or to add to the glory of its particular sect or to
raise enough money for its own support and keep its property painted, nor
even to get the community into the church. _The business of the church is
to get the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ into the community and thence
into all the world._ If it is not doing that it is not succeeding. It is
succeeding only in proportion as it is accomplishing that; for its
business is to Christianize that community.

Dr. Gladden is right when he says that the test of the efficiency of the
church must be found in the social conditions of the community to which it
ministers. To be sure the church should emphasize evangelism and the need
of church membership. Let it add to its strength, in order to become a
strong, effective organization. But let it remember that this is but a
means to an end. Let it keep in mind the immediate object of its work, to
_Christianize its community_.

I would say then, a country church is efficient if it not only gets its
people "right with God" but also right with one another; if it not only
saves them for the life of heaven, but helps them to begin the heavenly
life right now; if it not only furnishes opportunity for the worship of
God, in simplicity and truth, but also proves the sincerity of its worship
in deeds of Christian service; if it furnishes spiritual vision and power,
faith, hope and love, those unseen things that are eternal, but also mints
these essentials of religion in the pure gold of brotherly sympathy and
kindness.

_The Church's Broad Function: Community Service_

The efficient church will not only perform the priestly function of
mediating between God and men, until in the holy place men feel the hush
and peace and power of God's presence. It will also inspire men in a
practical way to perform the duties of life. It will not only bring men
into the conscious presence of God. It will somehow bring the love of God
into the lives of men. It will increase the kindness and brotherliness and
sympathy of men and women toward each other. It will stimulate
fair-dealing in all business relations and put an end to injustice toward
the weak. It will help to reduce poverty, vice and crime. It will
encourage pure politics and discourage graft. It will set a high standard
for the play life of the community and make amusements purer and more
sensible. It will even endeavor to raise the level of practical efficiency
on every farm, making men real