The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1930, Page 126

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126

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

Home Mission Dividends. — A very interesting
service was held in one of our Home Mission chapels
in Minneapolis when twenty-nine children whose
parents were unchurched were baptized. Through
these baptized children the way has been opened into
the homes, and it is very probable that soon some
of the parents will unite with their children in
worship.

American Lutheran Foreign Missions. — The
Lutherans of America annually spend about
$2,000,000 for Foreign Missions. Their work is
carried on in over twenty fields by 670 missionaries,
including wives, and 6,000 native workers. The
total number of baptized Christians in all the fields
is over 225,000, and over 67,000 pupils are in the
mission-schools. About 235,000 treatments are
given annually in mission-hospitals and dispensaries.
The value of all mission-property is almost
$4,000,000. The United Lutheran Church works
in India, Liberia, Japan, China, Argentina, and
British Guiana. The Norwegian Lutheran Church
has three foreign fields, South Africa, Madagascar,
and China. ‘The Missouri Synod works in India
and China. The Augustana Synod has stations in
China and East Africa. The Lutheran Free
Church has missions in China and Madagascar.
The Iowa Synod labors in New Guinea and the
Joint Synod of Ohio in India. Several Lutheran
bodies complain that their receipts for Foreign
Missions have fallen off in the past few years, neces-
sitating the cutting of budgets and the dismissal of
missionaries.

Food for Thought. — The Missouri Synod in its
country parishes has ninety-nine males to one hun-
dred females, but in its city churches the proportion
is only eighty-four males to one hundred females.
This plainly indicates that we are not holding the
men in the cities as we should. Apparently ten to
fifteen per cent. of the men living in the cities are
Jost to the Church. What a strong appeal to earnest
and prayerful effort on the part of city pastors and
members !

Look to the Cities! — Where sin is strongest, the
Gospel is needed most. We feel that everybody is
ready to concede that. But if we do, then it fol-
lows that we must above all see to it that our cities
‘get the Gospel; for our great cities have become

_ the homes of vice and unbelief to an appalling ex-

tent. If we do not put the leaven of Christ’s
cleansing Gospel into this mass of wickedness, its
Tottenness will soon fill the whole land. Though
sion-work in cities may be difficult and expen-

sive, we should not neglect it; on the contrary, just
because of its difficulty it should challenge us the
more and prompt us to go into the very midst of
the struggle.

A New Lutheran Mission-School in India. —
The Joint Synod of Ohio has laid the corner-stone
for the first unit of a centralized school on its field
in India. The complete building program calls for
twelve small buildings of four rooms each for the
housing of the boys, each room to accommodate
six, three dining-rooms with kitchens and storerooms
and about ten houses for the teachers and help.
The school, when completed, will be able to take
care of about 250 students. The. total cost is esti-
mated at $50,000, of which sum about half is al-
ready on hand.

A Chinese Lutheran Family.—The first Chinese
family to join the Lutheran Church in this country
was recently received into the membership of a con-
gregation in St. Louis.

The Lutheran Church in Papua. — It is sup-
posed that at least 200,000 native Papuans are
under Lutheran influence. This estimate is very
low, we think, in view of the fact that 140,000
natives are in direct communication with the Lu-
theran missions on the island. The Lutheran mis-
sionary force includes 102 white people, of whom
thirty are ordained missionaries. While almost
8,000 natives are now being prepared for baptism,
115,000 natives are asking to be instructed. What
a pity that this great host of natives cannot be
served for want of laborers! It still remains true
what Christ said in the days of His flesh that the
harvest is plenteous, but the laborers few.

Christ a Missionary. — Christ was a home mis-
sionary in the home of Lazarus; a foreign mis-
sionary when the Greeks came to Him; a city’ mis-
sionary when He taught in Samaria; a children’s
missionary when He took them up in His arms and
blessed them; a missionary to the poor when He
opened the eyes of the blind beggar; a missionary
of the rich when He opened the spiritual eyes of
Zacchaeus; a missionary to the robber while He
was hanging on the cross; and His last command
was the missionary commission. — Are you a mis-
sionary? If so, what kind of missionary?

Western District Lutheran.

Not Too Much for an Indian. — An Indian one
day asked a missionary to give him two one-dollar
bills for a two-dollar note. The missionary asked,
“Why?” The Indian’s answer was, “One dollar for
me to give Jesus and one dollar for my wife to