CHURCH AND LAITY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 907, 29 August 1910, Page 4

CHURCH AND LAITY.

LAYMEN'S MISSIONARY MOVE- . . MENT. _ • " Dr. W. H. Pcttit, medical missionary, designated for the JBaplist mission in East Bengal, who, in conjunction .with . Dr. j\L l JJaren (destined tor similar 'work"in .ivoroaj, has been cstablisuing . the laymen's missionary movement in tho chief centres, of,tne Dominion, occupied, the puipit oi two of the city churches yestesuay, and addressed largo congregations ui'turuierance,ox | tn'e objects ot xke movement. At' tlio morning service in ' tho Congregational tJAurcn, Wellington Terrace, aiid at the evening scrvico in the iiantist Unurcii, Vivian Street,, he selected as tke test of his-discourse, "The Modern. Missionary Enterprise." • ,

Ur. i'ecvit opened- by sketching thowork of the missionary piojmers—ouch aa Carey, Livingstone,. and Morrison—who had.'.3uccceril.ll in creaking down tho initial barriers of opposition, and as a result the doors of tne non-Christian world had begun to open. Then came the Tiseof the student .Christian'volunteer ninvoment, twenty-iW years ago, in ' tht) united States, This bound the students oi dirierent universities to "sign the <h> claraciou of'thu movement, "It is uif purpose, ,if God permits, to become, a loraign missionary." That movement bad spread, particularly throughout, the universities oiiiill Christian lands, us well as amongst the Christian students ol heathen countries—such as Japan, China, and India. Since its inception between six thousand and seven thousand universitytraiiied men and woiucn had gone out to the' loi-eign field, and as the outcome of the past century's mission work a great change had taken place over the wholo of the non-Christian world.. There had been a great awaiiening and a now spirit of inquiry, which gave an opportunity, in those lands greater than had ever existed betorc. It was just at this time of supreme effort and urgent crisis—especially in the Far East -tnat the laymen's missionary movement had been brought into being. It .aimed al tlio mature men of the Christian Church in the missionary enterprise, It had. adopted the same watchword as the- students* volunteer movement—the evangelisation of the world in that direction. It was first and foremost a spiritual movement. Its membership was based upon a personal resolve to pray, to stuuy, to work, and to give that tlio Chinch, iu our day .may iuiiii her responsibility. Addresses on similar lines were also delivered by Dr. Al'Daren at St. John's Presbyterian Church in the morning, and at the Wesley Church, Taranaki Street. During the tour of., the missionaries something has been done in each of the centres visited amongst the diil'ereut denominations of the Protestant Church to advance the object of the movement. The final meeting in Wellington will take place, in St. John's Presbyterian'Cliurch to-morrow evening. Drs. M'Laren and Pettit visit Auckland next. They are hopelul that an organising secretary will bo appointed lor the entire Dominion to assure the results and develop the work.