The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-14

veEt;on having been held In Omaha
- FEBRUARY. and the idea later ap.
rroved by the genera! assembly, the
Southern Presbyterians did likewise
The Canadian Presbyterians and
Southern Baptists have also Joined
in the movement. The Congregation
allsts and Northern Baptists will
take up the subject early in the fall.
The Episcopalians have not yet had
opportunity officially to adopt a basis.
but its laymen are in the forefront of
the new movement
Stirring a Continent.
So remarkable has been the re.
sponse. up tc date. on the part of
business men of Professionalism. where
this proposition has been definitely
put UP 20 them. that the leaders are
sanguine Of enlisting the entire body
Of the !aity of the churches Of the
United States and Canada. To this
end. series of laymen's dinners, COW
ering the big cities of the continent
are projected for this winter, on the
line of those successfully held last
winter in New York, Philadelphia,
Chicago. Boston. Toronto, Washing
ton and elsewhere These are not
conventional missionary meetings, but
gatherings of the strongest Christian
business men in each place, managed
and addressed by laymen. The busi-
, ness men who are behind the move
ment plan a systematic propaganda
', that shall reach every man in anywise
! connected with the churches. even to
the remotest crossroads congregation.
Already the movement is formid-
! able: the most important news of the
| year in religious circles. Its conse.
! QueEces will doubtless be far.reach-
ing. Men of foresight are already
! predicting certain unplanned for re-
! suits. One Of these, they say, will
. be the elimination of all Independent
missionary work on the foreign field.
The latter are serious drain on the
! resources Of Christendom. and, say
: the laymen. who have already re-
: turned from their tour of investiga-
! ton, they do not come up to the rep
! reservations made by their eloquen;
representatives in this country. The
laymen's movement stands squsrely
behind the denominatiOnal boards
| Nevertheless. it is predicted, the lay
mens will hold the boards strictly to
account. that their missions be
manned only by competent workers
and that they be conducted on the
| broadest, most effective and mos;
| economical! lines
| Great Britain in Line.
\ deputation from the laymen's
missionary movement has just re-
turned from the other side Of the wa
! ter. where 1t went to introduce the
project to the laity OF the British
churches. The report brought back
is remarkable. The deputation was
welcomed and feted everywhere by
archbishops, church leaders and busi-
ness men. They ate enough compli-
mentary dinners to give them all
dyspepsia. The serious outcome or
their labors was the definite organi-
zation. with unexpected enthusiasm.
of the laymen's missionary movement
in England and Scotland.
The most striking feature of Great
Britain's acceptance of the project is
the fact that the high church party
Of the Church Of England has en-
tered into alliance with other re-
ligious bodies in this undertaking.
This is unprecedented. The Society
for the Propagation of the Gospel, the
famous High Church Missionary or
ganization, has indorsed the new
! movement, and its representatives are
working side by side with men from
the nonconformist bodies. Great
Britain. with less than half the popu-
lation Of the United States and Can
ada already gives sS,973,000 a year
to foreign missions, a little less than
is given by the North American con.
tinent. The balance needed to make
up the worlds total s3.327.O being
given by all other countries 1t is
expected that the gifts of Great Brit.
ain will be stimulated in proportion to
those on this side. In any case. ever.
Wall street will have to take notice
of the flow Of money into foreign mis-.
sion channels.
Copyright. by Joseph B. Bowles)