Omaha daily bee., 1896-12-05
SABBATH SCHOOL MOVEMENT
Its Scope, Power and Progress and Evan
gelistio Value,
THE QUESTION Of WAYS AND MEANS
Prompt, United md Persistent Activity
lnsurcs II Glorious HarNcst-Ex-
tent of the Field Inviting
Fnithful workers.

Two limitations must be noted in con-
| sidering this subject. one is in the words
sabbath school movement" At first
thought this might be understood as mean
ing the Sabbath school itself in its general
work. But such is not the scope Of the
words as we shall use them What is meant
is that particular form of Sabbath school
activity known as Sabbath school missions,
represented by the missionary department
OF our board, and by other similar organi-
cations OF Gods people. 1t is the movement
of the Sabbath school out among the un-
evangelized; the movement of the church out
into the worlds highways and hedge rows;
into the neglected districts of the cities
and the destitute places of the country,
for the specific purpose OF gathering the un-
taught into the Sabbath school and teach
ing them the good news. We are not talking
about the church school, one of the regular
departments of every we'll organized congre-
cation, doing its work in the nurture and
instruction OF its own young people. But
we are talking about the Sabbath school 60
ing in advance of the church, out into the
territory of the world, in aggressive work
among those who have no church privileges
or care
l am glad of the recognition the subject
makes of the fact that there is movement
going on here; that the Sabbath school,
please bear with the expression, has got
move" on her and in her. 1t s sign of
life and power and progress. Dead things are
still. But, thank God. the Sabbath school
is not dead nor looking in the direction of
the cemetery There is movement here that
is gathering momentum and speed every
hour.
The second limitation of the subject is
in the words "evangelistic value" Here is
value of a particular kind. This Sabbath
school movement may have value of other
kinds, social, reformatory, commercial, even,
But we have nothing to do with these other
kinds of value now. Our inquiry is solely
about the value of this movement as a means
of evangelizing our land, and bringing the
news of the great salvation to those who
need it. What is the value of the Sabbath
school as a means of reaching, teaching and
saving the neglected and lost?
THE QUESTION OF DUTY.
There is no debate here about the question
of duty in the matter of evangeization.
Duty is clear as the day, positive as the
orders of general Evangeize! Evangelize!
All along the line, all over the world the
command runs laying the burden of holy duty
on every Christian. AS long as a single child
remains in the darkness of sin and in ignor-
ance of Christ the duty remains with us in
all its binding force. We don't have TO de-
fend the work of taking the gospel to the
destitute If any one wants to dispute that
point, he must have 1t out with the Master
who has issued the order, not with us. Ours
is question of ways and means. The Sab
bath school is offered to us as one of the
ways OF reaching the lost. 1t enters the field
as a method of evangeliZation 1t is one
response to the command OF Jesus This
movement undertakes TO put sabbath
school as quickly as possible in every com
munity where there is no regular and sys-
tematic instruction in religious truth. 1t
takes the best Christian workers 1t can find,
and without any red tape, without waiting
for a church organization or for ecclesias-
tical investigation and action, 1t sets them to
work teaching what the bible says about the
way of life. 7l.
Now the question Is, how much is this
movement worth? Does 1t pay? IL 1t Is out
of date wasteful OF men and means, in
efficient a knife that will not cut, mill
that grinds no grist, tree that bears no
fruit, then let us have done with 1t, and
use something that will do the work. But
IL 1t is well adapted to the end approved
of conscience and of God, then let us push IL,
and not play with 1t.
EXTENT OF THE FIELD.
What Is the work awaiting us? How great
is the extent of the field? How pressing
the need? We cannot well understand the
value of the Sabbath school as an evangel-
istic agency, unless we know something OF
the work proposed.
The Sabbath school works mainly among
the young According to the census Of 1890
there are. in round numbers, 22OOO 900 OF
children of school age In the United States,
and 1000 600 under five years or age. In
the central western, mountain ana racine
states there are 1888 125 young people oil
school age OF these 2,4S3.95S are enrolled
in the Sabbath schools or 20 per cent of
the entire number. In the rest OF our land
the proportion is not much better. There are
today not less than 14O000OO of the youth
of this country under the age OF 2l and old
enough to be taught, who are not enrolled
in any Sabbath school, and not receiving
regular instructions in the word of God.
Most of these are receiving no instruction
whatever In religion. 1t is not rare TO hnd
cases like that of young lady OF lS In one
of our western states, who came into one
of our mission schools. When the questlon
was asked, "Who is Jesus Christi" she
whispered to her seat mate, WHO was
Christ. anyway? Do you know? II you do,
tell me 50 l can answer the question:. is
our work done when there are grown peo-
pie in our land who do not even know VINO
Jesus Christ is?
Here then Is the size of the waiting har-
vest 100000 OF young people to
be taught in the first principles OF reli-
gion. Seven millions OF lads ana young men
who never enter any house OF prayer.
Where are they Some of them in your
country school district; some down In the
timber along the creek some yonder In
the new settlement, where farmers are
starting in sod houses and dugouts All
over the land, the lakes, the rivers, from
the St Johns to the Gila. from Florida Keys
to Puget sound. the field is. white to the
harvest. 1t is morally certain that II We
don't win these young people to Christ while
they are young, only very small per cent
OF them ever will come to Him, or know Him
sayingly.
We have bible authority for likening this
work to a harvest field calling for reapers
and we see that the field is not one of
those little ten-acre lots we used to call
fields back among tho eastern hills, but
rather one OF our Dakota fields, twenty-five
miles square. glowing ,and flashing like
of gold in its glorious ripeness. We
want to save that field. What means shall
we employ? srt
MEANS TO THE END.
Here comes a man with one of the sickles
of long ago, one of the kind that used to
put eleven distinct aches to the square
inch into our backs in boyhood days, and
he says: Take this sickle and save your
harvest. 1t cuts grain" Another steps
up beside him and offers the cradle. whose
broad blade used to ring out such merry
music on the air OF the July morning. as
the milestone played its skillful tattoo.
Take this" cries4 the brawny armed
Grader; "it is a good tool to cut your