nineteen hundred and forty-six - Amazon Web Services

HOME MISSION BOARD 331
V. THE DEVELOPMENT OF CITY MISSIONS
The City Mission Program began with two cities in 1941: Houston, Texas
and Atlanta, Georgia. These two cities enlisted 56 churches in the Program
the first year and 32 reported work. The second year, 1942, added two other
cities: Washington, D. C. and Birmingham, Alabama. This year, 286 churches
were enlisted and 80 reported work done.
In 1943, the third year of the work, 22 cities were promoting the Program
with 860 churches enlisted and 271 of them reporting work. The fourth year,
1944, brought the number of cities up to 37 with 1,445 churches enlisted and
398 of them reporting their work.
In 1945 the City Mission Program had reached 48 cities. Three cities were
discontinued and some others were without superintendents for part of the
time. At the close of 1945 there were 45 cities engaged in the work, with 1,763
churches enlisted and 530 of them making monthly reports of their work.
The Mission work done by the churches in 1945 was equal to that of the four
previous years of the work. This was an encouraging indication of the value
of the Program. The report of the work for the five-year - period is given below.
On January 1, 1946, the three cities in California, two in Arizona, and one
in New Mexico (total of six) were transferred to a General Mission Program for
these states, so that we began January 1, 1946 with 39 cities in the City Mission
Program.
VI. FIVE-YEAR REPORT OF CITY MISSIONS
Mission V. B. 8.
KIND OF WORK
Professions of Faith in Mission Services
1941
2
56
32
10
398
26
6
40
72
600
60,687
1,470
No Record
592
357
1942
4
286
' 80
71
767
42
16
62
300
12.128
132.000
1,880
No Record
562
686
1943
22
860
271
178
4,055
155
24
1.644
2,177
19,494
168.697
6.686
720,850
6,279
4,666
1944
37
1,445
398
278
6,284
169
171
2,648
6,672
54.062
751,589
20.238
2,092,326
8,208
7,618
1945
48
1,763
630
340
14,622
407
371
6.299
18,108
82.244
90.051
1,136,862
23,765
2,811.196
15,761
12,204
VII. THE PRESENT NEEDS FOR THE CITY MISSSION PROGRAM
Five-Yr.
Total
48
1,763
530
340
26,126
799
588
10,693
27,329
176,335
2,249,735
54,039
5,624,372
31,402
25,531
First: There are twelve or fifteen other cities in the Southern Baptist Convention
which need a City Mission Program with a superintendent in charge to
direct the work.
Second: There are perhaps one hundred other cities in the Southern Baptist
Convention which need to have a local Missions Committee directing their
own City Mission Program, but which would not need an individual superintendent
for each city. This will necessitate more field workers, or supervisors
of City Mission work in order to direct this type of service.
Third: The Church Mission Program needs to be extended until it reaches
all of the churches in our Southern Baptist Convention which are strong enough
to promote a local Mission Program for their own communities. This will
necessitate literature, supervision and help.
If this three-fold need is met in the City Missions Department with a Churchcentered
Mission Program, it will show still greater results in the future.
This City Mission Program is a cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist
Convention, jointly promoted by the Home Mission Board and the State Mission
Boards.
The work herein reported is work of the churches in these cities and, of
course, is not to be added to the annual reports found in Associational or Convention
minutes.