The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1929, Sheet 77

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

hundreds of preaching places within the Synod
where pastors are doing mission-work without the
financial help of the mission treasury.

No fewer than 110,000 persons are spiritually
cared for in the Home Mission fields of the Mis-
souri Synod; in fact, one out of every ten persons
belonging to the Missouri Synod is in the spiritual
care of a subsidized home missionary of that body.

These fifteen hundred mission stations should be
so many active particles of leaven for the neighbor-
hoods in which they are located; and, no doubt, in
many instances they are just that, so that through
them others are brought under the sound of the
Word and into the fold of the Church.

Just these hundreds of
mission congregations could
and should do more than is
now being done to acquaint
the people living within
their reach with the saving
Gospel. Mission congrega-
tions and small villages
could do this by means of
large sign-boards erected at
crossroads, along the main
roads, and at conspicuous
places in the villages. Elec-
tric bulletin-boards will do
much to bring a new church .
to the notice of the people.
But in larger villages,
towns, and cities the best
way to bring people in con-
tact with a church is by
means of a personal canvass.

According to the latest statistics of the Mis-
souri Synod’s efficient statistician, Rev. E. Eck-
hardt, to whom we are indebted for all the figures in
this article, the Districts of the Missouri Synod
have the following subsidized Home Mission workers
in the field: 703 pastors, 89 teachers, and 67 stu-
+ dents, a total of 898 laborers.

If these laborers were withdrawn from the field,
it would mean that 100,000 persons would no longer
be able to attend a Lutheran church, almost 6,000
boys and girls would be deprived of the blessings of
a Christian day-school, and 32,903 Sunday-school
pupils would in most instances be without religious
instruction. Besides, 3,286 children could no longer
attend religious instruction on Saturday, and 2,332
pupils who now enjoy from one to three months of
almost daily religious teaching in the summer could
no longer partake of this blessing.

Missten Stations

Missdavt Synod

in
United States

15

What must be a particular source of pleasure to
every sincere Christian is the fact that the number
of Home Mission stations is growing from year to
year. In 1928 no fewer than ninety-five new places
were opened. Of course, it must be admitted that
forty stations were discontinued in the course of the
year because of the removal of the attendants or
because it was possible to provide adequately for
them in some other way; but for all that, there was
a net increase of fifty-five stations in one year.
Forty-five subsidized congregations: became self-
supporting in the course of the year.

At the end of last year the number of persons
in the spiritual care of the Home Mission workers

of the Missouri Synod was 5,700 more than at the
beginning of 1928. ‘True, some of this increase has
been .at the expense of other congregations, those
making up this increase having moved from some
other congregation into the territory of this or that
subsidized mission-station. But on: the whole, it is
certain that by far the greater portion of this in-
crease is net gain for the Lord’s kingdom.

To carry on this work in the Home mission field,
the General Home Mission Board of the Missouri
Synod has paid out subsidies to the amount of
$700,000 in 1928. The 110,000 served by the home
mission workers contributed $1,061,061 themselves
towards the expense for their spiritual care, and
in addition, they contributed $173,790 for outside
purposes. . ;

In conclusion we shall give the number of sub-
sidized places in several Districts. of the Synod,