Tam - t&l Ofli'-SC. - The Church School of Missions By WILLIAM A. HILL Department of Missionary Education BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE NORTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 276 Fifth Avenue, New York City 1921 What Constitutes a Missionary Motive in Christianity? JAMES FREEMAN CLARKE answered as follows: The Missionary impulse is the re¬ sponse of the Christian’s heart to the truth of God as seen in these three aspects: 1. What the Gospel is to God who gave it. 2. What it is to us who have received it. 3. What it is to those who have not yet received it. V THE CHURCH SCHOOL OF MISSIONS What is it? T HE Church School of Missions is the new idea of great promise in mission study. It is the whole church membership organized into graded classes, studying simultaneously for a period of from six to ten weeks, the whole world field. It is not a theory. It is a clearly con¬ ceived and successfully operated plan of missionary education which seeks to include the entire church in its classes. It has passed beyond the experimental stage, and is being commended on every hand. It has been tried by many churches large and small, city, suburban and rural, in our own and other denominations throughout the United States, and all are enthusiastic about it. It is adaptable to local conditions. It works. SOME RESULTS The Church School of Missions has a fine record of achievement in California, as the following figures show: Church School church town Member- Enroll- ship ment First Christian . . Pomona .... 650 267 First Congregational ... .Pasadena .. 800 150 First Christian . . Whittier . . . 370 150 First Presbyterian. .Pasadena ... 1864 250 Immanuel Presbyterian. .Los Angeles. 2440 600 Westlake Presbyterian.. .Los Angeles. 251 75 Presbyterian . . Santa Ana. . 894 221 Presbyterian . . Monrovia .. . 331 150 Presbyterian . .Covina . 194 71 Pico Heights Christian.. .Los Angeles. 200 104 First Christian. . Riverside . . . 500 125 The First Baptist Church, Indiana¬ polis, Indiana, conducted a Church School of Missions, which it advertised as “A Win¬ ter’s Night College,” and had seven classes studying the Baptist Survey for nine weeks, with the following record of attendance: CLASS ENROLLMENT AVERAGE ATT. Men . 79 57 Women . 142 91 Senior Girls.. . . 27 18 Senior Boys. 25 16 Junior Girls.... 40 23 Junior Boys. . .. 32 26 Primary . 48 35 393 266 Record of Attendance by Weeks Jan. Jan. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Mar. Mar. Mar, 23 30 5 12 19 26 4 11 18 Men .... 90 60 46 47 38 56 48 54 75 Women . .110 93 97 101 89 95 69 70 97 Classes were attended by official boards. Enterprise directed by the young men of the church. New World Movement Allotment.$290,000.00 Voluntarily increased to. 300,000.00 Actually subscribed over. 306,000.00 The First Baptist Church, Lynn, Mas¬ sachusetts, had a most successful School, using the Survey as their basis of study. They met at 5 :30, when a cafeteria supper was served. At 6 :30 they went into their classes, which were followed by the prayer service. The testimony of the pastor was that they never enjoyed such prayer meet¬ ings as following these sessions studying the needs of the field. This church more than made its quota in the New World Movement. First Baptist Church of Redlands, California, has held for four seasons a “Church School of Missions.” The first and second sessions of the School used the regular study text book, while the third used “The Survey.” The first school had five classes, the men averaging 35, women, 44, Senior B. Y. P. U. 45, High School B. Y. P. U. 23, Junior 23. In the second school there were eight classes, and the total attendance each week ran 268-275-263- 276-287-294. The third session of five weeks with seven classes averaged 196. The 5 results noted are: Reading of missionary literature was increased, the men organized for mission study, and a group of Japanese children was brought into the Bible School, as a result of studying “Americanization.” The fourth session has closed recently, and the following figures are significant: Additions to Church Membership to November, 1920 .187 Total Church Membership.663 Church School of Missions—largest attendance. .321 —lowest attendance. .252 Allotment—New World Movement.$67,250 Subscribed—New World Movement. 68,185 First Baptist Church of Riverside held two series of studies under the “School of Missions, ’ ’ planning one in the fall and one in the spring months; in each case having six classes with total enrollment of about 300 people. The School which was held just prior to the hour of evening service, made the young people’s hour throb with new life and interest, and increased the at¬ tendance at the evening service; and last, but not least, was a potent factor in putting the church “over the top” with its quota in the New World Movement. First Baptist Church of San Bernar¬ dino, California, held three sessions of 6 ‘ ‘ School of Missions, ’ ’ meeting Sunday eve¬ nings at 6 :30 P. M., the attendance ranging from 100 to 164, the large proportion being young people. The last evening each class put on a special demonstration of the work covered in the course, and four young men made a confession of Christ and united with the Church the following week. Five young people offered themselves for Chris¬ tian life service and led in very generous pledges of money toward the New World Movement. The school also has one worth¬ while missionary play each winter, and is now planning to give “The Heroine of Ava” as appropriate to follow the study of “The Bible and Missions.” The Sixth Avenue Church in Tacoma, Washington, has recently completed its first School of Missions. It continued for eight weeks with an enrollment of ninety, and an average of eighty. It was held at the B. Y. P. U. hour, and the Pastor made the evening church services correspond to the study program. Special missionary sermons and demonstrations, including a Pageant, gave added interest to the study, and among the results mentioned are a new community consciousness and a better idea of the kind of building needed to carry on their work. 7 How one Church advertised the SCHOOL ( SIXTH AVENUE TACOMA, October 3 to 1 T HE purpose of the School of Missions is 1 ship in a brief, intensive study of miss a graded system of classes from Junior The school will meet each Sunday evening various departments for the study for one hour service at which special features, demonstrations: ning of October 3, Dr. A. W. Rider, of Los An TEE STUDY BOOKS TO JUNIORS— Lamplighters Across : INTERMEDIATES— Frank Higgii SENIORS— The Bible and Missio ADULTS— The Church and the ( The adult department will probably be divider E N R O I wish to enroll in the. endeavor to attend each Sunday evening. (Detach enrolh an ' MISSIONS APTIST CHURCH ASHINGTON ' vember 21, 1920 3 enrollment of a large percentage of our member- .5 in America and foreign countries. There will be •3 adults. (3:45, and after a very brief assembly will go to the This will be followed immediately by a short evening ,id illustrated addresses will be given. On the eve- ;es, California, will be the speaker. USED ABE AS FOLLOWS: e Sea . Applegarth Trail Blazer . Whittles .. .. Montgomery :iiunity . Diffendorfer %to two classes; one for men and one for women. L M E N T department of the School of Missions, and will 'igned . t slip and hand in) TESTIMONIAL BRIEFS “In June, 1920, the twelfth annual School of Missions Study was held in Los Angeles, with sessions in the Temple and First Baptist Churches. Growing interest and large attendance resulted.” “One great advantage of this plan is that it pours the forces of the church, all classes, into the study hour, without the peril of old people monopolizing the young people’s hour, for these groups are kept in separate classes, and at the same time it induces all elements to remain to the evening service.” “Your inquiry of the 20th ult., regard¬ ing Schools of Missions in Southern Cali¬ fornia is at hand. In our Covina church we had three classes—men, women and young people. We met at six on Sunday evening. Studied Brooks’ Christian Americanization. There were sixty en¬ rolled. Average attendance perhaps fifty. We had the matter presented at a Sunday morning service before the classes began, and passed cards to be signed for joining the classes. Classes lasted six weeks. It was a success, and we propose to work it again. The men’s class was the first men’s missionary study class ever conducted in the church.” EFFECT UPON YOUNG PEOPLE’S SOCIETY, AS REPORTED BY REV. A. W. RIDER “Many a Young People’s Society has grown lifeless, and its constant emphasis on a testimony meeting has not availed to lift it out of a rut. In numerous cases, a short interval of participation in this study 10 course has sent the young people back, fired with new ideals of life service, which have revolutionized the work of the society.” 11 The attendance at these schools has fre¬ quently ranged from 200 to 250 in churches where the usual attendance at the Young People’s Societies had been but fifty. The large number of students going from the School of Missions into the evening service in numerous instances has carried life into hitherto listless evening congregations.” PREPARATION Getting ready is very important. All plans should be made in close co-operation with the Pastor, the leaders of the Sunday School, of Young People’s Work, and of the Woman’s Societies. Wherever possible, ap¬ point a Cabinet or Special Committee on which each society and department will be represented. Where there happens to be a Missionary Committee or a Committee on Religious Education, this may be charged with the responsibility. This Cabinet or Committee should ap¬ point the following sub-committees many weeks in advance of the opening of the School: The Committee on Courses and Leaders will decide subjects of study and of lectures (if any), will see that the books are ordered and that leaders are secured and are given to under¬ stand just what is wanted of them. The Committee on Publicity or Promotion will devise and use appro¬ priate means to arrest attention and win response of all church people. 11 The Committee on Enrollment will secure definite enrollment of as many as possible, and will see that final an¬ nouncement of arrangements reaches those enrolled, and that text-books are in their hands before the first session. The Committee on Equipment will see that necessary rooms, tables, black¬ boards, maps and stereopticon are pre¬ pared, and that matters of temperature and arrangement of chairs are attended to. THE TIME Sessions of the Church School of Missions should be held once a week for from six to ten weeks at whatever time in the year is most convenient to the particular church. The majority of churches have held the School of Missions on the evening of the midweek meeting. (Incidentally, it has solved the problem of the midweek meeting in a large number of cases.) Others prefer Sunday evening. Still others have selected a separate evening for the School. The choice should fall upon whichever evening promises the attendance of the largest pro¬ portion of the congregation. In some cases certain classes in the School of Missions, as for example groups of women, meet during the day at an hour convenient to the members. CLASSES AND CLASSIFICATION The number of classes will depend on the church membership and leaders procurable. It is best not to have the classes too large, as the method best adapted to their use is 12 that of free discussion. The lecture method is not recommended. Classes should be provided for all ages so that parents may come and enter classes knowing their chil¬ dren are being taught by specially prepared leaders. The following is a suggested classification, small congregations combin¬ ing where necessary and large congrega¬ tions providing more classes as seems ad¬ visable : Primary Class Junior Boys’ Class Junior Girls’ Class Intermediate Boys’ Class Intermediate Girls’ Class Young People’s or Seniors’ Class Men’s Class—Foreign Book Women’s Class—Foreign Book Men’s Class—Home Book Women’s Class—Home Book COURSES Most churches will wish to have studied the current mission study books on Home and Foreign Missions. Some will wish to use the Baptist Survey, which is our de¬ nominational text-book for the New World Movement. Others will wish to study some special field or theme within the broad range of Home and Foreign missions. The regular study books, however, are recom¬ mended. MISSION STUDY TEXT-BOOKS FOR 1921 Uome Adult—“ From Survey to Service” .H. Paul Douglass Youna People — “Playing Square With Tomorrow” Fred Eastman Intermediate — “Making Life Count” .. Eugene C. Foster Junior —“Stay at Home Journeys” Agnes Wilson Osborne 13 Foreign Adult —1. “The Kingdom and the Nations” . .Eric North 2. “Why and How of Foreign Missions” (Revised Edition).Arthur J. Brown Young People —“World Friendship, Inc.” J. Lovell Murray Intermediate — “A Noble Army”.. Ethel Daniels Hubbard Junior —“Under Many Flags” Mrs. E. C. Cronk and Elsie Singmaster Home and Foreign “The Baptist Survey” Stewardship “The Withered Fig-Tree”— Studies in Stewardship, E. M. Poteat HELPS Baptist Survey Hand-Books “The Mission Study Class” (revised)-T. H. P. Sailer “The Mission Study Class Manual” .B. C. Millikin “The Mission Study Class Method” .Dorothea Day Suggestions to Leaders, for study books. The City Library is a valuable aid, and will provide books and lists of references if previously requested. For 1922-23, general themes have been chosen, and the authors selected, but no an¬ nouncement is yet ready. The subject for Foreign study will be India, and for Home study the Race Question. LEADERS Let not churches look to outside ‘ 1 Spe¬ cialists” to lead their classes. The best re¬ sults will come in churches which provide their own leaders. It can be done. Large numbers of churches have done it. Select persons with some real teaching ability as 14 well as interest in the subject and willing¬ ness to put in some good, hard work. The excellent helps provided by the Boards will enable such a leader to do good work. If possible, the leaders should meet sev¬ eral times for training before their classes begin. Better still, let them attend a Sum¬ mer Conference or a Winter Institute or a Community Denominational or Interde¬ nominational Normal class. THE PASTOR’S PART Experience shows that in almost every case where a Church School of Missions has been a conspicuous success, it has had the enthusiastic backing of the Pastor. Often he has trained the leaders, sometimes he has taken a class in the School. He should usually have the closing period of worship in his care. In preparation for the School, and it may be also to tie up its impressions, he should make missions and the large ideas of the School prominent in his preaching. No one can better adver¬ tise the School. If he assumes the attitude, “Here’s a great opportunity and we’re all going to make the most of it, ’ ’ he can great¬ ly stimulate attendance. The Pastor will want to keep very close to the work of the School, and the impres¬ sions being made in it, that he may conserve its results. For specific information concerning the Church School of Missions, and other plans for missionary education, write the Depart¬ ment of Missionary Education, 276 Fifth Avenue, New York City. 15 7 T is strange how some Christians can with¬ hold from the world, without compunction, the best news that ever came into it.” v No. 21-M.E.-II-15M-June, 1921