The Reformed Church in America is a member of the Alliance of Reformed Churches throughout the World holding the Presbyterian System, and of the Council of Reformed Churches holding the Presbyterian System, and has approved the articles of agreement proposed with other Reformed and Presbyterian bodies in the United States. These articles, while leaving each church's judicatories independent in action, secure through a council mutual conference and cooperation in church activities. It is also a constituent member of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, and is represented on the Commission on a World Conference on Questions of Faith and Order.

WORK.

The home missionary work of the church is carried on largely through the Board of Domestic Missions. This board aids weak churches and founds new churches of the denomination throughout the country, assists by grant or loan in the erection of church buildings, organizes Sunday schools, and employs missionaries in evangelistic work without special reference to the founding of new churches. During 1916 it supported, in whole or in part, 261 churches and missions, reaching 11,408 families and 23,335 Sunday school scholars by the services of 223 ministers, aside from Sunday school teachers. Auxiliary to the Board of Domestic Missions is the Woman's Executive Committee, which raises funds for the general work of the board. The sum raised in 1916 was $97,158. The Young People's Missionary League and other organizations also contribute to this cause. The disbursement is entirely in the hands of the official board of the league, which is appointed by, and makes its annual report to, the General Synod. The total receipts for home mission work in 1916 amounted to $245,917.

The foreign missionary work of the church is carried on by the Board of Foreign Missions, the Arabian Mission having a board of trustees chosen from the Board of Foreign Missions. It conducts work in Arabia, India, China, and Japan, and in 1916 reported 29 stations and 343 outstations; 141 missionaries; 807 native helpers; 61 churches, with 6,827 members; and 321 Sunday schools, with 13,696 scholars. The educational department of the board reports 3 theological schools, 6 colleges and academies, 23 secondary schools, and 235 primary schools, with a total of 15,034 scholars. There were 26 hospitals and dispensaries in which 121,698 patients were treated in 1916, and 2 orphanages, with 105 inmates. The total amount contributed for the foreign work was $302,453, the total value of property is estimated at $750,000, and

there are endowments amounting to $255,000. For 25 years after the organization of the board, the church worked in connection with the American Board, and its foreign mission churches were ecclesiastically connected with the American Board under the direction of the General Synod. In 1857 it withdrew and since then has conducted its own missionary enterprise, although in recent years it has united with other boards and societies in Japan, China, and India, adopting such ecclesiastical methods and doctrinal systems as seemed best suited to the needs of the different missions.

The educational work of the church in this country is conducted by various colleges and theological seminaries, under the direction of the General Synod. The Board of Education aids young men studying for the ministry and assists in the support of educational institutions. Of these, there are in the United States 2 theological seminaries, 2 colleges, and 3 academies, with a total of 820 students. The contributions for this work during the year were $92,436, the value of property is estimated at $450,000, and there are endowments amounting to $475,000.

The Board of Publication conducts a general publishing and book business and issues the reports of the boards, the minutes of the General Synod, etc., turning profits into the work of the church.

The General Synod appoints from year to year such special committees as may be needed for specific lines of church work. The Committee on Evangelistic Work raises and disburses funds for different enterprises, as the Tent Campaign in New York City, etc.

General Bible and evangelistic literary work is conducted through the American Bible Society and the American Tract Society, which are recognized by the General Synod as authorized to receive contributions from the churches.

The church as such has no orphanages, asylums, or homes in the United States, and but one hospital, that recently instituted at the Kentucky Mountain Mission. Committees of the General Synod have charge of funds for the relief of disabled ministers and their widows.

There are 727 Endeavor societies with 17,815 members. There are also societies of King's Daughters; brotherhoods of Andrew and Philip; crusader posts: mission bands; and many miscellaneous societies. The total contributions from all the young people's societies and Sunday schools during 1916 amounted to $33,235, of which $18,971 was for foreign missions, and $14,264 for home missions.

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, organized in 1810 as an interdenominational society, is now a distinctively Congregational society.

reported by the organizations from which no answer to this inquiry was received, the total number of members under 13 years of age for the entire denomination would be 1,945.1

Of the 715 organizations, 451, with 101,155 members, reported services conducted in English only, and 264, with 43,774 members, reported the use of foreign languages alone or with English. Dutch was reported in connection with English by 151 organizations, with 27,233 members, and 31 organizations, with 3,974 members, used Dutch only. Next in order was German reported in connection with English by 35 organizations, with 6,330 members, while 35 organizations, with 3,843 members, used German only. As compared with the report for 1906, there was an increase of 3 in the number of foreign languages reported, but there was a decrease of 43 in the number of organizations reporting the use of foreign languages exclusively.

The number of ministers on the rolls of the denomination was 756. Schedules were received from 651, distributed among the states as follows:

1 A minus sign (-) denotes decrease.

The denomination shows a gain in every item, except in the number of church edifices, and in indebtedness. The number of organizations in 1916 was 715 as against 659 in 1906, an increase of 8.5 per cent, and the membership was 144,929 as against 124,938, a gain of 16 per cent. There was a loss of 16 in number of church edifices, but the value of church property reported was $18,928,383 in 1916 as against $15,553,250 in 1906, showing an increase of 21.7 per cent. The number of organizations reporting debt in 1916 was 258 as against 198 in 1906, and the amount of debt reported was $1,093,623 as against $729,225. There was a small increase in Sunday schools and in scholars, and contributions for missions and benevolences increased from $349,691 to $640,806, a gain of 83.2 per cent, the greater increase being for domestic work.

Certain items not included in the above summary are church expenditures and number of members under 13 years of age, reported for the first time in 1916, and the languages used in church services.

Church expenditures amounting to $2,746,065, reported by 705 organizations, cover all running expenses and any other items that passed through the church treasury.

The number of members under 13 years of age, as reported by 539 organizations in 1916, was 1,555, constituting 1.3 per cent of the 115,881 members reported by these organizations. Assuming that the same proportion would apply to the 29,048 members

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