oreign Mission Journal
l»i(MI«licd Monthly by tho I'oreign
ЛН«н1оа
Bourd ot the Southmi
ИщШы
Coincntlou.
"ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. GO YE , THEREFORE , AND TEACH ALL NATIONS."
Vol. 13. — Now Series.
Ibiterml at till) l’oHt-Ollloo nt Richmond, V».. us Bocond-
1 cliiss matter.]
FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL.
RATES PER ANNUM :
One copy . . . . . . . . . M ct«
Four copies nml over, to uno address, each . tin cts.
WI'Imim» remit by Draft, Postal Order, or In Heitlutered
Letter, and notify ns fitOMl'Ti.Y of tiny change In ndilress.
Address, FOREION MISSION JOURNAL.
RICHMOND, Va.
FOREIGN MISSION BOARD
Of THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION,
Locatbu at RICHMOND, VlItaiNIA.
PitKHlUKNT— .1. Is. M.
О Ш1К
Y.
Vir«-l’ni£«ii>KNTS.— lllrnm
Л\’оо11е,
Md., J. A. Ilackott,
Lit , W. II. Kirk, Va., H. II. McCnllum, Kin., T. II. Prltch-
nrd, N. U,
.Г,
I,, Burrows, Ky„ S. Ilendersou, Alabama,
W Polio Ventnnn, Mo., J. li. I.lnk, Texas, W I.. Kilpatrick,
(In., J. O. Kiirnmti, S. ().. Matt. Ilillsman, Teitn., T. P.
Upy, Ark., XI. P. Dowry, Miss.
OoitimsroNDiMi SkciiKTAitY— U. A. TUPPEK.
TitBASmiKii— .1. O. V.’II.I.I.VMS,
Km-oiiih.no SKCiiKTAiiY— W. II. OWATHMEY.
AfotTOn— JOSEPH V. OOTTREI.b.
Hocitbiie Manaokuh. — J. II. Hawthorne, J. II. Watkins, H.
K. Elly son, W. F„ Hatcher. K. Wortham, Henry McDonald,
w. Ooddnt, II. H. Harris, J. Pollard, Jr., .1. W. Julius, A. II.
Clarke, J. II. Winston, T. J. Evnns, O. II. Winston, S, O.
Olopton. _
t-3
II communications in reference to the business
0/
this Hoard should be addressed to II.
А.
Tui-1
Cbrrcsjiondiny Secretary, Richmond, Va.
CONTRIBUTIONS.
Tlio churches must semi. In the next month,
$К1,2У9.41,
to equal their last year's contributions,
ami meet the deficit, of that year.
SUNDAY-SCHOOLS AND MISSIONS,
A young hilly told us that she requested her Sun¬
day-school class to bring something— say, one or
two conu — lor papers and books, and other
espouses of the school ; and that one of the littlo
girls said: “I will bring Jive cents, If you lmye
something for me to bring It for.” The child,
Without Intending the least relleetlon on the ex¬
cellence of the papers and hooks, etc., evidently
did not think that these things for themselves were
“anything” for Sunday-school scholars to bring
their own money for. She did not pay for her
books, and other expenses in the week-day school,
(and her parents and teachers do not think that such
Payment is necessary to train the child to solf-sup-
port in after-life,) and she felt instinctively that she
should have something outside of herself, and class,
and school, for the exercise of her self-denial, and
her benevolence. Anil was there not something of
truth and wisdom In the reply of tills little ten year
old girl ?
Suppose this child brings her cent, or two cents
for Sumlay-8chool papers and hooks, admirable aa
they are, how much better and more elevated Is the
little thing after the act than heforo? Has she not
only strengthened the principle of self-love, which Is
sh'ong enough already, in young and old? How
much enthusiasm or self-sacrifice for charity and
Christ could that teacher arouse in her class, by expa¬
tiating on tho excellence of thocxccllontpapersand
hooks of the Sunday-school, even though she havo
the tongue of an angel 1
Rut suppose that next door to the school there
a a poor sick child, with no proper food, nor oloth-
RICHMOND, VA., APRIL, 1881.
No. 1.— Whole No. 133.
Ing, nor medical attention ; suppose that on the
other side of the globe, there are many little gills
destroyed by their parents, who know' no better»
and have no Rlblo to teach them of Jesus and of
his Salvation. Suppose this teacher should keep
before the miud of her cluss this poor little sick
child, or these poorer, perishing pagan; who does
not see that the hearts of her pupils would awake
In sympathy, and that they would gladly deny
themselves, and bring cheerfully their live cents,
or ten cents, and become thereby deepened and
elevated, and more Ohrist-llko In their character *
and purhaps some of them become messengers of
mercy and love, to the sullerlng around them —
missionaries of the cross, to tho “ regions beyond?’»
llut if the money of the children be given for
those benevolent purposes, how shall the necessary
expenses of the school bo met? Let the expenses
be mot as the expenses of other schools are met.
Parents, or the public, bear the expenses of the
week-day school. The church Is the parent of the
Sunday-school. If the parent church cannot bear
Clio expenses, then some association of churches,
which is the public to Sunday-schools, should do it.
Ilow would it do to lot the school pay part, and the
church part? A mixed motive never produced a
hero or a martyr. If tho object of the Sunday-
3cliool is to train for moral and spiritual life, let
the training be such as Is lit to develop the linost
types of moral and spiritual character. And there
is no work for which a church will give more freely
than for its Sunday-school. Some persons will
give to this object who would give to no other.
Thus the Sabbath-school may not only get liberal
support from the church ; but It uiay bo the means
of exciting more fully the benevolence of the
church. And docs not tills support make a direct
appeal to the missionary, the Christian spirit of the
church? A high authority says : “All the argu¬
ments and reasons which may be urged for the ex¬
tension of the gospel on the earth by any agency,
will apply with equal force to this, and receive in
addition all the peculiar obligations and promises
which connect the Interests and hopes of the gos¬
pel so peculiarly and especially with the young.”
The school, as has been said, is the child of the
church. Whether Us child by generation or adop¬
tion, it is the child of tho Christian spirit of the
church, just as is the foreign missionary work. If
this Sunday-school child Is loving and dutiful to the
church, seeking its counsel, and subject to Its loving
will, is anything more natural than that it should
bo sustained by the parent church? If the child
should be somewhat wayward, let the church be
wise anil not cast it on Its own support, to become
more independent and less loving. The tendency
of tho Baptist principle of soul liberty Is to draw
oil" from tho church centre. Hence the many class
societies in the church. The way to meet this ten¬
dency Is to strengthen the drawing in tendency of
the central body. The Sunday-school, comprehend¬
ing all classes of the church, is the most Important
to he drawn to tho heart of tho church. What can
do that better than giving It support? Let the
centripetal force ho equal to the centrifugal, and
Baptist polity presents the most harmonious sys¬
tem consistent with varied intelligence and the
glorious liberty of the children of God.
But the school la not only the child of the church
to he conciliated, hut a pupil, to bo trained to be
the future church Itself. Hence, it
1з
of the last
Importance, that not only the personal conversion
of the scholars should he aimed at; but that
they should he disciplined In that most dllllcult
and most necessary practical duty of making
Fit EE- WIKI, OFFERINGS TO THE LORD, for tllU
extension of his kingdom on earth. The grace
of giving Is a thing of habit; it is something that
must he learned in youth, if ever ^earned thoroughly
at all. Ami that the church must abound here¬
after in her offerings to God’s treasury, is estab¬
lished by the fact of God’s providence already
opening the whole world for the labor of his peo¬
ple. The great problem heforo Southern Baptists
to-duy is : How can the masses of God’s people he
made to see tho whitening harvests of souls, and
enter by men or means into the universal har¬
vesting? The Southern Baptist Convention ap¬
pointed a committee to report at its forthcoming
meeting on this very subject. Let that committee
not overlook the Sunday-school scholar, as a fac¬
tor— perhaps the most important— for the solution
of the dllllcult problem ! Let not the churches
fall to show their appreciation of their Sabbath-
schools, as the feeders of benevolence, and to reap
the rich harvests of spiritual and material benellt
from them, by withholding from them cheerful
and liberal support.
Hear what says Dr. Tyng, who devoted forty
years to the special observation of Sunday-school
work. With regard to the church of thcEpiphany:
“ We founded this church with the distinct under¬
standing and plan, that the Sunday-school should
be the main and prominent object of regard, aud
its convenience and successful operation thoroughly
provided for; and we carried out this principle
completely.” Hear his testimony as the result of
Ids long experience : “ I desire to record my testi¬
mony as tlm result of my whole experience,” of
forty years, “ that in my judgmont, there is uo de¬
partment of Christian labor more vitally lntlnontial
upon the triumphs of the gospel ; more reunmera-
tlve In its immediate results of blessing to tho
souls engaged ; more eilectivc in maintaining and
enlarging the bestinterestsof the Christian church,
and the most elllcient operation of tho Christian
ministry,” than the Sabbath-school work. Hear
him again, on the exact point in hand : “The pro¬
visions for the school should bring out the unspar¬
ing liberality of the church. Nothing that can
promote tho comfort, eularge the usefulness, or
adorn and render attractive the methods of opera -
tion, within tho power of the members of tho
church, bhould he withhold. Tho Sunday-school Is
worthy of the ilrst place In the all'ectLoris and con¬
sideration of every church. The advantages which
It repays make it au investment of incalculable
worth. In no way can the churches of the Lord
so surely rise and shine, so certainly extend and
prosper, so largely bless and ho blessed, as In tho
constant, earnest, and faithful cultivation of their
Sunday-schools.” Wo add hero that the Sahhath-
scliool of Ids St. George’s church requested tho
privilege of supporting itself ; but the church posi¬
tively refused. And well It might. It gave the
Sabbath-school $100 per annum, and the Sunday-
