The Southern herald., 1915-02-19
THE RURAL
(. CHURCH
THE FARMERS THE cUsroDIAu.
OF THE NATIONS MORALITY
Cooperation Of Church, School a..
Press Essential to Community
Building.
RY Peter Rndfnrd

The church, the press and the scbSol
form triple alliance Of progress tbst
guides the destiny Of every commuD.
ity, state and nation. Without them
civilization would wither and die ana
through them life may attain its great.
est blessing, power and KNOWLEDGE
The farmers Of this nation are sreatIv
indebted to this social triumvirate foy
their uplifting influence, and on bebal
of the American plowmen want II
thank those engaged In these bisb
callings for their able and efficient
service, and ! shall offer to the press
a series Of articles on cooperation
between these important Influences
and the farmers in the hope Of in.
creasing the efficiency Of all BY mn.
tual understanding and organized e.
fort. We will take up, first, the rural
church.
The Farmers Are Great Church Build.
The American farmer is the greatest
church builder the world has ever
known, He is the custodian Of the
nations morality; upon his shoulders
rests the lark Of the covenant" and
he is more responsive to religious In
fluences than any other class Of cit
iZenship.
The farmers Of this nation have
built 10000 churches at a cost Of
$75O,OOO,O0O, and the annual contribu.
ton of the nation toward all church
institutions approximates $2OO,0OO,0OO
per annum. The farmers of the Uni.
ted States build % churches per day.
There are 2O,0OO,OOO rural church com.
municants on the farm, and 81 per
cent Of the total membership Of all
churches reside 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.
The Functions Of a 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 meas
ure Of success must enrich the lives
Of the people in the community 1t
serves; it must build character; devel.
op thought and increase the efficiency
Of human life. It must serve the 80.
cial, business and intellectual, as well
as the spiritual and moral side Of life.
II 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 well 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,
1t is death to the rural church ana
moral starvation to the community
Petty sectarianism is a scourge that
blights the life, and the church pfeIu'
dice saps the vitality, Of many com
munities. An over-churched commun'
ity iB a crime against religion, a serf
Gus handicap to society and useless
tax upon agriculture.
While denominations are essenn@
and church pride commendable' lns
high teaching Of universal ChristianiV
must prevail If the rural church IS 70
fulfill it's mission to agriculture,
We frequently have three or iOul
churches in a community which Is no.
able to adequately support one smAl
congregations attend services once
month and all fail to perform the =
ligiOus functions Of the CommuniVj
The division Of religious forces ~,
the breaking into fragments OF mOfa.
efforts Is ofttimes little less tnan
calamity and defeats the very purpO''
they seek to promote.
The evils of too many churches Ne. 20.
be minimized by cooperation in
social and economic life OF RUE
community are respective units aa'
cannot be successfully divided Dy Y.
nominatlonal lines, and the cnulCns, sIIs
can only occupy this important n''-
by cooperation and Co-ordinatloh m
The efiicient country church W.
definitely serve its community Oy les. q.
ing in all worthy efforts at commun,5I, h,
building, in uniting the people = ~
cooperative endeavors for the H.
eral welfare Of the community anu ". y
arousing real love for country ~ =
and loyalty to the country home .,ii, m
these results can only be successl Y
accomplished by the united enSi. ~
the press, the school, the church =
organized farmers. iF