Evening journal., 1910-05-23
Rev. w. c. Poole, of Me-
Cabe Church, Reads In
feresfing Paper at
Preachers Meeting

=
Preachers Meeting
At the weekly meeting of the Will
Methodist Episcopal Preach
ers' Association this morning. the Rev.
w. c. Poole, pastor of McCabe Mem
orial Church, read an interesting and
carefully prepared paper on 'Forty
Years Of Peninsula Methodism," show
ing the great progress of this church
from a statistical standpoint Mr..
Poole said in part:.
so frequently have misguided
friends. and unkind critics tried to give
the impression that Methodism was
thing of the past, and that some one
should be preparing its eulogy. that
at no small trouble, have collected
and prepared the facts and figures of
it's forty years of history in the Will
mington Conference, which territory is
the small section of our country COW
cred by Delaware, the Eastern shore
of Maryland and the two Eastern
shore counties of Virginia
These facts have been obtained
from the official records of the Census
Bureau and the Wilmington Confer
ence. AS 1 began collecting the data
in 1909, the facts and figures of the
reports for the chucrh are those of
1869, 70, 80. 80. 'O9. The census stat
istics are for those of the following
years. The study is given in ten year
periods.
Let it be remembered that this ter
ritory in which Methodism is working
is old and settled. It has had outside
of Wilmington a comparatively very
small growth in population. Take for
example Kent county, Delaware; in
1870 its population was 29,8O4 and
thirty years later, in 1900 the census
report shows only 32,762. or a gain
of less than 5000, while in twenty
years from 1880 to 1900 the population
Of Kent county. Delaware, decreased
from 32,S74 to 32,762. In thirty years
from 1870 to 1900. Cecil county, Mary
land decreased in population from
25,874 to 24.662.
I'm 1863 the first session of the VIII
mington Annual Conference was held
in Asbury M. r. Church, Wilmington,
Bishop Matthew Simpson presiding.
Until that time it had been a part of
the Philadelphia Conference. Only S4
preaching appointments made up the
new conference. The numbers of
preaching appointments by decades
named above has been: 81, 1O6, 155,
IT'S. 1S3. That is, instead of "a
preachers as in 1869, there were in
1909 1873. an increase of 80 or over
125 per cent. in forty years.
THE Growth in Number Of Churches
gives us today 891 instead 299 forty
years ago, Notwithstanding the fact
that we have united many small and
weak churches so as to make self sup
porting ones, and some have been
abandoned, yet enough new congrega-
tions have been organized and new
! churces built to make a gain of 81
churches and congregations after de-
Quoting all losses.
Their value has been for each de-
cade as follows. S91O.15O, $1,171,125
S1,3s7S5s. S1,541.470, $1.927,65O; show
ing an increase in value of over 81.
100000 or a gain of over 100 per cent
The parsonages have increased
from AZ, at our first session to 154, o.
nearly four-fold. Their gain in value II
about three fold or from $4,000 t.
$4,000 This value by decades hai
been 10000, 10000, 216,00O, 265,0OO
$4,000.
Al Llt liIEl htcSAUMr HO oulAUdl
school scholars were reported. In 1877!
they number 27,726. In 1883, 4O,O67. II
1899 43,24S. In 1909 their number was
49.997. While the number of scholars
has nearly doubled in only 80 years tn,
effectiveness of the schools has in.
creased far more.
But what about the COMMITMENTS
Has their number increased in pro.
~, I,ars n
preachers and churches? Too Otter
we hear complaints from those whC
give little or nothing that the church
is increasing in preachers and wealth
but not in members.
mo part of our growth show greatei
cause for encouragement than in mem.
bers. In dealing with this importan
part of our growth I will not coun
probationers but only full members re
ported It might be said, however
that if probationers were counted tn
growth would be over two Thousand
greater owing to the fact that in 1S6
there We're only 1859 probations a
compared 5,S44 forty years later ii
1909. That is the total membership
including probationers in 1869 wa
23.O57 and in 1909 1890. But Metho
MAEAc uAG NNAN 0NA ~ AAA ANAANAAt7 NAANA
members. Their following number
from FIVE TO ten times their member
ship. Not counting the probationer
the number of fun members for eac
decade of the four named in the his
tory of the conference is 19,6SS, 26,73l
2S.S61, 37.122, 40.146. This shows
gain of over 100 per cent That is tn
membership has more than doubled Il
a territory where the population, out
side of city increased by foreign i'm
migration, has had but small increas
and in some cases decrease. The cen
sus population Of Delaware in 1S7l
outside Of Wilmington, 94,174. Thirt
years later in 1900 il was only 10s,227
or an increase of only $4,000 or abou
10 per cent. My reason for exclud
, ing Wilmington at this point is tina
the growth in population Of Delawar
! outside of Wilmington is estimated
be about the same as the growth {
the nine Eastern Shore counties
| Maryland and the two counties in Vir
l ginia. Moreover, Wilmington will b
, considered separately. AS compare
with population outside OF Wilmingto
Ian -. Naasa In. :