Our Near-By Mission Field by George A. Irwin

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 10, 1908

Our Near-By Mission Field

By George A. Irwin

While being in perfect sympathy with the effort to carry the third angel's message to every land, and believing it to be the thing for us to do, yet I fear that in our zeal, we are liable to overlook a very needy people living right at our doors; namely, the colored people of the Southern States. The colored people constitute one tenth of the population of the United States, and the citizens of the United States are more indebted to this people than to any other. Our responsibility for their general condition of ignorance is greater than for any other people; and if preference should be given to any of the population, it should be given to them.

The establishment of small mission schools has proved to be the most potent agency for reaching this people with the truth. The results obtained from the efforts put forth in this direction have been quite satisfactory. But instead of the number of mission schools which we now have, there should be hundreds of similar schools in operation among this people. Urgent appeals are constantly coming in to those having charge of the work among this people for the establishment of other schools, and the whole South could soon be ablaze with these little lights, had we the necessary number of properly trained teachers, and the means to support them.

The Southern Missionary Society, whose efforts have been entirely along this line, have done a good work so far as their resources in teachers and means would permit. The Oakwood Industrial School for the training of colored teachers has done the best it could to train the necessary teachers; but they, like the Southern Missionary Society, have been handicapped for lack of means and appliances thoroughly to prosecute the work.

We also need means to erect a small sanitarium upon the grounds of the Oakwood School, where the sick may be treated, and the students given a practical course in rational treatments, so that they may go out not only as mission teachers but as medical missionaries as well. We need means to establish a small sanitarium and treatment-rooms in the city of Nashville. No argument will be needed to convince our people of the North of this need other than to state

that we have no sanitarium for the colored people, and but one treatment-room, in all the South.

It was my privilege to spend ten days in July at the Oakwood School, attending the institute that was held for the better education and training of mission-school teachers. As I listened to the reports given by these teachers of the progress made by the students in their mission schools, and how both children and grown people had accepted and were rejoicing in the message, I wish that I might be able to say something that would interest our people in general in behalf of the work for the colored people in the South. These teachers are all bright, intelligent people, and love the truth as dearly as any one; and they are very anxious to receive all the help they can from the hands of the white teachers, so that they can continue to do better work, and exercise a greater influence over the people in the community in which they labor.

While appreciating what has been done for this people in the past, the time has certainly come when we should redouble our efforts. Instead of a meager collection we ought to receive thousands of dollars throughout the field for immediate use among this people. The colored people of the South are coming more and more to appreciate what has been done and is being done for them, and they are still anxious that the white people shall take the lead in the training of their young people to become workers; but soon it will be impossible for them to do this. So in behalf of the colored people of the South, I appeal to the brethren of the North to make earnest efforts to help the Oakwood School to act its part now while the way is still open.

I trust that while reading this appeal, the Spirit of God may impress upon each heart the needs of this people and the obligation that we owe to them, and that each will be constrained to contribute liberally toward this work, on the first Sabbath in October. G. A. IRWIN.