CHAPTER
XVII
EARLIER
EVANGELIC AGENCIES
WE have already seen, that 'the
General Presbytery was organized, as an evangelic society; and so viewed,
distinctly, by its members. Its founders conceived the Church to have been
constructed by her Head to be his chosen and sufficient instrumentality, to
fulfill the great commission and carry the gospel to every creature. Whilst yet
unorganized, and scattered abroad, as isolated lamps in surrounding darkness,
when planning the increase and diffusion of the light, they, at once, recognized
their own organization, after the scriptural model of our Presbyterian
standards, as being the fundamental step in the whole matter.
Hence, they at once
announced themselves, in this capacity. Their statement to Sir Edmund Harrison,
we have already seen. To the Synod of Glasgow, they write to the same effect.
"We have, for some years past, formed ourselves into a Presbyterial
meeting, and to our capacities, (considering our infancy, paucity, and the many
oppositions and discouragements we have all along struggled with,) taken what
care we could, that our meeting, though small, might be for the general good of
religion in these parts."
The reader of the minutes of
this body, at once feels, that, he is perusing the records of a missionary
society. The business of their meetings, was, to devise and execute the most
efficient means of spreading the gospel.
Their correspondence with
Europe was opened with that object and occupied with that theme. They feelingly
exhibit the destitutions around them, and plead with their more favored European
brethren, for more men, to supply the want, and for money to support them, when
sent out.
As early as 1717, they, out
of their own poverty, laid the foundation of a "fund for pious uses,"
to which they solicited the annual contributions of their people. It began with
the sum of "eighteen pounds, one shilling, and sixpence," given
"by the members of the Synod themselves," and "weighed and
delivered into the hands of Mr. Jedidiah Andrews, treasurer for the time
being;" a most liberal contribution, in their poverty, from those faithful
and zealous servants of Christ. There were present, thirteen ministers and six
elders; who thus gave a fraction less than a pound each; equivalent to much
more, in the present day; a sum which well justified the moving appeals urged by
them for aid from Europe. "We ourselves," say they, "have begun a
small fund, for this and other religious purposes among us. But, alas! it is yet
so small that little or nothing can be done by it." Men of God, well done!
“The little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong
nation."
The first appropriation,
from this fund, was made in 1719, when "a tenth part of the neat produce of
the Glasgow collection" was given to the Presbyterian congregation of New
York, toward the support of the gospel among them. The foundations of the
magnificent churches of New York city all rest on this appropriation, made in
faith, out of the depth of poverty, in that day of small things.
In 1722, the first formal
appointment of itinerant missionaries was made. The Rev. Messrs. Hugh Conn, John
Orme, and William Stewart, were directed, severally, to visit some Protestant
dissenting families in Virginia, who were desirous of supplies from the Synod,
to preach four Sabbaths each. From the date of that appointment, the missionary
exertions of our fathers were constant and untiring, commissioning, sometimes,
settled pastors, sent on tours of a few weeks; and, sometimes, missionaries
destined to permanent settlement, in the new churches, founded in the
wilderness. They were the first home missionaries on the continent.
For
the first century of her existence, until the Plan of Union had time to work out
some of its proper effects, the right and duty of the Church to fulfill those
functions; which are now entrusted to the immediate charge of her Boards, were
never questioned; whilst they constituted, in fact, the principal business, in
the annual meetings of the supreme court. From the first hour of her existence,
we have seen that domestic missions were her immediate charge, and received, in
all her sessions, the most earnest attention. When the General Presbytery was
but four years old, she took authoritative control of the ministerial training
of David Evans. And, from that day, the charge of education, academic and
theological, was among her recognized and most active functions. In that office,
the Old Side Synod patronized Mr. Alison's school, established at New London, in
1741 ; whilst the New Side were laying the foundations, broad and deep, of New
Jersey College.
A general and systematic
plan was adopted, by the General Synod, in 1771, for the support and education
of candidates for the ministry; and means taken to obtain the requisite funds,
from the liberality of the churches. The expected results, however, were greatly
diminished, by the occurrence of the Revolutionary war. After the close of the
war, the subject received comparatively little attention, in the deliberations
of the supreme court, until 1805, when the incipient steps were taken, which, in
a few years, resulted in the organization of the Board of Education.
Whilst devoting its utmost
energies to home evangelization, the General Synod was not indifferent to the
condition of the heathen. In 1751, a standing rule was adopted, in view of the
"exigencies of the great affair of propagating the gospel among the
heathen," that a collection be taken, in each of the churches, for that
object, once a year. On this fund, the Rev. John Brainard was sustained, among
the Indians of New Jersey, until his death, in 1781.
With the beginning of the
present century, new efforts were
made by the courts of our Church in behalf of the aborigines. In 1801, the
Assembly and its Committee of Missions, each, published an appeal for
missionaries to labor among the Indians. That same year, the Commission of the
Synod of Virginia reported to the Assembly, that besides the labors expended
within the bounds of the Synod, it had sent two missionaries to Detroit, two to
Cornplanter, chief of the Senecas, and two to the settlements on the Muskingum.
The next year, it reported nine missionaries, sent west of the Alleghanies, for
different periods of time. Of these, three were sent to the Shawanese and other
Indians, about Detroit and Sandusky. These were temporary laborers. It also sent
a pious young man, to instruct them in agriculture. Blue Jacket, an Indian boy,
instructed in Virginia, under the direction of the Commission, had given
evidence of a work of grace; and was to go out as an interpreter; and the
prospect of success in this mission was favorable.
That same year, the Synod
was divided; and the Synod of Pittsburgh erected. At its first meeting held in
Pittsburgh, 1802, the following constitution was adopted by the Synod, in order
to facilitate its missionary operations :
“1. The Synod of Pittsburg
shall be styled, The Western Missionary Society.
“2. The object of the
Missionary Society is, to diffuse the knowledge of the Gospel among the
inhabitants of the new settlements, the Indian Tribes, and, if need be, among
some of the interior inhabitants, where they are not able to support the gospel.
"3. The society shall
annually appoint a Board of Trust,
consisting of seven members; a majority of whom shall be a quorum, whose duty it
shall be to transact all missionary business, which may occur, necessary to be
done, between the annual meetings of the society; which Board shall meet
quarterly.
"4. It is required of
the Trustees, that they employ none as missionaries, except those who give
credible evidence of being the subjects of special grace, and of their Christian
zeal, wisdom, information, and experience, in ministerial labors; which may
enable them to do the work of evangelists, in the most self-denying
circumstances.
"5. The Board of Trust
shall have authority to draw money from the Treasury, to pay the missionaries
whom they have appointed. It is expected, also, that the Board of Trust will
give directions to the missionaries, how long they shall be out, and where their
mission shall be.
"6. The Board of Trust
are required to lay before the society, at their annual meeting, in fair
records, all their proceedings, together with the journals of the missionaries;
and, if it can be, to have the missionaries attend, themselves.
"7. That the society
engage a suitable person, annually, to preach a missionary sermon, on the
Thursday, next after the opening of the Synod; at which, a collection shall be
made, `for the support of missionaries.'
"Agreeably to the above
plan, the Synod proceeded to the election of members as a Board of Trust, when
the following persons were duly elected, via.: The Rev. Messrs. John McMillan,
David Smith, Thomas Marquis, and Thomas Hughes; together with Messrs. James
Edgar, William Plummer and James Caldwell, Elders."
About this time, also, the
Synod of the Carolinas, entered upon the same work, in the Southern field. At
its sessions, in 1802, it appointed two missionaries to visit the Natches, and
also created a Commission to attend to the missionary business; by which the
Rev. William C. Davis was sent to the Catawbas. Thus began the labors of that
Synod, among the Indians of the South, the history of which remains to be
written.
The Indian missions of the
Pittsburgh Synod were conducted, at first, by the agency of itinerant and
temporary laborers. But the results soon demanded closer attention and permanent
missionaries. In 1805, the Rev. Joseph Badger was appointed a stated missionary
to the Wyandots, at Sandusky. Two white men, as laborers, one of whom was
ultimately to be engaged as a teacher, and one black man and his wife, were also
employed; live stock, household furniture, farming tools, and a boat were sent
on; and the foundations laid for a permanent and vigorous mission. In 1806, the
Synod applied to the Assembly to assume the charge of this mission. This the
Assembly declined, but granted it pecuniary aid thenceforward, for a series of
years.
The Sandusky mission was
continued, until the war of 1812, when, that region becoming the scene of
hostilities, it was necessarily suspended. After the war, it was partially
resumed. But the multiplying of the white population, and the gradual dispersion
of the Indians, induced its transfer to Maumee, in 1822. Here, buildings were
erected, a mission organized, and the foundations of a prosperous future laid.
The ultimate destination of this mission we shall see hereafter; as also the
history of the Assembly's own mission to the Cherokees of the South.
It is not, however, our
present object to trace the details of the plans and administration of the
Synods and Assembly, in the evangelic enterprise; but merely to illustrate the
thoroughness with which this was, from the beginning, appreciated by our Church,
as the peculiar and paramount office of her courts.
After the organization of
the General Assembly, the rapid enlargement of the Church, and increase of its
business induced great. embarrassment in managing the various branches of
evangelic enterprise, from the long intervals between the sessions of the
Assembly, and the brief time allotted to deliberation, when convened.
Still, for a time, the
proper remedy did not suggest itself, or may have been, in the circumstances, of
doubtful practicability. Until 1802, the whole missionary business was performed
by the Assembly, while in session. The field covered by the Synods of Virginia
and the Carolinas was, at their request, remitted to the charge of those Synods;
the Assembly reserving the right to send missionaries there, at its own
discretion. The rest of the country was under the immediate administration of
the Assembly; and, by it and the Synods, the work was conducted in the same
manner. The missionaries were all itinerants. They were often settled pastors,
who were sent on prescribed tours, among the destitute settlements. The
Assembly, whilst in session, received the reports of those who had been sent out
the year before; approved or censured them; audited their accounts; nominated
missionaries for the ensuing year; defined their route of service, and
determined their compensation.
In 1802, a standing
committee of missions was appointed, consisting of seven members of the
Assembly. Its business was merely to collect and digest information for the
Assembly during the recess. It was continued, until the close of the Assembly
following that by which it was appointed, when the members were superseded by
others. Gradually, the powers of this committee were increased, and its
organization perfected. In 1816 its name was changed to the Board of Missions,
and the whole business was assigned to it, subject to the annual supervision and
control of the Assembly.
Whilst the energies of the
Assembly were so strenuously given to the supply of the destitute with the
Gospel, her attention was arrested, in 1805, by an overture written by the Rev.
Dr. Ashbel Green, showing the necessity of greater efficiency in the education
of candidates for the ministry. The subject was transmitted to the Presbyteries,
for consideration, and referred to the next Assembly.
In 1806, the Assembly,
after hearing the reports of the Presbyteries, and anxious. deliberation on the
subject, determined to recommend to every Presbytery, "to use their utmost
endeavors to increase, by all suitable means in their power, the number of
promising candidates for the holy ministry; to press it upon the parents of
pious youth, to endeavor to educate them for the Church; and on the youth,
themselves to devote their talents and their lives to the sacred calling to make
vigorous exertions to raise funds, to assist all the youth who may need
assistance; to be careful that the youth they take on their funds give such
evidence as the nature of the case admits, that they possess both talents and
piety; to inspect the education of these youths, during the course of both
academic and theological studies, choosing for them such schools, seminaries,
and teachers, as they may judge most proper and advantageous; so as, eventually
to bring them into the ministry well furnished for their work:"
The Assembly, further,
ordered the Presbyteries to make annual report to it, stating what they have
done in this concern; or why, if the case shall be so, they have done nothing in
it; and that the Assembly will, when these reports are received, consider each,
distinctly, and decide, by vote, whether the Presbyteries, severally, shall be
considered as having discharged or neglected their duty in this important
business."
The Assembly of 1817, attempted to remedy some defects which were found in the working of this plan, by recommending, to Presbyteries which have funds but no candidates, to correspond with other Presbyteries or the Assembly, for the purpose of obtaining beneficiaries. The inadequacy of this attempt soon became apparent; at the same time that it arrested attention, anew, to the whole subject involved.
