MISSIONARY CONFERENCE NEW YORK, 1900 REPORT OF THE ECUMENICAL CONFERENCE ON HALL AND NEIGHBORING CHURCHES, APRIL 21 IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. I. FIRST EDITION, TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND NEW YORK AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY LONDON RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY I. ORIGIN OF THE CONFERENCE..... Providential Circumstances Favoring a Conference-Idea of a Con- ference Conceived and Adopted-Preliminary Work-Prayer for a Blessing-All-day Meeting- Organization-Exhibit, Hospitality— The Scenic Effect-Personnel-Opening Session-National Wel- come-Bible Translation and Missionary Addresses-Woman in Mis- III. SCOPE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CONFERENCE. Devotional Element-Summary of Programme-Farewell-Impres- sions-Significance of Conference. Authority and Purpose of Foreign Missions-Supreme and Deter- The Student Volunteer Movement Proclaims Responsibility-Wom- an's Responsibility-Children and Missions-The Church and its Re- sponsibility-Possible Power of the Pastor. VI.-METHODS OF AWAKENING INTEREST. Missionary Addresses-Public Meetings-Young People's Societies -Systematic Study of Missions-Appeals for Conformity to Jesus Missionary Interest and Missionary Literature-Use of Public Li- braries-Of the Secular Press-Co-operation in Publication of Books on Missions-Missionary Periodicals-The Pastor and the Literature More Abundant Giving-Consecrated Giving-Systematic Giving- Efficient Methods of Calling out Gifts-Reflex Influence of the Sup- Review of the Century-German Missions-Missions of the Nether- lands-Pervasive Influence of Christianity-Moravian Missions-Aus- tralasian Missions-Statistical Summary-Lessons of the Century. Education in Opening New Fields-Capacity of the People—All State of Christianity in South America-Failure of Rome to Chris- PREFACE The form in which the Report of the Ecumenical Conference on Foreign Missions is presented requires a few words of explanation. The body of the report is made up from papers and addresses presented at more than seventy sessions of the Conference. Frequently these addresses were made upon the same topic in different places. To publish the formal record of each meeting within the limits of a salable book was manifestly impossible, so a topical arrangement of the material was decided upon. This arrangement, too, gives a better correlation of the utterances of the Conference on each general question discussed. The controlling thought in the selection and arrangement of the material was, to give a true conception of the Conference, to increase the motive power of the Church, to enlarge its vision of the great world field, and to promote the development of a science of missions. A brief history of the Conference has been prefixed as a record of its organization and characteristics and the subject-matter of the book has been divided as follows: (1) The story of the Conference. (2) The missionary idea. (3) The survey of the field. (4) Missionary work, and (5) Appendix, containing the detailed Programme and Organization of the Conference, Statistics, Bibliography, and Index. It would be impossible to give the names of all those to whom the Committee is under obligations for assistance rendered. But the Committee would do itself injustice if it did not acknowledge the invaluable aid rendered it by the Rev. Henry O. Dwight, LL. D. Particular mention should also be made of the work done by Miss E. Theodora Crosby and the Rev. Paul Martin. EDWIN M. BLISS, Chairman. W. HENRY Grant, SAMUEL MACAULEY JACKSON, SILAS MCBEE, Editorial Committee. |