The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-22
BAPTIST MISSION
 BOARD REPORTS Southern Church Gave $35,- 900 Last Year to For
 eign Missions

Greenville. July 21.-(special 1.-The following report on foreign missions was read at the session on Thursday afternoon at the state Baptist conven- tion:
 Southern Baptists gave for foreign missions last year $51o.o08.97; of this amount Alabama gave $35,2S5.24.
 We have on the foreign field 273 missionaries, and 5S1 native helpers; total of BOA, which is the largest num- Der we have ever had. There ware 361S baptisms last year. larger number than in any former year.
 Our church membership on the for eign field Is 21,S4S. About IT per cent of the present membership was added | by baptism last year, while the gain in Alabama was about per cent. If there were no baptisms to re- port. the command to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature would be just as binding, and | while the Lord Is setting his seal upon the work by saving large number, He l Is calling in loud tones to the churches to rally to those on the field, both by endorsements and money. Tn his last report the secretary of the Foreign Missionary board states that there are important pressing calls for help in our various mission fields which ought to be needed by our peo- pie at once. A number of missionary homes are needed, chapels need be en- 'larged to meet the demand of the grow ing congregations. There are a num- Der of places where we have no chapels at all; the meetings are being held in private homes, or under sheds, or in the open air.
 That report calls special attention to the theological seminaries and training schools in the following words:
 "'Many of our people do not know that we have nine theological schools training young preachers and eight training schools for women preparing the sisters on the foreign field for the mission work. In all of these there are $50 men and women who are soon to go out far better equipped than those before tlfem have been to present the cause of Christ to their own people,
 Anyone who will examine the re- port of the treasurer of the foreign mission board will see that for all ex- penses it took 12 cents on the dollar, which means that SS cents went to the foreign field. Of the 12 cents it took 3h for expenses in the various states and 21z for interest on borrowed money.
 The board having to pay interest is no argument against our plan of mission work, but the fault of pastors and churches because of a lack of sys- tenn
 The S1s cents on the dollar for state expenses Is used for state mis- sion work and is well spent.
 If you boil the expense of the board down to its last analysis and lay it down at the feet of our board in Rich mond you will find it only cents on the dollar.
 Our people need information above everything else; the pastor is the man to give it. The Bible. the Foreign Mission Journal (25 cents each in clubs) and the free tracts and leaflets are all at his command to be used after his own method.
 Ala oana Baptists are asked to give s3soo0 this year for foreign missions, which is about 20 cents per capita
 MT. Richard H. Edmonds of Balti- more says that the wealth of the south is increasing at the rate of S7,000,o00 a day. He estimates that at least 20 per cent O. this wealth Is coming into the hands of the Baptists. That would make our increase l,5o0. 900 a day"
 For the Baptists of Alabama 1t means more than s100000 a day. We are asked to lay aside the small amount of one-third of the increase of one day to support the work of the foreign field for the entire year.
 Giving and praying ought to go togeth- CT. If we measure our praying by our giving how will the two appear to the Master when they come up as memorial befors him? "When the Lord lays his hand upon us and wants us to either go or send, let each obe be ready to do the will of Him who has come into the world and died to save us.
 We cannot close this report without calling attention to the debt of sS9, 9,61413 which confronted the board at the end of the last conventional year. Let us as Baptists of Alabama see to it that there shall be no debt at the close of this year due to any failure on our part
 "J. M. M'CORD,
 'M. K THORNTON,
 'J. W. MINOR.