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Show ! NORTHERN BAPTISTS MASSING FORCES IN (100,000,000 DRIVE -; By LUPTON WILKINSON. The 10,686 churches which constitute the Northern Baptist Convention are moving forward this spring In a program termed by their leaders one of the most significant unified advances a Christian body has ever made. Thirty-four Thirty-four state convention headquarters are teeming with activity and the entire strength of the denomination Is marshalled, ready for a task whose size may well be called staggering. it is now nine months since the assembled as-sembled 'national delegates of the Northern Baptists met In Denver and after providing entirely new and modern mod-ern churth -organization machinery set the face of 2,000,000 people toward a Ive year effort, necessitating expenditures expendi-tures that will total at least $100,000,-000. $100,000,-000. - The urgency of the world situation, situa-tion, viewed from the Christian standpoint stand-point and made clear In detail to the convention through a 150-page Itemised Item-ised survey of the field's needs, has worked like multiplying leaven. Thousands Thou-sands upon thousands of copies of that ' survey have been distributed In answer an-swer to Individual written requests. The denominational program Is known officially as the New World Movement of Northern Baptists. It Is defined as "an attempt to apply vigorously vigor-ously the principles of Christianity to the problems confronting the world." The shadow of many Ills, the stresses and pain of humanity, struggling to give a new order birth after the cataclysm cata-clysm of war has swept away old standards and safeguards, are the basic ba-sic urges behind the Baptist effort. The churches involved, believing the call to service imperative and fated only to grow larger, have decided to' pledge the entire $100,000,000 Baptist fund in one financial "drive" between April 21 and May 2. My purpose here is not to discuss the task Involved In the raising of such a sum. The Impetus Im-petus of aid and co-operation from numerous nu-merous other denominations working together . In the Interchurch World Movement will aid the Baptists greatly In their money campaign, a larger one than any other denomination faces this spring. What must Interest the general public pub-lic in considering the huge undertaking undertak-ing are some very practical questions. Through what - channels does the church hope to effect the application of the Christian Ideal and the Christian Chris-tian machinery toward a lessening of unrest? How clearly and wisely have the church leaders viewed the situation? situa-tion? Do they work with a seeing vision vi-sion of the tremendous ground, physically phys-ically and spiritually speaking, that they must; cover? How definite and concrete ajatfans?' ' No oneoVwreaa the report of the Field feuryey Committee of the Northern Baptist Convention can reasonably rea-sonably doubt, the earnestness with which the men behind, the New World Movement are strivlng to be practical. The- scope - of ,the. Americanization plans Indicates the trend. Children In the Sunday-schools will be asked to treat the children of the foreign-born as friends. Baptisi women will be asked to cultivate friendship as Individuals Indi-viduals with foreJgn-born women. Missions Mis-sions will -be established In mining, manufacturing and logging districts where the native proportion of the population Is small. , Speaking of "future citizens," the report of the committee says : "We cannot honestly preach to them and teach them national Ideals If we are silent while they, because they are strangers, are being exploited. It Is our Christian duty to assist in tbe bettering bet-tering of factory conditions, standards of employment for women in industry, living conditions of foreigners and social, so-cial, educational, civic and religious opportunities for the forelgn-eer.' : From Czeche-Slevakla, from Japan, from the heart of Mohammedan Africa, Af-rica, observers have been writing In unanimous agreement that conditions abroad are even mere unsettled than in America. The belief ef the church that the Christian ideal ts the one" solution so-lution will make itself felt through an Investment of practically $10,000,000 for new equipment In foreign mission fields. This will be In addition to normal nor-mal operating expenses. Plans include the sending out of 228 new missionary families and 176 single women missionaries mis-sionaries and the erection of 188 missionary mis-sionary residences, 241 missionary schools, T6 dormitories, 75 church buildings, 5 industrial schools end 19 hospitals. In China, one of many mission fields, five new high schools for girls will be established. "An intelligent womanhood woman-hood is absolutely necessary for the permanent regeneration and Chrlstlan-Izatlon Chrlstlan-Izatlon of the Orient," says the report which led to this plan's adoption. One domestic trend of the New World Movement will be a steady hammering on the problem of ministers' minis-ters' salaries. The average salary of the 8.823 ordained Baptist ministers in the United States is $1.87 a day, or $683 a year. Only eight out of every hundred receive as much as $1,500 a year. Many amusing and appealing letters have been received since It became known that a determined educational campaign to remedy this condition Is under way. One letter from Peru, Ind., Bays : "In my opinion the greatest financier finan-cier of the times is not Frank Vander-lip Vander-lip or J. Plerpont Morgan. The wife of the average minister has all of the great financiers of the country beaten to a standstill. If the same degree of efficient management as has prevailed In the ministerial household could be applied to our Industrial and political Institutions we could successfully com. pete in the markets of the world and come off victors." In none of the welfare features of he Baptist program will the evange-leal evange-leal note be subordinated. Dr. J. T. Altchlson,' director of the General Board of Promotion , of the Northern Baptist Convention, has summed up as follows the keynote spirit of the effort: ef-fort: - "It Is always necessary to remember that neither money nor buildings nor additional workers serve to express the terms of the New World Movement Move-ment It Is not a campaign. It Is the advance of an ideal. The raising of the money and the spending of the money are Incidental to the supreme task of offering Christianity like a healing bandage to the wounds of the world. "We are going forward on the theory theo-ry that the denomination or the church or the man who hangs back now, 1 what President Roosevelt would have called a 'pussy-footer.' Where Christianity Chris-tianity dominates, there cannot be lust and greed and hate. Certainly there cannot b Bolshevism." |
