# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1956_S773
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS

Foreign Missions Statistics
(A Report) ‘

Since 1940 the church in India has grown from 14,000 to 26,000.
The church in the Philippines after 10 years of existence numbers
2,000; the church in Japan after eight years 1,100. Since 1950,
2,000 have been gained in Hong Kong. The church in Formosa
numbers 873, of whom more than half were gained during 1955.
This mission was opened in 1952. New Guinea has no membership,
but over 850,000 attended services last year.

This is a net increase of 24 per cent in membership in the
Asiatic Missions since the Houston Convention (26,000 to 32,500).

While the Foreign Mission budget has increased annually, yet
in 1940, 14 cents of every synodical dollar was given for Foreign
Missions. In 1945, it was 15 cents and the same in 1950, but in
1955 it was only 11 cents, and in 1956, just a bit over 10 cents.

In creating an indigenous church, we are endeavoring to
develop a national ministry. The greatest advance has been made
in India, where in 1940 there were nine clergymen; in 1945, 22;
in 1950, 36; and in 1955, 90. Today we have more national clergy-
men in our foreign missions than American clergymen. Still, if
_you think of 93 American clergymen, it means that we have only
one clergyman for every 15,000,000 non-Christians in Asia. Even
if you add all national pastors to this, there are still 7% million
for each clergyman.