Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1913-04-04
TO GROW IN POWER
Many Fields OF Usefulness That
Are More or Less Neglected
by the Rural Church.

from $50 churches In the territory
How many of these are taking lead
ing part in their respective commu-
mites for all that is implied in the up
ward look for which their tapering
steeples stand? Some OF them are
unused: others are opened once In
two weeks for brief service; many
house tiny band of worshipers each
week; but probably not one-quarter OF
them are coming anywhere near their
capacities in any branch Of their work
How can great efficiency be Sc
cured?
G. Frederick Wells, chairman of the
country church commission of the
Methodist Federation for Social Serv-
ice, mentions a church within days
journey of this city which stands amid
farm community containing more
than one million dollars worth of pro-
ductive wealth. yet it cannot support
$500 minister. Is this the fault of
the pulpit or the pew, or is 1t merely
the lack of a proper appreciation for
the new functions of the religious side
of life in the upbuilding of rural
population?
Probably 1t is largely this. There
are" says Mr.. Wells, "seven stages in
the development of the normal coun-
try church In the average American
rural community. They are the wor-
ship stage, the service stage, the fell
lowship stage. the cooperative stage,
the substitutional stage, the commu-
nifty stage and the world stage" First.
agriculturists desire to come together
for worship, and they establish
church. The natural outgrowth of this,
desire to serve each other in spiritual
ways. From this comes spirit of fell
lowship. Here, however, most rural
churches have been disposed to stop.
Those which go along to other stages
are the ones which are not complain
ing about the depopulation of the
country and the loss In efficiency of
the rural church. And, fortunately,
there are some that do go further.
Cooperative Movements.
These progressive organizations be-
gin to cooperate with the oranges,
the state library, the credit associa-
tons, village Improvement societies,
neighborhood clubs and other forces
for social betterment, thereby making
the church a center, doing away with
bleak silence six days in the week
and holding many who otherwise
would drift away under the feeling
that there was not enough in the
church to make attendance and work
for it worth while Few are those
VITO reach this point, but those who
do rarely complain of their deserted
state. Then comes the stage in which
the church takes the place of city &C
tivities, adding institutional work.
gymnasium classes, reading rooms,
medical relief, educational extension
and all the activities now found In
some progressive downtown institu-
lions in our large cities. This re-
quires money, and hard labor on the
part of the pastor. 1t never appears
without the previous step by which
interest has grown and made the
church successful
Beyond this the steps are more ideal
than actual, for 1t may be questioned
whether they are reached in dozen
churches of any state. Under the
community idea the whole section to
which the organization ministers be-
comes unit for all kinds Of endeav-
or. 1t brings the religious life of the
community into business effort, into
interests of any group of individuals
able to be self-sufficient on account of
the variety of interests within their
own ranks.
Ideals May Be Realized.
Can these ideals be realized? In
part they have been in isolated cases.
Within the sections near to Troy there
are churches standing on the hills Of
farming communities or at the cross
roads of agricultural sections which
are reaching out to meet problems
along the line outlined. The rest can
be accomplished just as much. All
that is needed is a feeling that the
community needs such work and
can do 1t If it will. Then indomita-
BILE effort must be put forward until
the vision of few becomes the reali-
zation Of the many. If this we're done
there would be little more complaint
about the decadence of the country
church. The boys and girls from the
country would reach the city with
determination to realize the same am
billions they had in the hills of home
and would inspire the city churches
as did the same classes fifty years ago.
And the church would justify its ex-
istence to such an extent as to dis
arm the critics who have In the de-
cline of the rural church an argur
ment for their side of the case.-Troy
On. 70 Record.