The Missouri Camp-Meeting
By G. A. IRWIN
THIS meeting was held August 6-13, at Sedalia, Mo. Sedalia is a beautiful city of about twenty-two thousand inhabitants, and is located on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, ninety-five miles southeast of Kansas City, and one hundred and eighty-eight miles west of St. Louis. The meeting was held in Liberty Park, the use of which for the camp was granted free by the city council. There were about four hundred of our own people encamped on the ground. From the very beginning a good interest was manifest in the meeting, both by our own people and by others. Each night the tent was full, and a large number were standing on the outside, or sitting in buggies, listening to the preaching of the plain message. The three daily papers published in the city gave quite full and complete reports of all the sermons, in some instances as much as three columns. The various reports rendered in the conference showed a healthy increase both in the tithe and in the general offerings during the past year. Two new churches were added to the conference, making fifty-five in all. Sixty new members were reported as the result of the year’s work. At the present time they have twenty-eight canvassers in the field. While Missouri is the smallest conference in the Central Union in point of numbers, yet the reports show that they have sold more books than any of the others. They have a live, wide-awake general agent, who goes right into the field with his men, and assists and encourages them where they need help. Five tent companies have been in the field this summer. Their present corps of workers consists of thirteen ordained ministers, two licentiate ministers, nine Bible workers, and sixteen church-school teachers. The tithe the past year reached nearly thirteen thousand dollars. Brother Porter was re-elected president, thus entering upon his third year in this capacity. There seems to be a good feeling among the brethren and laborers composing the conference. There was a manifest loyalty upon the part of all toward the general work, and a decided interest in favor of the missionary work in foreign fields. The conference voted to send one of their ministers to Arkansas and support him for the coming year, besides expressing a willingness for the General Conference to draw from their force of laborers, with the assurance of support consistent with the other obligations of the conference. The offerings for missions during the camp-meeting in cash and pledges amounted, in the aggregate, to $250.08. This was taken up after they had raised nearly $600 for the local conference work. Quite an interest was manifest in the sale and distribution of Sister White’s forthcoming book, “Ministry of Healing.” Nearly three hundred copies were subscribed for as a starter. The brethren also expressed a willingness to co-operate with the suggestions of the Relief Bureau by donating twenty-five cents per copy of their income from the sale of the book toward helping to pay the indebtedness on the Boulder Sanitarium. Elder E. T. Russell, president of the union conference, Elder K. C. Russell, and the writer were the representatives from outside the conference. Elder E. T. Russell was present at the beginning of the meeting, but left toward the middle to be present at the Nebraska meeting. Elder K. C. Russell remained until the evening of the last Sabbath, and I came at noon the last Friday of the meeting, and remained over Sabbath and Sunday. Professors Lewis and Kern, of Union College, were present during the entire meeting, and rendered acceptable service in laboring for the young people, and in presenting the importance of Christian education and the advantages and facilities possessed by Union College for obtaining such an education. Elders Porter and K. C. Russell did most of the evening preaching, Elder Scales and others assisting toward the last. I think arrangements were being made to follow up the interest created by the meeting. The crop prospects throughout the State were never better; and the general desire manifest upon the part of the brethren as they went to their homes to do more than ever to spread the message, betokens a rapid advancement in the work in the Missouri Conference the coming year.