— - y' , , y DAY MISSIONS Ninety-eighth Annual Report Board of Foreign ^Missions Reformed Church in America 1930 Reformed Church Building 25 East Twenty-second Street, New York Board of Foreign Missions MEMBERS OF THE BOARD 1928—1931 Rev. J. Frederic Berg, Ph.D. Rev. J. M. Martin, D.D. Rev. Edward Dawson, D.D. Rev. J. G. Meengs, D.D. Rev. Wm. Bancroft Hill, D.D. Rev. E. F. Romig, D.D. Rev. M. J. MacLeod, D.D. Mr. S. B. Chapin Mr. H. A. Kinports 1929—1932 Rev. J. W. Beardslee, Ph.D. Rev. George D. Hulst Rev. E. J. Blekkink, D.D. Rev. T. H. Mackenzie, D.D. Rev. J. H. Brinckerhoff Pres. E. D. Dimnent, Litt.D. Rev. W. H. S. Demarest, LL.D. Mr. Cornelius Dosker Mr. Herman Vanderwart 1930—1933 Rev. Henry E. Cobb, S-T.D. Rev. H. J. Veldman, D.D. Rev. J. A. Jones, D.D. Mr. A. P. Cobb Rev. Bernie Mulder Mr. N. Y. Dungan ReV. Harry W. Noble, D.D. Mr. W. E. Foster Mr. Jay Weemhoff OFFICERS OF THE BOARD President—Rev. Henry E. Cobb, D.D., S.T.D. Vice-President—Rev. Wm. Bancroft Hill, D.D. Recording Secretary—Rev. Edward Dawson, D.D. Corresponding Secretary—Rev. W. I. Chamberlain, Ph.D. Associate Secretary and Treasurer—Mr. F. M. Potter, L.H.D. District Secretary—Rev, W. J. Van Kersen, D.D., Holland, Mich. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Rev. T. H. Mackenzie, Chairman Rev. J .W. Beardslee Rev. E. F. Romin Rev. J. H. Brinckerhoff Mr. A. P. Cobb Rey. Edward Dawson Mr. W. E. Foster Rev. W. H. S. Demarest Mr. H. A. Kinports Mr. Herman Vanderwart Ex Officiis: The President and Vice-President MEDICAL ADVISERS Charles N. Dowd, M.D., 51 East 50th Street, New York f Edward M. Dodd, M.D., 156 Fifth Avenue, New York R. H. Nichols, M.D., Holland, Mich. THE DEPUTATION OF THE BOARD AT THE JUBILEE OF THE ARCOT MISSION JANUARY, 1930 G a r l a n d ed U po n T.h e ir A rrival (D r s . B eardslee, P otter a n d V a n K e r s e n ; M is s D odd, M r. H u l s t ) Ninety-eighth Annual Report of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Reformed Church in America The Seventy-third Year of Separate Action Organized, 1832 Independent, 1857 Incorporated, 1860 MISSIONS « . S S I O N S Amoy, China, 1842 Arcot, India, 1853 I o ' * Japan, 1859 ¿IBR Arabia, 1889 Presented to the General Synod at Asbury Park, N. J. June, 1930 ANNUAL REPORT, 1930 The Board of Foreign Missions respectfully presents to General Synod its Ninety-eighth Annual, Report and the Seventy-third of its separate and independent action. The Personnel.of the Board The terms of the following members of the Board expire with this Session of General Synod: R ev. H. E. C obb R ev. H. J. V eld m a n R ev. J. A . J o n es M r. A . P. C obb R ev. B e r n ie M ulder M r. N . Y. D u n g a n R ev. H. W . N oble M r. W . E. F oster M r. J a y W e e m h o ff Provision will also need to be made for the election of a member of the Board, in the class 1929-1932, in the place of Rev. Robert W . Searle, re­ signed on leaving the bounds of the Denomination. A Century of Missions In accordance with the custom prevailing for well nigh a century, the Board of Foreign Missions presents now its Annual Report, which happens to be the Ninety-eighth Report of the Board. In 1896 Dr. Henry N. Cobb, the Corresponding Secretary at that time, prepared a pamphlet entitled, “A Century of Missions in the Reformed Church of America, 1796-1896.” In support of this historical pamphlet, which contains a remarkably condensed and deeply interesting record of the foreign missionary work of our Re­ formed Church, Dr. Cobb states : “It is quite proper to celebrate the completion of a century of mis­ sionary activity on the part of the Reformed Church. Its own part was not organized until 1832, but long previous to that time its members had united with those of other Churches in evangelistic labors and organization. “In November, 1796, just a Century ago, the New York Missionary So­ ciety was organized in New York City. In it were represented the Baptist, Presbyterian and Reformed Churches. Monthly meetings were held on the second Wednesday of each month in the Baptist, Dutch and Presbyterian Churches in rotation, ‘for the purpose of offering their prayers to the God of Grace that He would be pleased to pour out His spirit on His Church and send His Gospel to all the nations’.” While 1796 appears to be the beginning of organized and responsible foreign missionary work of the Reformed Church, although on a limited scale, formal action constituting the present Board of Foreign Missions of thè Reformed Church was taken by General Synod in 1832. Thus for ninety- eight years the Reformed Church, through this Board, has been engaged in an enterprise known as Foreign Missions. Throughout all these years, with iii IV FOREIGN MISSIONS their world changes and frequent political upheavals in various parts of the earth, their varying periods of missionary success and failure, their inspiring examples of missionary heroism and sacrifice, their repeated increases and decreases in financial resources, their alternating periods of enthusiastic in­ terest and discouraging indifference on the part of the churches at home, their changing methods in missionary administration, the Board of Foreign Missions, acting for General Synod, has, nevertheless, gone steadily for­ ward, endeavoring always to be mindful of its high purpose stated in its Charter, “of establishing and conducting Christian Missions among the un­ evangelized, or pagan, nations and the general diffusion of Christianity.” Throughout all these nearly one hundred years the Board at home and the Missions in the field have endeavored to maintain the evangelistic emphasis so impressively formulated in the Preamble to the Constitution adopted by General Synod in October, 1857. I “Whereas the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Divine Head of the Church, has enjoined on all His people the duty of giving the Gospel to every creature; and Whereas the condition of all men without the Gospel is one of exposure to eternal death, as well as of present suffering and sorrow—Therefore under the conviction of duty, and with earnest desire for the best interests of our fellow men here and hereafter, the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America, acknowledging with gratitude what God has been pleased to accomplish by the Church, adopts the following Constitution for its Board of Foreign Missions.” It is no unique claim that we make for the missionaries of our Church, that they have held closely before them that the primary work of the mis­ sionary is to lead men to accept Christ as personal Saviour and Lord. In this age, when missionary service is more highly specialized than it was when our pioneer missionaries established the great missions of our Church in Asia, it is particularly impressive that, whatever may bel the method employed by him, the missionary has never lost sight of his supreme mis­ sion. His contribution is spiritual ; its fruitage is Christian faith and pur­ pose, a new life, a new devotion to God. With this background of distinguished and impressive missionary history, the Board presents its Ninety-eighth Report, deeply grateful to the mis­ sionaries for their loyal service during the past year ; to the constituency at home for its generous and prayerful support and to God for His blessing on the work of the year. Since we are about to complete a century of missions, following upon the action of General Synod assuming in 1832 responsibility for the organi­ zation and conduct of the foreign missionary work under its immediate auspices, the Board of Foreign Missions awaits authority and instructions for the suitable commemoration of this important event in the history of the foreign missionary enterprise of the American Church. The Deputation to the Missions In accordance with the announcement made in the last Annual Report of the Board to General Synod, a Deputation has been visiting all the Mis­ THE MISSION FIELDS v sions of the Reformed Church during the past year. This Deputation con­ sisted of the following: Dr. F. M. P otter, Associate Secretary and Treasurer T h e R evd . W . J . Van Kersen, D.D., District Secretary T h e R evd. J o h n W . B eardslee, Ph.D., Member of the Board, Professor, New Brunswick Theological Seminary T h e R evd. G eorge D. H u l s t , M.A., Pastor, Upper Montclair Reformed Church Miss E. P. C obb, Corresponding Secretary, Woman’s Board M iss Gertrude D odd, Member and former Treasurer, Woman’s Board The main portion of the Deputation started on its notable journey in October, 1929, Dr. Beardslee having left a month later and remaining with the Deputation during their visits to the Arabian and Arcot Missions. Miss Cobb proceeded in February, 1930, and joined the Deputation during their visits to the Amoy and Japan Missions. Miss Dodd served with the Depu­ tation during their visits to the Arabian and Arcot Missions. Dr. Beardslee returned to America in March and has already, at regular and special meetings of the Board, greatly interested its members with his keen observations upon the work of our missionaries in the two fields that he visited.