The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1933, Page 45

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER

45

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Latent: Power. — There is an enormous latent
power in the 250,000 members of Sunday-schools
within the Synodical Conference. An average of
only one cent a month would yield the sum of
$30,000 a year; the sum of one cent a week would
bring in $130,000 a year.

The Blessed Work of KFUO. — It is a fine
work that our Radio Station KFUO is doing in the
way of spreading the Gospel. All must realize that
it is a most efficient missionary agency and for this
reason worthy of our support. That it is facing a
crisis in these days of depression goes without say-
ing; therefore we should not only pray for its con-
tinuance, but in a practical way give it our help.
‘A convert writes: “I owe it to Station KFUO that
I have been baptized and become a member of the
Lutheran Church.” A shut-in gives this testimony :
“For three years I have been unable to attend
church, being confined to my wheel-chair. KFUO
is my church and my spiritual comfort. Your morn-
ing meditations give me new courage for another
day. Only a shut-in knows what a comfort KFUO
is.’ — Let us do what we can to keep such streams
of blessings flowing from KFUO into thousands of
hearts and homes. The Gospel Voice is a monthly
eight-page bulletin, published in the interest of
KFUO at 50 cents a year. Address Station KFUO,
801 De Mun Ave., St. Louis, Mo.

What Are They For? —“What are churches
for but to make missionaries? What is education
for but to train them? What is commerce for but
to carry them? What is money for but to send
them? What is life itself for but to fulfil the pur-
pose of missions, the enthroning of Jesus Christ in
the hearts of men?”

A Few Figures. — In this country there is one
ordained minister for every 600 persons. In the
whole non-Christian world there is only one Prot-
estant missionary (men and women!) for every
300,000 people. — On an average 400 persons are
brought out of heathenism to Christianity every day
by Protestant missionaries. They baptize about
120,000 a year. In our country the growth of the

“Church is about 8,000 a week, or 400,000 a year. —

In the Civil War, Georgia sent into the army one
out of six of its white population, South Carolina
one out of five, Florida one out of four, and North
Carolina sent 10,000 more than its total number of
yoters. To send one foreign worker into each dis-
trict of 25,000 of the heathen world would take only
one out of 400 Protestant church-members of the
United States.

German Foreign Missions. — According to the
year-book of the United German Mission Con-
ferences which recently appeared a summary of
Foreign Mission work done by German societies
shows the following: 567 chief stations; 1,620 Ger-
man missionaries; 10,600 paid native workers;
1,143,000 Christians gathered among the heathen;
in 3,944 public and 72 higher schools 240,000 schol-
ars were taught. There are 36 doctors at work in
30 hospitals. The receipts for 1931 were 6,806,466
marks. With the exception of the income these
figures show an increase over the report of the pre-
vious year. The increases are as follows: mission-
aries, 185; native workers, about 800; Christians,
about 100,000; public schools, higher schools, 10;
scholars, 14,000. The income is more than 600,000
marks less than for the year previous. The year-
book further claims that the contribution for For-
eign Missions from Germany for the period 1927 to
1930 constitutes 3*/ per cent. of the entire income
of the world and that with this money 5 per cent. of
the missionaries of the world and 10 per cent. of the
entire number of Christians among the heathen are
taken care of.

Scandinavian Foreign Missions. — Denmark’s
Foreign Missions have 240 missionaries in their
employ, who have in their care 29,000 natives. Swe- _
den’s 700 foreign missionaries are taking care of
$4,000 natives in various fields. Norway has 400
missionaries, who are caring for 156,000 persons. _

The Growth of Christianity. — The 120 who
gathered in the upper room at Jerusalem for wor-
ship increased to over 3,000 on the first Pentecost,
and by the end of the first century the number of
Christians had grown to 500,000. At the end of the
fifth century there were 15,000,000 Christians, and
by the end of the fifteenth century they had in-
creased to 100,000,000. The present number of
nominal Christians is about 800,000,000. <A vast
army indeed; but greater is the host of those who
have not yet bowed their heads in subjection to
Christ.

Growth of Protestantism. — Fifty years ago
the estimated number of Protestants in the world
was a little over one hundred million; this had in-
creased to about 168,000,000 twenty-five years later.
At the end of 1932 the number of Protestants was
estimated to be about 202,000,000.

“Ts it fair to God to save or spend all our money
for ourselves and give Him the small change that
is left?”