WORK IN EUROPE AND ASIA. 159 The work in England was largely supported by Timothy Coop, of Southport, a successful and consecrated English tradesman. It was expected that the churches planted in England would be self-supporting in three or four years. This expectation has not been realized. At the last meeting of the Christian Association 13 churches were represented, only two of which were self-supporting. The aggregate membership is 1750; baptisms last year, 316. In Scandinavia work is carried on in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Eight evangelists were employed last year. The aggregate number of Disciples is 779; Sunday-school pupils, 620. The number of conversions last year was 191. In Turkey work is carried on at twelve points. According to the last report, there are 583 Disciples at these stations; Sunday-school pupils, 519; pupils in day-schools, 481. Thirteen persons are engaged in this work. There Twenty-three men and women and 6 native helpers are connected with the work of the Disciples in China. are 5 stations, 4 out-stations, 9 day-schools, 2 boardingschools, a hospital, and 2 dispensaries. Groups of Christians are gathered at 5 stations, one of which has formed itself into a self-supporting church. The number of converts is 70. Mankin is the central station. Not less than 10,000 patients are treated annually by the hospital force, and to each of these the gospel is personally presented. In Japan penitents inquired of the missionaries the way of salvation before the latter understood the language sufficiently well to return intelligible answers. There are 12 stations, 25 out-stations, 23 native helpers, 334 converts, 403 pupils in the day-schools, and 588 in the Sunday-schools. The principal stations are Tokyo, Akita, and Shonai. The number of converts last year was 102. The day of numerical results in India has not yet come, although about 150 converts have been baptized. Hurda, in the Central Provinces, is the center of work for the Disciples in the Indian Empire. Their principal stations are Bilaspur and Mungeli. Work is carried on at several out-stations. The missionaries preach every day, conduct day-schools, Sunday-schools, orphanages, manage a Bible and tract depot, and carry on medical and zenana work. Recently a school for training evangelists has been opened. The origin and progress of the Christian Woman's Board of Missions furnishes one of the brightest pages in the history of mission work among the Disciples of Christ. From the beginning woman has been treated with unusual consideration among the Disciples, and granted a rather remarkable degree of liberty in the departments of education and evangelical work. We have already seen that generally in the Disciples' institutions of learning there is one curriculum for men and women. Naturally, therefore, the time came when the women organized for the purpose of preaching the gospel to those who are in the region of death. The purpose of the Christian Woman's Board of Missions is expressed in Article II. of the constitution in the language following: "Its object shall be to cultivate a missionary spirit, to encourage missionary efforts in our churches, to disseminate missionary intelligence, and to secure systematic contributions for missionary purposes." ("Christian Missions," by F. M. Green, p. 382.) The Christian Woman's Board supports work in the western part of our country, in the South among the negroes, in India and in Japan. They also revived and are carrying forward the work on the island of Jamaica. They purchased ground and erected a house of worship in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1891. They sustain a theological department in connection with Michigan University, which is remarkably popular and successful. Their last annual report shows over eighteen hundred WOMAN'S BOARD OF MISSIONS. 161 auxiliaries and bands. The receipts for the year aggregated $52,327.93. The receipts for the first year after the organization in 1874 were $1200, and the grand total for the eighteen years is $370,000. This society has a small endowment fund of $20,000. The Christian Woman's Board of Missions is unique from the fact that the business of the society is managed entirely by women. The executive committee is composed altogether of women. Women select mission fields, employ missionaries, both male and female, and are in every way responsible for the conduct of the business. On the island of Jamaica 7 ministers are employed, caring for 18 stations and 1600 members. There are 10 day-schools and 17 Sunday-schools, with a total attendance of 1788. There are 5 workers at Bilaspur, India, 2 of whom are female physicians, 2 teachers, and I zenana worker. The buildings there are a bungalow, schoolhouse, orphanage, and hospital. These were erected under the direct supervision of women. The money for the buildings was raised by the children's missionary bands. Nearly 4000 patients were treated by the two physicians in 1893. A mission among the Chinese is supported at Portland, Ore. The missionary is a native of China. Papers published by the Christian Woman's Board are the "Missionary Tidings," and the "Little Builders at Work." The General Christian Missionary Convention is the lineal and legal descendant of the American Christian Missionary Society, organized in 1849. The object of this organization is "the spread of the gospel in this and in other lands." ("Christian Missions," by F. M. Green, p. 376.) The actual work of the convention is, however, limited to the United States and Canada. Auxiliary to this are organizations in the States and Territories of the Union. About a million and a half dollars have been collected and expended from the beginning by this society and its auxiliaries. The annual collections and disbursements at the present time aggregate about $50,000. Missionaries are employed in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Ontario. In connection with the General Convention are the Board of Negro Education and Evangelization and the Board of Church Extension. There is an increasing interest among the Disciples in city mission work which promises in the near future to greatly augment their influence for good. The offices of the General Convention and the Foreign Christian Missionary Society are in Cincinnati. Indianapolis is the headquarters of the Christian Woman's Board of Missions. The home of the Board of Negro Evangelization is Massillon, O. The office of the Board of Church Extension is in Kansas City, Mo. For statistics concerning the number of organizations, church edifices, seating capacity of church buildings, value of church property, and number of communicants, see vol. i. of "American Church History Series," pp. 125-128. |