nselfish service. All of these
are essential.

This lack of cooperation is very widely in evidence in the division of
country communities into petty little churches, so small and ineffective
as to be objects of pity instead of respect and enthusiastic loyalty. In
the older sections of the country, rural communities often have twice as
many churches as are needed; but in the middle West and the still newer
sections further westward the problem of divided Christian forces is even
more serious. Many a small township has five churches where one or two
would be quite sufficient, and all are struggling for existence. The
problem is less serious in the South, where denominations are fewer and
where union services are exceedingly common.

In a sparsely settled section in Center County, Pennsylvania, there are 24
churches within a radius of four miles. This fact was vouched for in 1911
by the Presbyterian Department of the Church and Country Life. The same
authority suggests the following:

In Marshall County, Indiana, with a total population of but 24,175, there
are twenty-nine varieties of churches, separating Christian people. The
situation is typical and the names are so suggestive as to be worth
recording: Amish Mennonite, Baptist, Primitive Baptist, Brethren,
Catholic, Christian, Church of Christ Scientist, Church of God
(Adventists), Church of God (Saints), Come-Outers, Congregational,
Disciple, Episcopalian, Evangelical Association, German Evangelical,
Holiness, Lutheran (Synod of Chicago), Lutheran (Synod of Missouri),
Swedish Lutheran, Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Protestant, Pentecostal
Holiness, Presbyterian, Progressive Brethren, Reformed, Seventh Day
Adventist, United Brethren, United Brethren (Old Constitution), and
Wesleyan Methodist.

The village of Lapaz in this county has only 252 inhabitants, but there
are three churches. They have 20 members all told! There are 68 persons in
the village who claim to be church members, but 48 belong to churches of
12 denominations elsewhere. There are 93 people affiliated with no church
whatever; and no boy or young man in the village belongs to any church. No
wonder!

III. Rural Morals and the Recreation Problem.

_Lack of Wholesome Social Life for Young People_

In three adjoining townships in Indiana there are 21 country churches, all
but four of which are dead or dying. The average membership is 52. One of
the local leaders significantly said, "We don't believ