The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-08-25
CHURCH
Benevolent Organizations and Enter
prises of M~ethodfsm.
ial to the Indiananolis journal.

Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
NEW YORK, Aug. 24.-The benevolent
societies and enterprises of the Methodist
Church in the United States were all start
ed in the nineteenth century, as is also the
case with the young peoples and other or
ganizations of the denomination A few
figures will show the extent to which this
phase of denominational work is done.
The Epworth League has 1880 local or
CARNATIONS. with 1,S6O,O 900 members. The
Sunday-school Union has 81. 6S6 schools en-
rolled. The Tract Society distributes about
12,00O,0 900 pages of literature annually. The
Methodist Book Concern made sales in the
last fifty years aggregating over $780, 00. 900.
The F~reedmen's Aid Society has disbursed
s.. 100000 and has aided POI 900 students. The
Missionary Society has spent $50. ooO, 600 for
the evangelization of the world. The Board
of Church Extension has aided II, sol
churches to the amount of s6,5ss. 43O. The
Woman's Foreign Missionary Society has
5000 auxiliary organizations. with 127.O 900
members. The Woman's Home Missionary
Society has 5000 auxiliary societies, with
so, 600 members. n recent work which in
wolves a large amount of money is the rails
ing of twentieth century funds in both the
Northern and Southern bodies of the
church. The idea of these funds originated
with the Wesleyan Methodists of England.
who set out to raise about $1,000, 900 at the
beginning of the new century. The North
ern body in the United States adopted the
idea, but raised the stint to 500. 600, 900, the
sum to be devoted to educational, philan-
thropic, endowment and debt-paying pur-
poses: s12, 900. 900 has been subscribed to the
fund, and II is expected that the remaining
$780, 600. or most of it. will be pledged be-
fore the end of the year. Methodists, South,
have raised 81. 100000 for similar purposes.
Educational work in the Methodist
Church has kept pace with growth along
other lines. At the beginning of the
nineteenth century there was but one
Methodist institution of learning and it's
building had just been burned. AT its close
Methodists had fifty-six colleges and uni
versities, twenty-five theological schools,
seventy-two preparatory and training
schools and ninety-nine foreign mission
schools. Grounds and buildings were to
the value of over ST.. 200, 900 held by the
various schools and colleges, endowments
to the amount of SIS. 900. 600 were enjoyed,
and over $4,000 pupils were being instructed
by 1900 teachers at a total cost of over
100000 annually. Over 10000 young peo-
pie nave been helped to an education by
the Board of Education of the Methodist
Church, North. at an expenditure of over
81, 100000.
In Great Britain and I'm British possess
sions Methodist growth has not been so
marked as in America, although in point
of membership the denomination ranks
well with other evangelical churches. In
Great Britain and Ireland, including for
eign missions supported by the churches
there. Methodists have a membership of
about 1000. 000. the larger number of which
are in the Wesleyan Methodist body. while
the remainder is divided between the
Primitive Methodists, the United Metho-
dist Free Churches. the Methodist New
Connection and several smaller organiza-
tions. The Australasian Wesleyan Metho-
dist Church, including the minor Methodist
churches united with it, has a membership
of 1877, rs, and it is estimated that the adj
herents of the Australasian church in
clude over one-tenth of the population OF
that section.