diverse purposes has blurred the purpose of Medical
Missions
The admission of diverse purposes has confused the administration
of Educational Missions
The admission of diverse purposes has distracted Evangelistic
Missions
Hence the absence of unity in the work
Hence the tendency to support details rather than the whole
The need for a dominant purpose and expression of relations
The need for a statement of factors which govern action
The need for a missionary survey which expresses the facts in
relation
This demand is not unreasonable
CHAPTER II.
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS.
1. All survey is properly governed by the purpose for which it is
made
The purpose decides what is to be included, what excluded
A scientific survey is a survey of selected factors
This is not to be confused with the collection of facts to prove a
theory
The collection of facts is independent of the conclusions which may
be drawn
2. The survey proposed is a missionary survey
The difference between medical and educational surveys and missionary
survey
3. The survey proposed is designed to embrace the work of all
Societies
4. Definition of aim necessarily suggests a policy
We have not hesitated to set out that policy
We make criticism easy
5. Survey should provide facts in relation to an aim, so as to guide
action
6. Twofold aspect of survey--survey of state, survey of position
Survey is therefore a continual process
7. Possible objections to method proposed--
(i) The information asked for statistical
All business and organised effort is based on statistics
Every Society publishes statistics
(ii) The admission of estimates
The value of estimates
(iii) The difficulty of many small tables
Why burden the missionary with the working out of proportions?
The tables should assist the missionary in charge
(iv) The objection that we cannot obtain all the information
Partial knowledge the guide of all human action
(v) The tables contain items at present unknown
CHAPTER III.
SURVEY OF THE STATION AND ITS DISTRICT.
The Work to be Done, and the Force to Do it.
We begin with survey of the station and its district
If the station exists to establish the Church in a definite area then
we can survey on a territorial basis
The definition of the area involves a policy
I. When the area is defined we can distinguish work done and work to
be done, in terms of cities, towns, and vil
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