Christian missions in the Telugu country - Uecf.net

METHODS OF WORK
It has been mentioned above in Chapter III that in The
1853 certain villages applied to the S.P.G. Mission starting
for instruction. This incident is one which has been Mission,
characteristic of the Telugu Mission. In by far the
larger number of cases people come to us—the missionaries
do not go first to them. In this chapter we
shall try to describe the different kinds of workers
through whose operations, under God, a community of
heathen persons becomes a fuUy organised congregation
of Christians.
Let us suppose that an application has been received
from a village. What comes next ? Before the appU-
cation can be entertained those who apply must state
two things : the number of families and of persons who
wish to become Christians, and the number of children
who win be sent to school. When the application has been
signed by the elders of the community, inquiries will
be made through the Christian teachers in regard to the
motives of the people who make the application. Then
the conditions are stated to them and they are made
clearly to understand that, (i) as a proof of their
97
H