The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-05-07

upon o the Ome you begin to re-
gard them is hat they are like the
sands on the SeaShOre for multitude.
If the white BaptiStS in the Southern
Baptist Convention who nave been
numbered-nOt counting the wild and
scattered tribes who have never been
cOrralled-Were to pass a given point at
the rate of five a minute and for eight
hours a day, how long would it take
for the procession to pass? Nearly two
years. If these were to stand in line
giving to each six feet of room, the line
would reach nearly 1000 miles. What a
bewildering host they are! Nearly
1,50O,0 600 of them, and several back
counties to hear from!
Another inspiring fact is the highly
gratifying growth which the figures ex-
hibit. How many persons were bap-
tized into the membership of white
Baptist churches in the south in the
twelve months covered by our last year
book? Eighty-eight thousand, two hum
dred and sixty-four! That is to say,
the baptisms numbered about as many
as all the white Baptists in South Caro-
lima, or so per cent. more than the white
Baptists in Florida, Louisiana, and
Maryland combined. Lightweight thou
SAND added by baptism. That is a fact
to be pondered by grateful hearts.
But, while the actual progress is re-
AAAoA SAAS AoN VI 6Ao" al 10 oop
pointing. Eighty-eight thousand addi-
lions means, speaking roughly, that
there has been one baptism for every
twenty church members. This would
suggest some need of exhOrting the
churches to more active evangelism.
Another fact, distinctly disappointing.
which the figures reveal is the highly
defective condition of the Sunday school
work in our territory. There are Is, 929
1I~~ ~~1 ~o1 n q -
In other WOrds-and this is a most
startling and surprising fact-there are
in u territory 7,241 white churches
without Sunday schools-a few more
than this, indeed, since it is reasonable
to suppose hat some of the churches
have several Sunday schools. And
this in sight of the twentieth century!
The most cursOry inspection of the
facts and figures in detail will show
clearly to the unprejudiced mind that
Southern Baptists suffer from a bad
case of the defects of t2eir virtues"
Individualism, which hires in our
doctrine and polity, sometimes runs to
seed. 1t is fair to take the Sunday
school work as a test of wisely directed
church activity. Testing in this way
we shall come out upon this general re-
suit: Wherever the Baptists Of a state
are broken up into an extraordinary
III vi LIN ~
the proportion of Sunday schools is
small. Here is a state with Il associa-
tions and 1.702 churches; the Sunday
schools number 723, or less than half
the number of churches. Here is an
other. with so associations and 1872
churches, the Sunday hoo number
347, or about one to every four churches.
Others might be cited as follows: One
with 1856 churches and 93S Sunday
schools: another with 1858 churches
and SOC Sunday schools: another with
1,439 churches and Ill Sunday schools:
another with 2,60S churches and 1859
Sunday schools
Now, if these figures should weary
the reader, here is the fact which they
discover, which must " value and
Importance in his eyes. About half of
the churches in these states in which
this policy of division and subdivision
is dominant are not maintaining sun
day schools. On the other hand here
is a state which has only one assOcia-
ton and Sc churches, and these have
sixty-five Sunday schools. If it is held
that it is scarcely fair to compare
Maryland with other states we are
willing to take South Carolina. Here
is her record: S91 churches and ESQ
Sunday schools. Or, if the Herald may
be excused. we point to Virginia. Her
record, according to the latest revised
figures. published in the last issue Of
this paper. is 81 churches, with $40
Sunday schools. Not the least signifi-
can't fact here is that 101 of these are
mission schools.
1t will be found. moreover. that the
result obtained by a study of the fig
ureS of churches and Sunday schools
f~oreshadows a similar condition of
things with reference to foreign mis-
sions. We use foreign Missions. rather
than home missions, because it more
fairly tests the missionary spirit. In
quite a number Of these states the
Home Mission Board spends money
freely-often in excess Of its receipts
from that source. But the Foreign
Mission money goes far away.
We haven't space to give the hgures
here. but they sustain the general state
that policy of breaking up into a
large number of weak associations, and
still further dividing these into a vast
body of feeble, struggling churches, is
disastrous to the development OF the
missionary spirit.