nineteen hundred and forty-six - Amazon Web Services

HOME MISSION BOARD 343
WORK AMONG THE ITALIANS
Rev. J. F. Plainfield who rendered a very fine service as a general field wor
er, retired at the close of the year. We are glad to pay tribute to the fine service
rendered to the Italian people and to our mission work in general by this
great hero of faith.
We now have work among the Italians in Birmingham, Alabama, in Tampa,
Florida, in Benld and Wilsonville, Illinois and we are supporting a general
missionary among the Italians in Illinois.
Baptists have reached a smaller per cent of their possibilities among the
Italians than among any other group. There are about 650,000 Italians in our
Convention territory and Southern Baptists have only five or six Baptist
churches ministering to this multitude. Of course some of the Italian people
belong to our Anglo churches, but most of them are unreached by evangelical
Christianity.
SUMMARY OF WORK AMONG THE ITALIANS
Number of Workers (including wives) 13
Number of Sermons and Addresses 1,002
Number of Prayer Meetings held 177
Mission Classes taught 244
Revival Meetings conducted 2
Number of Conversions 104
Number of Baptisms 37
Number Received by letter 17
New Sunday schools organized 1
New Missions organized 1
New Churches organized 1
Religious Visits made 3,372 •
Personal Work with number of persons 808
Bibles and Gospels Distributed 59
Pages of Tracts Distributed 2,209
WORK AMONG THE CHINESE
We now have work among the Chinese at Norfolk, Virginia, with two workers,
at San Antonio, Texai, with three workers, at El Paso, Texas, with two
workers and Phoenix, Arizona, with one worker.
There has been a very definite increase in the interest of our Chinese people
in the Gospel. Plans are being made to enlarge and improve some of the mission
buildings and make possible a more effective work in these fields that we now
occupy. We are also hoping to do some work among the Chinese in the Mississippi
Valley.
SUMMARY OF WORK AMONG THE CHINESE
Number of workers (including wives) 8
Number of Sermons and Addresses 343
Number of Prayer Meetings held 134
Mission Classes taught 56
Number of Conversions 53
Number of Baptisms 27
Number Received by letter 2
Religious Visits made 3,523
Personal work, number of persons 9,087
Bibles and Gospels Distributed 77
Pages of Tracts Distributed 1,735
WORK AMONG THE JAPANESE
During the year the Home Mission Board continued its work in some of
the Relocation Centers. As the Japanese were moved from these centers, they
found that the opportunities for service there had ended and at the present
time we have no work among the Japanese.