The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1928, Page 132

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132

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

during” this period. The blessed influence of our
missionary work has gone out far beyond these 988
persons. We may truthfully say that the blessed
influence of our missionaries’ work has extended to
tens of thousands. There are, for example, the
3,000 pupils in our mission-schools and Sunday-
schools that are not members of our Lutheran
Church, but who are daily being instructed by our
missionaries in God’s Word and Luther’s doc-
trine and are thus carrying the precious seed into
hundreds of homes. Then we must remember the
strangers that attend our divine services and the
strangers that are visited by our missionaries every
week. One may safely judge that 25,000 Negroes
are being directly or indirectly influenced by our
mission.

Statistics cannot represent the full blessings of
our Colored Missions. Pastor George A. Schmidt,
the superintendent of our mission-field in Alabama,
writes in his report: “About five months ago I had
a long conversation with a man who is not a mem-
ber of the Lutheran Church, but has been visiting
our services here in Selma quite frequently for
several years. This man showed a remarkable
knowledge of the Bible, speaking intelligently con-
cerning things spiritual. He knew and understood
well the doctrine of sin and grace. He also had a
correct understanding of other important Scriptural
doctrines. When I put this question to him, ‘Tell
me, where did you get this fine knowledge of Scrip-
ture?’ he said, ‘Pastor, I must be honest; I learned
these wonderful truths in the Lutheran Church.’

The man referred to is a leader in a sectarian
church, director of the choir in a local congregation,
and also preaches in his church at intervals. There
are not a few other cases of this kind which might
be reported; cases which show that hundreds of
others not tncluded in our membership lists have
learned to know about Jesus and His love through
the glorious work of our Lutheran Church here in
the Black Belt. Eternity alone will reveal how hun-
dreds not at all connected with our Church in Ala-
bama have learned to know Jesus as the only Savior
of sinful mankind.”

New Mission-Stations.

During the past two years work has been begun

or taken over by us at the following six places:

1. Ackeryille, Wilcox Co., Ala.; 2. Maplesville,
Chilton Co., Ala.; 3. Catherine, Wilcox Co., Ala.;

4. St. Philip’s, St. Louis, Mo.; 5. Buffalo, N. Y.;

_ 6. Cleveland, 0. The work might have been begun

at several other places. Thus applications for
workers among the Negroes of Baltimore, New York,
and other places are in the hands of the Board.

How Work is Begun at New Places.

Maplesville is a small town between Selma and
Birmingham. Last fall Professor Lynn, the presi-
dent of our Alabama Luther College in Selma, and
our young missionary Lloyd Gauthreaux, of Selma,
rode to Birmingham to buy a new organ. While on
the way, they picked up a pedestrian. The conversa-
tion soon drifted to church affairs. The stranger
told them that he had several times attended the
services in our chapel at East Selma. The people
at Maplesville, he stated, were tired of the colored
Baptist church of the place and would rejoice if
they could attend Lutheran services. He asked
them to conduct Lutheran services in Maplesville.

When they returned to Selma, Professor Lynn
reported the request of the man to Superintendent
Schmidt. A service was arranged for, and on
Luther’s birthday last fall Schmidt and Lynn rode
to Maplesville and called on a certain Grant Lanier,
whose daughter attends our college. Near Lanier’s
house there are three great oaks. Under these trees
improvised seats had been erected. It was evening,
and the air was cool. A great wood-fire was kindled.
The attention of the people that passed by was
drawn to the fire, and a large number of people
gathered around it. Both our mission-workers
preached. Jighteen adults signed a document
asking for future services. Naturally, their request
was heeded. Lynn, the president of our institution
in Selma, who, besides teaching at the institution,
also serves the congregation at Kings Landing as
pastor, took over the additional work of serving the
new station at Maplesville. Services were held in
a vacant shack. Twenty-six persons have already
been baptized or confirmed. All this has happened
in eight months. The congregation in Maplesville
is our twenty-eighth organized congregation in Ala-
bama, although the work in this State was begun
only twelve years ago. — Besides the twenty-eight
congregations in Alabama we have also a congrega-
tion in Pensacola, Florida. Work is also carried on
in the Veterans’ Hospital at Tuskegee and in the
Normal School at Montgomery. The services at the
latter places are attended by 250 persons.

Statistics.

In former years we made a special report on
each congregation, but because the number of con-
gregations and preaching-places has become’so very