The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-05-03
MORE THAN 1900
souls CONVERTED
Southern Baptists Do Fine Work
in Heather Lands the
Past Year.
HALF MILLION UTILIZED
Contributions to Foreign Cause
Break All Records in Church
History.

The foreign mission board of the
Southern Baptist convention, which
closed its year on April so. will make
a very gratifying report to the con-
vention which meets In Baltimore on
May II. The receipts OF the board
have gone above the half million dol
lar mark, being a little more than
s501,o00. This Is an increase of s4e,-
GOO over last year, and of 800, goo
for the last two years, The board re-
grets the necessity OF reporting a
debt of $4,000. The convention last
year authorized the board to lay out
It's work on the basis of s53T,50o,
and the board found it necessary to go
the convention, but the receipts did
not quite reach this amount. The
board rejoices over the larger ad-
vance. and feels that this indebted
ness. which as only a little larger
than the debt carried over last year,
will not seriously cripple the work,
and sets its face to the future with
grateful nthusiasm.
are the best that have been received.
There are more than 1900 baptisms.
and the work IN all the fields is flour
ishtng and full, of promise. There are
more than zoe students In the theo-
logical seminaries on the various
fields. who are preparing to preach
the gospel to their own people The
medical missionaries treated over
$4,000 patients during the year The
forces of the board are now 246 mis-
sionarfes and 4s7 native workers
The convention met in Baltimore
in 1884. twentysfx Years ago. Dur
ing this quarter of a century there
has been five-foid increase in the
number of missionaries and ten-fold
increase in the number of native
workers. The total membership on
the fields in 1854 was La. Now IL
IL nearly 10000. a sixteen-fold In
crease. At that time the total addi-
tons to the churches on the foreign
field were IT'S. This year there are
more than 1900 additions, more than
twenty-foId Increase. These figures
indicate the remarkable growth of the
work OF the foreign field since 1884.
The growth of the missionary spirit
at home has been equally as remark
able. The total receipts or the board
reported at Baltimore In 1884 were
$Ts,so3. This year the figures go be.
yond half million. showing more
than six-fold increase. II the work
of the board makes a propcrtionate
advance in the next quarter OF a GEN.
fury, there will be 1880 missionaries
and $3.50 native workers on the fields,
and the convention viii be giving
more than 100000 annually to sup
port the work. II the membership
of the churches on the foreign fields
increase only in proportion as they
have in the last quarter OF a century,
there will be more than three mil
lions of church members, but there
are many Indications that the In
crease for the future will be far larger
than Ii has been in the past. There
are great religious awakenings in
many Of the foreign fields. and 1t may
be confidently expected that the
membership of the churches planted
by the foreign mission board will
reach many millions.
The laymen's missionary movement
and similar movements In this coun-
try will result in the, rapid growth of
the missionary spirit These great
movements have already produced
marked results In some places
The church which made the largest
sions Is the First Baptist church OF
this city. which gave over 81. 600. The
other churches in Richmond have
given literally. making 4 large in
crease over last year. This ID no doubt
| In part the result OF the Laymens
Missionary Movement.
L