Ten-Cent-a-Week Fund by W. T. Knox

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Feb 16, 1911

Ten-Cent-a-Week Fund

By W. T. Knox

THE accompanying report of the Ten-cent-a-week Fund will, without doubt, be read with much interest by all our people. This report gives in full the results, for the year 1910, of the efforts of the people to supply funds for the carrying forward of our mission work throughout the world. An examination of this report will reveal that of our twelve union conferences, five have exceeded the amount aimed at of ten cents a week a member. Of the remaining seven, there is one that lacks but a few dollars of attaining the object in view. Of the seventy local conferences recorded, there are thirty that have reached the mark that has been held before our people in these financial efforts. One noticeable feature of the report is that it shows that the principal shortage is found in the strongest conferences.

The year 1910 has been an exceedingly trying one to the Mission Board, by reason of the lack of sufficient receipts to carry on the work that has been undertaken by them. This lack became so serious that it was the principal consideration in the General Conference Council in November. Great distress has been created in some of the mission fields during the closing part of 1910, on account of our inability to keep them properly supplied with money. To remedy

this, the council devised the plan of a general division of the tithe of the American conferences. This plan is being indorsed and adopted by the conferences in a very gratifying manner, and although all have not yet been heard from, still it is expected that the final returns will show unanimous approval of this step.

However, careful estimates of our receipts from this new source reveal the fact that they, with our regular mission offerings, will not give to the General Conference any excess over our present requirements. We can not reduce our expenditures in mission fields. In fact, every field is requesting an additional appropriation for 1911; but basing our operations for the present year on the same scale as that of 1910, the tithe coming from the local conferences, and the Ten-cent-a-week Fund, provided every conference meets its full requirement, will not be any too much for the demands made upon the treasury.

The mistake made by many of the local conferences the past year was the postponement until the close of the year of any special effort to bring their churches up to the required amount. It is hoped that a lesson has been learned from this, and that already earnest efforts are being put forth to educate the people to a systematic giving that will bring to the treasury of the Mission Board an amount even in excess of that which has been aimed at in this fund. It will be the aim of the Treasury Department to keep constantly before the people information concerning the condition of the treasury, and the receipts from each local conference.

W. T. KNOX, Treasurer.