METHODISTS. 



5JJO 



METHODISTS. I. Methodist Episcopal Church. 



The following is a summary of tin.- statistics of 

 this Church as they are tabulated in the min- 

 r the annual conferences for 1888 : Num- 

 ber of annual conferences, 110; of itinerant 

 preachers, 12,832; of preachers "on trial,'' 

 1.734: of local preachers, 14,032 ; of lay mem- 

 bers (including probationers). 2.154,3*49; of 

 Sunday-schools, 24,941. with 277, 7G4 officers 

 and teachers and 2,060,080 pupils ; of churches, 

 21,301. having a probable total value of 



>1; of parsonages, 7,853, having a prob- 

 able value of $12,567,034; of baptisms, 72,305 

 of children, and 91.506 of adults. 



Bool: Concern. The Book Committee, which 

 has the charge of the publishing, interests of 

 the Church, reported to the General Confer- 

 ence that the net capital of the two ' book 

 concerns ; ' and the depositories connected 

 with them was $2,392.366, of which $1,653,197 

 were accredited to the New York house and 

 its depositories, and $739,169 to the house in 

 Cincinnati and its depositories, the whole 

 showing a total increase of $774.916 in four 

 years. The total sales (net) of publications 

 had been $6,577,525. Dividends from the 

 profits of the business had been made to the 

 annual conferences of $85.000. The receipts 

 and expenditures on account of the Episcopal 

 fund had been balanced at $252,602. 



lay -School Union. The board of man- 

 asrers of the Sunday-School Union reported to 

 the General Conference that there were in the 

 Church 24.225 Sunday-schools, with 268,391 

 officers and teachers, and 2,006,328 pupils, 

 showing an increase during four years of 2.772 

 schools, 38,826 officers and teachers, and 312,- 

 708 pupils. There were in foreign fields : In 

 Europe, 710 schools, with 4.354 pupils: in 

 Asia, 835 schools, with 31,752 pupils: and in 

 Mexico and South America, 01 schools, with 

 2.784 pupils. Sunday-schools had been estab- 

 lished among German and Scandinavian immi- 

 grants, of which 1,030 were returned, with 

 11,089 officers and teachers, and 57,733 pupils. 

 The receipts of the union during the past four 

 years from collections in the churches had 

 been $73,714. Grants of aid had been made 

 to 3.500 schools, and grants of money to for- 

 eign mission fields for Sunday-schools amount- 

 ing to $10,000. The total circulation of the 

 publications of the union (journals and 

 "helps"' for Sunday-schools) for the year 

 had been, of English publications, 24,- 

 910,547, and of German, 1.237.550 copies. In 

 Sweden, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, India, 

 Japan, and Mexico. 1,109,363 volumes had 

 been published. The report of the union 

 gives as the statistics of Sunday-schools con- 

 nected with the German conferences (aside 

 from the schools among immigrants already 

 mentioned) 1,288 schools, with 11,403 officers 

 and teachers, and 72,195 pupils. 



Church Extension. The General Committee 

 of Church Extension met in Philadelphia. No- 

 vember 22. The report showed that 507 



churches had been aided during the year. Tlic 

 receipts hod been : To the general fund, s 

 657; to the loan fund, $103,239; givii 

 use, $206.896. Fifty special gi: 

 for frontier churches had been available dur- 

 ing the year, of which forty-three had ln-rii 

 placed, accompanied with loans of $'. 

 The full number (400) of such gifN contem- 

 plated in the original call for them had been 

 received and placed. The cortinuance of the 

 system was recommended. The ehir 

 were asked to contribute the sum of $24 

 for the purposes of Church extension during 

 the ensuing year. 



pxKird of Education. The receipts of the 

 Board of Education for four years had been 

 $228,516, and the disbursements $199,569. 

 The market value of its endowment invest- 

 ments on the 1st of April, 1888, was $196,000. 

 The educational institutions of the Church, as 

 reported to the General Conference, include 

 12 theological institutions, 56 colleges and uni- 

 versities, 54 classical seminaries, 9 colleges and 

 seminaries for young women, and 66 foreign 

 mission schools, with which are connected 

 1,595 teachers and 32,277 pupils. They pos- 

 uildings and grounds that were valued at 

 $10,083,725, and endowments to the amount 

 of $11,079,682. 



Freedmen' l s Aid. The Freedmen's Aid So- 

 ciety now the Freedmen's Aid and Southern 

 Education Society reported to the General 

 Conference that it had received during the past 

 four years $610,647, and had expended $639,- 

 362. Its total receipts since its organization 

 had been $2,013,082. in addition to which its 

 endowment fund had been increased by $180,- 



000. The institutions aided by the society in- 

 clude 7 universities and colleges, 13 normal 

 schools and seminaries, 1 theological school. 4 

 biblical departments, and 1 medical college, 

 with which were connected 127 teachers and 

 4,632 pupils. 



Hixsionary Society. The General Mission- 

 ary Committee-met in the city of New York. 

 November 14. The treasurer reported that 

 the cash receipts of the society for the year 

 ending October 31 had been "$1,000,581, of 

 which $935,121 were from conference collec- 

 tions, $41,984 from legacies, and $23,476 from 

 other sources. Appropriations were made for 

 the support of missionary work for the ensu- 

 ing year as follow : 



1. FOKETGN MISSIONS '. 



1. Africa 



2. South America , Bi j.'"'Ji 



3. China (four missions* : 



4. (Jermany fv.."" 1 ' 



5. Switzerland 



indinavia <3 missions) 



7. India (3 missions) 



S. Malaysia 



9. Bulgaria and Turkey 



10. Italy ". 



11. Mexico 



1-2. Japan 



1*. Korea 



14. Lower California 1.000 



Total for Foreign Missions $566.189 



