eral advancement of the association work. In the conduct of the schools and institutions no charge is made for board or tuition, but all are expected to contribute their work for the general welfare.

WORK

The special feature of the association is its evangelistic work, which is carried on in all parts of the country. A party of from one to five persons may go to some point where evangelistic services are desired and carry on this work, without charge, in a tent or hall hired for the purpose, continuing as long as the interest warrants, and may organize a local class and leave a pastor in charge. During the year 1926 an extensive evangelistic program of this kind was carried out.

The foreign missionary work was also greatly advanced during 1926. One new mission station was opened in the India district and work was opened in Norway. Ten missionaries sailed to take up the work in these fields and to aid in the missions already established. Definite plans were concluded for a new opening in Africa and arrangements made for four missionaries to take up this work.

The mission station at Glasgow, Scotland, began the publication of a paper, The Message of Victory, and also opened a Bible and training school. A paper, The India Burning Bush, is published by the Metropolitan missions at Siwait, India.

The association conducts a large Bible School and training home for Christian workers at Waukesha, Wis. It operates at the same place an extensive publishing plant where the official organ, The Burning Bush, and also the Gospel Art Calendar, Scripture Text Mottoes, and numerous books, leaflets, and tracts are published.

It conducts an orphans' home at Waukesha, in which there are about 40 children, and these are educated at the private school of the association.

MISSIONARY CHURCH ASSOCIATION

STATISTICS

Summary for the United States, with urban-rural classification.-A general summary of the statistics for the Missionary Church Association for the year 1926 is presented in Table 1, which shows also the distribution of these figures between urban and rural territory.

The membership of the Missionary Church Association is made up of those persons who have been baptized upon profession of faith and accepted as members by action of the local church bodies.

TABLE 1.-SUMMARY OF STATISTICS FOR CHURCHES IN URBAN AND RURAL TERRITORY, 1926: MISSIONARY CHURCH ASSOCIATION

Urban territory includes all cities and other incorporated places which had 2,500 inhabitants or more in 1920, the date of the last Federal census; rural territory comprises the remainder of the country.

Per cent not shown where base is less than 100.

Based on membership with age classification reported.

The data given for 1926 represent 34 active organizations of the Missionary Church Association, with 2,498 members. The classification of membership by sex was reported by all 34 churches and the classification by age was reported by 33 churches, including, however, only 16 which reported any members under 13 years of age.

Comparative data, 1906-1926.-Table 2 presents, in convenient form for comparison, a summary of the available statistics of this denomination for the censuses of 1926, 1916, and 1906.

TABLE 2.-COMPARATIVE SUMMARY, 1906 ΤΟ 1926: MISSIONARY CHURCH ASSOCIATION

State tables.-Tables 3, 4, 5, and 6 present the statistics for the Missionary Church Association by States. Table 3 gives for each State the number and membership of the churches classified according to their location in urban or rural territory and the total membership classified by sex. Table 4 gives for selected States the number and membership of the churches for the three censuses from 1906 to 1926, together with the membership for 1926 classified as under 13 years of age and 13 years of age and over. Table 5 shows the value of church property and the debt on such property, for 1926 alone. Table 6 presents, for 1926, the church expenditures, showing separately the amounts expended for current expenses and improvements, and for benevolences, etc., and also gives the data for Sunday schools. Separate presentation in Tables 5 and 6 is limited to those States in which three or more churches reported the principal items shown (values or expenditures), in order to avoid disclosing the financial statistics of any individual church. The States omitted from these tables can be determined by referring to the complete list which appears in Table 3.

TABLE 3.-Number and MEMBERSHIP OF CHURCHES IN URBAN AND RURAL TERRITORY, AND Total MEMBERSHIP BY SEX, by States, 1926: MISSIONARY CHURCH ASSOCIATION

TABLE 4.-NUMBER AND MEMBERSHIP OF CHURCHES, 1906 TO 1926, AND MEMBERSHIP BY Age, 1926, by STATES: MISSIONARY CHURCH ASSOCIATION [Separate presentation is limited to States having 3 or more churches in either 1926, 1916, or 1906]

TABLE 5.-VALUE OF CHURCH PROPERTY, AND CHURCH DEBT, BY STATES, 1926: MISSIONARY CHURCH ASSOCIATION

[Separate presentation is limited to States having 3 or more churches reporting value of edifices]

1 Amount included in figures shown for "Other States," to avoid disclosing the statistics of individual churches.

The figures for parsonages (value and debt) include data for 6 churches in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and California.

TABLE 6.-CHURCH EXPENDITURES AND SUNDAY SCHOOLS, BY STATES, 1926: MISSIONARY CHURCH ASSOCIATION

[Separate presentation is limited to States having 3 or more churches reporting expenditures]

The Missionary Church Association was organized in 1898, at Berne, Ind., by a number of persons of different denominations who were deeply impressed with the need of better opportunities for cultivating the deeper spiritual life, for promoting the fuller teaching of the Word of God, and for engaging in more aggressive missionary work. Its present headquarters are at 3820 South Wayne Avenue, Fort Wayne, Ind.

1 This statement, which is substantially the same as that published in Part II of the Report on Religious Bodies, 1916, has been revised by Rev. B. F. Leightner, secretary of the Missionary Church Association, and approved by him in its present form.