Missouri Conference Progress and Statistics Report
By J. M. Rees
Missouri has a population of 3,106,665, being the fifth State as to population in the Union. The city of St. Louis has a population of 451,770, Kansas City 200,000, St. Joseph 105,000, and there are scores of cities containing from five to thirty thousand inhabitants. The State, with its thousands of acres of alluvial soil, is filled with as generous-hearted people as you will find anywhere. Yet with all this, we have been able to touch only here and there a little. We are represented in the State by forty-three organized churches and ten unorganized companies, with a membership of twenty-two hundred. We have eleven ordained ministers, four licentiates, and thirteen missionary licentiates. In the past year, more than two hundred people in different parts of the conference have accepted the truth, five new churches have been organized with a membership of one hundred and seven. Our annual offering, including the offering to Scandinavia, amounted to $1,128.07, book sales to $9,450.25, and tithe to $10,431.74. Six new church buildings and two new church-school buildings have been erected. The work for the colored people in both St. Louis and Kansas City is progressing. Since separating the work, both white and colored are getting along much better, and all are better satisfied. We expect soon to organize colored churches in both cities. The work in St. Louis has been hindered for years by the lack of a regular place of meeting; recently, however, the Lord put in the heart of a good sister to buy a building which she has deeded free of charge to the Missouri Conference Association. It is now put in good repair, and we shall, the Lord willing, dedicate it to his service in a few days. The property is worth ten thousand dollars. Several have recently united with the church there. Elder Porter is working in St. Louis, and in a few days the writer will join him in a tent effort there. Word from Elder Terry, who has recently been holding meetings with the Joplin church, is that he baptized nine there last Sabbath. Elder Millman, at Midway, a few days ago baptized four, and will baptize six at Rolla next Sabbath. Brother D. P. Ziegler has been working in Springfield the past year, and we now have a church at this place with a membership of fifty, and a new church building ready to dedicate. During a canvassers' institute at Enyart, nine persons were recently taken into the church. These, added to this church, make it a good, strong church. The Carthage church has added fourteen members during the past few months, which has been a source of great encouragement to the believers in that city. On account of the great drought over Missouri last year our canvassing work ran down to some extent, but we have now been able to rally somewhat, and have twenty-four canvassers in the field. They are selling, on an average, seven hundred dollars' worth of books each month. As crops are very promising, we expect a much larger force after our camp meeting in August. Because of the scarcity of money, we did but little with “Christ's Object Lessons,” but now we are organizing for that work, and are making a good start. The books are selling well, and we expect to be able to do our part in this direction. We hope to have in Kansas City a place of worship of our own in a few months. We have procured a corner lot in a fine locality, and will begin building in a few days. For all the blessings of the Lord we are grateful indeed. With all our failures and mistakes, he still blesses. We confess all to him who is our leader, and press on. J. M. Rees.