American Baptist Foreign Mission Society
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ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY- EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT o f the AMERICAN BAPTIST FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY combined with the SEVENTY-FIRST ANNUAL REPORT o f the WOMAN’S AMERICAN BAPTIST FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY 1942 Presented by the Boards o f Managers at Cleveland, Ohio, May 26- 31, 1942 AMERICAN BAPTIST FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY WOMAN’S AMERICAN BAPTIST FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY 152 Madison Avenue New York, N. Y Umpoxtant! A l l who read this volume should keep in mind that it is a report for the fiscal year May 1, 1941, to April 30, 1942. While certain changes have been made in the text originally prepared and some new material added, no attempt has been made to bring up to date that which is obviously a report item for the year indicated. Although field situations have changed considerably since April thirtieth, Baptist foreign mission work continues. Some doors may be temporarily closed, but others are opening wide. Changes are recorded in new leaflets (free) which appear from time to time. Among those, recently issued, “—And Make Disciples,” “Rumors and Facts,” and “What Can We Say Now?” should be specially noted. * For historical data and detailed information of fields and stations, see “ All Kindreds and Tongues,” issued in 1940. This 298-page handbook of foreign mission mate rial is an invaluable source book of information. Price, 25 cents. See also “ It Began in Burma,” by Randolph L. Howard. Paper, 60 cents; cloth, $1.00. Order from Literature Bureau, 152 Madison Avenue, New York. T h e J u d s o n P r e ss, P h i l a . Printed in U.S.A. CONTENTS PAGE MISSIONARY BEGINNINGS .................................................. 4 PR EFAC E ............................................................................................ 5 ALONG KINGDOM HIGHWAYS IN: Japan ............................................................................................ 13 Ch in a ............................................................................................ 15 P hilippines ................................................................................. 21 Bu r m a ............................................................................................ 23 A ssam ............................................................................................. 29 South In Ijia ............................................................................... 31 B engal-O rissa .......................................................................... 34 Belgian Congo .......................................................................... 36 E urope .......................................................................................... 41 NEW MISSIONARIES FOR KINGDOM HIGHWAYS 43 TELLING THE STORY OF KINGDOM HIGHWAYS 49 JO U R N E Y ’S E N D ..................................................... 50 WORKING TOGETHER FOR KINGDOM H IG H W A Y S ............................................................................. 57 FUNDS FOR WORK ALONG KINGDOM HIGHWAYS 67 A merican Baptist F oreign M ission Society.................. 69 W o m an ’s A merican B aptist F oreign M ission Society ................................................................................. 89 FIELDS AND STATIONS ALONG KINGDOM H IG H W A Y S ............................................................................ 117 DIRECTORIES ................................................................................. 129 A merican Baptist F oreign M ission Society 131 W o m an ’s A merican Baptist F oreign M ission Society ................................................................................. 135 FIELD STATISTICS .................................................................... 155 MINUTES OF ANNUAL MEETINGS ; BY-LAWS; CH AR TER S ............................................................................... 176 IN D E X ................................................................................................... 189 MISSIONARY BEGINNINGS In the early part of the nineteenth century the position of Baptists in America was not one o f great prominence. With little organization, they were widely scattered and without facilities for easy communication among themselves. The formation of the English Baptist Missionary Society, which had taken place in 1792, and the early efforts of the pioneer mission aries in India had, however, aroused a deep interest in this country, so that considerable money was raised and sent to their aid. The interest thus awakened and fostered was accentuated also by the reading o f letters from Dr. William Carey, which appeared from time to time in the Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Magazine. When, early in 1812, a company of five young men of another denomination was set apart for service in foreign lands, a deep impression was made upon Baptists. One of these young men, Adoniram Judson, read his New Testament with great thoroughness during his voyage to India, and as a result accepted the Baptist view of baptism and wrote a letter which was received in Boston, January 19, 1813, in which he said: “ Should there be formed a Baptist Society for the support of missions in these parts, I should be ready to consider myself their missionary.” This challenge profoundly stirred American Baptists, and they began at once to make plans to under take this work. Luther Rice, another of the young men, having experienced a like change in belief, returned to America to plead the cause of missions among the Baptists, the direct result of his efforts being the organization at Philadelphia, May 21, 1814, of “The General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States for Foreign Missions, and other impor tant objects relating to the Redeemer’s Kingdom,” popularly known as the Triennial Convention. The delegates assembled on May 18, a fact which has led to the erroneous statement frequently made that the Convention was organized on that date. It is significant that the call to engage in foreign mission work was the first thing that led to organization and unity among Baptists in this country. In 1845 the Southern Baptists withdrew because of a difference of opinion growing out o f the slavery question, and in 1846 the name o f the Society was changed to The American Baptist Missionary Union. The name was again altered in 1910, becoming American Baptist Foreign Mission Society. The headquarters were established at Boston, Mass., in 1826, and in 1920 were removed to New York. At the annual meeting in 1908, the Society became a co-operating society of the Northern Baptist Convention. The Woman’s Baptist Foreign Missionary Society and the Woman’s. Baptist Foreign Missionary Society of the West were organized in 1871 for “the elevation and Christianization of women and children in foreign lands.” These two societies w'ere consolidated in 1914 to form the Woman’s American Baptist Foreign Mission Society. At the annual meeting in 1914, this Society also became a co-operating society of the Northern Baptist Convention. 4 PREFACE In 1941 the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society made a significant change in the presentation of its annual report. The format was made more attractive and the content more readable. It was given a name: “Along Kingdom Highways.” In the pop ular edition for distribution after the Wichita Convention, pictures were added. Some statistical records of interest to only a very few, and usually given in previous reports, were left out. Only items of general interest or essential parts of a permanent record for the year were retained. In many other respects also, the 1941 volume represented a new departure in bringing to Northern Baptists some word of what they are doing on foreign mission fields. While the report of the Woman’s American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, as presented to the Convention in Wichita, kept to its previously established form, another edition made its appear ance during the summer under title of “ Women Over the Seas.” These two volumes, “Along Kingdom Highways” and “Women Over the Seas,” were so well received and proved so serviceable that it was decided to present the 1942 reports in similarly attrac tive format. Beyond this, however, an even more significant change is now being made in presenting the work of the two Foreign Societies in one volume instead of in two— and not only in one, but as a combined report under one title. This may impress some as being quite revolutionary, but others who know intimately the work of the two Societies on the fields and in home administration will recognize it as just another outward symbol of the fact that the work is really one and that the co-operation of the two Boards, both at home and abroad, is very close and is increasing with each passing year. W e are glad, therefore, to commend to Northern Baptists this new and combined report. W e hope it will be recognized as being something far more than a report, for we have designed it to be a source of information, a manual of prayer, and a reminder to thank God for what he has already done and for what he clearly intends yet to do through us, if increasingly we give ourselves and our treasures to him on behalf of the whole world, 5 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.—Jeremiah 32 :15 ALONG KINGDOM HIGHWAYS N our day the highways of the world are increasingly filled Iwith men and munitions of war. Sea lanes are open only to naval fleets and armed merchantmen in convoy. Clipper planes fly the oceans on routes new