The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-12-09
.CONGRIBGA WORK
National Missionary Societies
Maturing a Plan Of
Unifeation.

BOSTON, Dec. 9, 1s96.-The secretaries
and executive officers of the six national
congregational missionary societies and
their auxiliaries have rnatured a plan for
tnifying and extending Congregational
work, Which will be put into immediate
operation They viii issue a joint state
ment of their work to the 100000 congre-
gational Church members of the United
States, asking for one generous contribu-
tion annually for each society, and accom-
pany it with an exhibit of the work car
ried on historically, and at the present
time. Nearly $4,000 subscriptions have
been secured for a new missionary paper,
entitled Congregational Work
At an outlay of nearly $40 900, coo, the
Congregational home missionary society
Of New York has planted 6,339 churches.
about 1,600 Of them being Presbyterian,
organized while (prior to 1850 both of
these Bodies worked through the same So
clety OF the nearly $500 Congregational
1ve-sixths were planted. and still more
We're aided, by the society OF these, 1887
have come to self-support. More than
Al 900 members have united with the aid
eel churches in the last seventy years.
During the first decade of the society's
history, its total receipts were $5I4,61S,
and during the last decade sc, ,069, ,093
During the seventy years Congregational
church membership has increased three
and one-half times; the population of the
country has grown nearly seven fold,
while the average receipts of the Congre-
gational home missionary society nave
multiplied nearly twelve times. During
the last decade the home missionary 30
ciety rolled up an advance over the pre-
ceding decade, one exceptionally prosper
Gus, OF more than 70 per cent in its aver
age receipts.
Ihe Church Building Society. of which
the Rev. l.. H. Cobb, d. D., New York
Is secretary, has aided in erecting 2,711
houses Of worship in 40 States and Ter
ritor1es, and 5G2 parsonages in 81 States
and Territories, 1,600 of these churches
ana all but two OF the parsonages in the
last third Of its life as q society.
There are 773 regularly organized Con-
gregatfonal churches that have no house
Of worship, and there are 3,23S that own
no home for their ministers The num-
houses Of worship and 200 parsonages
ought to be built every year.
In the year 1895 the American Board
had In the foreign field 1877 ordained
missionaries; the report for the year
Just closed gives 17S; decrease of nine.
and female, in 1895, was 572; there mas
ent number 555. The decrease in the
number Of native agents is 1856, leaving
The churches which furnish the con-
stitutency of the Woman's Board are
those east of Ohio. In these States it
has % branches, each comprising from
20 to 200 auxiliaries in the local church,
es, making a total of between 1,T00 and
1890 organizations among women and
children, with an estimated membership
of about so, 000 The amount of money
raised during the first year in its MIS-
tory was a little over $1,000. The aver
age income for the last five years has
been $lSS, ,771.75.
The Sunday School and Publishing So
ciety has over a thousand Sunday
schools today in places unreached by
any other religious influence. Its re-
ceipts have been steadily diminishing
during the last four years from S56 100
to $4,000; from churches and Sunday
schools there is a shortage this year of
Sc, 49, and only $1,000 to meet It.