PAM. /(W*? M1SC. ?■ Survey of the Field grxyo Facts and Figures of the Missions of the M. E. Church South for 1909. The Field Is the World. — Matt. 13:38 By the Secretaries of the Board of Missions, 810 Broadway, Nashville, Tenn. Survey of the Field MISSIONS OF THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH 1909 PREPARED BY THE SECRETARIES China. Dr. W. A. P. Martin, former President of the Imperial University in Peking, a man who has had exceptional opportunities for observation, has recently made the following statement: “Hitherto the ruling classes have been suspi¬ cious of Christianity, having been schooled in the belief that the aim of missions is to steal away the hearts of the people and prepare the way for foreign conquest. But these absurd prejudices are now dying out, and the truths of the gospel meet with willing hearers if judi¬ ciously brought to their attention.” In a country where the literati have such pre¬ eminent influence it is a matter of great en¬ couragement that prejudice should be breaking down and a state of open-mindedness taking its place. It speaks much for the possibilities wrapped up in the future. Both the Soochow University and the Anglo-Chinese College have an attendance up to the full measure of their capacity, and this is true of every other school in the mission. It is amazing how at a single stroke an entire educational system in vogue for twelve centuries, the pride and glory of four hundred million people, “was wiped out and Western learning made a condition of future employment in government service. A nation accepting without protest or revolt a revolution in the educational system so bold, so startling, so far-reaching” is a fact unknown to history. The completion of the railroad to Nanking opens a great artery of travel and communica- tion through the very center of the territory- occupied by our Church. That territory teems with its millions. Every square mile of it should be shot through and through with the light of the gospel. We now have in China: Missionaries (in¬ cluding wives), 66; native traveling preachers, 22; local preachers, 32; members, 2,321; in¬ crease, 163; Sunday schools, 58; scholars, 2,- 228; Epworth Leagues, 32; members, 916; or¬ ganized Churches, 41; self-supporting Churches, 7; boarding schools, 4; pupils, 523; day schools, 13; pupils, 344; hospital, 1; dispensaries, 2; patients treated, 20,901; total collections on the field, 4,064; total value of mission property, $257,425. Kobea. This is the most remarkable field in modern missions. Its ripeness and its accessibility challenge the faith of Christendom. The open- mindedness of the people, their sensitiveness to the spirit of truth, the simplicity of their faith, the joy of it, its propagating power, and the he¬ roic devotion of even the youngest converts make it a thrilling chapter in the history of missions. Where can there be found a greater demonstration of the power of the Spirit and of the adequacy of the gospel? Only twenty-five years ago there were no con¬ verts; now there are over 125,000. Only ten years ago our mission was opened by Bishop Hendrix and Dr. C. F. Reid with one member; dow we number 3,545 communicants, 2,536 pro¬ bationers, 95 helpers (including colporteurs and Bible women), and 3,049 Sunday school schol¬ ars. During the past year 1,459 were baptized upon profession of faith, and 54 chapels were built. This is a marvelous record, and yet it could be multiplied tenfold had we the needed force upon the field. The converts become evangelists, and it is not infrequent that a Christian moving into a new community where a missionary has not been seen will gather about him a congregation 1* t 3 ] and teach them as best he can the gospel he has crudely learned. It is impossible to give them the instruction needed with our limited force. The growth, great as it is, does not represent the possibili¬ ties but only the working capacity of our mis¬ sionaries. We need a larger force, and with an adequate number of workers our missionaries believe that in ten years they can evangelize the part of the country allotted to us. Missionaries (including their wives), 39; members, 3,565 (increase, 1,577, almost eighty per cent); Sunday schools, 45; scholars, 3,049; organized Churches, 225; Churches self-support¬ ing, 89; boarding school, 1; pupils, 225; day schools, 2; pupils, 67; hospitals and dispensa¬ ries, 4; patients treated, 9,414; total collections on the field, $4,384; total value of mission prop¬ erty, $66,000. Japan. We began work in Japan twenty-three years ago. The progress has been steady. In May, 1907, the Methodist Church of Japan was formed by the union in one body of the Meth¬ odist Episcopal Church, South, the Methodist Episcopal, and the Methodist Church of Cana¬ da. This united Church began with more than 11,000 members and 100 Japanese preachers. Measured by the reports that come to us and by the actual gain in membership, the work has prospered under the new regime. The Committee on the General State of the Work reports as follows: “The six months since the Annual Conference have proven satisfac¬ tory beyond expectation. The work taken over by the Conference and that remaining under missionary direction have both gone forward with new vigor and continued success. The re¬ lations between the missionaries and the Japa¬ nese pastors and people have been happy. The Japanese leaders, from the Bishop down, have sought the counsel and‘cooperation of the mis¬ sionaries, and have gladly responded to invita¬ tions to work in the missionary circuits. On the other hand, missionaries have rendered val- I 4 ] liable help in charges served by Japanese preachers, and have had frequent invitations to do so.” A few figures may be of interest. In the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at the time of the union there were in our three districts 1,837 members, 15 stations or circuits, 14 church buildings, and 6 parsonages, with 56 Sunday schools and an enrollment of 4,984 scholars. In the last report from the same districts (now included in the Japanese Church) there are 2,- 249 members, 66 Sunday schools, 5,683 scholars, and an increase in one district of at least fifty- nine per cent in the collections for pastoral sup¬ port. In the educational work, which continues under the mission, we have secured government recognition of the Biblical Department of the Kwansei Gakuin. This puts the work upon a more substantial basis and adds greatly to its standing and prestige. The determination upon the part of the Churches in Richmond, Va., to raise $12,000 for a building and equipment for the training of ministerial students will en¬ able us in some adequate measure to meet the demands in Central and Western Japan. Our need is better provision for the evangelistic work of the missionaries, both by increasing the supply of workers and by the renting or build¬ ing of chapels for evangelistic services. The opening of the College Department and the in¬ creased emphasis given to biblical work ought to furnish the native helpers; but the home Church must provide the funds for the chap¬ els and the extension of the work itself. Mexico. Three great forces are working together for the regeneration of Mexico: the public school, industrial progress, and Protestantism. The first gives greater distribution to knowledge. The proportion of illiterates is being steadily reduced. A new intellectual freedom is dawn¬ ing. The class that works only with hands and feet in blind and dumb submission is being re- I 5 ] duced, and the class that thinks and aspires in a noble discontent is being steadily recruited. The industrial progress is creating a wider dis¬ tribution of wealth. Wages have increased from two hundred to four hundred per cent in two decades. The demand for skilled labor has multiplied. The springing up of new industries and the influx of foreign capital have created new demands for labor. All this, while it en¬ riches the few, also adds to the comfort and in¬ dependence of the many. This lifts the tone of self-respect to a higher key and feeds the desire for better things. This emancipation of mind and body is constantly swelling the ranks of Mexico’s greatest need—a vigorous, intelligent, self-respecting middle class who share neither the special privileges of the rich nor the help¬ less submission of the poor. Amid these changes Protestantism has been working like a leaven for thirty years. It acts as a cause and an answer to the new conditions. It not only helps mightily to foster the spirit of inquiry and of personal independence, but brings the evangel of a free gospel, unattended by any despotic hierarchy or bewildering priest¬ craft. Hence the conditions are growing more favorable. We are able now to reach a more intelligent class of people. The progress is es¬ sentially slow, but it is steady, and the day of greater progress is at hand. In 1873 Bishop Keener, in the City of Mexico, laid the foundation of our mission in that coun¬ try. The combined statistics of the Central (organized in 1886), the Northwest (organized in 1890), and the Mexican Border (organized in 1885)—three Mission Conferences in Mexico, which represent the fruits of incessant toil and heroic devotion for over forty years—are: Mis¬ sionaries (including their wives), 61; native traveling preachers, 45; local preachers, 62; members, 7,037 (increase, 216); Sunday schools, 126; scholars, 5,068; Epworth Leagues, 46; members, 1,449; organized Churches, 156; Churches self-supporting, 3; boarding schools, 10; pupils, 1,542; day schools, 8; pupils, 1,476; [ 6 ] hospital, 1; patients treated, 34,327; total col¬ lections on the field, $8,078; value of mission property, $327,176. Bbazil. Methodism is making steady and substantial progress in Brazil. Bishop Hoss presided over the Conference for the fourth time last year, and pronounced it the best that had been held, judged by the returns and by the spirit of the men who participated in the sessions. The at¬ mosphere has cleared, there is no longer any danger of a schism, and the Churches have rest and peace. The way is open to press both evan¬ gelistic and educational work, and nothing is lacking save men and money. In a summarized statement by Rev. H. C. Tucker there are 23 clerical members in full connection, besides those of the South Brazil Mission, where there are 6 clerical members in full connection and 4 on trial. In all there are 95 foreign missionaries and native ordained and local preachers engaged in active service. Including a number of teachers and Bible wom¬ en who give their entire time to Christian work, there are about 120 on the field sustained by the Mission Boards and the native Church. The number of Church members now in the Conference is 4,456, and in the South Brazil Mission 1,158, making a total of 5,614. Thirty years ago we had only 6 members. They are liberal to an unusual degree. Two years ago they averaged $6 per member in their gifts to the Church. There were 208 baptized on profession of faith in the mission and 309 in the Conference during the year. In the eighteen mission schools there were matriculated 1,600 pupils. Including membership, school attendance, Sun¬ day schools, and Epworth Leagues, there are at least 10,000 souls who are being taught and in¬ doctrinated by our workers. This is no mean body, and is one which can be relied upon in the future for the evangelization of Brazil through a native agency. Brother Tucker adds [ 7 ] that more than $12,000 was contributed for the support of the ministry in the divisions of the field—an average of about $2 per member. Our people are not rich, and the cost of living is high. Too much cannot be said concerning the noble spirit of self-denial in which they have devised liberal things for the preaching of the gospel in their midst. The only Methodism working in Brazil is the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The Meth¬ odist Episcopal Church withdrew a few years ago and turned their work over to us. We should prove ourselves equal to the task and worthy of the responsibility. Cuba. The Conference held in Cuba last January celebrated w r ith an interesting Anniversary the close of the tenth year of the mission. If we felt that the call was clear and loud for us to enter that field, the results of the first decade have more than justified the conviction. The growth in membership, in extent of territory, and in influence has been continuous and healthy. We are now intrenched in every im¬ portant city in the island, with fairly good houses of worship and hopeful, earnest, and growing memberships. Prom these centers the work is spreading to the towns and villages. There is a remarkable readiness, often eager¬ ness, to hear the gospel, and this disposition is increasing. At the last Conference a plan was projected for a great stride toward self- support by fixing an assessment on the charges eighty per cent greater than was raised last year, and making the pastors responsible for raising it. This met with the unanimous ap¬ proval of the Conference; indeed, it was hailed with delight as a new note of victory. This will not only increase the income, but it will strengthen the Churches in the noble spir¬ it they have shown from the beginning. This is one mission field in which we are in sight of the possibility of evangelizing “our share” in this generation. We reckon ourselves [ 8 ] responsible for one million of the population. There is no other Methodism to share the field with us. With a few more men and women and increased equipment we will be in the way to discharge our obligation to the island, but not until we have better provisions for the training of a native ministry. The greatest need now is a “School of the Prophets,” where bright young men who are offering for the ministry can be prepared for their work. The need of this, as of every mission, is a strong, intelli¬ gent, consecrated native ministry. We can hardly hope for this till we provide the means to produce it. Candler College is doing much, but it needs enlargement and endowment to make possible its greater work. We are happy to say that through the liberality of a layman we are soon to be in the way to realize this. A suitable and eligible site has been purchased and work is being done on the new building. The results of the labors during these ten years may be gathered from the following sta¬ tistics: Missionaries (including their wives), 32; native traveling preachers, 11; local preach¬ ers, 20; members, 3,001 (an increase of 174); Sunday schools, 43; pupils, 2,315; Epworth Leagues, 14; members, 542; organized Church¬ es, 44; boarding schools, 4; pupils, 608; day school, 1; pupils, 150; collections on the field, $13,794; value of mission property, $209,183. The Home Mission Depabtment. There is a rising tide of interest in home mis¬ sion work. The larger view of missions regards home and foreign missions as essentially one. The evangelization of the world in this genera¬ tion embraces “every creature” in the home land as well as in the foreign field. Home problems year by year become more complex and press for solution. They have not been solved by local Churches and Conference Boards of Missions. Their solution is for con- nectional Methodism. Results demonstrate that the Home Depart¬ ment of the Board of Missions has a field and [ 9 ] renders a distinct service. It is the medium of correspondence and unit of administration for the whole Church in the difficult work of evangelizing the Churchless masses of the large cities, incoming aliens, and other exceptional peoples. The Home Mission Department the past year made substantial progress. For “specials” un¬ der its direction $49,000 was pledged by the laymen during the last round of Annual Con¬ ferences. As fast as this money has been real¬ ized new work has been projected and more missionaries employed. Through Conference Boards of Missions six new missions have been opened among foreign-speaking people in Lou¬ isiana, Texas, and West Virginia. The Board of Missions is doing successful work among the Germans, Bohemians, French, Indians, Cu¬ bans, and Italians. Under a Joint Commission representing the Boards of Missions, Church Extension, and Woman’s Home Mission Society a Port Immi¬ grant Home, with a Sailors’ Department, has been established at Galveston, Tex., and a Sail¬ ors’ House at Gulfport, Miss. This Joint Com¬ mission has inaugurated an aggressive policy for the city of New Orleans whereby a city mission has been located below Canal Street and three downtown Churches have been placed upon a missionary basis. German Mission. When our German Mission in Texas was founded, in 1846, there were probably not more than 10,000 Germans in the State. At the pres¬ ent time 350,000 is a conservative estimate of the German-speaking population of Texas. In spite of the Americanizing influences at work, the German colonies are steadily growing both by birth and immigration. A special committee consisting of German Methodist preachers in reporting conditions says: “In the greater part of the German terri¬ tory in Texas the people are not reached by any gospel agency. The Roman Catholic and Lu- 110 ] theran Churches exercise traditional influence over the people, and tens of thousands are too far from church buildings to attend the Ger¬ man-speaking churches, and few of them are reached with the gospel of any other tongue.” The laymen of Texas during the last round of Annual Conferences pledged $35,000 for a forward movement to evangelize the foreign population of the State. The German Mission Conference, as laborious, self-sacrificing, and devoted a band as is found in all Southern Methodism, led in this movement. Bohemian Mission. Next to the Germans, the Bohemians are the largest foreign-speaking people in Texas. With¬ in the past two years our Church has estab¬ lished Bohemian Missions, with Georgetown and Yoakum as centers of operation, employ¬ ing four native missionaries. Rev. V. Cejnar, the pioneer missionary, teaches a class of ten young Bohemians in Southwestern Univer¬ sity, publishes a paper in the Bohemian lan¬ guage, and superintends the Bohemian work within the hounds of the Northwest Texas Con¬ ference. French Mission. This work is chiefly among the quarter of a million of French-speaking Creoles in the lower part of Louisiana. From the. time of their settlement in this country the entire popula¬ tion has been under the sway of Romanism. Education of the masses has been wofully neg¬ lected, while the absence of the Bible from their homes is lamentable. We now have 3 men laboring successfully among these people. We have 140 members, 40 of whom were re¬ ceived last year. There are 140 in our Sunday schools. Work among Itaxians. Our work among Italians continues to prosper per and enlarge. We now have Italian Missions at Ybor City, Fla., Galveston, Thurher, and Bry¬ an, Tex., in New Orleans, and at two points in West Virginia. No foreign-speaking people in C 111 America are more open to the gospel than the Italians. Our “Little Italy” Mission at Ybor City has ma'de fine progress the past year. Twenty members were received into the Church, making a total enrollment of 199. The Sunday school enrolled 225, and had an average attend¬ ance of 110. The day school had an average at¬ tendance of 200, and the night school of GO. Two of our most efficient Italian pastors were converted and trained in our own “Little Italy” Mission. The possibilities of this plant, lo¬ cated in an Italian colony of 9,000 people, are limited only by the capacity of our buildings and working force. We are in great need of larger church and school buildings. Cubans in Florida. The past year has witnessed a revival of in¬ terest in our Cuban Church at Tampa, Fla. The improving and modernizing of the church, the introduction of some institutional methods, and special efforts of the working force result¬ ed in an enlarged attendance upon the services and a quickened life in the different depart¬ ments of the work. The pastor reported to the Florida Conference 21 new members and 42 on probation. In West Tampa we need at once a well-equipped institutional plant to reach the 7,000 orAnore Cubans and Spaniards in that part of the city who are without the gospel. For this purpose the laymen of the Florida Conference have pledged a special of $5,000. Indian Work. Results have justified the wisdom of segre¬ gating our Indian work among the Five Civi¬ lized Tribes. The past Conference year 366 members were received into the Church, giving a total membership of 2,928. One presiding eld¬ er reports ten new churches and three parson¬ ages. In this district every seventh man is a member of the Methodist Church. The work among the Wild Tribes has been included in the surrounding district for whites. The total membership is 382, with a net gain the past year of twentyone per cent. [ 12 ] Hebrew Mission-. The missionary. Rev. Julius Magath, has de¬ voted his time to the creating of a gen¬ eral interest among Jews and Christians. For the successful development of this work there should be local headquarters with regular serv¬ ices, which would be both a nucleus and an object lesson for the entire Church. A conse¬ crated young Jew is being educated by the Church for mission work among his own peo¬ ple. An earnest exhorter in the mountains of Kentucky and an active steward in New Or¬ leans are other first fruits of the gracious har¬ vest from that nation which was first to hear but has been last to accept Christ’s gospel. Mountain Regions. By action of the General Conference the evangelization of the mountain regions has been made the business of the whole Church. According to the reports of our own represent¬ atives in the mountains, Southern Methodism is far from occupying all the territory, and in places is on the retrograde. In one State her membership in twenty-three mountain coun¬ ties is one and one-half per cent of the three hundred thousand population, and is not as large as it was thirty years ago. In another State and within the bounds of a strong Con¬ ference she has only one pastoral charge with¬ in each of two counties and is without a church in another county. Still another moun¬ tain State is represented as having a district twenty by thirty miles, with twenty thousand inhabitants, in which there is neither church nor preacher of any denomination. The Great West. The West is the Church’s greatest home mis¬ sion field. The population is cosmopolitan, with a tremendous trend from Christianity. It is estimated that two-thirds of the popula¬ tion are not connected with any Church what¬ soever. As a result of statehood in Oklahoma 113 ] modern schoolhouses are being built in the In¬ dian Territory part of the State, which become new community centers and multiply opportuni¬ ties for spreading the gospel. In one presiding elder’s district forty preaching places have been added since the session of the Annual Conference, while it is claimed that sixty new pastoral charges could be formed within the bounds of the Conference. Home seekers by the thousands are rushing into these ter¬ ritories, and must be shepherded and housed. So great is the emergency that presiding elders are literally begging the Church to “send on more men” and the means of assisting in their support. To meet the urgent demands laymen have been pressed into service to organize Churches and pastoral charges. In the Northwest Southern Methodism faces a crisis. Strategic centers must be manned by men of ability and adequately supported, or the field will be lost. Already promising charges have been abandoned. On the other hand, our success in Portland and Seattle, made possible by the liberal donations of the Boards of Mis¬ sions and Church Extension, has been most en¬ couraging. Financial. The financial showing, considering the strin¬ gency of the times, is very encouraging. The total income of the Board for the fiscal year was $593,056. This is an increase over the past year of $52,533. This is the largest amount received any year in the history of the Board, and is the largest increase in twenty years, ex¬ cept one. The most remarkable fact in this financial exhibit is that more than $200,000 of the whole amount was in specials, bequests, and other voluntary gifts, an increase in that line of $60,565 over last year. This is the largest amount and the largest increase in that line in the history of the Board. Twenty Annual Conferences have paid the assessment in full, some of them much more, and there is a grow¬ ing disposition to go beyond the assessment. 114 ] Such, gratifying increase will continue as long as persistent, united efforts are put forth to deepen conviction and then turn that convic¬ tion into action. The standard set by the Board at its Annual Meeting of an average of two dollars a member and a contribution of some amount from every member, together with the “Every Member Campaign” now being carried on throughout the Church, should greatly in¬ crease this amount. The receipts of the Woman’s Foreign Mis¬ sion Board were $238,941. This gives a total for foreign missions of $831,997. This is forty- seven cents a member for our 1,770,631 mem¬ bers—an increase of two cents over last year. The Annual Conferences collected and expended for domestic missions $286,837. The Woman’s Home Mission Society received in cash $127,- 094, and in vouchers for money expended in city mission work $40,724. The sum spent in purely local work was included in these figures last year, but is not this year, which will ac¬ count for the apparent decrease, whereas there was a good increase. The total for domestic missions was $454,665, or 24 cents a member— an increase of 1 cent a member. Adding to¬ gether foreign and domestic receipts, we have a total for missions proper of $1,286,662, or 71 cents a member—an increase of 3 cents. The Church Extension Board raised $183,503. The total for missions and Church Extension was $1,470,165, or 80 cents a member—an increase of 5 cents. Woman’s Fobeign Missionary Society. The Woman’s Board followed the General Board of Missions into China in 1878, sending Miss Lochie Rankin, of Tennessee, as the first missionary. The work extended, Mexico and Brazil being entered in 1881, and Indian Ter¬ ritory, Korea, and Cuba following. For the first decade, from 1878 to 1888, twenty-six mission¬ aries were appointed to China, Mexico, and Brazil. Korea and Cuba were not entered by the Woman’s Board until 1897 and 1900. To-day (1909) there are six countries occu- [ is I pied by the Woman’s Board, with 94 mission¬ aries, 226 assistants, 26 boarding schools, 51 day schools, 5,003 pupils, 128 Bible women, and 525 scholarships. China is well occupied by the Woman’s Board. There are 28 missionaries, besides 53 native teachers and helpers, 8 boarding schools, 31 day schools, 1,179 pupils, 86 Bible women, 3 Bible schools, 104 scholarships, 1 hospital. Mexico has 21 missionaries, 99 teachers and helpers, 19 Bible women, 7 boarding schools, 7 day schools, with 2,745 pupils, and 137 schol¬ arships. Brazil has 22 missionaries, 51 teachers and helpers, 17 Bible women, 52 scholarships, 6 boarding schools, 6 day schools, with 795 pupils. Korea has 12 missionaries, 30 teachers and helpers, 4 boarding schools, 9 day schools, 38 Bible women, 108 scholarships, 262 pupils. Cuba has 4 missionaries, 14 helpers and teachers, 2 boarding and day schools, 332 pu¬ pils, and 31 scholarships. Property owned by the Woman’s Board in China, Mexico, Korea, Brazil, and Cuba, $520,- 000 . Summary. In our six foreign fields we have: Mission¬ aries (including those of the Woman’s Board and wives of missionaries), 292 (increase, 11); native traveling preachers, 90 (decrease, 21); local preachers, 165 (increase, 20); members, 23,454 (increase, 2,464); Sunday schools, 424 (increase, 23); scholars, 21,661 (increase, 1,- 029); Epworth Leagues, 155 (increase, 12); Epworth League members, 5,036 (decrease, 117); organized Churches, 526 (increase, 101); self-supporting Churches, 106 (increase, 1); church buildings, 178; boarding schools, 41 (including schools of Woman’s Board); pupils in boarding schools, 5,492 (including schools of Woman’s Board); day schools, 74 (including schools of Woman’s Board); pupils in day schools, 4,080 (including schools of Woman’s Board); hospitals and dispensaries, 7 (includ- one of the Woman’s Board); patients treated, [ 16 ] 75,202 (including Woman’s Board); total col¬ lected on the field, $48,949 (increase, $8,036); total value of mission property, $1,261,944 (in¬ crease, $8,481). Laymen’s Missionaey Movement. In 1908 the laymen of our Church to the number of one thousand held a Conference in Chattanooga under the presidency of Mr. John R. Pepper. The spirit and purpose of the Conference was one of hearty cooperation with the Board of Missions and the constituted au¬ thorities of the Church in the work of the evangelization of the world. While the genius of the Movement has placed the emphasis upon the foreign field, where it rightly belongs, the interests of the work at home have not been lost sight of. The year’s woi'k has not been so much that of raising money as of the organization of the laymen and the dissemination of missionary in¬ formation. The President has given almost his entire time to correspondence, to visiting Con¬ ferences, including those in the West, and to a careful study of the best method of reaching and qualifying the five hundred thousand men of the Church for any duty the pastor may re¬ quire of them. The Secretary of the Movement elected by the Executive Committee, Mr. W. B. Stubbs, has thrown himself with characteristic zeal and energy into the work of creating an intelligent conception of the Movement, a missionary con¬ science, and a personal sense of financial re¬ sponsibility. At the sessions of the Conferences last fall the leaders adopted plans for raising the missionary income to $1,000,000, according to the Chattanooga resolutions. Every Annual Conference and four-fifths of the districts have been organized by the election of a lay leader, while some 4,000 Churches have their mission¬ ary committees. More than 5,000 copies of “The Call of God to Men” have been sold, and a sec¬ ond edition of 1,000 copies printed. Leaflets to the number of 16 have been issued and 600,000 t 17 ] copies distributed. With the laity of the Church informed, aroused, and in the spirit of prayer and hearty cooperation, we may confi¬ dently expect a great advance in the near fu¬ ture. The Educational Department. Under ever-increasing calls for field service from the Secretary, and constantly multiplying orders for plans and materials for the mission¬ ary education of the Church, the Educational Department has been taxed to the limit of force and funds to meet the demands upon it. The results of the work of the department, how¬ ever, have been gratifying. In some direc¬ tions they have far outrun our expectations. In the following definite lines of work, men¬ tioned in the last report, we are grateful to note development and progress: 1. The making and circulation of missionary literature. 2. The promotion of missionary instruction in the Epworth League. 3. The promotion of missionary education in the Sunday school. 4. The development of missionary knowledge and interest in the schools and colleges. 5. Summer Training Conferences. The demand for literature has geen greater than ever. The books and leaflets, as well as Go Forward, have had an increased circulation. The Sunday school literature has carried the study of missions into the schools. Quarterly lessons have been prepared by the Secretary and published in the quarterlies. They have been received with highest commendation. The Study Classes have been enthusiastic. More than thirty thousand were engaged in the stud¬ ies during the first quarter. This department has established closer con¬ nection with the Student Volunteers of our col¬ leges, which will give them a more intimate knowledge of the Board and its methods and of the fields and their needs. It will also put the Board in touch and sympathy with them during their student life. Thus the work of the [ 18 ] department has not only grown in the lines al¬ ready taken up, but it has also been extended on new lines of effort. The Methodist Training School fob Chris¬ tian Workers. It is just three years since this school was or¬ ganized. During the first session thirty stu¬ dents were enrolled, last session fifty-nine, while this year seventy-six young men and women have been in training for missionary service. Every one of the twelve graduates is now engaged in missionary work—five in the foreign fields and seven in the cities of the home land. There are thirteen members of the senior class this session, all of whom are ap¬ plying for missionary service. Many students who were unable to complete the course of training are devoting themselves wholly to Christian work. The school is now well organized, with a fac¬ ulty of seven teachers, who are confident, en¬ thusiastic, and untiring in their efforts to build up the institution. They deserve the gratitude of this Board for working out a curriculum that seems to be almost ideal for missionary candidates. In order to have facilities for such training the school is- located down in the heart of the city, where it has access to all classes of the city population. Since practically all of our missionary candidates must sooner or later be city workers, this definite and first¬ hand study of the city and training for city missions is of very great value. The school now occupies four brick buildings facing the State Capitol on the east side. In connection with the practical training the school uses two other buildings, where Institutional Churcn methods are adopted—namely, Warioto Settle¬ ment, in North Nashville, and Community Hall, in the center of the city. During the last two days in December the school entertained and otherwise aided the Mis¬ sionary Leaders’ Conference, which brought to¬ gether seventy-three delegates, representing [ 1 »] practically every Conference east of Denver. The school conducted the Midwinter Missionary Institute during the first ten days in January. About eighty delegates were in attendance, and the work and spirit of the entire Institute were exceedingly gratifying. The World Missionary Conference. This meeting is to be held in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 14-24, 1910. It will be composed of 1,100 delegates from all Protestant Churches and mission fields of Christendom. It will be one of the most notable gatherings in the his¬ tory of the Church. The whole field of mis¬ sions is being studied beforehand by eight ex¬ pert commissioners. They will bring to the Conference a mass of information which will reveal the weakness and strength of missionary method, etc. Our Church is entitled to 31 dele¬ gates—19 to be chosen by the Parent Board and 12 to be chosen by the Woman’s Board. They are to be chosen by a committee appointed by the Board. No expense of travel has been provided for. Our Board was honored in the election of its Senior Secretary by the In¬ ternational Committee as Vice Chairman of the Second Commission, “The Native Church and Its Work.” [ 20 ]