the importance of a deep, all-pervading missionary spirit in the church can hardly be overrated. its value is not to be estimated only in the work done and the money raised for the spread of the gospel, but also in the enlarged and enriched life of the church itself, and the higher and nobler type of christian character it thus presents to the world. a pastor who fails in this is failing at once to make his church a power for christ in the world, and to secure within it the fulness of life which christ intended it should possess.

to develop and foster a missionary spirit in the church requires, as a first necessity, the presence of such a spirit in the pastor himself. without this no method, however excellent, will be likely to succeed; but with it the spirit of missions will not appear merely on special missionary occasions, but will pervade all his public utterances in the pulpit and the prayer-room. it will diffuse itself as an atmosphere of life through the whole congregation, and, inbreathed, it will impart vitality and power to the whole body. but, added to this general influence, a fixed method of labor for this is desirable, and in regard to this i make the following suggestions:

1. a regular system of contribution for benevolent objects, taken either by subscription paper or by public collection or in boxes conveniently placed for receiving the funds. it is the custom of many churches to divide the year into four or six periods, devoting two or three months, as the case may be, to each of the benevolent objects; and this has often proved successful. whatever plan is adopted, it should secure regularity of contribution, [p. 112] and should reach the whole congregation, old and young, rich and poor; otherwise, only the few will contribute, and the blessing connected with self-denying giving will be lost by the mass of the people.

2. a missionary sermon at least as often as the recurrence of these periods. in these sermons the great principles of benevolence should be developed and enforced, and the leading facts in the different departments of christian work spread before the people. it is not necessary or desirable to preach a “begging sermon” with sensational incitements to give. in fact, our lord’s great principle, “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (acts xx. 35), suggests that giving should be presented, not as a duty chiefly, but rather as an exalted privilege whose reward is in itself. properly prepared, “the missionary sermon” may be made a most attractive feature in the pastor’s public work; and if steadily kept in view and materials carefully preserved for it as they occur in his reading and reflection, the preparation will not be difficult. a special note-book, preserving thoughts and illustrations for missionary sermons, will rapidly fill up with a pastor who reads with method and care.

3. the monthly missionary concert of prayer. this is of vital importance, because here the missionary spirit of the church finds devotional expression. the pastor makes a serious mistake who fails to maintain this or allows it to be regarded as of minor moment. no meeting is capable of being made more effective for his home work than the monthly concert, properly conducted. in regard to this i offer the following hints: (1.) it is not necessary to restrict the sphere of the meeting to foreign missions, but there are important advantages in allowing it to embrace all departments of evangelization, home and foreign, through the different branches of work—in the pulpit, [p. 113] the school, and the press. thus one evening might be devoted to the condition of the freedmen at the south and the work in progress among them, educational and missionary; another to the work of home missions on the frontiers of civilization at the west, developing the leading facts respecting the vast immigration into those new regions, the needs of christian workers there, and the kind of work there to be performed; and another to the karens or assamese or chinese, or other division of the foreign work. the meeting would thus be highly educative by the whole range of its information, and would promote a broad intelligence in the membership, while the breadth of the field would afford an unfailing variety of vital subjects to interest and hold the people. (2.) in opening, the pastor might present a brief survey of the whole field, selecting only events of special interest and incidents adapted to impress them. this might be followed by one or more papers or statements, from selected members of the church or congregation, on the special field chosen for the evening, or on some prominent laborer in it, the time of the speaker or reader being carefully limited. this would leave ample time for prayer, which is the main purpose of the meeting, and for such spontaneous utterances as might be made by the assembly.

the hints above suggested are necessarily imperfect and general, for every church has its peculiarities, and the pastor must often adapt his methods to theirs. but the object to be attained, the missionary development of the church, is of the highest moment, and he should study methods with the fixed purpose of reaching, in some way, that end.