Missionary Survey As An Aid To Intelligent Co-Operation In Foreign Missions | Page 2

come into
its own. It is being more and more realised that it should be the basis of
all co-operative work, and the survey of China now nearing completion
places that country in a premier position as far as a foundation for wise
building is concerned. Recently in London, neighbouring Mission
Houses have been getting into touch with each other, and the
Conference of British Missionary Societies and the analogous body in
America have made conference between missions frequent and fruitful.

But there is a long way yet to travel before we can have that
comprehensive planning which the present world situation imperatively
and urgently demands.
But just as neighbouring missions should get to know about each
other's work and plans in order that funds may be spent most
effectively; so a world survey is necessary if the command of Christ is
to be adequately obeyed. The unit is the world, and survey in patches
may misdirect money which would have been spent differently if the
whole need had been before the eyes of those who are charged with the
responsibility of administration.
We make bold to affirm that no Society can be sure that it is spending
the money entrusted to it wisely unless it has a satisfactory system of
survey in operation, a system which takes account not only of its own
work but also of the work of others. We go further and say that the
chances are the money is not bringing the maximum return. When
world need is so vast it is time to challenge a reasoned contradiction of
this assertion. If each Society did what in justice to its constituency it
ought to do, a survey of an area such as a province or a country would
be an easy task, and a survey of the world would be neither difficult nor
expensive, and after all, until we know the whole, we cannot
intelligently administer the part.
The missionary enterprise waits for the men who will take the
comprehensive view and become leaders in the greatest and most
fundamental task of all time. Until these leaders appear, mission work,
for those who seek to understand it as a world enterprise, will, as a
layman said recently, remain worse than a jigsaw puzzle!
THOS. COCHRANE.

ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
THE IMPORTANCE OF A DOMINANT PURPOSE.
The modern demand for intelligent co-operation The same demand in
relation to Foreign Missions The need for a definition of purpose The
failure of our present reports in this respect Is definition of purpose

desirable? It is necessary for formulation of policy Societies with
limited incomes cannot afford to pursue every good object The
admission of diverse purposes has blurred the purpose of Medical
Missions The admission of diverse purposes has confused the
administration of Educational Missions The admission of diverse
purposes has distracted Evangelistic Missions Hence the absence of
unity in the work Hence the tendency to support details rather than the
whole The need for a dominant purpose and expression of relations The
need for a statement of factors which govern action The need for a
missionary survey which expresses the facts in relation This demand is
not unreasonable

CHAPTER II.
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS.
1. All survey is properly governed by the purpose for which it is made
The purpose decides what is to be included, what excluded A scientific
survey is a survey of selected factors This is not to be confused with the
collection of facts to prove a theory The collection of facts is
independent of the conclusions which may be drawn 2. The survey
proposed is a missionary survey The difference between medical and
educational surveys and missionary survey 3. The survey proposed is
designed to embrace the work of all Societies 4. Definition of aim
necessarily suggests a policy We have not hesitated to set out that
policy We make criticism easy 5. Survey should provide facts in
relation to an aim, so as to guide action 6. Twofold aspect of
survey--survey of state, survey of position Survey is therefore a
continual process 7. Possible objections to method proposed-- (i) The
information asked for statistical All business and organised effort is
based on statistics Every Society publishes statistics (ii) The admission
of estimates The value of estimates (iii) The difficulty of many small
tables Why burden the missionary with the working out of proportions?
The tables should assist the missionary in charge (iv) The objection that
we cannot obtain all the information Partial knowledge the guide of all
human action (v) The tables contain items at present unknown

CHAPTER III.
SURVEY OF THE STATION AND ITS DISTRICT.
The Work to be Done, and the Force to Do it.
We begin with survey of the station and its district If the station exists
to