Foreign Mission Journal, January 1887

FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAK Published monthly by tlio Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.; f , “ALL. POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. GO YE', THEREFORE, AND TEACH ALL NATIONS.” Vol. 18 — New Series. RICHMOND, VA„ JANUARY, 1887. No. 6.— Whole No. 222. [Entered nt the l’ost ut Richmond, Va., nn *econ<t-cla»s rnutier.J KATES PER ANNUM : I. For papers *epamtoly addressed, either to name or to different post ollltee: One copy . . . ЗЛ cia. Three copies *1, or . 83K ct*. apiece. II. For pnekajree eent to one person, who shall bn reej*oneible for their distribution! Four copies for *1, or more at . .25 cte. apiece. Twenty-five copies for 45. or more at . 20 cte. apiece. One Hundred copies for $16, or more nt.Jrt ot* apiece’ ДЭ-Пеаее remit by Draft, Postal Order, or hi Regis¬ tered better, and notify us pitOMl'Tl.Y of any change in address, Address, FOREIGN MISSfON JOURNAL. Richmond, Va. NORTH CAROLINA CONVENTION. Tills large body, numbering its members Foreign Mission Journal. by humlreds- mel w,th the First cl,Mrch- FOREIGN MISSION BOARD OF THE 80UTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION, LOCATED AT RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. l'nltlDBNT— II. H, IlAIIlllS. YicB.pni£t*iDXNT8.— Joshua Levering, Md., C. W. Tomkins, La,, (3. II. Winston. Va.. N. Л. ituiley, Fia., Theo. Whlin.M, N.O., <1. 1». IInpbv»Ky.,.T. J. li.Hnn- troe, Alabama, It. S. lluncon, Mo., II. It. Carroll, Texas, W. I,. Kilpatrick, Oa„ Cline. Manly, S. O., J, M. Senter, Tenn.. J. II. Searcy, Ark., Geonte Whitfield, Mlse., W. F. Attkisson, W. Va. COnnxerONDINa SKCnETAnY— H. Л. TUPPER, TnxAScnxn — .T. O. WILLIAMS IUconDino SxcnETAiiY II. CLARKE. ADDiTon— JOSEPH F. COTTUELL. Волво or MANAOkne _ II. K. Ellyion, J. П. Win¬ ston. W. E. Hatcher, Г, W. Jones, J. Pollard. Jr., S. O. Clcptm. J. II. llut'on. W. D. Thomas, \V. W. Landrum, W J, Shlpmnn. Geo. Ocnppr. 11. W, Power., О. H. Hyland, 11 . C. Horned, T. 1*. Mathews. DSTAll communications in reference to the business of this Hoard should be addressed to H. A. Tupper, Corresponding Secretary, Richmond , Га. HOW MUCH HAVE YOU DONE? The year 18S6 is gone; gone never to re¬ turn. In tlie 365 days that made it, there came lo you many opportunities for doing good. Have you improved them? During this year now gone, many appeals came to you for help in carrying on the work of the Lord among the nations. Have you heeded them? How much have you done for this great cause, the cause that brought your Lord and Master from heaven, and led him to the cross? In tills past year God lias given you much. How much have you given him? Have you given more than a miserable little pittance that you could easily spare? Have you given enough to feel it? feel it in the loss of some comfort or luxury that you have given up? lias there been any earnest purpose in your giving, or lias it been done in a careless, thoughtless, prayerless way, as a mere matter of routine? CONVENTION NOTES. The meeting of the General Association of Virginia called us away from home almost before we had rested from the trip to the Arkansas Convention, The Association, like most of our State bodies, devoted much time and thought to State missions. This special work had been vigorously pushed for twelve months, and the amount contributed to it was larger than ever be¬ fore. Some of tlie increase must have been at the expense of foreign missions, as tlie contributions to this cause fell short during the year over a thousand dollars. Tlie one ye ought to have done, brethren, ye ought to have increased your State mission con¬ tributions, but the oilier ye ought not to have left undone. Ye ought not to have let your contributions lo foreign missions fall short. However, the fact that Virginia had fallen behind, when brought to tlie at¬ tention of the brethren, elicited from many promises of better tilings. Will these promises be remembered ? Would it not be well for the brethren to begin to redeem them at once? ,-iVirginia must not fall short of her Ji3,5oofpr'tlio year ending April 30th. Home'for'a day, and then a wav to tlie Wilmington. Tlie impression made on tlie mind of an attentive listener to the pro¬ ceedings was that lie was in the presence of a body of strong men, who are enthusiasti¬ cally set to advancing the Baptist cause in North Carolina. When they spoke of taking North Carolina for “Christ and the Baptists,” they evidently meant to try it, and believed they could do it. The fine report made by tlie State Mission Board, and the magnificent work being done for Wake Forest College, indicate that their works are going hand in hand with their faith. But let us not be understood as implying that our brethren in North Carolina are looking not beyond their own borders, The record of contributions to the Boards of the Southern Baptist Convention shows better things of them. North Carolina is the only State which, up to the time of writing this, has given more than half of its quota to foreign missions. How can she lag in tlie work of foreign missions with Yates and Bryan and Herring all in the field ? God has honored her greatly. She will rise.to meet the responsibility that have come witli the honor. and keep him supplied with at least one of our best weekly papers," and send occa¬ sionally some good books, such as culti¬ vated people at home are reading and talk¬ ing about. If our missionaries' tables could have on them some of tlie books that lie 011 ours, what a source of comfort and pleasure it woultl be to them. Then occasional let¬ ters— not formal letters about missionary work, but loving, friendly letters, that would lend the missionary to unburden his heart to a friend, and so fin'd relief for long pent up troubles— would be sweet and comforting to our hard worked ones, Who will try it ? SOUTH CAROLINA next claimed our attention. But between tlie two Conventions a few days intervened. How pleasantly they were spent in Colum¬ bia, the home of our youth, among friends and loved ones. It seemed not a little strange to us to he received as “a visiting brother” in the Convention with which we had been so closely connected for ten years, especially when the body was assembled in the church in which we professed faith in Christ, where we were buried with him in baptism, and in which wedid our first work for him. The Convention was the largest we have ever seen in the State. An excellent spirit was manifested, and careful attention was given to all tlie various interests of God’s kingdom, Of course South Carolina will raise her quota for foreign missions this year. Noboby expects anything else. The report of tlie Committee 011 Foreign Mis¬ sions came up at such a late hour on Satur¬ day that we had barely time to make a little talk and leave for the train. Ollier brethren waited to take lip the subject, and we feel sure that good words were said and that good work was and will be done for the great cause. But if the little State continues to bold tlie banner she will have to do some good work between now and the 30th April next. KIND WORDS PUBLICATIONS, We have long felt that it would be well A TOUCH OF HOME LIFE. At a late Baptist missionary conference held in Bristol, England, the President of tlie conference made an address which was full of sound sense and practical sugges¬ tion. Among other things, he said this: All our missionaries require to be kept more in touch with home life." That this is so, we may learn not only from tlie letters of our missionaries, but we can see for our¬ selves, by a moment’s thought. Away from ail the associations by. which they have been surrounded all their fives, and cast into new, strange, and often most trying and objection¬ able surroundings, cut oiT from all horiic ties and isolated in the midst of people en¬ tirely unlike home people, how our mission¬ aries must long for a touch of home life. How shall they be kept jn sympathy with this home fife ? How can they be kept “ in touch” with It? It is suggested in the address “that some friend, who cannot him¬ self go to tlie heathen, should consent to he the alter-ego of some missionaryjin the field, for our Home Mission Board, or some. other Southern organization, to issue a scries of Sunday-school helps for use in our own Southern schools. Leaving out of conside ration other reasons which led to this feeling, wo will mention only one, viz: we need to have our Sunday-school scholars made familiar with tlie mission work of our Con¬ vention. If this he done at all, it must be done through and in connection witli their regular lessons. No other plan we have ever seen tried lias proved more than partially successful. What they need is to have our work put before them in sucli way that it becomes part of their studies, for them to study and be examined upon even as upon the doctrines and practices that are set fortii in the lessons, Now it i3 manifestly impossible for any set' of publications, not controlled by our own people, to furnisli the necessary infor¬ mation and make tlie necessary arrange¬ ments for imparting it. When the lesson suggests a missionary topic, all that can be done by any other publications will be to present general missionary ideas, and to give general missionary information. We want specific information with regard to our own work, along with general ideas on mis¬ sionary subjects. But we set out to speak of the new Sunday school helps put out by our Home Mission Board, samples of which have been received by us. And we are glad to be able to com¬ mend them most heartily to all our Sunday- schools. Tlie quality of the contents is guaranteed by the names of those who have agreed to prepare these contents'. They are among our foremost scholars add thinkers— our leaders. Tlie get up of the pamphlets is not quite as good as we had expected, although they present a neat and attractive appearance. With tiie use of a little better paper there will be nothing wanting in this respect. Taken altogether, they are of a kind to make us glad that they are to be issued for tlie use of our schools ; and we shall expect to find them of great help in advancing all the great interests of our Southern Baptist Convention. We sincerely hope that they will lie generally used by our schools, that so our Home Mission Board will be en¬ couraged in its laudihie eilorts to supply a long felt want, and our great missionary enterprises be advanced, SHALL OUR MISSIONARY CREASED, FORCE BE IN- As that question is asked every true Christian answers in the affirmative. All over our southern Baptist Zion, brethren are asking why tlie number of our mission¬ aries is not increased. Some are even in¬ clined to castblame on the Board, and ac¬ cuse tlie brethren composing it of lack of proper-enterprise and push in this matter. Certainly more missionaries ought to be sent out.- I /. 1 • VI • *V' „».i .it uj •. And yet there is no increase being made at present, nor does there seem to be nny prospect that there will be soon. Why is this ? (1). Not because there are noplaces- in the mission fields needing new men. 1 Not a mission have we that does not need re¬ inforcement. Hardly a letter comes from our missionaries but it comes burdened-' with the cry for more men nnd women to- enter the fields already prepared for litem.. In the October number of the Journal, Miss- Lottie Moon pleads for no less than six, men and women to occupy towns and cities- where missions have already been estab¬ lished, or which have been visited anil the' way opened for their establishment., , ,Dr. Graves and brother Simmons beg for' men,, until their begging grows monotonous,. and' we are almost wearied by their much call¬ ing. Bryan and Herring are only two.of a dozen that Dr. Yates wants to carry, tlie gospel into inner China. Bagby pud Tay¬ lor in Brazil, Powell in Mexico, David in Africa, Eager in Italy, only echo tlie cries- from China. These requests are empha¬ sized by tiie necessity there has been for so many of our missionaries returning with health so seriously impaired that return is out of the question with some, and very doubtfuf in the case of others. (2) Not because there are ho men and women who are will¬ ing to go. There are now in tlie hands" of our Corresponding Secretary applications from forty or fifty men and women for ap¬ pointments to mission fields. These’, ser¬ vants of God not only 6fler' themselves, '-put earnestly plead to be sent. They tell how God has moved upon their hearts, until they have become not only willing, but exceed¬ ingly anxious to go. Choice men and wo¬ men some of them are, well qualified to do great work for' tlie Lord. Yet, although they are so much needed, the Board docs not and cannot even consider seriously their applications. Why? Simply because tlie money is wanting to send them out and support them, 2'Ле con¬ tributions oj the churches since May 1st have not been sufficient to support the missions at they now stand. The churches have, in.the- time specified, failed, by #20,000, to furnish- tlie Board witli enouglt money, to carry on - tlie present work. With this serious, and 1 considering what tlie work is, solemn fact. „ staring them in tlie face all tlie time* liow can tlie Hoard send out more men and wo¬ men ? ShAll they send them out to'slarvq ? ' - Shall they send their brethren out, among the heathen, -away from home and lovedi ones, when there is no prospect of sufiply- ing their wants while there? Remember, .. dear reader, tlie Board lias no income;save the gifts of tlie Lord’s people. When these • fail to supply money enough to support the workers tlie work must cease. Why can therp be.no increase In tlienum-- ber of our missionaries ? Why are the np- - peals coming from our mission fields for re¬ inforcement unheeded ? Why are the; ap¬ plications of consecrated men and yvonjen for appointment to these fields refused? Why? Simply because God’s people. are withholding their means from his . work. Because the Southern Baptists are not giving of their substance to Christ, ns 'they might and should. Is this true of you, dear reader? And you, leaders of .God's hosts, are you in no wise responsible for this'state - of things ? [ \ Raul, in his letter to the Philippians, refers to saints of "Ceasar’s household.” Now conies the story of some women in the: Im¬ perial palace of China getting hold of п copy of tlie scriptures, and becoming interested iti them, and of meetings being hcld iti the palace itself for feospefi study. History re¬ peats itself not seldom, ‘ I- i’hUid .