the time
rather than by the great and final aim of getting the whole task of
Christ accomplished.

It is also often true that the church is not organized to reach the
entire community in which it lives. One of the first duties will
therefore be to relate the church in a vital way to the entire
community. The church is not a field but a force with which to work
the field. The field is the community, the state, the world!

In some cases it will be necessary to create new machinery for this
work. However, it is much wiser to use the existing organizations of
the church if they can be made effective.

=The Missionary Committee.=--The one type of organization in the local
church which has met with most general approval by Christian leaders is
what is called "The Church Missionary Committee." Even where several
distinct missionary organizations exist in the local church there is
still urgent need for this committee for two very important reasons.

1. It unifies the missionary activities of the church. The most
fruitful way of organizing the committee is to have representatives of
all the existing missionary organizations upon it. The pastor should
by all means be a member of this committee but ordinarily not the
chairman. The committee should always be definitely appointed or at
least confirmed by the official body of the congregation. By thus
bringing together all the leaders of the various activities, a
unified and well-articulated missionary program is made possible.

[Illustration: THE CHURCH MISSIONARY COMMITTEE

ITS FIELDS (INNER CIRCLE)
ITS FUNCTIONS (OUTER CIRCLE)]

2. The missionary committee represents the entire congregation. In the
past it has been true that only a fraction of the congregation has
been enlisted in definite missionary activities. Only small groups
have been organized for missionary service. The men especially have
been unreached. Obviously the first move to make if the church is to
meet its full missionary responsibility is to plan to enlist the
whole constituency. This committee should have enough meetings to plan
a comprehensive policy for the entire congregation, including all the
lines of activity indicated in the missionary commands of Christ to
which reference has been made, also to check up results. A meeting for
the whole congregation should be held each year at which reports are
made and plans projected for the succeeding season. The pamphlets on
the Missionary Committee and its w