The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1914-07-16
PREACHERS PLACE TO
Be USEFUL INSTEAD
OFJUST ORNAMENTAL


ly 14-"The country preacher is al
ways willing to accept more salary.
Well, it is his business to get out and
make it possible for the farmers to
pay him more salary" The preach
ers place in country life is to be use
full rather than ornamental, accord
ing to Ralph A. FELTON,, of the De-
partment of Church and Country Life
of the Presbyterian Board Of Home
Missions, who yesterday addressed
the ministers of Oregon who were
present at the Inter UNCONVENTIONAL
Conference of Ministers being held
this week in connection with the
Summer Session of the University of
Oregon.
THE country preacher can far
more than earn his salt, if he will
preach against the sins that are keep
ing the farmers poor, and forget
about the sins he was taught about
at the theological seminary.
"The sin of the American farmer
today is lack of cooperation. The
preachers great opportunity is in all
the Better Farming Movements:
Good Roads, Consolidated Schools,
Honest Packing, Cooperative Market
ing, Rural Social Life, Country
Church Federation, more interesting
churches with more varied programs
Let him get behind these things and
he can help make his community rich.
These are the things Amos and Gid
con and the other Old Testament
worthless were going after all the
time. They gathered the people to-
gether under religious motive to
further the peoples own interests,
and to 60 after their enemies.
Let the ministers first put their
own house in order They must lead
in all these movements and they must
know about them. If the minister
can tell the farmer something about
the marketing of apples, he can
make him listen when he tells him
about salvation, too.
THE day of the small church is
gone forever. The small churches
are losing members, and the smaller
they are the faster they are losing
them. The young people won't have
anything to do with the small church
and you can't make them.
| Here are some statistics for 151 5
churches. The first column gives
the size of the church. and the sec
ond the percentage of churches of
that size that are actually growing.
25 members or less. 2.2 per cent
26 to so members. :. 16.6 per cent
81 to 100 members a. 33,5 per cent
101 to $50 members 4S.2 per cent
151 to 200 members 5S.5 per cent
POI and over. ~. per cent
"The answer is that the country
churches absolutely must forget sec
tartan differences and consolidate
and they can't unite on creeds. The
thing they can unite on is the COM
munity's needs.
Another thing, preaching against
things does not get one anywhere.
The country preacher should put in
his time working for things. Get out
and hustle and bring speakers to
your church on all subjects that in
terest the people of your community.
Don't ask If they are churchmen or
not. Give varied program; always
something new at the church. The
movies couldn't steal your congre-
cation if they gave the same films
every week. Young country people
will go twelve miles to dance
Work up things for the church that
they will go twelve miles to attend
Consider and meet their natural de-
sire for social enjoyment and enter
tainment.
"The church isn't right until the
preacher is capable of interesting a
farmers club by talking on any farm
ing subject. | know county seat
where II rural ministers live in
town; three Of them in apartment
houses. They say they do it for the
education of their children but think
of the other children out on the
farms. 1t is the minister's great op-
portunity to carry light and learn
ing to the country He must be firm
ly attached at both ends, he must
know books, and current events and
the great world, he cannot do bet
ter than keep in touch with his state
university as at this conference, but
he must also get right into the
country life and make himself a NOV.
er and a leader.
"And he can make himself worth
while if he knows, as a social leader
where he wants to lead people. The
Back to the Farm cry is all Tomfool
cry unless you put something worth
while back there in the country"
Mr. FELTON, then quoted elaborate
statistics to show that where the
roads were improved population in.
creased, the proportion of church
members grew, the churches were
large and kept getting larger. His