The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1915-02-04
The Farmer as a
Church Builder
BY PETER RADFORD,
Lecturer National Farmers Uni

school form a triple alliance of
progress that guides the destiny
of every community, state and nation.
Without them civilization would
wither and die and through them
life may attain its greatest blessing,
power and knowledge. The farmers
of this Nation are greatly indebted
to this social triumvirate for their
uplifting influence, and on behalf of
the American plowman / want to
thank those engaged in these high
callings for their able and efficient
service.
Farmers Great Church Builders.
The American farmer is the great
est church builder the world has ever
known. He is the custodian of the
Nations morality; upon his shoulders
rests the ark of the covenant" and
he is more responsive to religious in
fiuences than any other class of cit
izenship.
The farmers of this Nation have
built 10000 churches at a cost Of
$3.50, 100000, and the annual con-
tribution of the Nation toward all
church institutions approximates
5000, 100000 per annum. The farm
ers of the United States build %
churches per day. There are 20,-
100000 rural church communicates
on the farm, and 54 per cent of the
total membership of all churches re.
side in the country.
The farm is the power-house of all
progress and the birthplace of all that
is noble. The Garden of Eden was
in the country and the man who
would get close to God must first
get close to Nature.
Functions of Rural Church.
If the rural churches today are 60
ing to render service which this age
demands, there must be cooperation
between the religious, social and eco
nomic life of the community.
The church to attain its fullest
measure of success must enrich the
lives of the people in the community
it serves; it must build character,
develop thought and increase the ef-
fiency of human life. 1t must serve
the social, business and intellectual,
as well as the spiritual and moral
side of life. If religion does not make
man more capable, more useful and
more just, what good is it? We want
practical religion, one we can live
by and farm by, as we'll as die by.
Fewer and Better Churches.
Blessed is that rural community
which has but one place of worship.
While competition is the life of trade,
it is death to the rural church and
moral starvation to the community.
Petty sectarianism is scourge that
blights the life, and church prejudice
saps the vitality of many communi-
ties. An over-churched community is
a crime against religion, a serious
handicap to society and useless tax
upon agriculture.
While denominations are essential
and church pride commendable, the
high teaching Of universal Christian
ity must prevail if the rural church
is to fulfill its mission to agriculture.
We frequently have three or four
churches in a community which is
not able to adequately support one.
Small congregations attend services
once month and all fail to perform
the religious functions of the COM
munity. The division Of religious
forces and the breaking into frag-
ments of moral effort is oftimes little
less than calamity and defeats the
very purpose they seek to promote.
Cooperation.
The evils of too many churches can
be minimized by cooperation. The
social and economic life of rural
community are respective units and
cannot be successfully divided by de-
nominational lines, and the churches
can only occupy this important field
by cooperation and coordination.
The efficient country church will
definitely serve it's community by
leading in all worthy efforts at COM
munity building, in uniting the peo-
pie in all cooperative endeavors for
the general welfare of the community
and in arousing a real love for coun-
try life and loyalty to the country
home and these results can only be
successfully accomplished by the
united effort Of the press, the school
the church and organized farmers.