Article September 28, 1899 Issue

From the Religious Press

Our churches have in recent years been drifting into doing business in benevolence on the instalment plan. Rich men have promised large sums of money to educational institutions conditioned on the raising of still larger sums, which the churches were not able to pay. Debts have been incurred by missionary societies which the churches could not lift at once and still continue to pay current expenses. It has become common for individuals, churches and local societies to pledge annual payments for a term of years. These promises are often counted as cash, and announcements are made with hallelujahs that large sums have been raised. This benevolence on the instalment plan is wasteful, disappointing, and elusive. We have known person to promise amounts in future payments on which they could not even pay the interest. We have known ministers to pledge their congregations to give annual sums for a term of years, and then to move away, leaving their people to repudiate the promises made in their name. We have known jubilee meetings to be held over debts paid or gifts made by promises when the money has afterwards had to be raised two or three times over. At the present time many churches have so mortgaged themselves to pay in coming years for work already done that they have no heart to take up work which imperatively calls on them. Future years will have their own demands in missionary enterprise. We have no right to mortgage our abilities in advance while we do not yet know what these demands will be. We can best do business for God on a cash basis. Better than twentieth century funds will be the twentieth century motto for the churches, "Pay as you go."

The Congregationalist.

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