The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1873-08-22

: For such ministers the demand i
II very great, and the supply exceeding
! ly limited. In the higher schools
e which have been established, proyi-
. sion has been made for ministeria
g education, and already numbers o
o young men are struggling agains
), poverty and adverse influences t.
$ prepare themselves for this work
Il For the present, however, and fol
t years to come, it wi | be necessary
D for ministers from the northern states
i TO devote themselves to the service O.
t the mission churches in the South
o Many have already done so. Their
q lsbors are arduous, their discourage
ments many, but the Master hal
t been with them, and the good result.
r OF their work are already apparent
4 More men, many more, are needle,
! and they will come, when those il
charge of the missionary work, fee
e warranted By the possession Of mean
D for their support, in calling them.
D The same things may be said o
the teachers, save that supply o
; teachers for the common schools car
: be more speedily raised up than 6
supply OF pastors. At first, it was
necessary to supply all the freed Deo-
ples' schools with Northern teachers.
But now, hundreds of the students
are beginning to teach, and there is a
rapidly growing demand for their
services. It is still necessary for
large numbers of Northern teachers
to continue the work, and extend it,
and on account of the poverty OF the
people among whom they labor, their
support must come largely from the
benevolent contribution of the North
ern churches.
II you could see for yourselves
what have witnessed in visiting
some OF these schools-the devotion
and self-denisl of the teachers, the
wonderful influence they have on the
manners and morals of their pupils,
and the eagerness and aptness to
learn shown by the pupils themselves,
nothing more would be needed to
prompt you to the utmost possible
liberslity in the support of such eff
eient workers for Ch7ist and His
Kingdom.
III. THE GENERAL AGENCY USED BIZ
THE CHURCHES FOR THE EFFICIENT
AND SYSTEMATIC PROSECUTION OF THE
WORK.
By common consent our family OF
churches CO operate through the
american Missionary Association"
for the prosecution of Christian work
among the Indians, the Chinese, snd
the freed people Of the South. This
Association was incorporated in the
year 1S4o For some years it labors
and influence were on a very limited
scale. The successful issue OF the
war for the Union, and the abolition
OF slavery, opened for It grand field
Its operations have been wisely plan
ed and vigorously executed. 1t has
the confidence of intelligent people
in all churches, and is annually secur
ing larger support, and entering
upon more extended labors. Its
greet nilsson is to preach the Gospel
to the poor in our Own Land. 1t has
sixty mission churches under its care
1t has seven chartered colleges, twen-
ty-one normal or graded schools, and
sixty-nine other schools-makIng q |
total OF ninety seven schools with |
three hundred and seventy-five mis-
sonsriesr snd teachers, and more than
fifteen thousand students. There are
several excellent features of this As
sociation which especially commend |
it to our favor.
First. It's eminently unsectarian. 1t
does not seek to favor or build up
any sect or party. Its teachers and |
are chosen with reference
to their intellectual and moral 9ualifi-
cations, without regard to their
ecclesiastical connections. Presby-
terisns, Methodists, Baptists, Epis-
IS well as Gongrega-
tionalists, and members of other
communions, are employed IN its
work. They labor together in har-
mOny, almost or quite forgetting
their denominational differences. or
the teachers in the Lewis High School
ut Macon, Ga, last year, one, a B1p-
tist, was leading Bible class teacher
in the Congregational Sunday School
another a COngregationslist, was a
teacher in Baptist Sunday School,
and still another, an Episcopslian,
was teacher in another Baptist Sun
day School. The Association and Its
workers aim to exert holy influence
in all the churches of the freed peo-
pie, to help all in every good work
and to promote brotherly love and
spiritual unity among all who love the
Lord Jesus. The churches organic
ed and supported by the Association
are Congregational IN polity, but sim
ply Christian in faith, and wholly un- ,
sectarian in character and influence.
The special mission Of such churches
to maintain higher standard Of NOR
atty than has ever been known among I
the religious people Of the South I
They are the recognized foes OF in I
gambling and licentious-
ness, vices whose baleful influence is |
but too spparent in every community,
the religious as well as the I
classes. -
Second. The wise and economical
of its business affairs
The Association employs no extensive {
and expensive machinery for the col !
lection and disbursement of funds. 1t 4,
appeals directly to the churches
through their pastors, and is under no
necessity Of using up a considerable
OF its moneys IN the pay
ment of salaries to scores Of travelling
agents. The contributions made 90
directly to the objects for which they
are given.
In the management of It's schools
and teachers homes, in the paymen.
Of missionaries and teachers, it exer
cises an economy that, in my judg
ment, is even too rigid The bare
floors and walls that / have seen in
homes, and the scantly fur
nished tables at which / have sat down
with college professors and their fam
lies. were entirely TOO suggestive of
parsimoniousness. But give the As
sociatiOn the means, and doubtless its
self sacrificing workers viii be suh |
ciently well cared for. 1t is only an
agent or overseer for the churches,
and can only perform what thee churches
empower it to DO by their Christian
liberslity.
In the purchase of real estate, and
the erection of buildings, for its chur-
ches and schools, the Association has
been remarkably prudent and sagac-
ious. The real properly held by the
churches and schools which this Asso
citation has founded in the South u
worth not less than $500, 900, and Is
steadily rising in value. The tact dis
uIayed in the management OF IT'S bus
mess. and the unmistskable signs OF
perrnanence about all It's work IN the
Soutb. have secured the respect oil the
dominant race and the confidence oil
the freed people. ,,;uo..rv
Third. The American missionary
Association has steadily maintained q
peaceful and conciliatory Poilcy 70
To- klnN