The Forward Mission Study Courses are an outgrowth of a conference of leaders in Young People's Mission Work, held in New York City, December, 1901. To meet the need that was manifested at that conference for Mission Study Text-books suitable for young people, two of the delegates, Professor Amos R. Wells, of the United Society of Christian Endeavor, and Mr. S. Earl Taylor, Chairman of the General Missionary Committee of the Epworth League, projected the Forward Mission Study Courses. These courses have been officially adopted by the Young People's Missionary Movement, and are now under the immediate direction of the Executive Committee of the Movement, which consists of the young people's secretaries, or other official representatives of twelve of the leading missionary boards of the United States and Canada.
The aim is to publish a series of text-books covering the various home and foreign mission fields, and written by leading authorities with special reference to the needs of young people. The entire series when completed will comprise perhaps as many as twenty text-books. A general account will be given of some of the smaller countries, such as Japan, Korea, and Turkey; but, for the larger fields, as China, Africa, and India, the general account will be supplemented by a series of biographies of the principal missionaries connected with the country. The various home mission fields will also be treated both biographically and historically.
The following text-books have been published:—
1. The Price of Africa. (Biographical.) By S. Earl Taylor.
2. Into All the World. A General Survey of Missions. By Amos R. Wells.
3. Princely Men in the Heavenly Kingdom. (Biographical.) By Harlan P. Beach, M.A., F.R.G.S.
4. Child Life in Mission Lands. A Course of Study for Junior Societies. By Ralph E. Diffendorfer.
5. Sunrise in the Sunrise Kingdom. A Study of Japan. By the Rev. John H. De Forest, D.D.
6. Heroes of the Cross in America. Home Missions. (Biographical.) By Don O. Shelton.