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8 THE PRESBYTERL ing into Oklahoma. They arc coming from the I^orth and from the South, from the East and, yes, from the great West beyond; the young man and the old man, the farmer and the banker, the merchant and the trader. Towns grow up in a day. Money is pouring in, but it's not for the Church. Everything is new and requires money, new fields, new fences, new houses, new banks, new railroads?three new banks organized in Durant in the last three months, making five altogether. What does it all mean? It means that the country is taking shape, her destinies arc being worked out. It means that the Church must rouse herself. Already there are large towns in the State without a church, thousands of people waiting for the Gospel. Oh, my brother, we need money and we need men?we need brave, fearless men, men with the missionary spirit, men with the love of God in their hearts. Our dear Dr. Morris has caught the fever of the West, and with his quick vision, sure judgment, and careful business has done a work in Oklahoma that shall bless the Church in many years yet to come. Give him of your gold, and give him your men, then there shall some day come from the West piles of gold, and multitudes of men to take vour nlaces in the long-drawn-out struggles against sin and iniquity. Durant, Okla. HOME MISSIONS IN TEXAS. (Extracts from an address delivered by Rev. Arthur G. Jones, D. D., at the Presbyterian Encampment at Kcrrvillc, Texas, July 14, 190S.) The primary purpose of the Church in the mind of God is missions. By its very charter, by its very right to do business in the world the Church is a missionary concern. If the eye does not see, of what use is it? If the ear does not hear, of what use is it? They all fail in the verv function for wi-nVti ^ - ? - ** .nvii VV V.1 v. LI CdLCU. And so if any Church is not active and effective as a missionary organ, it fails in the very function for which God organized it. No disciple can say he has the mind of Christ until he sees clearly this fundamental character of missions and consecrates to this great work of Christ his heart and life. It is the plain will of God that every soul which receives his Gospel must devote itself to passing that Gospel on, whether it be across the yard fence or across the sea, whether it be around the corner or in the end of the world. The geography of missions is a mere incident. It is only a question of convenience and administration. The solemn responsibility of dis cipleship is to give the Gospel to every creature. We are to consider in some special way the subject of Home Missions in Texas. Any presentation of this work will not avail much unless we see clearly that it is a divine work to which we are divinely called. Great Texas. Great is Texas and destined to be greater. Texas is great in territorial extent. Compared with the territory of our Church which lies past of th^ MJacicc.'r^J ...v Texas is as large as the combined States of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. The time has been when this magnificent expanse of mountain and valley AN OF THE SOUTH. January 6, 1909. and plain did not signify so much to the Kingdom of God because it was without people. But it is not so today. Swelling tides of immigration from other States and countries have been flowing in and spreading out here and there and everywhere in this great territory. Fertile farms are being developed and villages are springing up where yesterday the range cattle roamed undisturbed. The towns arc becoming little cities; the larger centers arc beginning to exhibit metropolitan conditions. Marvelous are the transformations that are taking place in the southwest today. The past decade has been greater than the previous century. The coming decade will surpass the last. Great and still greater are the armies which are upon the march to dwell within her borders. Texas is greater because of her incomparable natural and virgin resources and their sure prophecy of coming wealth and power. In her fallow fields there is bread for the feeding of a nation, there is clothing for the inhabitants of a continent, there is latent abundance for the peace and prosperity and happiness of an empire. There is waiting opportunity for every type of industry, the raw material for a many-sided civilization. These are not the extravagant words of inflated notri/\tic -?-? A.; - a.1-? ' r ' (mu.ui.on., nicy aic me Avaras 01 trutn and soberness. Texas is today the Land of Promise, it is the coining Empire of Tomorrow. Texas is greatest for the spirit of her people. They will compare with any people in their pluck, en- x ergy and confidence in themselves and in their country. For the building of her empire, she has gathered to herself the stalwart sons of every land, and with restless but persistent determination they are creating that larger future which is sure to come. What Shall Texas Be? As we seek to forecast that future there are serious questions which must arise in the mind of everv oatriot and every Christian. What shall be the moral complexion of greater Texas? What shall be the type of her citizenship when she copies to her maturity? What are to be the ideals of that civilization which is in the process of formation? Will Texas be the home of that happy people whose God is the Lord, a people inspired by worthy and spiritual ideals, a people who have achieved beauty of soul and wealth of character, a people illustrating the eternal truth that righteousness ex? 14.?11. - ?? ? ^ ? ... ? anew a nation r ^>r snail it De a sordid State, an empire of Mammon, an example of the eternal fact that sin is a reproach to any people? In the evolution of her natural resources and the manufacture of her raw materials, shall the Southwest also develop the best and finest type of Christian manhood and womanhood? How is this vital nnestirm to ^tArmlno/U _ -J vw uvkViiiimvui vyvtl against every nfew farm which is opened, side by side with every industrial plant which is established, step by step with the progress of her splendid cities, in the very foundation of this developing greatness and power, there must be laid broad and deep the basis of the Kingdom of God. The future citizen of Texas, of whatever type he may be, will not be the creation of a day, coming into being as Minerva sprang full grown from the brain of Jupiter. The character of the future