The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-10
Sinners Evidently A
Luxury
WHEN CONVERTED.
Baptist Minister Scores
Present Church System.

The regular monthly meeting Of tho
Worcester Baptist minister's confer
ence was held at the First Baptist
Church yesterday morning. There was
large attendance and spirited dis
cussion OF the essay presented by Rev.
A. w. Weeks. formerly OF the Free
Baptist Church, but who has more re-
Gently associated himself with the Ken
yon Tabernacle movement.
The subject of the mornings paper
was, us our modern church fulfilling
her mission commensuretely with her
resources of talent and treasure? Rev.
Mr.. Weeks presented in detail rhe cost
in dollars and cents Of each conversion
to the church. He said that the three
aims of the church were to preserve
the truth, to make it known to the
world, and to increase the spiritual life
OF its members He said that the
church was not founded primarily to
start reforms, to take up political ques-
aud 'esthetic feelings. He Thought that
philanthropy was not. in the hreadest
sense of the term, mission Of the
church. The one, the only mission OF
the church, is Soul-saVinR. He Radd
that he had found the church Of today
sadly deficient in all Of these things and
especially in the knowledge and spread
ing OF aae truth. To illustrate his sub
Jeet h1' pointed to the Sunday school
scholar of today after ten years in the
school, with only one book Cor tnstruc-
| ton. He doubted whether the scholar
Who had had the Bible as his instructor
for ten years could name the different
| books, the contents Of them and the
principal characters portrayed. Does
he" asked Rev. Mr. Weeks, "knpw
how, after years of study, to lead a
soul to Christi"
Continuing his discourse, Rev. Mr..
| Weeks quoted statistics made a year
ago OF the converts in the different
congregational, Methodist and Baptist
churches Of the city, to show the cost
per conversion to the church. He said
that in 1897 the Congregational churches
IN Gals city, numbering 16, and includ-
Ing $3.50 members, took In 245 new n1ern-
berS by profession. That ia, it took the
combined efforts of 20 Congregational J.
lists TO convince enc person of the truth
on Christ, and IT cost as shown from
the expenses 1851. 23 apiece. The Meth
verts, and worked harder, II appears,
Tor in the six churches IN the city, with
united membership Of 1850, 1t took 80
church Wember6 to gather in a new
one, and the outlay of $3.50. rs in money.
Last year, 1883, the Baptist churches In
this city, vita a membership Of 2E02.
added 50 new converts. To win each one
% people gave their time and $500
was expended.
ABOUT one-tenth of Woree54ers popu-
iation is included in Methodist. CanfgFe-
gationa1 and Baptist churches When
asked about other denominations, he
| said that he would add 200o to the esti-
mate to cover the Adventists, Presley
terians, and the like. He ADMITTED that
ne mad forgotten about Epkscopalians,
and as for UnftarianS and UniVersalists
on being asked where he would HuS
them, answered: "Td rather you would
classify them"
In the discussion that followed the
presentation of the essay, many Of the
ministers present awaited themselves Of
the privilege extended to reply to some
OF the statements that had been made
Rev. Spencer b. Meeser pastor Of the
First Baptist church, said that there
are other objects, character building.
for instance, among which the money
expended by church must be divided
Take 1t in my own church, where the
spiritual life is quite pronounced The
expenses last year were 5000, and nine
were baptized According to this way
OF compiling statistics, II costs nearly
$1,000 piece to add these nine members
to my church. AS for the fact that
ministers are complacent at the apathy
shown sometimes by the churches, that
is not true. In fact, one minister whom
l know has worked on the members of
his congregation until they are nearly
all good cases for hysteria, and the
minister himself is on the verge Of
Mysteries, all because they realize so
keenly the things that ought to be done
and are not done. In regard to this es-
say, If 1t be the truth the question is
whether it ought not rather to have
come from minister in regular stand
ing, who still carried tho burden OF
church work, than from one who had
broken loose and gone into some kind
Of spiritual mutual admiration socie-
ty.
Lunch was served in the vestry at
noon by Mrs. s. Il. Meeser, Mrs. George
Barnes, Mrs. Asia Kicker, Mrs. Gilbert
g. Davis, and Mrs. Charles Milliken
Rev. A. s. Brown OF Clinton opened the
discussion in the afternoon on THE Use
Of the Evangelist"