The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1931, Page 89

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER :

89

5. He meets with the various mission congrega-
tions to induce them to increase their contributions
toward the salaries of their pastors and encourages
them to proceed toward the goal of becoming self-
supporting.

6. He conducts the preliminary investigations
in cases where loans from the Church Extension
Fund are requested and makes propaganda for
donations and loans to this fund.

7. He represents the Home Mission Board on
the Twin City Mission Executive Committee and
attends the meetings of this body.

8. He visits as many conferences as possible in
the interest of the mission-work.

9. He receives reports from the missionaries,
tabulates the statistical material, and forwards it to
the General Board for Home Missions.

Specified activities for 1930 may be listed as
follows : —

Sermons and Addresses
Congregation Meetings ............+. 29
Board Meetings ........------++++-+- 20

Committee Meetings .............---. 9
Conferences Attended ...........-..+ 8
Interviews Granted .............+.-- 56
Letters and Postal Cards Written.... 618

Miles Traveled by Rail ............ 25,193

Miles by Auto and Buses ..... Not figured

In all his activities the Field Secretary has en-
joyed the willing and efficient cooperation of the
board members, the missionaries, and the pastors of
the District, especially that of the visitors. May
this continue, and may the Lord’s blessings ever at-
tend our humble efforts! J. C. Meyer,

in District Home Missions.

One Released, One Held.

Held captive for six months in the mountains
of the northern part of Hupeh province, Rey.
Christopher N. Tvedt, missionary of the Norwegian
Lutheran Church of America, has been released
upon payment of ransom to the Chinese communist
bandits by the American Lutheran United Mission.
Rey. Bert N. Nelson, captured twelve days earlier,
on October 5, 1980, is still held. Pastor Nelson’s
brother, Rev. Daniel Nelson, has gone to the ban-
dits’ headquarters with additional funds with which
to effect his release. For the two missionaries the
Lutheran mission in Pieping has already paid
$10,000 Mexican and $5,000 in medical supplies
(about $3,600 American). Although it is a stand-
ing rule that missions are not to ransom captured

missionaries, an exception was made in this case
at the earnest request of American officials, who had
received advices that the Lutherans were being tor-
tured. The payment was made after six months of
fruitless efforts on the part of government represen-
tatives to effect the release.

For the release of Missionary Nelson the bandits
want $10,000; but they want the mission author-
ities to supply phonographs, records, tennis-rackets
and -balls, basket-balls, chess-boards, wrist-watches,
fountain pens, footballs, fresh fruit, ammunition,
and other articles, the cost of which they are will-
ing to have deducted from the $10,000.

News Bulletin of N.L.C.

Wanted—More Personal Mission-Work.

Somewhere in the Middle West one of our pas-
tors visited a parishioner in a neighboring town.
In the course of the conversation the pastor sug-
gested holding services for the townspeople. But
the parishioner steadily discouraged the idea. How-
ever, the pastor would not be discouraged. - He
made house-to-house calls and found many who
would gladly hear a Gospel sermon. In one day this
pastor did more personal work than the church-
member had done in a dozen years. Now, the
parishioner had gone to church regularly, but he
had hardly influenced another soul to hear the
Gospel with him. The pastor next suggested that
this member announce the weekly broadcasts of
the Lutheran Laymen’s League to his neighbors.
“Why,” said the pastor, “you can take down the re-
ceiver of your telephone and with one short sentence
announce the Lutheran Hour to all the people on
the line.” But even this comparatively easy way of
doing personal work for Christ was spurned by the
parishioner. Turning to his pastor, he said: “I can’t
do that. Why, the people would laugh at me!”

This is a typical case. Multiply it by ten thou-
sand, and you have the picture of an actual situa-
tion not only in our Church, but in almost every
Church. Not only is there such a person in almost
every congregation; there are some congregations
where there are twelve, or twenty-five, or seventy-
five, or even a hundred of them.

And the result? The Gospel is being hid under
many a proverbial bushel. In some cases the torch
God has given His people is inverted until the light
has almost gone out in their own lives, in their
homes, and in their communities. Tor lack of per-
sonal work hundreds of blood-bought souls go grop-