Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1916-11-08
MISSIONRY TEACHING
IN SUNDAY SCHOOL
Paper on Subject Read by Miss Alma
Kuntz, of Ridgeway at Recent
County Sunday School Con-
Vention.
IT Is FULL OF
MANY GOOD THOUGHTS
Church Organized and Maintained
All These Centuries to Bring
World to Christ.


Missionary instruction i'm the S. =
The church was organized and has
been maintained all these centuries
to bring the world to Christ. 1t has
not always been faithful to its task
and many of it's present members
have no conviction concerning its
worldwide functions. If the church
of the future is to Surpass that OF
the present the beginning must be
made now in the S. S. One of The
leading aims Of the S. S. is to devel-
op Christian character. Missionary
instruction is an essential part OF
such training, and must therefore
be provided in such ways las the
needs of the local school demand.
Because missions are so closely and
vitality related to Bible study, pray
er, singing, giving, personal service,
Temperance, and other subjects dealt
with in the s. s., the topic can be in
troduced in a natural and normal
way practically every week., as a
part of the session. 1t should never
be tackled on" or ''lugged in" its
place is fundamental. Missions is
really the central theme of the Bible,
so that whatever part of it is studied
it should be approached in the spirit
of one who desires spiritual truth
for the purpose of fitting him to find
his place and to do his duty in the
expanding kingdom of God. In the
Methodist Episcopal church the
monthly missionary program has
been an accepted method of mission
| Il 10, f0
years. The results have been suffi-
cient to warrant the observance of
such a program in every S. S. and a
Strengthening of the plan throuout
the entire denomination. BY this
form of education we aim to give
missionary atmosphere to the entire
school, to remove missionary preju-
dice, to set up missionary ideals, to
instill the spirit of missions rather
than the facts of missions, and to lay
a foundation for more thorough mis-
sionary study These are by no
means small aims and they are wor-
thy of our best endeavor. In our
little rural German NJ. E. S. S. we
do not make use of the monthly pro-
gram but every first Sunday of the
month is considered missionary
Sunday. Then the pennies, nickels,
and dimes are used as mission mo-
ney Older members can bring larg-
er contributions and the children
will soon remember missionary Sun
day and learn to bring more than a
penny also know what it is TO be used
for and have an interest in miss ions
For the last few years our S. s. has
in this way made $40 year for mis-
sions. Most of the S. S. session out
side of the time assigned to the stu
dy of the lesson is devoted to wor-
ship. They are seasons of worship ii
same way that the first part of a
church service is a period of wor-
ship. 1t is also time of general ed
ucation, and should be so used. Mis-
sions every Sunday does not mean
the revolutionizipg and complete
overturning of The S. S. session, but
the introduction of the missionary
idea into the regular period of wor-
ship in a normal way. Just as it is
desirable for the minister to use
missionary hymns, to pray for the
missionary enterprise, and to refer
to missionary incidents, so it is wise
to utilize the worship period of the
S. s. for missionary prayer, song, in
cident, and extracts from missionary
letters The reading of the Scrip
ture lesson may be used to convey a
missionary impression. The Scrip
ture lesson now bears the same rela-
ton to the S. S. service as it has
borne to the preaching service. Why
not, therefore, make much of Scrip
ture that has missionary significance.
especially on missionary Sunday, and
on other Sundays as well. Under this
head is included Scripture not dis
tinctly missionary in content but
having importance because of its
connection with missionary events
or incidents, such as the psalm that
David Livingstone read at family
prayers the morning he started for
Africa, or a Scripture selection en-
ljoyed especially by Christians on the
mission field. I will give an illustra-
ton.
Before we read together for our
Scripture lesson today the ninety
first Psalm, l want to tell you an in
cident from China which should give
to the Psalm new meaning. In the
early part of 1911 the terrible
IpHeunOHlC plague was raging III
China. DIR. Charles Lewis with 9TH
er helpers was engaged in fighting
lit. This is what he says: Il think all
of our Christians, both foreign and
native, have done every thing they
could to help in this time of the peo-
pies needs, and all has been done
that could be done to stop the tide Of
this pestilence. Thrown right into
contact with such deadly thing as
this, makes one keep close to God
and it has caused me. besides obsery-
ing every one of his laws ! knew Of
disinfection, also to commit to men,
DRY the ninety-first Psalm, which
lave said over TO myself many tim S
a day, and it gives confidence, where
think fear would have come with
out it. l cannot say now, of course
that l am not infected and will not
know for some days after l get back
home that | am not, but my heart
is at peace, for l am confident that
l am doing my duty and am where
lie wants me just now We are glad
to say that DR.. Lewis was not strick-
en- and that he was able to go back
to his work in the hospital. There are
, thousands of other men and women
just as brave in danger, just as true
and loyal just as Christlike as he.
/ A ole haf q,