The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1873-01-15
VOLUME 4 3 XX---NO. 40

'OA1ONA - A.ZAs y 4SSlssF1O
Africa stare found oyer 100 organs
lied churches and some $4,000
converts. InsSierra Leone so, ,000s
civilized Africans worship God
levery Sabbath: Two thonaaa
ilf1es Of coast have been y @a S5s 4 81
1fEom rna> slaye.trade, and thS liilS hi IS s.
andsseho % ofsau ubsitut IS IS 3;
q The various Is & !. 81 a5ija 5,s;.
societies are. tar ing Z, ss;ny,s it 81
] the world in The of Gn.;st 81 q s
ftAll the important her eountrisss
are more or less occupied kim,
fuences set at work which will
soon and certainly evangelize them.
There remain but few countries to-
enter, and those of little influence
among the nations. The principal
exceptions are Central and North
ern Asia, Arabia, the heart Of Africa
and the Indians Of British America.
|Scattered over China, Japan, Hin
doostan, Persia, Turkey, East,
South, West and North Africa,
/ Madagascar, Greenland and the
isles of the Pacific, occupying the
. best stragetic points, are the 81, 900
Christian laborers of all kinds, In
stitnting a system Of operations,
which, with Gods blessing, will, in
reasonable judgment, within the
next generation, leave not a yestige
Of heathenism on now occupied
fields.
In China, SO recently opened to
the Gospel, missions have been
established in 40 walled cities and
800 villages making a total Of 400
stations and out-stations, which
constitute = centres of Christian
light and knowledge to regions
adjacent "Over 400 native
preachers have been raised up who
are constantly employed in preach
ing the Gospelto their countrymen.
About 10000 converts have been
received into the churches, of whom
some have already gone home tobe
with Jesus, while some Z 900 are at /
present COMMITMENTS.
There are at this present time
being educated in primary or COM
mon schools, in female seminaries,
in training schools, in colleges and in !
theological seminaries, over GOO. .0O0
youth Of both sexes, nearly all of
whom are Protestant, and many
hopefully pious. These are to go
out and work for Christianity.
"To compute the results Of mod
ern missions is simply impossible.
Figures cannot express them; nor
are they visible to the human eye.
But it is interesting to know, that
outside the bounds Of Christendom
there are four thousand centres of,
Christian workand Gospel teaching;
$500 congregations, 27S,0oO COM
municants, and 1,850,000 nominal
Christians The Rev. DR.. Mullens,
Corresponding Secretary Of the
London Missionary Society, says:
"In more than three hundred islands
of Eastern and Southern Polynesia,
the Gospel has swept heathenism
entirely away. The missionaries
of the four great societies (English)
have gathered 100000 people under
Christian influences, of whom q
quarter of million are living, and
| $4,000 of these are communicates =
But the success and value of
Christian missions are not manifest
ed alone by the number OF converts;
they are seen as well in the fact
that the work of missions has blest
the Church with new love and de-
votion to the Masters work. It is
significant fact that the revivals
that blest the churches in 1815-'20
followed the development of the
spirit Of missions in 1872; and
those churches that have been most
prayerful and liberal, have ever.
been most blest. And the same
truth is patent in our missions.
Their reflex spirit has richly paid in
souls at home as well as in heathen
lands; and this is onlythe fulflment
of the Masters promise: "He that
watereth, shall be watered also
himself" "Give, and it shall be
given unto you."
Missions have taught the Church
lessons of selfdenial, benevolence
and conservation, by such labor and
self-sacrifce in converts, as have
seldom been witnessed since the
days of the Apostles. The com
verted Friendly Islanders Of their
deep poverty, during the year 1870.
raised all the expenses Of their
missions, and contributed beside,
S17,5OO to send the Gospel to re-
gions beyond. The native Christ
ians of India contributed, in 1870,
$43,1O1 towards the support and
extension of missions. The Ha-
waiian churches gave, insa 1870,
,E$31,070 in gold, and last year $4o,-
900 to carry the Gospel to the
Marquesas Islands. Fourteen aof
that group have been Christianized
! solely by the labor and at the sex-
| pense of the Hawaiian Churches,