religious meetings of the college are too valuable to admit of even one being expended aimlessly. Then, having the aim for each meet¬ ing in mind, a consistent effort should be made to attain it. The “miscellaneous programme” idea should be shunned. A great opportunity each month may be frittered away and each meeting fail as an educational force and a missionary agency because of a haphazard pro¬ gramme and the introduction of extra¬ neous features. The focus should be drawn on one or two big, vital issues and what does not make a distinct contribu¬ tion to the purpose of the meeting should be mercilessly excluded. Being unani¬ mously clear as to the precise object in view, the committee will be able to pray more definitely for its realization. 10 MISSIONARY MEETINGS TIME OF MEETING It is usually found that once a month is often enough to hold such meetings. In some institutions, however, they are held oftener, and at one large State Uni¬ versity the Christian Association con¬ ducts a successful missionary meeting weekly with an average attendance of about two hundred. Usually it is not advisable to have the meeting occur on the same week of each month (e. g., the first Wednesday or the last Friday). Even the dates agreed upon at the be¬ ginning of the year should be subject to modification. The meeting should not be announced as the “Monthly Mission¬ ary Meeting.” Indeed, it need not be announced as a “missionary meeting” at all. By some other title it may be pos¬ sible to steer past the prejudices of some students. In some colleges the word must be invested with a new and true meaning or else must have a sub¬ stitute ; otherwise the announcement of the meeting will generally be received as a signal to stay away. Ordinarily the missionary meeting should occur in the regular series of weekly Association meetings. Mission¬ ary interest is not for the exceptional Christian, nor is it a separate and dis- n MISSIONARY MEETINGS tinct thing in any Christian. Every means should be used to articulate the missionary element into the whole Chris¬ tian interest and life of the college. The missionary features of religious meet¬ ings should not be confined to this one stated missionary meeting, nor should the missionary meetings be separated into an exclusive department of the As¬ sociation’s activity. PREPARATION FOR THE MEETING Hurried, listless or slipshod prepara¬ tion for the meeting accounts for a great many failures. Preparation should be begun for each meeting at least a month in advance. All that has been said in regard to having a definite aim for the meeting and adhering to it rigidly may be emphasized here. The responsibility for each phase of the meeting should be definitely located. Where outside speak¬ ers are to be used, they may be respect¬ fully coached as to the aim of the meet¬ ing and suggestions may be offered as to the special type of material that will appeal most strongly to the student body. Returned missionaries, for ex¬ ample, sometimes dilate on matters which are of special interest to them bur 12 MISSIONARY MEETINGS which do not markedly touch the imagi¬ nation and interest of the average stu¬ dent. Where a number of students are to take part in the programme, it is well to have a conference of these two or three days before the meeting. In all the preparations two things of special importance should be kept in view. One is the dignified nature of the meeting which calls for dignified treat¬ ment. This applies to the advertising of the meeting, the programme, the subse¬ quent report in the college paper, and in general to all the arrangements. The other is the endeavor to enlist or deepen the interest of the most able and influ¬ ential student. He should be kept in mind steadily as the type to which it is sought to appeal. It is not possible to err on the side of giving too great attention to detail. The order of the programme, the place of meeting, the seating arrangements, the hanging of maps, charts and mottoes, the Scripture reading, announcements, ush¬ ering, etc., are items to receive careful attention. Special thought should be given to the music. One chairman re¬ cently called on the audience to join heartily in the singing of “O Mother Dear, Jerusalem.” Hymns should be appropriate, well-known and usually 13 MISSIONARY MEETINGS rousing. Dirges and dead marches should be eschewed. Many hymns, such as “In the Cross of Christ I glory,” or “We may not climb the heavenly steeps,” though not labeled missionary have a missionary bearing and are quite in place. Solos and other special music are usually more suitable in the early part of the meeting. These, too, should be quite appropriate. Always the aim of the meeting should be kept in mind. Ample provision should be made for prayer, especially at the close of the meeting. This should never be a per¬ functory feature. Usually those who are to lead in prayer should be notified in advance. Silent prayer, just before the meeting closes, is sometimes very fitting and effective. Unless in the rarest cases, a collection should not be taken at the meeting. Students must not be given the impres¬ sion that a trap has been laid for them. From the financial standpoint the meet¬ ing is an educational not a collecting agency. One of the most essential parts of the preparation is the advertising. The announcement of the meeting should be attractive, dignified, varied, striking and ubiquitous. It should indicate the pro¬ nounced belief of the Association lead- 14 MISSIONARY MEETINGS ers in the importance of the occasion. It should be honest, too, and not prom¬ ise more than will surely be given. There is a multitude of ways in which the meeting may be advertised. In gen¬ eral the methods may be used which are followed in announcing other big col¬ lege events. Some methods that have been found successful are posters, bulle¬ tin boards, blackboards in recitation rooms, post cards mentioning some special feature and sent to a selected list of students, announcements in chapel and by professors to their classes, printed slips, the handbook, the college paper. Some colleges print a prospectus of the missionary meetings for the year. The mission study classes furnish an exceptionally valuable ad¬ vertising agency. But by far the most effective method is the methodical, per¬ suasive, timely invitation of individual students by the committee and other in¬ terested workers. FOLLOWING UP THE MEETING The missionary meeting is not an end in itself; but it is a means to most im¬ portant ends. The committee should never fail to consider carefully how the interest may be conserved and trans- 15 MISSIONARY MEETINGS lated into definite forms of activity. How may the meeting be made a feeder for the mission study classes? How may it serve the missionary giving enter¬ prise of the college ? How may it pro¬ mote the general reading of missionary literature? How may it serve to impress the responsibility of the college graduate (and also the undergraduate during va¬ cations) for the missionary life of the home churches? How may it lead to various forms of social service in the college community? How may it bring about new effort for the Oriental stu¬ dents attending the college, if there are such? And, supremely, how may it be made a force to recruit lives for service on the foreign field ? In following up the meetings, a well- written report in the college paper is a most valuable method. At times some striking facts of present-day conditions on the mission fields may preface this report. The bulletin board may be used to announce books, pamphlets or maga¬ zine articles bearing on the subject of the meeting. At the appropriate time canvasses for Mission Study enrollment or for missionary subscriptions or for additions to the library may be made. It is often advisable to invite a visiting speaker to prolong his stay in the col- 16 MISSIONARY MEETINGS lege for a day or two after the meeting in order that students may have oppor¬ tunity to consult him individually or in groups. And invariably the faithful, believing prayer of the committee will serve to increase and make permanent the fruit of the meeting. SPEAKERS AND LEADERS At a number of the missionary meet¬ ings outside speakers should be heard. These speakers should be chosen with discrimination and should be invited well in advance. Among them there should be each year at least one Christian worker who has seen service on the for¬ eign field. Only those missionaries should be invited to speak, however, who will appeal to students and will worthily represent the missionary calling and personnel of the present day. The mistake is sometimes made of in¬ viting to speak at these meetings none but missionaries and secretaries of mis¬ sionary organizations, all of whom stu¬ dents regard as in the nature of pro¬ fessionals. Prominent laymen and min¬ isters with missionary enthusiasm, sec¬ retaries of the Student Christian Asso¬ ciation and professors who are especially qualified will furnish speakers for other occasions. 17 MISSIONARY MEETINGS As a rule, at least half of the mis¬ sionary meetings should be led by stu¬ dents. Those who participate should be able, well-informed, prominent students with good speaking ability and real mis¬ sionary convictions. It is by no means necessary that they be student volun¬ teers. Indeed, that matter need not be considered at all, unless to provide that all of those participating be not student volunteers. The well-known principle that “expression brings impression” should demand opportunity for a number of stu¬ dents to take part at each meeting. Great care must be taken in the selection of these students, as the whole cause will be identified in the minds of many with the type of student who gives time and advocacy to it. Occasionally one or more of the foreign students attending the college may be utilized. The presid¬ ing officer should never be chosen on grounds of courtesy or relationships, but should be someone of prominence and downright sympathy with missions. SPECIAL FEATURES There is absolutely no excuse for dull or stereotyped missionary programmes. The subject of missions lends itself to a wide variety of treatments and admits 18 MISSIONARY MEETINGS of the introduction of most interesting items. The alertness and ingenuity of the committee will find ample play in making provision for these special fea¬ tures. Here again, however, the aim of the meeting must be kept steadily in mind. Impressions must not be scat¬ tered ; incidentals should not displace essentials and the meeting should be kept a unit. Maps* To be useful, maps must be of ample size and prominently hung. A large missionary map of the world should have a prominent and permanent place on the walls of the room where the religious meetings are held. Fre¬ quently these maps are marked to indi- - cate the present location of graduates of the college who are on the foreign field. Maps of individual countries or special maps, e.g., to show the prevailing reli¬ gions of the world or the unoccupied mission fields, should be provided for meetings where they will render a real service, even if they have to be made for the occasion. Mottoes and Charts. The necessary cautions in regard to these are that they be striking, appropriate, dignified and attractively made. * A list of suitable maps will be found in the List of Publications of the Student Volunteer Movement. 19 MISSIONARY MEETINGS Curios. This feature may easily be overdone. A curio should never be ex¬ hibited simply because it is a curio. The audience is not composed of children and the object in view is not amusement. A large miscellany of queer things can serve only to distract, while one or two well-selected curios often give illustra¬ tion and atmosphere and emphasis. Pictorial Material. The use of the stereopticon or radiopticon is very effec¬ tive. Other forms of illustration are available. The Central Committee of the United Study of Missions and some of the denominational Mission Boards have prepared sets of pictures on dif¬ ferent fields. The Missionary Educa¬ tion Movement has a large supply of illustrative material ranging from post cards to moving picture films. Only a few pictures should be shown at any meeting and these should bear directly on the subject in hand. Used with dis¬ crimination this feature is deserving of much wider attention than it now receives. Impersonations. There are limitless possibilities in this feature, although it is so entertaining that it is liable to be carried to an extreme. It is far from an easy matter to impersonate successfully, 20 MISSIONARY MEETINGS a ready wit, a live imagination and ac¬ curate knowledge all being required. A foreign Association secretary during of¬ fice hours, an educational missionary receiving visits from his students, an evangelistic missionary returning from a tour, a high-caste Hindu woman, a Mo¬ hammedan girl, a Chinese scholar, a critic denouncing missions, a globe-trot¬ ter being interviewed, a Board secretary dealing with missionary candidates are a few of the possibilities in this direc¬ tion. Costumes will sometimes help more than distract. Only they must be true and accurate. There is no such thing, for example, as an “Oriental costume.” It will not do to impersonate a Buddhist priest in the garb of a Mohammedan sheikh. Truthful costumes, however, help to visualize the life that is under description. The impersonations may be given as monologues or dialogues, or even as missionary dramas occupying an entire programme. Account of Current Events. Some missionary committees provide for this feature at every missionary meeting and a few at every religious meeting of the Association. Recent missionary develop¬ ments or outstanding occurrences in mission fields are described tersely by some student who has been alert for 21 MISSIONARY MEETINGS news since the last account was given. Usually the same student is detailed to make these announcements through¬ out the year. As this duty calls for in¬ telligence, discrimination, an interesting manner, a faculty for vivid presentation and a power of concise utterance, great care should be exercised in the selection of the student to whom this duty is as¬ signed. Sometimes five students are assigned to as many different mission lands and are allowed three minutes each at every missionary meeting to mention the most significant events of the past month in their respective countries. Done in this way there is danger, of course, of its becoming me¬ chanical, perfunctory and monotonous. But five minutes of each missionary meeting allowed to some capable student for a recital of fresh, striking, significant facts from the mission fields would be well expended. Debates. If well handled this fea¬ ture is capable of very effective use. It is important that those participating be among the best debaters in college. It is also important that the subject be a de¬ batable one and of a sort that will cap¬ ture the interest of students. Book Reviews. At some missionary meetings, if not at all of them, one or 22 MISSIONARY MEETINGS two recent attractive volumes should be reviewed. These books should be chosen with discrimination and the reviewing should be done by students whose opin¬ ions carry weight. Often some of the ablest contributors to the college paper would perform this service admirably. As an alternate plan, one whole meet¬ ing in the college year could be devoted advantageously to the description of from three to six books. The objects being to bring the essential messages of these recent volumes to the meeting and incidentally to advertise and popularize the available missionary literature in the college, the reviewers should be duly in¬ structed in advance as to what is required of them. The book should be in the hands of the reviewer as he speaks. Brief extracts may be read occasionally. Each speaker must be held strictly to time and should rehearse his address beforehand. The great wealth of excel¬ lent pamphlet literature on missions should not be overlooked in this feature of the meeting. References to articles on missions or mission countries in cur¬ rent magazines should also be made. It is assumed that whatever missionary literature is described in the meeting will be available to any students who later desire to read it. 23 MISSIONARY MEETINGS At “book review meetings,” the interest is increased if the volumes reviewed and the magazines referred to are in the meeting room where they can be looked over at the close of the meeting. Testimonies by Student Volunteers. Occasionally, not oftener than once a year, testimonies may be given by a few of the student volunteers as to their rea¬ sons for becoming foreign missionaries. The volunteers chosen to speak should be students who stand well in the estima¬ tion of their fellow students. Question Drawer. When a prominent missionary or other specialist is the speaker at the meeting, time may well be reserved towards the close for ques¬ tions and answers. If this does not seem wise, an opportunity should be afforded after the meeting for groups or individuals to have their questions answered. Prayer. Prayer is of course a regular feature of all missionary meetings, but at most of these meetings it should be a special feature, too. Before the assigned topic of the meeting is taken up, a period may be devoted to prayer for graduates of the college now on the field, foreign secretaries of the Association movement, or some special crisis or emergency men¬ tioned either by the student presenting 24 MISSIONARY MEETINGS current events or by the chairman of the meeting. Often at the close of the meet¬ ing five minutes or more may profitably be reserved for prayers for the country or problem that has been under dis¬ cussion. Mission Study Groups in Charge. In the various Mission Study classes a great aggregate of intelligent interest and en¬ thusiasm is being banked up. One out¬ let for this might very well be an oc¬ casional missionary meeting. Let the programme be placed in the hands of one of the classes whose aim it will be to spread the contagion of its new interest. Social Gatherings. An interesting va¬ riety may be interjected by a social gath¬ ering. A meeting of this nature should not occur oftener than once or twice in the year. Its main value lies in its in¬ formality, its increasing of the points of contact of the missionary interests with the whole life of the college and its pop¬ ularizing of the missionary meeting as a college institution. For such occasions a missionary exhibit might be arranged in which attractive literature would be dis¬ played, the local Mission Study work advertised and the missionary activities of other colleges depicted by charts and printed matter. Curios and pictorial ma¬ terial, such as stereoscopic views and 25 MISSIONARY MEETINGS picture post cards, would be quite in or¬ der here. Even in a meeting of this sort it is usually advisable to adhere con¬ sistently to one missionary country or theme. For example, if the country chosen is Japan—possibly at a social introducing a course of study on that country, or given by a class studying Japan—Japanese tea might be served by waiters in Japanese costume, Japanese flags and Japanese lanterns might serve as decorations, a map of Japan might be displayed, books and magazine articles on Japan might be exhibited, etc. THEMES i. Outline for a Year The subjects of the missionary meet¬ ings should be outlined for a year in ad¬ vance, the programme being subject to modification, however, both as regards topics and speakers. One meeting will of course be set apart to introduce the mission study work—possibly one for each semester—and another to launch the canvass for missionary subscriptions. The other meetings will be devoted to reports of missionary gatherings (such as the Student Volunteer Movement Convention, the World Student Christian Federation Conference and any district 26 MISSIONARY MEETINGS missionary conference attended by repre¬ sentatives of the college), character stud¬ ies of great missionaries, modern mis¬ sionary movements (e.g., the Mission¬ ary Education Movement, Laymen’s Mis¬ sionary Movement, Student Volunteer Movement), mission countries, non- Christian religions and special themes. 2. Titles The titles by which the themes are an¬ nounced should be striking. They should be phrased with the type of student in mind whom it is sought to interest. “William Carey, the Founder of Modern English Missions,” has no arresting qual¬ ity whatever. A better name would be “A Pioneer in a Modern World-Move¬ ment.” Divinity students might be struck bv the words “How Channels of Church History were Changed,” while prepara¬ tory school students might surrender to the title “A Cobbler Who Won Interna¬ tional Fame.” Often notice is compelled by a contrasting title such as “Japanese and American Slums,” “Chinese and American Brides,” “Medical Opportuni¬ ties in Canton, Ohio, and Canton, China.” Titles should be honest. The wording of the subject may disguise its real mean¬ ing with perfect fairness; but even the 27 MISSIONARY MEETINGS title must be vindicated by the treatment of the subject. No student must be given ground for feeling after the meeting that he has been cheated. “Social Recon¬ struction in India” would be an honest title for an address showing the way in which Christianity is undermining the caste system by changing the social ideas of Hinduism and proving that only Christ can redeem the society of India. But it would be a dishonest title for a homily on the missionary obligation in general or even for an account of the recent re¬ vival in India. y. Nature of Topics (1) They should be of proper di¬ mensions. On the one hand they should be compassable. “India,” “Missions to China,” “The Moslem World,” are hope¬ lessly big and vague. A whole great mis¬ sion country should never be treated, un¬ less by a missionary or some expert on that country. On the other hand, the subject may be too restricted. Some topics presuppose more general knowledge of mission prob¬ lems than is warranted. While “The Native Church in Uganda” would be of reasonable scope, “Self-government of African Churches” would be too tech- 28 MISSIONARY MEETINGS nical a theme, unless there were an un¬ usual background of missionary intelli¬ gence in the college. Some topics play to the narrow viewpoint. “Missionary Strategy in Latin America” would pass muster as a good subject in any col¬ lege, while “Our Missions in South America” would smack of the provincial, even in the college of a denomination having large missionary interests in that continent. (2) They should be practical. “The Missionary Obligation,” “Why Foreign Missions?” “Motives in Missions*” do not appeal so much as do themes that relate to actual life. Present-day conditions have a more vital interest for the average student than historical sketches or the experiences of missionaries in previous generations. His first question about missionaries is not, How did they get in ? or, What were their early problems and conflicts? but, What are they doing now? At the same time, the romantic, strategic and apolo¬ getic phases of missions in earlier days have a value that should not be over¬ looked. The more practical the nature and • treatment of the subject is, the more likely it is to lead to practical results. In determining the nature of the themes, 29 MISSIONARY MEETINGS the committee should not lose sight of the opportunity of this meeting to en¬ large faith, to broaden horizon, to awaken sympathy, to encourage and di¬ rect prayer, to develop character and to lead to unselfish service—especially mis¬ sionary service at the home base or at the front. There should be a constant effort to make missions seem perfectly reasonable and normal. Emphasize the missionary as a man. It is well to take the corona off his head, to let him live a natural life and die a natural death. He need not be a martyr or even a pioneer to be inter¬ esting. And nothing will suffer if he be represented as going to ordinary flesh and blood people, rather than to horrible savages, or to the queer inhabitants of a queer country, or to the mysterious folk of a fairy-land. Present the non-Chris¬ tian peoples not as curiosities, but as fel¬ low citizens of a small world, as relatives and brethren of ours, with big human problems and modern national questions and experiences that are wonderfully like our own at many points. (3) They should relate to the present experiences of students. College men and women are to be treated as adults of at least fair intelligence. They are past the age when they can be interested 30 MISSIONARY MEETINGS only by a missionary in costume with his paraphernalia of curios. The object lesson has its valuable place with all adults and is by no means to be excluded in dealing with student audiences. But the interest of the average student does not need to be baited by an idol or a model of a thatched hut. Most students are less appealed to (and the others would like you to think that they are) by the romantic and spectacular features tha by the economic, philosophic and sociological aspects of the missionary enterprise. Sometimes they can be made to fit in with certain prominent curriculum studies, such as history, economics and philosophy. At the appropriate time themes such as “The Passing of Feudal Japan,” “The Great Crusade of the Twentieth Century,” “Missionary Capi¬ tal and Labor,” “Evolution in the Mis¬ sionary Enterprise” would excite unusual interest. L T se should be made of the interest centering in the Mission Study classes. The class studying India might have charge of a meeting on the “Fruits of Hinduism” as seen in the family life, the position of woman, the depressed classes, the entire social system, industrial con¬ ditions, public hygiene, religious prac- 31 MISSIONARY MEETINGS tices, personal character, spiritual life, etc., each speaker making a contrast with the fruits of the Spirit. Under the cap¬ tion, “From Wheelbarrow to Pullman,'’ the class studying China might conduct a meeting on recent economic develop¬ ments in China, introducing many inter¬ esting customs and beliefs (e.g., Feng- shui), and indicating the opportunity af¬ forded Christianity to impress this changing civilization. At two or even three meetings of the year the new inter¬ est and knowledge of the members of the mission study classes should be re¬ leased in this way. Fully a month should be given them for preparation. (4) They should be appropriate to the class of students appealed to. The mistake is sometimes made of laying down a rigid classification, such as the women and children of mission lands for girls’ colleges, medical mission work for medical institutions and heroes for high schools. It should be borne in mind that the interests of all students are varied and that one object of the missionary meeting is to make them wider still. At the same time, the various stages of ad¬ vancement, the special interests of dif¬ ferent classes of students and the most direct lines of contact with them should be taken into account. 32 MISSIONARY MEETINGS (5) Sometimes a series of connected themes is effective. “Missions and Com¬ merce,” “Missions and Politics,” “Mis¬ sions and Sociology,” “Missions and Education,” “Missions and National Re¬ generation” has, proved a successful se¬ ries. A series on “Christianity and the non-Christian Religions” under expert treatment has great possibilities of inter¬ est and conviction, as well as of educa¬ tion. 4 . Preparation of Outlines for Meetings No attempt is made here to outline programmes under various topics. This will be governed by the class of institu¬ tion, the special interests of the college, the speakers available, the reference ma¬ terial and other facilities at hand and similar local conditions. Resourceful committees will have little difficulty in drawing up attractive and useful pro¬ grammes. On this point most valuable counsel can usually be had from some sympathetic professor. The files of The Intercollegian contain a great variety of programmes, most of which are still ap¬ propriate or suggestive. Committees are also invited to correspond with the office of the Student Volunteer Movement for help in regard to their missionary pro¬ grammes. 33 MISSIONARY MEETINGS 5 . Some Suggested Topics 1 A number of suitable themes have already been suggested in this pamphlet. Some other topics are here given: The Young Turk and Real Freedom. Student Life in India (or some other great non-Christian country). A Modern Miracle Plant (a missionary hospital. See pamphlet “A Modern Miracle Plant”). First Century Christianity in Twentieth Century Korea. Laymen in Line. A Decade’s Political Reforms in the East. A Yankee on the Yangtse. The Critic of Missions. (Impersonation.) Students and the Advancing Kingdom. Japan Leading the East—Whither? The New Woman in Turkey (or China, or India. Possibly three speakers could present “The New Woman of the East”). How Christ Came to Japan (Xavier and Neesima). Advantages of a Christian Woman. 1 For material consult: The Encyclopedia of Mis¬ sions, the Reports of the Student Volunteer Move¬ ment Conventions and other missionary gatherings (the Report of the World Missionary Conference will be found a perfect mine of information, recent and authoritative), current issues of The Missionary Review of the World, and other periodicals, both religious and secular (see “The Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature”), Dennis’s “Christian Missions and Social Progress,” Mott’s “The Decisive Hour of Christian Missions,” Speer’s “Christianity and the Nations,” “World Atlas of Christian Missions,” and other standard books and pamphlets on missions. 34 MISSIONARY MEETINGS Resolved: That Islam is waging a more creditable missionary propaganda in Africa than is Christianity. (Debate.) From Livingstone to Roosevelt: Develop¬ ments in Africa. How the Call Came (compare the cases of several missionaries). Yale in Changsha. Princeton in Peking. Transmigration of the Soul: The Doctrine and its Fruit. A Great War of the Twentieth Century (Islam in Africa). Non-missionary Missionaries (opportunities of military officers, consular officials and business men). Strategic Positions in the Teaching World. The Impact of the West on the East. The Greatest Enterprise of the Present Day (make use of “The Decisive Hour of Christian Missions”). Two Want Ads. (Impersonations.) Wanted: A place to locate; not already overcrowded with doctors; by a young physician. Wanted: A physician to take full charge of all the medical work in the city of -—, to establish a hospital and later a medical school. Christianity as Seen in China: In the port cities (evil occupations and practices of Occidentals). In the mission stations (testimony of prominent officials, travelers, etc.). Why I Intend to be a Foreign Missionary. (Symposium by student volunteers.) 35 MISSIONARY MEETINGS Students of the World United, Christian Education in China. The World Missionary Conference. The Migration of Oriental Students to America. Religious Awakenings in Mission Fields. New Social Ideals in India. The Regeneration of Turkey. Our Duty to Mexico. Problems for Christian Sociology in China. Missions and Civilization. Missions and Unity. Missions and Universal Peace. Foreign Missions After a Century (several leading North American Mission Boards have recently celebrated their centena¬ ries). Twice-Born Men in China. Colleges for Women in the Orient. Wanted: Intelligent Citizens. (Mission Study Rally.) Statesmen in the Witness Box (in defense of missions). Barriers—at Home and Abroad. Home Life in Persia. The Strength and Weakness of Confucian¬ ism. College Men Challenged. Price of this leaflet is 5 cents per copy, 40 cents per dozen, $2.50 per hundred, $15.00 per thousand. Address: Student Volunteer Movement, 25 Madison Avenue, New York City. 36