The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1915-05-14
CHURCH PROGRESS
FOR YEAR IS TOLD
SOUTHERN BAPTIsTS IN HoUs.
TON OPEN ANNUAL CON- 4
VENTIoN.

year by the southern Baptist Church
in foreign missionary work, according
to the annual report of the Foreign
Mission Board, submitted to the con-
vention here today. This advance
ment the report states, has been made
in Europe and Mexico, as well as in
the countries which are enjoying
peaceful conditions.
The board makes a plea for more
missionaries and for an extension of
the church activities in foreign fields,
| especially in South America and in
| the Balkan States, and also recon-
mends that the Southern Baptists
enter into a union with the Presby-
terians, the Methodists, the Decipes
of Christ and the Y. NJ. G. A. for the
| support of a school in China in which
children of missionaries may be edu-
| Gated. The convention now is sup
porting mission work in three sec
| tons of China, in Japan, Africa, Italy,
|
The board presented figures indi-
| eating the growth of the foreign mis-
| sionary work OF the church in the
last twenty-five years. In 1898, the
| report states, the Southern Baptists
had in foreign lands 80 missionaries,
sc native helpers, Is churches with
1928 members, Sunday schools in
| which there were 2,271 pupils, sixteen
day schools with 593 members. This
syear 3S3 Baptists were reported from
sall churches.
During the last year the church had
| in foreign fields 300 missionaries, 635
native helpers, $50 churches with 30
600 members, Sunday schools in
which there are $4,000 children, 800
day schools with 1876 pupils. For
the year the churches report about
5000 baptisms.
In 1893 there were no hospitals
owned by the Southern Paptists in
foreign lands. Today they have nine
hospital buildings where eleven med
fcal missionaries treated last year IA
S39 patients.
In 1898 the total sum given by the
Southern Baptist churches for this
work was $154,6S3. Last year the
contributions for all purposes in for
eign lands ran up to $742,141.
Continuing the report says:
The policy of the convention has |
always been to make the churches es-
tablished in the foreign field self-sup-
porting as soon as possible. Every
new missionary sent out is required |
to sign articles of agreement, one of
which is that he will be active in en-
couraging native Christians to sup
port their own churches All the mis-
sionaries, since the war came on, have
appealed to the self sacrificing spirit
of the native Christians and in a short
time many of the churches which are
now helped by the convention will be
paying their own way.
Nearly every pastor today in the
foreign field is being paid in part by
the field he serves. In Lagos. West
Africa, there are three large, self
churches that sent out mis-
sionarieS into the outlaying country.
The church at Tongchow, North
China, supports three evangelists and
three Bible women. In Central China
there are four churches that support
their own pastors without any help
from the board.
The average contributions per cap
tia in the foreign field are larger than ;
in most of the churches in the home
land and some of them have even
made tithing a test of fellowship
"Of the thirty-three thousand one {
and seventy-two dollars used I
he past year in conducting the Rio I
College and Seminary at Rio, Brazil, f
he board contributed only seven G
thousand dollars. the rest being paid
~ native Brazilans. The Eliza Bates
school and the Smith Bible school for s
women at Shanghai are both self sup a
PORTING. The Canton Boys Academy {
S supported and managed altogether lp
y the Chinese. During 1914 a $4,000 a
chool building was erected at San il
Sing City by the Chinese. In the i:
anne city Baptist Orphan asylum is O
ontrolled by the native members OF 6
he churches.
The Hwanghien Hospital is self IS
Importing except for the salaries of &c
he workers. The same is true of the S
Hospital at Laichowfu. Last year the Il
lcome from the hospital at Yanchow l-B
Tas S4,617. Only half of the running V
expenses of the hospital at Wachow ii
) paid by the board
1.-THE churches of Argentina last Ir,
ear contributed 1884 to carry on mis- u
ion work in their own country These T
Missionaries discovered an interest 81
\