We have then yet to demand that we shall be able to put every little station into its proper place in this larger whole, and to see how its principles and methods are illumined by the vision of the whole, being established with the design of accomplishing the whole task. We turn then now to this larger view of mission work. The tables which we have drawn for a province or small country would enable us to compare the work in each area with another such area in the larger whole, and to judge whether we were unduly neglecting any; where the Church was strongest and where it was least established; where it was more capable and where it was less capable of taking over that work which rightly belongs to it, of extending its own boundaries, and of maintaining its own life. We should not send hasty missions here or there because some interesting political event attracts the eyes of men to this or that particular country, but on definite missionary principles, acting on a clear and reasonable understanding of the missionary situation in the world.
The commission of Christ is world-wide, the claim of Christ is world-wide, the work of Christ, the Spirit of Christ are all-embracing; and the work which missionaries do in His name should be all-embracing to. We should conduct all our work, and plan all our work, at home and abroad, with our eyes fixed on the final goal, which is for us, so long as we are on this earth, coterminous only with the limits of the habitable globe. We cannot be content to approach even the largest areas as though our action was limited by them. All our policy in every part should be part of a policy designed for the whole. If it is not designed to accomplish the whole it is not adequate for any part.
How then could we gain a vision of the whole, a whole composed of such vast and diverse parts? Obviously we must have for every country in which any missionary work is carried on some common returns, either those which we venture to suggest or others which some abler minds might suggest; but that they must be common to all, and fundamental in character, is obvious; and they must be reduced to proportions on a common basis, or comparison and combination will be impossible; and they must be as few as possible in order to avoid confusion.
We suggest, then, that if we had the four tables which follow we should possess a reasonable basis, sufficient for our present needs, especially since we suppose they would be supported by the tables for the different provinces, countries, and stations which we have already suggested, and they ought to be supplemented by surveys made by each society of its own work and by departmental surveys of medical, educational, industrial, and literary work made for the special direction of each of these branches. But for a first general view of the whole we propose:—
(1) A table showing the force at work in the area in relation to the population:—
——————————————————————————————————- Proportion to Population. —————————————————————————————————— Province| Popula-| Total | Chris- | Com- | | or | tion. | Foreign | tian | municants | Paid | Unpaid Country| | Mission-| Constitu-| or Full |Workers.| Workers. Area. | | aries. | ents. | Members | | ————|————|————-|—————|—————-|————|————- | | | | | | ________|________|_________|__________|___________|________|_________ ——————————————————————————————————-
That would give us a general view of the force at work in relation to the work to be done and of the proportions between its constituent parts. Then (2):—
——————————————————————————————————-
| Proportion of Paid | Proportion of
| Workers | Unpaid Workers
—————————-|————————————|————————————
Propor- | |
Christian tion |—————-|——————|——————-|—————
Constitu- of | | To | |To
ency. Liter- | To | Christian | To |Christian
ates. | Com- | Constitu- | Com- |Constitu-
| municants.| ency |municants. |ency.
—————————-|—————-|——————|——————-|—————
| | | |
—————————-+—————-+——————+——————-+—————
That would give us an idea of the character and power of the force. (3)
——————————————————————————————————- | | | Percentage | Percentage | | Paid | of Total | of Total | Missionaries.| Native | Foreign Funds| Native | | Workers.| Employed in. | Contributions | | | | Employed in. ——————-+———————+————-+———————+———————- Evangelistic | — | — | — | — ——————————————+————-+———————+———————- Medical | — | — | — | — ——————————————+————-+———————+———————- Educational | — | — | — | — ——————————————+————-+———————+———————- Other forms | — | — | — | — of work | — | — | — | — ——————-+———————+————-+———————+———————-