HOME MISSIONS IN

North America is a vast missionary field, representing many varied phases of work for all classes of people. The problems connected with it are almost as numerous and complex as are those of foreign missions. Home missions. in North America-not counting Mexico and the West Indies-include the following:

1. City missions for the fallen, outcasts, and destitute.

2. Work for foreign-speaking population in cities, manufacturing, and mining districts. These include Europeans, Chinese, Japanese, Hindus, and other Orientals. Work for new immigrants. There are over 11,000,000 foreign-born in the United States. Chinese number about 100,000 and Japanese 25,000; Italians about 500,000, and Russians the same. About 1,000,000 immigrants arrive each year.

3. Missions to the Jews in the great cities. These number about 2,500,000, of whom over 1,000,000 reside in Greater New York. Nearly 1,000,000 have immigrated to the United States in the last ten years.

4. Missions to rural communities in the East, where churches have become too weak to support aggressive work.

NORTH AMERICA

Most of these lines of work require special study and qualifications. The same workers can not usually engage in more than one branch of home missions. The hardships are also as real as those connected with foreign service. foreign service. While the distance from home is not so great, and the separation from friends is not generally so complete or prolonged, there are other trials that are often even greater at home than abroad. The salaries are smaller, the physical comforts are less, servants are, in many places, difficult to secure, and workers. are more separated from each other, so that they have not the community life found in many foreign stations. Each department of home mission work has its peculiar difficulties and trials, and each has its special reward. for faithful service in the cause of Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

5. Social service and giving the Gospel to non-church-going laboring classes.

6. Missions to the American Indiansincluding preaching, schools, and industrial work. American Indians number about 300,000, most of them on reservations.

7. Missions to the negroes in the cities, and in the Southland-including general and religious education. Negroes in the United States number about 10,000,000.

8. Frontier missions to miners, lumbermen, and settlers in new fields, away from established churches. Mormons number 350,000.

9. Missions to mountaineers of the Appalachian range in the East and South.

10. Mission to miners, Indians, and Eskimos of Alaska, and to fishermen and Eskimos of Labrador, Greenland and Northern Canada.

The total population of the United States is about 92,000,000. Of these only about 35,000,000 are reported as communicant members of organized churches, and of these about one-third are Roman Catholics. It is estimated. that one-half of the population of North America are not church-members, and do not regularly attend any place of worship.

The home missionary forces employed in the United States are difficult to ascertain, as there are many independent workers and organizations. Those employed by the great home mission societies number about 12,000 missionaries. In addition to these are independent city missionaries, pastors, active church members, and non-denominational workers.