The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-03-11
ALL THE CHURCHES
UNITE FOR CANVASS
Success in Every Member
Canvass" Starts Move
PORTENDS MORE UNION
For Home and Foreign Causes.
Committee to Arrange Nation
Wide Campaign
BY The Religious Rambler.

OF the new and notable develop
ments in the religious life of North
America there seems to be no end in
these changeful days. Now the joint
boards OF home and foreign missions
are CONFERENCE.-THE committee was
appointed a few days ago-upon the
subject Of a united, simultaneous, IA
tion-wide canvass Of all the rotestant
churches. one year hence. !
This is big business It is far
and away the largest joint enterprise
of North American ChristendOm. The
significant fact about it is hat the
movement is officially denOminatiOna1,
and not a volunteer action Of inter
ested individuals. The churches will
be acting through their own regular
agencies, moving in concert.
Furt hermore, Canada and the Uni
ted States are both represented in the
council Of the Allied Mission Boards,
| and while specific report has not yet
been made by M Canadian body, the
churchmen Of the Dominion have
hitherto shown themselves more ag-
gressive in missionary matters thar
their brethren across the border.
Canvassing American Churches.
This project is no mer matter OF
convention resolutions. It is not m
thing to be done by the higher Off
| cials Of the denominations, acting III
behalf Of all. If the recommends
tons of the committee are adopted by
all the boards represented, then the
practical result will be that all e
this broad land, in great cities and
country villages, the entire body OF
Protestant Christians will be simulta-
neously engaged in a business-like ef-
fort to buttonhole every man, WON
an and child on the rolls OF the
churches for a pledged weekly offer
ing to all the causes Of the respec-
tive denominations.
This will doubtless be the most
widely organized systematic money
raising project ever attempted for any
machinery Of the denominations vii
be put into operations to each eve
last member everywhere. n effOr1
will be q supreme test Of church eff
cheney. If the churches can, without
a given time, do this difficult task OF
raising money for all their varied pur'
poses, there is nothing else in III
way of concerted action that they can
not do. 1t will be the proof of tn
RELIGIOUS machinery OF the d%enolnina
tons. Thencoforth they can be SOttel
quickly and unitedly into action TO
any purpose Of propaganda. remon
STRANGE, or whatever else may apped
: 10 the official leaders sitting in ON
mon council.
How the Plan Grows
Clearly the end is coming of the oil
days of financial privateering in tn
churches. whereby every board an
society and committee n cause tina
could get a hearing before a congre
CATION exploited the people for tn
benefit of their own treasures an
9 without respect to the claims Of Othe
< departments Of church work. Thu!
the cause that mad the most eloqueT
r pleader or organizer secured IN
t funds, irrespective of the merits Of il
work. AS a result of decades of tn
e sort of thing, the financial method
Of the Protestant churches have. g.
s pecialIy in the matter Of benevoleI
contributions. resembled chaos.
Various denominations have bee