The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1923, Page 47

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

47

that are used for churches and schools by this de-
nomination in their work in Alabama. In the

_ Black Belt, where the Church at the present time
is concentrating ils efforts, the number of blacks
far exceeds that of the white people, and the lec-
turer declared that thousands of these poor people
on the larger plantations have never had the oppor-
tunity of hearing the Gospel or the privilege of
attending school. ‘lo remedy this condition, the
Lutheran Church is making a heroic effort to supply
schools and churches to these needy people through
their Missionary Board... .

“Rev. Drewes stated that the Colored people are
very eager to have the advantages offered by the
schools and churches, and that he is receiving letters
for additional missionaries to be sent to this
locality. Views were shown of a number of the
preachers and teachers who are engaged in this work.

“The lecture Sunday evening created a great
deal of interest-among the members of this congre-
gation, as the needs of the field were vividly and
carefully pointed out, thereby awakening the Church
to a greater sense of its responsibility for those who
are less favored than our own people. ‘here is per-
haps no more direct and forcible way of presenting
the missionary cause than by illustrating the needs
of the people in the sections that have been deprived
of the Gospel, and the uplifting influence of the
Gospel. : ;

“At the conclusion of the lecture a generous
offering was taken for the speaker to’ use in the
noble work in which he is engaged.” IT*. J. L.

Items of Missionary Interest.

Wuere tHe FreepMen Live. — Three-fourths
of all the Negroes in the United States live in the
Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi,

and Louisiana. ‘There is one Negro to every eight _

whites in the United States. In’ some of the
Southern States there is one Negro to each white
man. In Mississippi and South Carolina the Negro
population is in excess of the white.

Our Conorep Missions. — Our Board for
Colored Missions has thirty pastors preaching at
fifty-seven places. These churehes have almost
4,000 members, 2,684 day-school and 2,729 Sunday-
school pupils. ‘The Board has thirty-eight day-
schools under its supervision and supports three

higher schools and one theological seminary. ‘These.

churches and schools are in cleven States and in

the District of Columbia. he greater number of
our schools and churches are in Alabama, North
Carolina, and Louisiana. ‘The members of our
Colored Missions lead all other Lutherans of the
Synodical Conference in their «contributions, the
average contribution of our Colored Lutherans
being $16.30 per member.

Sotomon Istanps. — These islands of the
Pacific are rapidly being Christianized. Men who
three years ago were naked savages, with absolutely
no knowledge of God, are to-day able to read the
English Bible and are bringing its blessed truths
to their own people in darkness. ‘Che head-hunters
of yesterday have become the soul-winners of to-day.
What great wonders God can do!

All the Peoples of the Earth Shall Serve
the Lord Jesus Christ.

But there are more than a billion heathen bow-
ing in worship before the images or depictions of
human artifice.

But what is the significance of a billion souls —
one hundred thousand millions of people? ‘The
significance is this: —

If they should be caused to march before the
door of your home, marching four abreast, six years
and a half would pass by before you would sce the
end of the procession. Do you fully grasp the
stupendousness of this figure? A billion people
with immortal souls, with souls that were redeemed
by the blood of the same Savior as was your soul,
are hastening to the grave without Christ, without
hope! Oh, the awfulness of the thought! What
will you do to change this sad state of affairs?

Missionary Education in the
Sunday-School.

Dr. George H. ‘Trull, who wrote a good little
book on Alissionary Melhods for Sunday-school
Workers, says: “In the hands of Sunday-school
superintendents and teachers lies the real solution
of the missionary problem, and if they improve
their opportunity, within a gencration there will be
a Church whose intelligence about missions and
zeal for them has never been equaled in the world’s
history.”

Missionary education in the Sunday-school
should be regular and systematic. It is not suffi-