The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-07-10
GEN. SECRETARY BAER's REPORT

GEN. SECRETARY BAER'S REPORT.
Christian Endeavor-"It is like grain
of mustard seed which man took and
cast into his garden; and it grew and
waxed great tree; and the fowls of the
air lodged in the branches of it' (Luke
13:19)
Those few lines give brief ana most
accurate account Of the beginning ard
the progress Of Christian EndeavoE.
Wonderful indeed has been Its growth.
Paul has planted and Apollos has
watered, but God has given the increase.
Yea, verify, the mustard seed cast into
DR.. Clark's garden, the Williston
Church, Portland, Me-, fifteen years ago,
has waxed great tree.
I know very well that there is law in
the vegetable life which says that that
what grows most rapidly generally de :
Gays earliest, and that some good and
wise men, have for that reason likened
Christian Endeavor to Jonah's gourd,
which," you know, "came up in O
night and persisted in night" Let
me remind those good friends, if the If
line is still in the earth, that the prophet
says, "God prepared worm and smote
the gourd, and 1t withered.'
1t has been said that ''the least in ma
ture is better illustration of divine
truth than the greatest object of art, -
and it seems to me that Christian En-
deavor, with its mighty, God-given
growth, is more appropriately compare
BILE to the life in the little mustard seed,
the least of all seeds, than to the most
famous creation of art that skilled man
has produced. The whirligig of time
has sped on these fifteen years, and
Christian Endeavor grows. and has
ALREADY WAXED A G RE ATTREE,
and the fowls of the air lodge in its
branches; and I, for one, am confident
God has not prepared a worm with
which to slnite it in o night, or IN a
year, or in decade; no, neYerl
Now let US count the branches on this
great tree. 1t is task upon which we
enter with enthusiasm. OF the States
and Provinces that now have each over
one Thousand Young Peoples societies
1
State of Pennsylvania still heads the
! list with 3,273; New YORK next, 1871
Ohio, ash; Ontario has now passed to
fourth place with 1877; Illinois, 1902 !;
| Indiana, /. 1862; Iowa, 1902.
These figures do not include the nu-
merous other kinds of Christian Endaav-
or societies that are now fast becoming
sturdy ranches of the mother tree. su Oh
as the Junior, the intermediate, the
| M others' and the Senior
| The Junior branch claims our first
attention. God be praised for its growth.
| 1t ia said root of corn will grow an
| inch in fifteen minutes, and the Junior
branch bids fair to surpass that. There
are now 10, 0S4 Junior societies. Penn
sylvania leads with 1924; then New York
not very far behind with 1,f04; Illinois,
S86; Ohio, 716; Indiana, 408; Iowa, 46S;
Massachusetts, 46l; California, 442. n OF
withstanding many of the States have
made splendid advances in Junior soci
cites, Pennsylvania will for the third
| tins secure the Junior badge banner
for the largest gain in number of Junior
societies.
And the other banner, now
IN THE HANDS OF. ASSINIBOTA,
must pass across two imaginary lines tc
our enterprising neghbors in Mexico, fol
her record for the greatest proportionate
| increase in nun Der of Junior societies IL
far ahead of all others Eg sss.ss I
Next in numerical strength comes the
Intermediate society. When this branch
first put forth it's stem we know not; ii
is but a few years old, but promises rich
ly. In many large churches there is need
of banding tho older Juniors together.
for aggressive work. preparatory TO their
gradual into the Young Peoples
society There are now l15 intermediate
societies enrolled, and many more OF
which we have no record Illinois
leads with II recorded. California, In
diana and Ohio each have IL enrolled.
Another years growth of this branch
will be watched with interest, as will
that of still two other new branches, the
| Mothers society and the Senior society.
There are SO Of the former and 20 of the
latter. Illinois leads in both, having 81
Mothers and four Senior societies. New
Hampshire ana Pennsylvania each re-
port three Senior societies, and Kansas
eleven Mothers. and Pennsylvania,
| seven.