1^2 



The Review of Reviews. 



February SO, 1906. 



stitution in direct connection with our churches very 

 much akin to the Young Men's Christian Associa- 

 tion ; an institution which offers young men some- 

 thing more than a meeting, which endeavours to 

 touch them at as many points as possible to influence 

 them throughout the whole week. 



Mr. W. T. Stead recently stated at Manchester 

 that it was the duty of the Church as it was that 

 of a mother — to care most for those who caused 

 her most trouble. Now the boys generally require 

 a good deal of looking after, and wise parents 

 humour them in many ways to secure and strengthen 

 their attachment to the home. And what tin- 

 parent has to do the Church will also find necessary 

 if she wishes to enlist the sympathies and use up 

 the energies of young fellows between the ages of 

 fifteen and twenty-five. 



Most churches could, with a very small expendi- 

 ture of money, and with wisely-directed effort, do 

 a very great deal for their young men. Even in New 

 Zealand, where Bible Class work has now been es- 

 tablished for many years, and although much has 

 been done, the work is still in its infancy, and the 

 future will probably see each church with a 

 well-equipped suite of young mens rooms, and, in 

 the larger churches, a paid secretary, who shall de- 

 vote the whole ul' his time specially to this work. 



Dr. Cressy, in his recent book, "The Church and 

 Young Men,'' quotes the following from Dr. Judkins, 

 which very pithily places the situation before us: — 



" It would be well," he says, " if the young men 

 of each church were organised into a society — a 

 kind of local Young Men's Christian Association. 

 In this way the spirit and method of thai great 

 organisation would be widely diffused and applied 

 at a myriad different points. When Satan proposes 

 to debauch a city full of people, he does not build 

 a grand central saloon at one conspicuous point: 

 he just honeycombs the city, putting a cheerful 

 saloon at almost every corner. Now the Church 

 edifices are pretty evenly distributed throughout the 

 city, and, if each one of them should become a cen- 

 tre of light and cheer for the young men in its im- 

 mediate neighbourhood, the problem of enlighten- 

 ing the city would be solved. Let the young 

 men's headquarters consist, if possible, of a sitting- 

 room, a library, reading-room and gvmnasium. Let 

 the sitting-room have a coffee urn in the corner, a 

 fireplace, easy chairs, tables and a variety of inno- 



cent games. 



CHICAGO CLASSES. 



This, taken with the report of the Chicago Presbv- 

 terian Young Men's Bible Class Union, formed as 

 recently only as 1902, and with a membership in 

 1904 of over 4000 members, goes to prove that in 

 New Zealand we have been working on right lines. 

 Dr. Cressy, writing of the Chicago Movement, says : 

 — " It is almost impossible to estimate the value of 

 the movement. Hundreds of men, who were at one 



time identified with, or interested in, our Presby- 

 terian Churches, but who have in later years been 

 indifferent have returned to the active ranks . . . 

 and we are just experiencing the beginning of the 

 great forward movement throughout the Church." 



The President, Mr. Andrew Stevenson, said " he 

 counted it the greatest opportunity of his life to be 

 connected with a movement which has been used 

 to win men for Christ as has this, and he expressed 

 the hope that it would be duplicated in some way 

 or another in every denomination in Chicago." And 

 so we might re-echo his desire in so far as Aus- 

 tralasia goes: that in every Church there may be 

 established a strong aggressive body of young men 

 bound together to propagate devotion to Christ and 

 the spiritual life which has been quickened in them- 

 selves. 



\i:e the methods successful? 



In reply to the question, Are the methods em- 

 ployed successful? there can only be one answer, 

 and that is emphatically Yes. In the first place, 

 large numbers of young men who were drifting from 

 the churches have connected themselves with the 

 classes. Many of these have joined the membership 

 of the church. 



Main have through the agency of the class been 

 led to a saner view of life, and many more helped to 

 make decision for the Christian life. Ask these men 

 whether they believe in the Bible Class Movement, 

 and a united testimony will be given that each and 

 all have benefited by their connection with it. 

 Bible Class methods of work not only have ap- 

 pealed to the shopman and the artisan, of which 

 elass we have in the past had too few in our 

 churches, but they have made equally successful ap- 

 peals to the professional man, the student and the 

 clerk. There are at the present time in training 

 for the ministry thirty seven Bible Class members, 

 and next vear this number will be largely increased. 



"SUMMER CAMPS." 



I cannot conclude this article without referring 

 briefly to the encampments which have been an out- 

 standing feature of the work. During the holidays 

 the members frequently go into camp, and, while 

 there, discuss methods of work at the same time as 

 they are having a holidav. At Easter time a central 

 camp is- regularly held, at which delegates from all 

 parts of New Zealand attend. It is expected that 

 at the Presbyterian Easter Camp, to be held at 

 Dunedin next Easter, as many as 500 delegates will 

 be present. During the encampment the annual 

 meeting of the Union is held, and the necessary 

 business transacted, and the officers elected for the 

 ensuing year. Conferences are held and at th< 

 as well as at the sectional meetings, matters of com- 

 mon interest are discussed, and methods of work re- 

 viewed. A day is wholly given over to sports, at 

 which the various classes compete for a champion- 

 ship banner. The winning class holds the banner 



