The Churches in New York.—
The Rev. Thomas Dixon (Baptist), in a lecture on “The Failure of Protestantism in New York City,” declares that in that city there was “in 1840 one church to every 2,000 inhabitants. To-day it has one church for every 4,500 of its inhabitants. There are vast districts in which there are 50,000 people and no church. New York City has 500,000 human beings, who, as regards Christian knowledge, are heathen—not in name and form, but in heart and spirit. The number of men who attend church is not equal to one-half of those who register daily at the hotels of the city.” The Methodist Church, he tells us, with 17,309 members and 86 churches, with an invested capital of $4,100,000, gained 241 last year in membership. The Baptist, with 18,000 members and $4,000,000 invested capital, gained 261 members. The Presbyterian Church, about the same proportion. The average income per member is only about $32. Certainly a poor showing so far as figures go. In the light of the prophetic word we may expect this.