ch village, whom he selects for their
local Christian influence and their devotion to community welfare. Through
these local leaders our Secretary multiplies his own life, as he shares
with them his visions and his hopes, as he enlists them for specific tasks
and trains them for the service; giving them the benefit of his expert
knowledge of country life, of rural sociology and of boy life, of teaching
method and the modern interpretation of the Bible.

While his primary task is the discovery and training of local leadership
as a Christian community builder, he also makes his office a convenient
clearing house of ideas and practical plans for community betterment. As
he quietly goes about his work it soon becomes evident that he is a "man
who knows"; and his expert knowledge, his cooperation and advice are
sought by parents and teachers, churches and Sunday schools, pastors and
superintendents, school supervisors, women's clubs, farmers' institutes
and Granges, and he must be a man of large ability to prove equal to his
opportunity. As a trusted neutral among the churches, he of all men has
the best chance to overcome church rivalries and bring together jealous
churches in a working federation or a real unity. He must be at once a man
of prayer and an athletic specialist who can through his local leaders
organize wholesome sports among his boys; he must not only have a genius
for cooperation and securing the cooperation of others in worth-while
tasks, but he must be able to take the single farmer, single-handed, and
in a quiet, friendly but masterful way get that farmer to give his
growing boy a fair chance.

The call to the rural secretaryship is as genuine a call to a life of
ministering love as is the call to the ministry. As a matter of fact, a
few of the most successful rural secretaries are ordained ministers and
find their theological training and pastoral experience of great value in
their work. These secretaries are not using their present position as a
stepping-stone to the city field. Few of them would accept any city
opportunity, as experience has proved. They have devoted their lives to
the work of rural redemption, especially saving the country boy. They have
fitted themselves to be experts in rural work, the work they love, and few
of them ever care to leave it. This complete consecration accounts largely
for their success. Let a man not attempt to share their work unless he can
bear their cross. It is a