Baptist Missionary Society
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Day Missions Library 129th ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY. (Founded 1792) TOGETHER WITH THE REPORT OF THE WOMEN’S MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION, THE MEDICAL MISSION AUXILIARY, AND THE BIBLE TRANSLATION AND LITERATURE AUXILIARY, COMPLETE STATISTICS, A STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS, AND LISTS OF CONTRIBUTIONS, To March 31st, 1921. LONDON : PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY AT THE CAREY PRESS, 19, F u r n i v a l stre e t* E.c. 4, Télégraphia Address: “ Asiatic, Flett, L o n d o n % ’elephojie: Bolbfrrn 5883 (S Vines.) BAPTIST LEADERS A HUNDRED YEARS AGO Marsh man. W. Ward. Win. Knibb. T. Burchell. j . Rippon. 1). Taylor. J W. Steadman. Samuel Pearce, J o se p h KlngH'orii. _______ John By land. Robert Hall. ler. J . Foster. CONTENTS. PAGE PART I. OUR MIRACULOUS YEAR ................................. 5 THE FIELDS.........................................................................« 11 WOMEN’S MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION................................. 50 OUR MEDICAL W O R K ...................... 56 CHRISTIAN LITERATURE ON THE MISSION FIELD ... 02 THE HOME PREPARATION UNION ................................. 63 PART II. THE SOCIETY : COMMITTEE AND OFFICERS, 1920-21, &c. 65 LIST OF MISSIONARIES ...................................................... 77 STATIONS AND STAFF................................................................ 95 STATISTICS AND TABLES ......................................................... 103 PART III. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SOCIETY ................................. 129 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS AND DONATIONS ............. 131 GIFT AND SELF-DENIAL WEEK—LEGACIES....................... 134 WOMEN’S MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION................................. 136 MEDICAL MISSION AUXILIARY ............................................ 139 LONDON BAPTIST MISSIONARY UNION ... 142 ENGLISH COUNTY SUMMARIES ............. 148 WALES : COUNTY SUMMARIES ............................................ 177 SCOTLAND „ „ 194 IRELAND, &c. „ ... 197 SPECIAL F U N D S ............................................................... ... 198 SUMMARY OF CONTRIBUTIONS............................................ 200 GENERAL SUMMARY OF CASH ACCOUNT ....................... 201 ABSTRACT OF CASH ACCOUNT ............................... ... 204 SPECIAL FUNDS ACCOUNTS ............................................ 206 AUDITORS’ CERTIFICATE .................................................... 208 WOMEN’S MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION AND MEDICAL MISSION AUXILIARY CASH STATEMENTS ............. 209 THE “ WANTS” DEPARTMENT ............................................ 216 CASH STATEMENTS SHOWING TOTAL INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ... ... 217 TOTAL EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR 1920-21 22Q 1 5 - - \<\v\ Che Baptist missionary Society 129th A N N U A L R EP O R T, 1920-21. P A R T ». OUR MIRACULOUS YEAR. HE year of our greatest difficulty was the year of our greatest deliverance. At its beginning we seemed to be face to face with the impossible, at its end our need had been supplied T to the overflow, so that instead of deficit every department of the Society rejoiced in the rare experience of having money in hand wherewith to face the demands of the future. In prospect we might have been tempted to say that if God opened windows in heaven might this thing be ; in retrospect our sense of the miraculous is not lessened. God has again given His seal to the service to which we have put our hand at His bidding, and which we have sought to carry forward in all things according to His will. The century-old portrait group of Baptist Missionary leaders which we publish as the frontispiece of this Report serves to remind us that by the good hand of God this Society has been brought safely through the storms of 129 winters, and that to-day we are able to rejoice in abundant and increasing signs of His blessing upon its work. It will be seen that the group consists of five foreign missionaries and ten home ministers, differing in many things, yet bound together by a common passion and purpose. We may be proud and happy to be followers of these men, though we have the outlook of to-day, and we, too, have our diverse gifts. A common loyalty to Christ and a united purpose to bring the world to» His feet must bind together the Baptists of this generation. FINANCE. The great event of the. year was the raising of the Baptist United Fund, with its inspiring total contributions £270,000, half of which sum is available for this Society. According to previous agreement every section of the mission will benefit from this source in order to make up the losses incurred through the' adverse silver exchange. Up to the close of the finanoial year the B.M.S. received from this source a sum of £115,000. The splendid leadership of the pastors of the churches, the men and women commissioners, and the district’superintendents, stirred the whole denomination to enthusiasm and noble effort The loyal help 6 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINTH ANNUAL REPORT. [1921. of a host of workers and collectors all over the country made the organisation effective, and the generous and even sacrificial giving of the Baptist people achieved the great result. To God be all the praise for His blessing. The spiritual harvest of the campaign, which is still being gathered, will be by no means the least of the’benefits. Though the monetary results of Grift and Self Denial Week, and of the Collection for Native Preachers, have been lessened by the supreme effort made for the B.U.F., it is satisfactory to note that £8,420 was given for the one, and £3,586 for the other ; the corres ponding amounts last year being £14,389 and £4,080. The fund for the widows and orphans of missionaries was well maintained, with £3,276 as against £3,274 last year. In these results we find cause for praise. , The silver exchange, too, even before the end of the year gave us some easement, and reduced to an appreciable extent the expense of work in China and in India. The supporters of the Society, who have so magnificently shown their confidence in it, will rejoice to kno4w that the General Fund, the Women’s Missionary Association, the Medical Mission Auxiliary, and the Bible Translation and Literature Auxiliary all close the year without a deficit, and that there is a balance in hand of over six thousand pounds on the United Fund. On the mission fields the news of Victory Week brought immense cheer and gladness. Missionaries and native churches themselves had joined both in prayer and giving, and the hope of new advance has now been quickened in many hearts. The immediate relief from the crushing financial burden of adverse silver exchange enables us to straighten our backs and look out with fresh courage and faith upon the yet untrodden path before us. If it appear to be beset with new difficulties that will not surprise us. If the road lead uphill and call for a stout heart, we must set ourselves the more resolutely and hopefully to our task. Staff. ' We have learned through the many years of the history of the B.M.S. that God provides wonderfully for the wallet and scrip of his apostles. He still bids us pray for the sending out of labourers. It is our most urgent need. The Missionary Roll of the Year shows that the effective staff on the field has been seriously reduced by retirement and withdrawal on account of health and other causes. On the other hand, the accession of new workers is at present very slow. Unless speedy reinforcements can be secured in China, the missionaries in conference there advise the-definite reduction of the area of our operations. In India the 1921.] OUR MIRACULOUS YEAR. greatest difficulty exists in arranging the location of tlie available missionaries so as to provide for the needs of the stations, and in Congo there is continual risk of health and life itself through the undermanning of remote and exacting centres. For the Baptist contingent of the great Student Conference held in Glasgow in January last, a statement was prepared showing the numbers of missionaries actually required by the B.M.S. to keep its present work efficient. The following is the summary of the figures then given: For the B.M.S. General Stafi (men only) .. .. 36 For the W.M.A. (unmarried women) .. .. 36 For the M.M.A. (doctors only) .. .. .. 14 Total .. .. .. .. .. .. 86 Baptisms. It is remarkable that with reduced forces and much to hinder progress, the reports from the mission field this year are so full of encouraging success. The totg.1 number of baptisms was 3,409, which was a large increase over last year’s figures. Congo heads the list with 1,445, and India reports 1,260. Missonary Co-operation. The B.M.S. takes its place in promoting every profitable form of co-operation between Missionary Societies and Churches on the Mission Field and at the Home Base. United action in negotiating with Governments on such matters as native labour and the preserva tion of former German missions, the joint investigation, through an expert commission, of a great problem like village education in India, the co-operative production of vernacular literature in all the mission fields, and the provision of facilities for the special equipment of candidates and missionaries on furlough—all these and many othei useful projects have been promoted and supported by Union funds during the year under review. Following on the visit of the B.M.S. Deputation to Congo in 1919 and the issue of their report, “ After Forty Years,” the American Missionary Societies carrying on work in the Congo area called to gether last January a representative conference in New York to discuss the questions of practical co-operation raised in that report, and substantial progress was made. At this conference Mr. T. S. Penny and the Eev. C. E. Wilson were present on behalf of the B.M.S. Another important development in missionary co-operation has taken place in Italy, where the mission churches connected with the B.M.S. and those connected with the American Baptist Southern Convention have now been united in one Italian organisation. / 8 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINTH ANNUAL REPORT. [192] THE MISSIONARY ROLL OF THE YEAR, The following new missionaries have been appointed: INDIA.