# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1926_S10
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

10 Proceedings of the thirtieth convention

He took up the new office immediately after the close of the school year at Immanuel
College. It was not long before it became clear that no
mistake had been made. New life showed itself in this
field. On 12 February of this year all pastors and
professors in the whole field were called together for a conference at Greensboro.
Here we discussed each mission station individually.
An enthusiastic forward movement in the whole field was
planned. But man proposes, and God disposes. After our dear
Superintendent had worked only a few weeks, God released him
from his hard labour. After a short illness our dear
co-worker died on 26 March in the hospital at Greensboro. His life
story is described in the May issue of the "Missionstaube" [Mission Dove]. The
deceased served our Negro Mission faithfully for twenty-seven years
as missionary, professor, director of the institution in Greensboro and
as superintendent, and is well worthy of having a memorial
set to him in the printed report of the Synodical Conference (*Synodalkonferenz*).

At the plenary session of the Mission Board, which was held on 21 and
22 April of this year and which Vice-President Lankenau also
attended, Rev. Frank D. Alston of Charlotte, N. C.,
was elected superintendent of the coloured pastors and their stations.
The College at Greensboro as well as the stations in Philadelphia, Meherrin, Concord, Shankletown, Rocks, Rockwell and Gold Hill, and their
pastors and teachers, remain under the direct supervision of the Mission
Director. The fact that our mission is now nearly fifty years
old, as well as other circumstances, made it appear good and wise
to elect a tried and reliable coloured pastor as superintendent.
We expect blessing and success from this
new arrangement.

10. Grace, Concord, N. C. (Founded 1891. Missionary:
Melvin Holsten,* since 16 September 1923.) The number of souls
has risen in two years from 208 to 230. The congregation has
31 voting members, more than any other congregation.
It has lost some of its old members by death, among them
James Spencer, who brought his age to about 123 years.
"Uncle" Jimmy was a faithful member of the Lutheran church and
attended the services when his physical condition permitted.
His pastor, Rev. Holsten, visited him diligently in the house of his daughter,
who cared for him faithfully. A week before his end he complained
to his pastor: "I fear I am forgetting everything I once knew.
But one thing I have not forgotten: that Jesus has redeemed me, and
that I shall be saved if I believe in him." — Like "Uncle" Jimmy
Spencer, thousands upon thousands of Negroes through the
service of our dear missionaries have learned the blessed truth that Jesus
is their Saviour; and many hundreds who are no longer counted in this report have already come through a blessed death to where
they behold their Saviour face to face in eternal joy
and blessed light. — From 12 to 16 August 1925 the
second General Conference of our Negro Mission
was held in the Grace congregation in Concord. On this occasion
a prominent businessman of the city said: "We are just as
proud of the great work you are doing as you are." That is
praise for the congregation there; for through its existence and
through the doings of its members that white citizen knows
our mission work. What he said publicly confirmed the judgment that