Omaha daily bee., 1907-03-19
AMERICA FOR JESUS CHRIST
Slogan First Convention Northwest Division
Methodist home Mission Board,
OMAHA IS THE BASE OF NEW CAMPAIGN
Dignitnries of Church Gather in This
City to Give Good stnrt to Militant
Movement of Extension
Work.


Extension Of the Methodist Episcopal
church. The sessions opened Monday after
noon at the First church with a splendid
program and a good attendance Of church
dignitaries and representatives from this
section. and another interesting program
was given at the same place last evening.
The convention will last today, with ses-
sions morning, afternoon and evening. Tho
public is invited to these meetings, where
# will be given an opportunity to hear
some OF the best speakers of the Methodist
church.
BY a recent action Of the commission on
consolidation the boards OF administration
Of the benevolent work OF the Methodist
church have been reduced IN number and
reorganized. The convention besides arous-
ing enthusiasm in the work Of spreading
tho gospel in the United States will ex-
plain how the changes affect the success
Of the church in the United States and
territories and also how It affects the con-
tributions.
Rev. William Gorst, presiding elder Of
this conference presided at the afternoon
session. and w. P. Hartford in the even
ing. After a quiet hour with Rev. u. w.
McGregor as leader. DR.. Gorst gave the
address of welcome. Rev. @. w. Isham
was unable to be present and his paper
will be read later in the convention.
DIR. GOrst Strikes Keynote.
DR.. Gorst said he believed the keynote
for home mission and churcn extension is
America for Christ" and is the most
important battle cry before the church.
9Ie put special emphasis on the tremendous
responsibility It is to face and convince
the foreign people coming to America. He
also spoke of the problem to maintain these
extensions. The home mission and church
extension work includes two great fields,
evangelistic and church building. He fur
ther spoke Of the hundreds and thousands
of dollars which have been appropriated
among the native people IN every state and
territory in the union for evangelistic and
church building purposes and also the pro-
visions made for reaching the non-Englsh
speaking races that are playing such con-
spicuous part in the western domain. DIR.
Gorst emphasized the fact that the Meth
odist Episcopal church has always been
the church OF home missionaries above all
other denominations.
Dr. George Elliott Speaks.
| DR.. George Elliott OF Chicago. field score
tary of home missions and church extern
sion work. was not on the program for
| Monday afternoon, but was called upon by
"The justification of the church in the
reorganization Of the missionary work Is
apparent The church itself has hardly
( been aware of the work done but It is now
being brought to the vision Of the church.
Most money raised for missionary work has
/ been raised the strength Of the appeals
made for foreign missions. with The de-
mands for worldwide missionary work,
and yet half has been spent at home. The
! time has come for the declaration OF a
holy war, for the complete evangeization
! Of America. We have only been playing
at the work of home missonn. No church
is so necessarily a home missionary organi-
zation from its very constitution as the
Methodist Episcopal church There is
needed an evangelical revival within the
church itself in regard to the work of the
church"
Jason Lee, First Missionary.
Jason Lee was the theme OF an address
by Rev. J. A. spyker, d. D., OF Fremont.
who drew many lessons from the work OF
this first missionary to the great northwest,
God Almighty was incarnated in man."
said DR.. Spyker, land If He is not now to
be found in good men He is surely lost to
the race. II we would know of a great
missionary movement we must know the
men, for they are the principal parts OF a
movement OF this kind at its inception. So
we find Jason Lee, a hero of righteousness,
who worked in the wilderness OF the west.
He was born IN the first part OF this
century and when Jackson was president
he crossed the Rockies. The great west
had been forgotten in the work Of the
| church There was but one foreign mis-
sionary at that time, and he was in Liberia.
Jason Lee had a burning passion in his
| hat ba n ha q mis- 10
the Indians OF America.
"Ths result OF the work Of Jason Lee
and such as he opened up many new places
OF settlement where towns sprung up. Ten
years after Lee went to Salem the town
had 5000 people and twenty-five years after
wards Oregon was admitted as a state in
the union.
lee had the true missionary spirit, the
spirit Of self-sacriice, 1t Is a mans busi-
ness to be a convert before he tries to
convert others. and Jason Lee had the
right spirit He strove 10 lead men to
liberty whose lives were in bondage"
Tribute to Bishop McCabe.
A beautiful and loving tribute was paid
to Bishop c. c. McCabe by Rev. E. e.
Hosman, who said:
He can truly be called a master mis-
sionary, God bestowed upon him special
. ! klLlS anu ne ubeu AilCbG Special BlIL8 LOT
the full benefit of his fellow men. II ever
| man paid the full price for his hard work
II was this man. He was not self-centered,
but rather went out OF his road 70 help
others. When boy Of % IN charge OF his
fathers store in his home town he was
one Of the principal leaders in a great re-
vival in his own church. His work so
impressed the bishop that he was advised
20 quit the store and study for the min
istry This he did by starting Immediately
for college.
when one met Bishop McCabe he was
at once impressed that here was man
not centered on self-interest. He often
sacrificed his own comfort to help clergy
men In trouble and gave Of his private
funds on occasions too numerous to mem
ton
He paid the price OF thought and at
tention 10 his specific phase OF work He
had but one object and that was to get on
with the work OF spreading the gospel OF
Jesus Christ. He always worked hard
on his addresses and sermons and showed
ne had a thorough knowledge OF condi.
tions all over the world. His thought was
centered on the one thing he was striving
10 accomplish-GOd's work.