Report of Missouri Farmers' Week. 293 



they must pay God what they owe Him — the rent on the land. 

 Rehgion demands not only consecration of soul, but also consecra- 

 tion of soil. 



All missions and denominational benevolences must have a 

 place in the rural church program, if it cares to live. 



The rural church needs indoctrination. Scriptural indoctrina- 

 tion of the Lord's people will be no hindrance to Scriptural pros- 

 perity. If the church fails to indoctrinate it will soon fail to 

 propagate. 



The rural churches must have good Bible schools. In many 

 of our churches the Bible school is in either partial or total eclipse. 

 Its parentage is recognized by all, and its orphanage is the shame 

 of many. 



The rural church needs a testimony meeting. It is essential to 

 individual Christians, Christian progress, and to church progress 

 that some frequent opportunity be given the Lord's people to relate 

 their Christian experiences, and to testify to the grace of God. 



The rural church must find and train local leaders. Next in 

 importance is the preaching service; this is the pastor's chief con- 

 cern, and great opportunity. 



The rural church must cultivate its marginal people. The 

 marginal people of the community — those living on the margin of 

 the church's territory and those living on the margin of existence — 

 must not be neglected by the rural church. To neglect them is to 

 neglect a field which, if cultivated, will enrich the whole church. 

 All the unchurched, the foreigner and usually the tenant and the 

 hired man, belong to this class. 



The rural church must encourage better living. The need of 

 better living on the part of country people is recognized by all 

 except the country people themselves. It is considered one of the 

 fundamental needs in the rehabilitation of rural life. 



The rural church needs mothers. It cannot be denied that our 

 rural districts are in great need of mothers — women of piety and 

 common sense, who will bring up their children in the fear of the 

 Lord ; who will instruct their sons in the nobility of manly virtues, 

 and their daughters in the dignity of womanly graces and mother- 

 hood; who will teach their children the delight of honest toil and 

 wholesome recreation and whose ambition will be to keep them on 

 the farm. 



Another great need in the rural community is a crop of babies. 

 As a rule, this crop is in inverse ratio to other crops. 



