BY REV. C. J. RYDER, DISTRICT SECRETARY.
The Sunday-school work of the A.M.A. has always been an important element of that work. The rapid development of this department within the past few years has been somewhat remarkable. Our friends expressed grateful surprise at the Portland meeting that the statistics were so exceedingly encouraging along this line. “The total Sunday-school enrollment, as it appears in the Annual Report of 1882, was 7,835, but we are able to report this year an enrollment of 15,109, an increase in five years of 7,274, or nearly 100 per cent.,” was the very satisfactory showing as given in the last Annual Report.
Two interesting bits of history have recently come to me, which indicate that the Sunday-school work of the Association is developing with still greater rapidity and success. Reports were gathered from twenty-two of the students of Straight University, New Orleans, who taught school during the summer vacation. These students were not so busy with their work in the day-school as to neglect their duty as Christians in the organization of Sunday-schools. They were scattered throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, and reached many needy fields. They reported the following facts:
| Number of pupils in the day-schools which were taught by them | 1,398 |
| Number of Sunday-schools organized | 13 |
| These students were superintendents or teachers in | 22 |
| Number of scholars in these Sunday-schools | 1,574 |
| Number of hopeful conversions to Christ | 168 |
| Five Bands of Mercy were organized with a membership of | 181 |
| Four Temperance Societies were formed with a membership of | 241 |
These facts furnish us excellent evidence of the judicious and enthusiastic efforts of these colored students to save and elevate their own people. Fifteen hundred and seventy-four children gathered into Sunday-schools, most of whom were absolutely unreached before, by these twenty-two under-graduates of a single A.M.A. school!
It is not strange that the President of Straight University, in giving these facts, adds, with evident satisfaction:
“If a complete record could be made of all the work done in one year even, by past and present members of our school, or any of the A.M.A. schools, it would make an aggregate most wonderful.”
Turning now to the progress of Sunday-school work in our great Mountain field, we find the same remarkable development. Calvary Congregational Church was organized at Pine Mountain, Tenn., Nov. 26, 1887, with thirteen members. The following striking facts are just reported as the results secured in the past few months by the energetic Christian workers in this church. Sunday-schools have been established in the following places, with the enrollment given below: