courts, are occupied mostly by men who have learned their first lessons of achievement in village and country.

Hence the importance of the rural church. Here in the West, the difficulty of the problem is increased on account of the sparsely settled communities. Farms are big and homes widely separated, so that within a radius of ten miles, it is difficult to gather a sufficient number to sustain Sundayschools and church organizations.

Being chairman of Committee on Survey of Religious Conditions - Strategic Western States, under the direction of the Home Missions Council and Federation of Evangelical Churches, reports are already coming in from different parts of the state. These reports reveal many large districts with small population and few children, without any Sunday-school or church organization. The following selections are not made from extreme or un

These are not rare but common examples. The final census and summing up of results will reveal hundreds of school districts similar to the above. These are cited to show the difficulty in reaching

such large districts so sparsely settled, with adequate Gospel privileges. None of the above mentioned have either Sabbath-school or church organization.

It increases the difficulty of the missionary, who must necessarily have several districts under his charge, to centralize effort. As population increases and farm land becomes more valuable, these hindrances will diminish and rural evangelization will become less expensive and more efficient.

Second. There should be a higher conception of the mission of the local church; for after all that may be said in behalf of special evangelistic effort, the local church must realize its own responsibility in the evangelization of its own vicinity. It is to be regretted that many churches, influenced no doubt by the evangelistic tendencies of the times, depend almost entirely upon the professional evangelist and general movements for the winning of souls, rather than upon the regular work of the settled minister and the ordinary services of consecrated church members. Under such prevailing sentiment, church work becomes spasmodic and the preaching of the settled minister educational, instead of evangelistic.

Third. A more evangelistic ministry is greatly needed. This means men, serving the Lord with the whole heart, impressed with the infinite practical reach of their work, their responsibility as

messengers of the truth which is the saving power of men being lost. In the West, perhaps the supreme temptation on the part of country ministers, is to become a homesteader, under the inducement that by this means he can obtain a worldly possession with so little effort as not to interfere with his duties as a minister. Results generally prove the contrary. Only he attains the expected and desirable efficiency who gives his time, talent and energy to his divine calling.

Perhaps this is the supreme suggestion of the whole subject. Any man called of God to the ministry should realize that such a responsible and so divine a calling demands all the energy and talents with which he is entrusted. Men devoted to the Master's cause, which means the highest interests of the people, are honoured as such and achieve success in winning souls.

CHAPTER VI

ARE WESTERN TOWNS OVERCHURCHED?

A

N eastern man in his hurried trip on a transcontinental railroad, looked out through

He

the window of his palace car, and saw a number of church buildings in a small town. at once made use of this superficial knowledge and hasty conclusion, by writing an article for one of his church papers, declaring that he had been on a tour through the West, and everywhere he saw too many churches for the population, and kindly hinted that the money contributed by eastern people might be spent to better advantage at home.

From his viewpoint, perhaps he was justified in his conclusion, but he was not justified in reaching any conclusion from such a limited and narrow view. Further investigation would no doubt reveal a different state of things. Some of these churches which he saw from his palace car window, represented a foreign-speaking people.

Let it be clearly understood that the evangelization of foreigners is largely a problem of eastern cities. Out here on the western plains and among

the mountains, the foreigners are more generally evangelized than the natives.

For example, in a certain city of about twelve thousand people, the traveller, as he passes through on the cars, can count five churches where the Gospel is preached in a foreign tongue. About fifteen per cent. of that city are Norwegian and Swede. They have five churches, while the English-speaking Protestant churches number ten, or four-fifths of the population. So with one-fifth of the people, the foreigners have half as as many churches. Where their money comes from to build so many churches and support their ministers, the writer is not prepared to say. Their membership is very small and composed almost exclusively of the labouring class, which I mention not as any reproach. I had a servant in my house for three years, who was a loyal member of one of these churches, and one of ten, all servants in various homes, composing the membership and support of said church. Their minister, however, had five other similar charges in other towns, so that he was not dependent on this small membership for his entire support. These churches are extremely exclusive. They do not pretend to do any work except among their own people. Their services are all conducted in a foreign tongue. Therefore while their sphere of usefulness is very limited, they represent several distinctive denominations of the Lutheran faith, and thus