Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-01-24
CHURCH COL oNIzATloN.
A Successful Combination of Business, Re-
lirlon and Common Sense.

SHONSE1 WI SNIE-H iiSiS
Successful Combination of Business, Re-
liglon and Common Sense.
An enterprising minister of Ander-
son, Ind, is making great snccess
Of novel project which an irreverent
critic refers to as turning the church
of God into real estate office. +" The
plan of the minister, who is Pastor
". 81. Covert of the denomination
known as the Church OF God, is to lay
ont plots of ground near the religious
edifce and place those members OF
the church who haze no homes OF
their own in position to acquire
them by selling the land, with any
kind of building the purchaser wants
OF easy terms and the lowest price
posi- lie. In this way the church pas
tor gathers his flock all around him
and is sure of keeping then, for the
owner of house is not q transient
occupant of the fold, but stays there
and becomes pillar of strength. The
church seeks no profit on the venture,
30 that the prices cepted are re-
markably low. All that is desired is
to keep the members faithful to the
religious organization that puts them
in the way of owning their home.
The pastor has found this system OF
church colonization to work like a
charm. Where there was talk of
closing the church on account of lack
of funds the congregation is now a
large aud increasing one, the pastors
salary is always paid on time, and the
organization is in most fourishing
condition. When the pastor who had
enterprise enough to carry out his
plan of combining the ideas Of q
business man with the fervor of a
preacher of the gospel was asked to
make statement regarding his ex-
perience for the benefit Of the more
timid ministers who prefer to preach
to empty seats in the old orthodox
way, rather than insure success by q
radical departure, he wrote the fol-
lowing: --.,,'
"Our local members being few, and
the town of small population, hit
upon plan to get church people to
locate here permanently. I began by
raising stock companies for manufac-
turing purposes, and then, to induce
persons to invest and to make the in
vestment safe I gave deed in fee
simple for certain amount Of stock.
Where the stock was sold at par, with
every s1UO cash gave 500 worth of
the capital stock and deed to a lot
worth practically $1OO, thus making
the investor absolutely secure.
"Persons OF limited means were at
tracted by this plan to settle here.
They came in from all over the coun-
try and the town soon began to thrive.
But T wanted the church to thrive
too. It was found by careful figuring
that houses could be built for from
S4OO to $500 of the kind thatrent from
SO to $12 a month. I put the plan be.
fore some of the church members and
they heartily approved of it. Those
with money enough to build agreed to
put up houses for the poorer members
and sell them on the easy payment
plan without interest. By this means
it is within the power of almost every
member of the church to acquire q
house, and the benefits accruing all
round are such as to make the project
blessing to every one conc erned.
To be member of the church IS to
share in a building plan that makes
man HORSEPOWER in time without
any additional economy at all being
necessary, for the members who help
their less fortunate brethren to acquire
houses ask for % profit OF the outlay,
while the church sells the land at cost
price.
s'The church is satisfied, for it wants
only to. solidify its membership and
root the component parts of the or
ganization to the neighborhood. The
richer members are repaid for their
loans by seeing the property in the
vicinity of their residences increase in
value through the colo Iization of
peaceable, respectable and Industrious
citizens, aud those to whom the houses
are sold are, of course, happy and
grateful to those who enabled them to
own a home. The plan has helped
me and pleased the members. 1t is a
mixture of business, religion and
practical common sense that harms no
one and does many people good. The
same conditions do not exist every
where, and hence the plan could not
be made universal. Where similar
conditions do exist the plan will. be
found to work admirably"
The Church of God is very old
organization in the United States. It
was founded in 1928 in Lower Paxton
township, Dauphin county, Pennsyl-
vania. There are over 500 ministers
and between forty and fifty thousand
members in the United States. The
church at Anderson, Ind, was estab.
lished In August, 1886.
A Postal Card Tragedy.
EAGIEsEYR1F, July 8, 1899.
Dam JAcE-Hera T nm installad