British Columbia Conference
By H. S. SHAW
The tenth annual session of the British Columbia Conference was held in Vancouver, January 26-31. Sixteen churches were represented by duly elected delegates. Elder C. A. Burman, the laborers in the British Columbia Conference, and the writer constituted the ministerial help for the meeting. The Lord was present to bless his people, and it is said by many that this was the best conference they ever attended in British Columbia. From the reports read before the delegates we glean the following information: There are sixteen organized churches, with a membership of 316, and thirty-nine isolated Sabbath-keepers, making the total number of Sabbath-keepers 355. There are nine church buildings in the conference, two or three of which have been erected during the past year. The amount of the ten-cent-a-week offerings was $2,431.87, or about fifteen cents per capita for the membership. Last year this fund amounted to about thirteen cents per capita. Considerable gain is noticed in 1910 over 1909. The tithe shows a gain of over twenty-five per cent, rising from $5,019.56 to $6,367.23, a gain of $1,347.67. Gifts to foreign missions rose from $936.29 to $2,073.20, a gain of $1,136.91. The Sabbath-school membership grew from 327 to 425, a gain of ninety-eight. The Sabbath-school donations for 1909 were $395.41; for 1910, $643.82, a gain of $248.41. All Sabbath-school offerings went to foreign missions. The tract society made a gain of $501.03 during 1910. It is out of debt, and has a good stock of books and tracts on hand. The book sales for 1910 were $4,264.50, a large gain over those for the previous year. The school work has made a decided gain in every way. There are more students in the school than ever before, and a larger per cent of these are older, and better able to appreciate the purpose for which the school exists. The debts which have hung over the conference for some time have either been paid or provided for, so that the conference is practically free from debt. Elder J. G. Walker was unanimously re-elected to the presidency of the conference, and with him a corps of strong secretaries for the various departments. Sister Bertha Lofstad, who has faithfully served the conference for years as secretary-treasurer, felt it her duty to take a much-needed rest, and at her earnest request she was released. Brother Andrew Raedel, of North Dakota, was elected to that office. Sister Lofstad will be followed by the prayers and good wishes of all who have known her in her work. There had existed some conditions in17this conference which had greatly impeded the progress of the work. The Spirit of the Lord came in, and swept away difficulties, and the brethren take up the work with united efforts, confident in the blessing of the Lord. It was a wonderful transformation, such as only the Spirit of God can bring. Our brethren from all parts of the conference returned to their homes feeling that there is a bright future before the work in the British Columbia Conference.