The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-05-30
Heroes of Home Missions
 Builders of Christianity

rian naxnss or slorffying denomination al agencies, then the great Christian public will turn its back in disapproval, But 1t by home missionsa a practical. or ganized effort to give the stimulating, and transforming power Of the gospel to every last man and woman under our country's flag, then the judg- ment of Christendom gives hearty fa- vor and assent. There are lonely ranch men and miners who are beyond the touch of Christian influences. There are multitudes of children. growing up out side of the pale of religions formative touch. A vast multitude of aliens. as foreign in temperament to the spirit of this new land as they are in language to its tongue, need to be leavened by the teachings of the gospel which is, after all has been said. our national genius. Intricate and difficult social problems there are awaiting solution by applied Christianity. Truly, the proper scope of applied Christianity Is great enough, without any wasteful and un- seemly rivalry and friction.
 The man who invests his life in help. ing to fix and ennoble the ideals of Q community, in its formative period has achieved the mission of a patriot.
 1ht tuOucTu phbtOE VI oOWa"eON1 v city church is nowadays as truly home missionary as is the circuit-riding frontiersman.
 We may not speak of the great work of pioneer missions as in the past tense. Ralph Connor's books show how tru- ly this sort of service is being done in the Canadian Northwest today. At the present time the official representa- nR 1% hn tions is going to Great Britin. there to seek recruits for the mission fields of the Northwest. He will offer to young British ministers the opportunity to du~ plicate the work of the men whose names the churches cherish as home mission heroes and pioneers. Gods roll of honor will never be closed until the last of all his wandering children has been brought home.
 Bright are the triumphs of the mis- sionary. The famous Indian warrior. Geronimo. who died a short time ago, became Christian convert of . home missionary.
 The character of Alaska and the Ca nadian Northwest is yet-to be fixed; and 1t Is for the church to say who shall fix 1t.
 Magazine readers have shown an in- satiable interest in the character and mission of Dr. Wilfred F. Grenfeil, of Labrador, who is hailed everywhere as knightly hero of Jesus Christ In or- der to serve the people of the bleak coast of Labrador he has undergone the rigors of an Arctic explorer, and has employed all the versatility of one of the great pioneers. There fs no man so high in public office. or so richly laden with emoluments of business that he is above a feeling of envy as he beholds the noble. full-orbed life of this chiy- a1rous exponent of the twentieth cen- tury's best spirit.
 John Eliot thought he was merely do- ing the extension work of his Roxbury parish when he began to work for the aborginsee. but. 10. he was writing his name large upon the roll of America's history-makers and scholars.
 Father Dyer." the snowshoe itiner- ant" was one of that fnnumerahle company of Methodist preachers who have braved the wilderness for the gos- pel's sake. He has given his name to the early annals of Wisconsin, Mime. sota and Colorado.
 The General Assembly of the Presby- terian Church in the United States of America. in Denver, is commemorating the golden jubilee of home mission work in Colorado. Among the commits sioners are several members of that company of men who, along with Dr. Sheldon Jackson. had an imperial vision of a new land to be won for their Lord. What they achieved in labor and suffer- ing their whole church is now celebrat- ing in dignity and honor. Sheldon Jack. son himself passed, only a few days ago. to the greater honors of the Gen eral Assembly of the Church of the First Born