The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-02

Christians, and set apart days for fasting
and prayer
The chief event of the afternoon session
was the address by DR.. R. j. Willingham
secretary of the foreign mission board of
the Southern Baptist convention. DR.. VIII
lingham discussed the foreign mission
question very earnestly God had called
some men TO stay at home and do the
work and supply the means by which 9TH
er men could be sent to do the work of
Christ in foreign lands he said
DIR. Willingham said that all his people
had been Baptists. One of his forefathers
was deacon of the Savannah church IN
der pr Holcombe.
"A church of the living God is not a
sleeping car service to heaven" was one
of DR.. Willingham's remarks. The church
is a life saving service, with all its perils
and hardships. God calls on every mem
Der of this service to throw out the life
line. There Is somebody you can save.
The mission work is beginning to bear
its fruit, said DIR. Wllingham. With So
600 converts in China, 10000 in Japan, and
many thousands in Africa, the work of
missions is telling for itself. He came with
glad tiding of the work in the foreign field,
he said. The report from the South China
mission showed 295 baptisms in that mis-
sion alone, and over 100 in the North China
mission.
Il believe China is the most wonderful
mission field in the world to-day" said
he To-day they are begging the mis-
sionaries to come into their homes and
teach them this doctrine of Jesus, where
a few years ago they spit upon the mis-
sionaries in the streets and called them
Christian dogs"
DR.. Willingham predicted wonderful
VIII should
influence of Christianity more fully.
In Brazil he said, the people are be-
seeching the missionaries to come to them.
IF Jesus were to come into our churches
to-day He would not notice the congre-
CATION or the music" said DR.. Willing
ham, but He would look the pastor and
the deacons in the eyes and say, Are you
doing my work? Are you sending the Cos
pei to lost and dying men?' "
The results of the foreign mission work
had been far-reaching in its beneficial eff
fects upon che people at home, he said.
In America, where missionary movement
/ began, hardly one person in fourteen was
a member of a Christian church. To-day
one in every three is member of an evan
gelical church and one in every fourteen
is a Baptist
The Baptist denomination divided not
many years ago, about equally half gons
one way anu man tnt OlHeF, OUG-ndiI Oe-
claring against missions and the other half
declaring in favor of sending the gospel
to all the world. Today those who de-
clared for missions have grown to be nil
lions, while those who opposed missions
have dwindled and dwindled until they
hardly have name.
cry frequently heard, said Dr. Will
lngham, was that the Catholics were in
creasing and threatened to overrun the
country. This is only a bugaboo There
is nothing in it, he said. 1t is an old cry,
but without foundation. Two centuries
ago Protestant rulers governed 81, 900 600
people To-day they govern 500. 900 ,OO0 The
Catholic countries are the weak countries
of the world to-day, France, Spain, Italy
and Ireland.
The Catholics are not outgrowing the
Protestants in America. Their people have
come here from their worn out countries,
seeking this free country. According to
their own figures if all these people and
their children and grand children had re-
manned true to the Catholic church. they
should have 100000 adherents to-day.
whereas they have only 5000 900. The rea-
son they have not the greater number is
because they met in this country the great
system of free schools, the free press and
above all, an open Bible. The Catholics
show great shrewdness and they are all
combined together to aid each other. but
they are not outgrowing the Protestants
and there is no danger of their overrun-
ming the country