Foreign Mission Board Rooms
March'll, 1948
The Foreign Mission Board met in regular monthly session on Thursday,
March 11, 1948 at 4:00 p.m.
Present: L. H. Jenkins, R. E, Gaines, Garis T. Long, J. G. Loving, Mrs.
T. Justin Moore, Clyde V. Hickerson, J. C. Williams, J. Levering Lvnns ,
T. Rupert Coleman, Rush W. Loving, Hill Montague, M. T. Rankin, George W.
Sadler, Frank K. Means, Louis P. Beay, Marjorie E. Moore, E. P. Buxton.
Visitors: Rev. Ralph • inders, Rev. and Mrs. Delbert McAtee.
Dr. Long Led in prayer.
Dr. Rankin reported on the meeting of the Foreign Missions Conference at
Buck Hill Falls, Pennsylvania during the first week of March in which secre¬
taries, board members, and missionaries of foreign mission boards of the
United States and Canada participated. Sixty-six denominations, covering
95 percent of all foreign mission work were represented. The purpose of
the meeting was to formulate plans for the various mission boards to project
simultaneously programs of world missions. The programs are to be presented
at the meeting to be held in Columbus, Ohio in October of this year. Sane
of these programs will be conducted interdenominational ly by those who de¬
sire to carry on their mission programs in that way. Some will be conducted
by individual denominations. This fact was made clear in all of the plans
and it was stated repeatedly by the Chairman as well as by others that
churches planning to conduct their missionary programs as denominations
have the same respect and support in their plans as any other groups will
have.
The meeting to be held in Columbus, Ohio is to be under the auspices of ‘
the Foreign Missions Conference of Forth America. Invitations will be
issued to approximately 3,500 members of various denominations to be
present for the simultaneous announcement of the programs of foreign mis¬
sions of the various denominations. Southern Baptists have been alloca¬
ted 600 representatives. The secretaries of the Foreign Mission Board
sincerely hope that we may have this many people from our Southern Bap¬
tist churches to attend that meeting in dolumbus.
The great fact that stood out in the conference at Buck Hill Falls is that
the very presupposition of our Christian faith is being assailed by world
conditions today. The belief that God exists, the belief in a way of life
that is based on faith in God, the belief in personal salvation through
relationshin with a personal God; these and many other fundamental beliefs
of the Christian religion are being attacked. In the face of such a situa¬
tion, the foreign mission boards of the denominations connected with the
Foreign Missions Conference are convinced that the only course for our
churches today is to advance. To retreat or even to stand still will be
defeat .
The Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention is preoaring
its program of advance and the secretaries plan to have this urogram ready
for presentation at the same time that the programs of other boards in the
United States present their plans. At the meeting in Columbus we hope to
be able to confront the conditions of the world with this great over-all
program of advance of the mission boards of the Rrotestant denominations
of Canada and the United States.
Dr. Sadler read the following report:
Report of Secretary for Africa, Europe and Near ^ast
..ithout attempting to make comparisons, it is safe to say that in no part
of the world with which we are familiar is there a more whole-hearted response
tc the presentation of the Gospel than is found in Africa. Recent letters
from both the Gold Coast and Nigeria indicate that Christianity continues to
bring into captivity those who were once far removed from its influence.
Many vail recall the story of Dr. Maddry about the appeal of the heathern
King of Ijebu, Ife, for a missionary couple. At long last it looks as if
we are about to melee good the promise made by Dr. Maddry almost ten years
ago. John Mills and Mrs. i--ills have been assigned to the Ijebu area, and
this is what he says about his first visit: