Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-10-14

they CnanSe. his Will stop Some-
time and our population will become
stable, but just now we must face the
situation and stem the tide.
This year the brethren at the
Fourth Quarterly Conference have
reported to me that they have taken
the following number of members
into the church this year, viz: Ver-
ona ~, LaMoure IL, Edgeley Is,
Wyndmere IA, Minor 80, Cakes 20,
Ludden 4, Glendale ID, Center 10,
Steele 3, Dickinson 81, Turtle Lake
II, Hurdsfield 6, Dawson II, Good
rich 10, Sheldon s, Enderlin II. Het-
finger 20, Mott 80, Mckenzie 80.
Cleveland As. Paramount 10, Tyson
S, Lidgerwood IA, Fargo, 1st IS,
Wheatland 80, Casselton 20. Valley
City II, jamestown Al, Lisbon 40,
Cogswell II, Elliott 7, Wilton "a, I'm
kenholtz Is, and quite number from
some places that have no exact re-
port from, making over 700 members
received into the churches this year.
Now while this is a goodly number
to take in, it does not, by any means
indicate our net membership. The
scheme of making the membership
the basis of appointments has set
the pruning" knife going on the
membership records and many charg-
es reporting the biggest list of new
members this year will report net
loss in membership. For instance:
Wheatland charge has received SO
new members and they told me that
there was at least 80 names on the
record that has been reported year
after year and they are not in the
country and no one knows where
they are. I advised fixing the record
in every such case.
Fargo list church took in IS men,
bers, but will report IS less members
than last year, owing to removals
and pruning Of records. jamestown
took in AZ, but will report a loss of
100. Casselton took in 20 members
and gave 20 letters leaving the mem
bership the same. At Taylor and
Gladstone I found Is names on the
records that no one there now knows
anything about. We marked them
off-"gone without letter." and so on
throughout the entire district I have
tried to get the membership roll in
shape so we can find our members.
Since I have been in Office we have
taken in about 5000 members. The
letters taken in have just about kept
us even and the increase has come
from our revivals:-
Brethren, it is have revivals or
shut up the church or hook up with
the world in, many cases. have
demonstrated to my own satisfaction
that revivals are the only hope of the
Methodist church and without it we
lose our excuse for existence. Other
churches can beat us along social
lines and can talk union" to worldly
people, but we can't. It is along spir-
itual lines or nothing with us.
Buildings.
In the five years that have been
on the district we have built 81 new
buildings, thirty churches and twen-
ty-two parsonages. For the past
four years we have averaged a new
building a month. Forty of these
churches are in places where there
was none before. We have also re-
modelled fourteen churches, making
them practically new structures--in-
creasing the value of our property
over two hundred thousand dollars
by new buildings and improvements.
We dedicated the beautiful new
church at Bismarck this year, free
from debt. This structure will cost
complete about $4,000, and is 2
great credit to the Methodism OF the
state, and a monument to the untir-
ing zeal Of Brother Magin, the. pas
tor of the church.
The new church at Cakes is also
a fine addition to our list Of new
buildings, and will probably rank
next to Bismarck. It was dedicated
this year, thus GROWING Brother
Opies two years labor there with
splendid vivtory. 53
We also dedicated the church at
Allen, Preston, Turtle Lake and Abb
saraka since last conference, thus
rounding up these enterprises SO well
begun by Brothers Book, Danford,
Rockwell and Anthony. We have
churches finished but not dedicated
yet at Emmett, Omeo, Driscoll, Min
ME Lake, Tyson and Fairview, and
churches under construction that will
be finished soon in the coming year
at Center, Twin Lake, Motif and I'm
kenholtz, Oakdale, Manning, Barnes,
Motif, Beach, Cleveland, Wilton and
Hoosier, and could organize In as
many other places If we had men for
the fields. In this latter work Broth
er Mcnamara, our 8. 8. missionary,
has been Of great value. We ought
to have created this office twenty
years ago. Other churches have had
it, but we are just finding out what
a great Office 1t is. A man on the
field with salary and expenses all
paid from Chicago and not dependent
upon collections from poor home.
steaders or worldly settlers for Nv
ing and expenses can do more than
presiding elder whose living must
|, come ont OF the field. The older
parts Of the states are thus made to
evangelize the newer parts. nom
mate Brother Mcnamara for reap
pointment. Il