New-York tribune., 1911-12-30
CHURCH AND RELIGIOUS NEWS NOTES
New Departure To Be Made at Coming Conference of Foreign
Missionary Societies.

Home ana foreign mlssion i'OiN''' VI
Protestant churches OF North America
amount to sso.0OoOOo a year. Men VINO d.
rect the expenditure of at least So'"V'Vp OF
this sum arc to meet in conference In this
city within tie next fortnight. The Tor
eign interests of North America have long
united. For the nineteenth annual CONFER
ence, now to be held, departure Is 10 Do
made. Representatives of all foreign So
cieties I'm the United States and CANADA
are 10 assemble at Garden City on january
TO- IL and 12. Heretofore they have met IN
this city, or, perhaps, in Toronto, but TINS
time they retire where they hope to secure
greater freedom from interruption. For
egn mission gifts amount to slS,OOo.Un
year, and are growing rapidly. Especially
are they doing so since laymen took hold
The president Of the foreign conference is
New York layman. Baptist He Is
Mornay Williams.
Recently the home mission people organ
lied, and this year they are to introduce
methods Of conference similar to those Of
the foreign interests. On January sec
retaries and other officers of the home So
ceties dine together, and on January II
and IS there Is TO be held here q council,
the third or fourth to be held anywhere
Preparations are making for campaign
that is to be national and in which the
women have part Home missions in Amer
lea amount to 100000 a year, but much
of this money is raised and expended by
local agencies. The national societies en-
gagged in mission work IN America handle
about the amount the foreign ones do
possibly little more
The meeting of the home interests in this
city next month is Of unusual Importance
because studies Of work in the Rocky
Mountain region. on the Pacific Coast and
among Indians and negroes have just been
begun, and are to be prosecuted from now
on with vigor. Two New York experts.
back yesterday from this Rocky Mountain
and coast survey. We're James f. McAfee
of the Presbyterian, and the Rev. X. Il.
Breed, OF the Congregation societies. one
is a layman. the other a minister, and
seen on their arrival they gave radically
different accounts OF conditions. The pur-
pose OF the survey was TO find out the truth
of the charge that small towns are over
churched and that gifts Of Eastern people
are oftener used to bolster up denomina-
tional ambition than to spread the Gospel
alone and as such. Mr. McAfee, the Pres
byteran layman. said
II found a church in almost every small
town. Sometimes there were two or three
Of them Most Of them were dead. |
think the towns are oYer-churChed, al
though could not find many men to agree
with me. The greatest need that | found
is that home mission boards get together.
The different churches work along In their
separate paths. each ignoring the existence
Of any other church in the community. The
definition of the work of the country
church, as made by the Presbyterian rural
church department. is that it be an insti-
tuition that serves the community.
There is colossal ignorance on the part
of the churches OF the home field. We are
planning a complete survey Of fifteen
states. In February we are TO study Ari-
zona and Utah as we have already studied
Kansas TO California. We take the school
district as a unit These districts are not
geographical but are created on the basis
Of the family life and the presence OF chill
dren. When we learn the actual number OF
churches in q district, the religious bodies
represented the population, the occupa-
tionS OF the people, the enrolments In the
Sunday schools, whether the churches re-
ceive aid from the home mission boards
or not, and the languages spoken If other
than English. we have a fairly good basis
for future work.
Observing that New York has a vital in
terest in this question because 1t is the
centre where largest financial gifts are OBJ
tanned, the Rev. Mr.. Breed showed that
he saw quite another side. He stated that
the survey discovered that 1000 towns
have no churches at all, and that the New
York secretaries who went across the con-
tinent through Montana and returned by
way OF Colorado were appalled, at the mag
nitude Of the work yet to be done.
The present surveys are to be competed
by July, 1872 and then Is to follow the
great home campaign, with the women
uniting. Scientific plans, In which all Joln'
are TO be made for expenditure OF Eastern
10 before