11. Form of a License.

It is customary for young men who believe themselves called of God to the work of the Gospel ministry, to ask from their Church a license, granting the Church's approval of their exercise of ministerial gifts. Some theological seminaries require a license for every student admitted to divinity studies. A license confers no clerical authority, but simply approves the course of the.licentiate in the matter.

There is no invariable form of license, but the following substantially serves the purpose:

License.

This certifies that Bro.

is a member of the Church, in good standing, and held by us in high esteem; and, after having opportunity for judging, we believe him to have been called of God to the work of the Gospel ministry, and hereby give him our entire consent and cordial approval in the improvement of his gifts in preaching the Gospel, as Providence may afford him an opportunity. And we pray the great Head of the Church to endow him with all needful grace, and crown his labors with abundant success.

Done by order of the Church, this day, June

18

Pastor.
Clerk.

New York.

NOTE I.-A license can be annulled or withdrawn at any time, should the Church have, in its judgment, sufficient reason for such action,

Note 2.—A license in no sense invests the licensee with ministerial functions, beyond approval in conducting religious services and expounding the Scriptures.

Note 3.—Quite commonly a license includes advice or approval of the candidate's pursuing appropriate studies, the better to prepare him for the work of the ministry, since a license by no means implies an immediate entrance upon full ministerial functions.

12. Certificate of Ordination.

This certifies that our Brother

was pub

licly ordained and set apart to the work of the Gospel ministry with appropriate religious services, prayer, and the laying on of hands, according to the usages of Baptist churches, at , Aug.

18

That he was called to ordination by the

Church,

of which he was a member, and which, after full and sufficient opportunity for judging of his gifts, were agreed in the opinion that he was divinely called to the work of the ministry.

by

That

churches were represented in the Council ministers, and laymen, and that, after

a full, fair and deliberate examination, being satisfied on all points, the Council did unanimously recommend his ordination.

That our Bro.

did accordingly receive the

full, entire and hearty approval of the Council in his official entrance upon the work of the ministry, administering the ordinances, and otherwise assuming all the functions of a Christian minister. And may the blessing of the great Head of the Church attend him, crown his la

bors with abundant success, and make him an honored instrument of good to Zion and the world.

NOTE. As a rule, men are not ordained, except as pastors of churches, or to become missionaries and raise up churches. To ordain men to occupy semi-secular positions, because it may class them with clergymen, or enable them occasionally to serve the churches by administering the ordinances, when they neither do, nor expect to, enter fully into ministerial service, is not generally approved, or deemed orderly.

28

F. BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES.

To every true Christian desiring the universal coming of the kingdom of Christ, and ready to do the best he can for its triumph, "the field is the world." His sympathies and endeavors will not be limited to the small area of his Church and his community, though there is his first, and probably his chiefest, obligation, but by all methods divinely approved, he should strive to save men. Baptists have well-established agencies, on which God has most graciously smiled, and to which he has given marked success for doing Christian work outside of Church limitations: Foreign Missions, Home Missions, Bible work and religious publications, with other appliances for Christian service. Every Church, and every Church member, should know what is going on in his own denomination as to the progress of the Gospel. A brief reference to our principal Christian agencies is here appended, for the benefit especially of younger members, who may be less familiar with them than those who are older.

1. Missionary Union. 1814.

The Missionary Union is the society through whose agency Baptists of the North, East and West send the Gospel to foreign countries, and especially to heathen lands. It was brought into being in a very providential manner. At the beginning of this century little was

known in this country, and less done, by Christian people, as to foreign missions. The grand work now being done by the Gospel in heathen lands is the achievement of the present century. February 19, 1812, Adoniram Judson and his wife, together with Rev. Mr. Newell and his wife, sailed from Salem, Mass., as missionaries for Asia, under the patronage of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Only the day before, Rev. Luther Rice, in company with Revs. Messrs. Nott and Hall, sailed from Philadelphia for the same destination. It was a very notable occurrence, which has passed into history as providential, that during their voyage, though separated on the sea, Mr. and Mrs. Judson and Mr. Rice had their attention called to the subject of Christian baptism—when they left home none of them were Baptists—with similar results, namely, that they adopted Baptist views respecting this ordinance. On reaching India they united with the English Baptists whom they found there, and resigned their connection with the Board of Commissioners at home. American Baptists had not yet sent missionaries to the heathen, and these brethren at once sent back to America an appeal to Baptists for support, and to awaken an interest among the churches in the work of missions among the heathen.

Strange to say, the effort of these brethren to establish Christian missions in India was met by the most decided hostility on the part of the British government, whose influence was potential, and they were compelled to leave Calcutta. Thereupon Mr. Rice returned to America, to stir up the Baptists, and excite a deeper interest in the work, and Mr. Judson and his wife, in a very unexpected