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NOETH CAROLINA
Baptist Missionary Worker.
Jesus said : “ Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
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EALEIGH, K C., JANUARY, 188G.
No. 1.
OUR STATE MISSION MORE.
Goit has done a wonderful work for us during
the past few years. Grand efforts have been put
forth by His people, and the most glorious results
have followed. The Lord has added his blessings
wherever the seeds of truth have been sown, until
cities, towns and hamlets have alike w itnessed the
presence and power of the Holy Ghost. The
toiling country pastors, on their monthly rounds
of preaching, have held up the standard of truth,
and listening thousands have been cut to the
heart, and made to cry for mercy; the village min
isters have taken up the strain and wafted it on
ward, and the city bishops, amid the clash and din
of the business world, have raised high the banner
of salvation, and poor and rich, have alike, gone
trembling to a throne of grace, and found peace
by faith in the lowly One of Nazareth. The fire
has caught from heart to heart, and from neigh,
borhood to neighborhood, until there havo.*een
gracious revivals of religion in nearly ever)” Bap-
tv ’*1 tt'f. Stst' wi’Jiin the wast,year end
nearly seventeen thousand souls have been baptized
in‘o our membership. And still the work goes on;
and day after day the joyful news comes to us of
fresh tokens of God's grace to poor, lost sinners.
It is the spirit of missions which has done all
this—the spirit which laid hold upon the spotless
Son of God, and sent Him into the world to work
out the plan for our salvation—the spirit which
sent out Andrew in search of his brother Simon,
and would not let him rest, until he had “brought
him to Jesu.s”—the spirt which caused Paul to lay
aside the comforts and honors of his Jewish home,
forsake his former friends, and go out to preach
the Gospel to the Gentiles—the spirit which led
you, my brother, when you first learned to trust
and love Jesus as YouR Saviour, to tell the glad
news to your loved ones, and to teach them the
same simple story of the cross. I say it is the
spirit of missions which has done this. And I
thank God that this interest has deepened and
widened, until the State Mission Board, which had
only Stine missionaries under its direction eight
years ago, last year had seventy, and this year will
have several more. These men have gone out
into the destitute portions of North Carolina to
preach the Gospel, and must have a support,
abandon their fields, or perish. It will require
nearly $10,000 to pay them, and meet the other
expenses of the office. Last year the Convention
paid over $6,000 for this work. As the fruits of
these efforts our missionaries alone labored 1,666
weeks, equivalent to more than 32 years, supplied
180 churches and out-stations, preached over 4,000
sermons, held 171 protracted meetings, witnessed
1,841 professions of faith, held 1,140 prayer-
meetings, organized 14 churches, and began the
erection of 26 meeting-houses—all this for one
year.
A glance at the results of the efforts of these
missionaries for the past fous years alone shows
us that at differetit times 116 men have been sent
out, more than t^uo hundred and Jifty churches
and stations supplied with preaching, 5,789 weeks
of labor performed, 17,192 sermons preached, 480
protracted meetings held, 5,098 souls professed
conversion, 3,590 persons, baptized, 53 new
churches and 96 Sunday Schools organized, and
33 meeting-houses built—these are some of the
results of the labors of our missionaries alone for
only four years. I give these figures that you
may see what your contributions to State Missions
have done. And is it not enough to encourage us
to yet greater efforts for the cause ?
But although so much has been done, much yet
remains to be done. There are extensive belts in
the western and middle parts of the State, com
prising thousands of square miles, where there is
no Baptist preaching.
it is a matter ot special gratincation to be ante
to state that two of the three counties in Eastern
Carolina which have been so long without Baptist
churches now have organizations, which, properly
cultivated, we hope soon to see developed into
large and flourishing churches. There is peculiar
promise in the little baud of workers organized at
Baylxiro, in Pamlico county.
But Hyde county is still without a Baptist
church, or a Baptist preacher. And there is no
resident minister of our faith in Dare, Pamlico,
Washington, Greene, nor Alleghany counties; and
but one minister each in Beaufort, Pitt, Lenoir,
Jones, Onslow, Edgecombe, Wilson, Martin and
Tyrrell counties. And some of these counties
have but little preaching of any kind.
Is not this enough to arouse every heart that
loves Jesus and every soul which desires the ex
tension of the Redeemer’s kingdom ? Thousands
of souls perishing in our own borders without the
gospel ! z\nd they are sending appeal after ap
peal to your Board to send them the bread of life.
Our missionaries have already gone out into the
border lands, and with the help of God and the
aid of your prayers and money, we mean to take
this region, with every other destitute part of the
State, for Jesus Christ. Now, will you not help
us ? We ask a small amount from every member
of every church. My brother, will you not give
us your help? “God loveth a cheerful giver."
Send all money for State Missions to Fabius H.
Briggs, Treasurer, Raleigh. N. C.
FOREKJN MISSIO.XS.
—Thirty new Baptist churches were organized
within the bounds of our Convention last year. |
The Foreign Board of the Southern Baptis*
Convention has twenty-five ordained foreign mis
sionaries, thirty ladies, and fifty-six native work
ers. Last year 203 were baptized. There were
1,323 church members. The missionaries received
on their fields $6,241.76. The home churches
contributed $64,154.18. The cost of the work
was $75,403.22.
This year the cost must be much more. The
Board needs $100,000. It asks North Carolina to
give $8,000.
SOME QUESTIONS AND *ANSVVERSrt*-
Can the heathen be saved without the gospel?
They cannot. God says, they are “ dead through
trespasses and sins,” “having and without
God." “ Idolaters shall have their part in the
*ake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which
is the second death.”
Arc there m,' , ? Ves; enough io peo-
i ' - .»J.^.>t ■-».V.-.. 41141...- -Ao..
miles of Dr. A -.-s are 20,oj of peonle per-
i.shing without tho gospel. ^ >d
no food you would send them some. The have no
bread of life. What will you do?
May not the heathen hear the gospel otherwise
than by our sending it to them ? No ; for Je^s
said : “Ye .shall be my witnesses unto the utter
most part of the earth.”
Has Christ commanded us to give them the gos.
pel? He has. “ Go ye, and teach all nations,’*
How much did North Carolina Baptists give the
past twelve months to send the gospel to the
heathen.?—$5,138.47—less than a half
cents each.
THINGS TO BE CONSIDERED IN GIVING.
1. Christ s command to his disciples to give the
gospel to the nations, is imperative, unconditional
and obligatory upon them all.
2. That we who hear it may be saved, while the
heathen cannot possibly be saved until the gospel
be sent them.
3. That the work of sending them the gospel
has long been neglected by us all, so that many
thousands of heathen have perished who migh
have been saved had we done our duty.
4. That we could do many times more than we
have heretofore done to give the gospel to the
heathen.
5. That if we do not our utmost to give them
the gospel, we shall be guilty of the blood of their I
souls. I
6. That a number of ministers are willing and
desirous to go to the heathen, but cannot be sent
out until more money is given for this work.
Theo. Whitfield;