The Indiana Conference
By J. W. Stone
Report of the President at the Lake Union Conference
I HAVE not prepared a report of our work in Indiana, and did not expect to be called upon at this early date to give a report of the work in our conference. My connection with the work in Indiana dates back to the first of last September. About eight months have elapsed since I began active work in that conference, and I shall not attempt to give a report covering more than this period of time. As many of you are aware, I was in feeble health when I came to Indiana, having passed through a severe siege of typhoid fever, and my restoration to health was very slow. I took up the work of correspondence the first of September, and as soon as I was able, began to visit the churches. During the winter I visited about one third of the churches in the conference, and by the assistance of other members of the committee, about three fourths of the churches in the conference have received some ministerial help. In our visits to the churches we have tried to build them up and strengthen their faith in the message for this time, and have also tried to assist them in getting their church records in better condition, and in doing this have greatly lessened our church membership. We found that in many places where we formerly had a large enrolment of church-members, their numbers have been greatly reduced through removals and apostasy, but the records have remained about the same, and therefore do not show the real membership of the conference at the present time. If our membership was properly pruned, I feel certain that our numbers would be reduced about twenty per cent below the report last published. Or, in other words, instead of a membership of two thousand we would have not over sixteen hundred. Because of our inflated membership, we have a large number of “Object Lessons” yet unsold; although our brethren in Indiana, that is, our active membership, have taken much interest in this work. The school work in our conference is in a prosperous condition. Our industrial school at Boggstown was finished last fall, and a very successful school, with an enrolment of over fifty students, has been conducted there thus far during this year. There have been quite a number of conversions, and we believe that we have a school second to no other in the Lake Union Conference. We also have fifteen church-schools. In almost every instance these schools have been a success, and have been a great benefit to our churches as well as to the children. Most of these schools will be17continued the coming year, and we hope to establish others. Three new churches have been organized since I came to the conference, and about one hundred souls have accepted the faith. There are fair prospects of organizing other churches before our annual conference next August. We are now preparing to erect three new church buildings in the conference. Two of these are to be erected in Indianapolis, the lots having already been purchased, and work begun upon one of them. We believe that our people during the last winter engaged more actively in missionary work than for some time in the past. Quite an interest was taken in the circulation of the special Signs, over twenty thousand copies being sold and distributed in our conference. I feel that I could not give a true report of the work and condition of affairs in our conference without mentioning the matter of finances. As soon as I was able to give this matter some attention, having a desire to know the exact condition of the conference financially, we arranged for the auditing of our laborers' accounts, which were audited up to the first of last September. We found that the audit of 1902 had not been settled, and that we were owing our laborers all the way from five dollars to one hundred dollars each, making a total of about one thousand dollars. There had been no tithe paid to the Lake Union Conference since 1902, and thirteen hundred dollars had been borrowed with which to pay our laborers. This, with the amount due our laborers on their audit, made a sum total of four thousand dollars that we were behind on our tithe fund. We at once began to plan to reduce this indebtedness, and God has greatly blessed our efforts, so that up to the first of May we had reduced this indebtedness about twenty-five hundred dollars, and during this time had paid off about fifteen hundred dollars on other indebtedness, making a total of four thousand dollars paid upon our indebtedness. While this is very gratifying and encouraging to our brethren throughout the State, it leaves us with a debt still upon our hands in the Indiana Conference of about sixteen thousand dollars; however, we are not discouraged, as the Lord, who has abundantly blessed us in the past eight months, is able, if we are faithful to him, to assist us still in reducing this indebtedness, and we believe there are better days for the work in Indiana. From the many expressions that I have heard, and from the letters I have received, I am certain that confidence and courage are being restored in the hearts and minds of our brethren and sisters throughout the conference. As far as I know, our laborers are in perfect union, and harmony has characterized every move of our committee. Many times we have felt the special leading and guidance of the Spirit of the Lord in our work, and we have no words of discouragement to bring; the future looks hopeful. We are preparing to place four or five tents in the field the coming summer. These will be located in entirely new territory. We have thirty-five counties in the State of Indiana in which there is not a Sabbath-keeper so far as we know. We desire to enter this unworked territory as rapidly as possible. We expect to hold our annual camp-meeting in one of these counties where the message has never been preached. We desire the prayers of our brethren and sisters that God may direct all our labors, and that the cause in Indiana may arise and make greater progress than ever before.