The Junior manual...

Preface

The preparation of this Manual would have been quite impossible for me had I not received the most cordial assistance from Junior workers all over the world. In response to a request printed in The Golden Rule, letters from Junior superintendents fairly rained down upon me, each expressing the great need of a manual of Junior methods, and the desire of the writer to co-operate. I wish it were possible to print here the names of these kind friends, who are more the authors of this book than I am. I can at least express thus publicly my sense of obligation to them, and my sincere gratitude.

Will not all Junior workers take up and continue this partnership ? New and useful ways of working are constantly devised by Junior superintendents. If you will send to me, at the office of The Golden Rule, Boston, Mass., an account of any helpful plan not incorporated in these pages, it will be published at once in the international Christian Endeavor organ, and be inserted in future editions of the Junior Manual.

It is too much to hope that this book, even though a large amount of labor has been spent upon it, will prove entirely satisfactory to every one, and in all of its forty chapters. I have done my best, however, to make it straightforward, practical, and to the point ; and I shall be richly rewarded if the noble Junior Christian Endeavor workers, whom I so much honor, are in any way inspired and helped by these pages.

Amos R. Wells.

Boston, March 22, 1895.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. History of the Junior Society of Christian

Endeavor i

Chapter I. History Of The Junior Society Of Christian Endeavor

The Mizpah Circle. — One of the immediate precursors of the Christian Endeavor Society may be said to have been a little missionary society organized by the wife of the founder of Christian Endeavor, Mrs. Francis E. Clark. The Williston Mizpah Circle consisted of girls and boys, who met once a week on Saturday afterncons in Portland, Me., earned money for home and foreign missions, and studied about them.

Another forerunner of the Christian Endeavor Society was the pastor's class connected with the Williston Church ; a company of young people who met with the pastor each week to study the church creed, Pilgri?n's Progress, and other books. Especially was this class a forerunner of the Junior society, for its members signed a pledge in many respects like the Junior pledge of to-day.

On that eventful day, February 2, 1881, the first society of Christian Endeavor was formed, which included some boys and girls, as well as many older young people.

The First Junior Society. — Christian Endeavor went on for three years before a distinctively Junior society was formed. In southwestern Iowa, in the college town of Tabor, was an earnest pastor, J. W. Cowan by name. There were no older Christian Endeavor societies in town, because the Young Men's and Young Women's Christian Associations of the college seemed to fill their place; but for the children there was no Christian organization, and the idea occurred to Mr. Cowan to form them into a Junior Christian Endeavor society.

The date of the organization of this first society is March 27, 1884. There were eleven charter members, all of whom have grown up into earnest Christian manhood and womanhood. The first to sign the Junior constitution is now a young man, Mr. Raymond C. Brooks, who has graduated from Yale Divinity School, and begun a successful course as minister of the gospel.

This first society adopted the Christian Endeavor constitution, including the iron-clad pledge. Within two years after its organization, a Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor was formed from this Junior society by the graduation of its members. Moved by the example of their successful methods, the college organizations of the town changed their form, and became probably the first distinctively college Christian Endeavor society.

Early Workers. — The name of the first Junior superintendent, the leader of this Tabor society, should be held in perpetual honor. She was Miss Belle Smith. Much credit for the early spread of the movement is also due to Mrs. E. H. Slocum, the first secretary of the Iowa State Christian Endeavor Union. From this small beginning, in 1884, the society developed, until, at the Minnesota Convention of 1891, General Secretary Baer reported 855 Junior societies.

Rapid Growth. — No separate record of Junior societies was made until that date. The next year, at New York, an immense increase was announced, the number being 2,574. In 1893, at Montreal, the figures had risen to 4,136. In 1894, at Cleveland, the record stood 6,809 societies, with 365,000 members. At this writing, not long before the Boston Convention of 1895, there are about 8,000 societies, with approximately half a million members.

Just a Few of the Workers. — This growth is due to many earnest workers in addition to those already named. Probably no branch of Christian Endeavor has been so fruitful as the Junior Society in creating consecrated and zealous laborers. Among those who have been most active in promoting this movement among the children is Mrs. Francis E. Clark, who, during her Christian Endeavor journey around the world with her husband, devoted herself especially, in many addresses, to teaching pastors and their wives, and Christian Endeavor workers,

HISTORY OF THE JUNIOR SOCIETY. 3

the blessedness of labor for the children, and the best methods to use in establishing and carrying on Junior societies.

Another worker who has done yeoman service by tongue and pen, and in many different regions, for the promotion of the Junior cause, is Mrs. Alice May Scudder of New Jersey. Prominent also on this noble roll of honor is Miss Kate H. Haus of Missouri, Mr. Thomas Wainwright (" Uncle Tom ") of Illinois, Mr. William S. Ferguson of Pennsylvania, Miss Nettie Harrington of Wisconsin, Miss Lillian A. Wilcox and Miss Grace E. Hyde of Massachusetts, Miss Belle P. Nason of California, Miss Mary C. Merritt of Ohio, Mrs. E. C. Smith of Connecticut, Rev. W. W. Sleeper of Wisconsin, Miss Bertha L. Hess of Idaho, Mrs. M. L. Hageman of Indiana, Miss Daisy Dunnington of West Virginia, Miss Laura C. Preston of Oregon, Miss Frances M. Schuyler of New York, Mrs. E. W. Darst and Mrs. George W. Coleman of Massachusetts, Mrs. O. M. Needham of Nebraska, Rev. A. W. Spooner of New Jersey, Miss Flora B. Berry of Maine, Miss Ruth Nash of Kansas, Mr. C. J. Atkinson of Ontario, and Miss Margaret C. Sutton of Quebec. The list of noble and devoted Junior workers could be almost indefinitely extended.

One of the chief features in the rapid progress of the Junior cause has been the formation of Junior city unions. The first of these was organized at Bridgeport, Conn., in 1891.

State Superintendents. — Another step in advance was the establishment of the office of State superintendent of Junior work. Nearly all State unions now have such officers, and most of the persons just named hold that honorable position.

At the Conventions. — At the International Conventions the Junior work is claiming a more and more prominent place. The New York Convention of 1892 first honored it with a separate session, which was crowded and enthusiastic. At Montreal the great Drill Hall was given up to a still more inspiring meeting, while at Cleveland, in 1894, the immense Sangerfest building was filled with more than ten thousand people, whose attention was held through the crowded programme of the Junior rally.

The Banners. — Much interest has been excited by the Junior banners awarded at the International Conventions. The first of these was given at the New York Convention to Illinois, the State that had the largest number of Junior societies. This banner was carried off by Illinois the next year; but in 1894, at Cleveland, it was surrendered to Pennsylvania.

At Montreal, two other Junior banners were awarded. One, for the largest proportionate increase in Junior societies during the preceding year, was carried off by the District of Columbia. The second, for the largest absolute gain in Junior societies, went to New York. This latter banner, for the greatest absolute gain, was also won by Pennsylvania in 1894, while the banner for the largest proportionate increase was at that same Convention turned over by the District of Columbia to the State of Delaware. These banners are made up of Junior badges contributed by societies all over the world.

Honor Books. — At the coming Boston Convention a new feature is to be introduced for the benefit of the Juniors, — immense honor books, four of them, in one of which are to be enrolled the names of all Junior societies that have contributed to missions ten dollars more during the year than during the former year ; in another, the names of the societies whose members are faithful to the pledge ; while the other two are for the societies whose members help their pastor in every way he wishes, and for those that help to make home happy.

Besides the importance of the Junior rallies at the International Conventions, the cause is gaining more and more attention at the annual conventions of the State unions, nearly all of which now hold enthusiastic and helpful Junior sessions.

Their Paper and Song=Book. — Important steps in the progress of the Junior movement were the founding, in January, 1893, of the Junior international organ, The Junior Golden Rule, and the publishing at about the same time of a Junior song-book, whose editors were Mr. Ira D. Sankey, General Secretary Baer, and Mr. William Shaw, treasurer of the United Society.

HOW TO ORGANIZE A JUNIOR SOCIETY.

Chapter II. How To Organize A Junior Society

Preparation. — In forming a Junior society too much pains cannot be taken to become perfectly familiar with the best plans before the society is set on foot. Write to the Junior superintendent of your county union or of your State union, tell all about your surroundings, and ask as many questions as you can think of. Consult with the best Junior workers in your neighborhood. Send to the United Society of Christian Endeavor for their Junior helps, and read carefully the whole of them.

The Junior Committee. — Before you enter upon your work, get your assistants. Ask the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor to appoint as a regular committee, called the "Junior committee," some of their best workers, who will aid you.

Talk It Up. — Do preliminary personal work with the boys and girls. Tell them of the good times a Junior society will bring about. Touch their noble impulses by showing them what a blessing such a society would be to the church, to the community, and to themselves. By noticing who are most interested in this talk, you will gain many valuable hints for the selection of officers.

The Constitution. — Make ready the constitution and by-laws of the new society. By far your best plan will be to adopt the Model Junior Constitution and By-Laws, which may be modified, of course, as necessity requires. Here they are :

CONSTITUTION.

Article I. Name.

This society shall be called the Junior Society of Christian Endeavor of

Article II. Object.

Its object shall be to promote an earnest Christian life among the boys and girls who may become members, and prepare them for the active service of Christ.

Article III. Membership. i. The members shall consist of two classes, Active and Trial.

2. Active Members. Any boy or girl between the ages of.

and inclusive, who shall be approved by the superintendent

and assistant, may become an active member of the society by taking the following pledge : —

JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP PLEDGE.

Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for strength, I promise him that I will strive to do whatever he would like to have me do ; that I will pray and read the Bible every day ; and that, just so far as I know how, I will try to lead a Christian life. I will be present at every meeting of the society when I can, and will take some part in every meeting.

Name

I am willing that should sign this pledge, and will do

all I can to help keep it.

Parent's name

Residence

OPTIONAL PLEDGE.

[Form No. 2. For societies where the majority of members are under ten years.]

I promise Jesus to pray to him every day for strength to do whatever he would like to have me do. I promise Jesus to come to every meeting.

Name

Date

3. Trial Members shall be those who wish to attend, and who promise to behave when at the meeting. These shall have their names on the trial roll, but shall not sign the pledge, or serve as leaders for the meetings.

Article IV. Officers. 1. The officers of the society shall be superintendent, assistant superintendent, president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. There shall be lookout, prayer-meeting, and social committees, and such other committees as may be needed.

Article V. Duties of Officers.

1 . The superintendent shall have full control of the society.

2. The assistant superintendent shall aid the superintendent in her work. The assistant shall take care of all funds belonging to the society, the money being turned over to her by the treasurer at the close of each meeting.

3. The president shall conduct the business meetings, under the direction of the superintendent.

4. The vice-president shall act in the absence of the president.

5. The secretary shall keep a correct list of the members, take the minutes of the business meetings, and call the roll at each meeting.

6. The treasurer shall take up the collections, enter the amount in the account-book, and turn over the money to the assistant superintendent, and also enter all expenditures as directed by the superintendent.

7. The superintendent and assistant may be appointed by the pastor, or by the senior society (if one exists), with the approval of the pastor. The other officers and committees shall be nominated by the superintendent and assistant, and elected by the society. All officers shall be chosen once in six months.

Article VI. Duties of Committees.

1. The lookout committee shall secure the names of any who may wish to join the society, and report the same to the superintendents for action. They shall also obtain excuses from members absent from the roll call, and affectionately look after and reclaim any who seem indifferent to their pledge.

2. The prayer-meeting committee shall, in connection with the superintendent, select topics, assign leaders, and do what they can to secure faithfulness to the prayer-meeting pledge.

3. The social committee shall welcome the children to the meetings and introduce them to the other members of the society. They may also arrange for occasional sociables.

Article VII. Relationship.

The relation of the Junior to the senior society of Christian Endeavor should be close and intimate; and it is expected that, when the members of the Junior society have reached their age limit, they will enter the Christian Endeavor society as active members.

Article VIII. Meetings. 1 . A prayer-meeting shall be held once every week. A consecration meeting shall be held once a month, at which the pledge shall be read and the roll called, and the responses of the members shall be considered a renewal of the pledge of the society. If any member is absent from three consecutive consecration meetings, without excuse, his name shall be dropped from the list of members.

2. Part of the hour of the weekly meeting shall, if deemed best, be used by the pastor or superintendent of the society for instruction, or for other exercises which they may approve.

BY-LAWS.

1. The society shall hold a prayer meeting on

of each week. The last regular meeting of each month shall be a consecration meeting. The business meeting may be held in connection with the first regular meeting of each month.

2. The officers and committees shall be chosen in and

and continue six months, beginning on the first of the

month following their election.

3. Special meetings of the society may be held at any time, at the call of the superintendent.

4. A collection shall be taken at the consecration meeting, and at the other meetings if desired, the money thus obtained to be held available for benevolent objects and to meet the expenses of the society.

5. All committees should meet at least once a month for consultation with the superintendent in regard to their work.

6. All expenditures shall be made under the direction of the superintendents.

7. Other committees may be added, whose duties shall be defined as follows: —

The music committee shall distribute and collect the singing books, and co-operate with the leader of the meeting in trying in every way to make the singing a success.

The missionary committee shall arrange for an occasional missionary meeting, and seek to interest the members in home and foreign work.

The temperance committee shall arrange for an occasional temperance meeting, and circulate a temperance pledge among the members.

The Sunday-school committee shall secure the names of children who do not attend Sunday school, and invite them to become members of the Sunday school.

The flower committee shall provide flowers for the Sunday school room, and distribute fruit and flowers to the sick and needy.

The scrap-book committee shall collect pictures and clippings, and make scrap-books for sick and disabled members, and for distribution in the hospitals.

The relief committee shall collect clothing for the destitute children found in the Sunday school and society, and bring it to the superintendent for distribution.

The birthday committee shall report all birthdays as they occur among the members, so that special prayer may be offered for each member on his or her birthday.

8. This constitution and by-laws may be altered or amended whenever the superintendents and pastor find it necessary.

No Unnecessary Differences. — It is very advantageous to make the constitution and work of the Junior society as near like those of the Young People's society as is possible. The reason for this is that then, when the Juniors come to graduate into the older society, the transition will be less difficult, and they will he better prepared to take up advanced work.

The First Heeting. — After all this preliminary work is done, call your first meeting of the children. Let it be on a Saturday afternoon, when all can attend. Advertise it as widely as possible, in church, Sunday school, and newspaper. Avoid disappointment by stating plainly the age limit, usually from six to fourteen. You will get a good attendance, especially of the boys whom you are most anxious to reach, if you announce that there will be some refreshments after the meeting. Get the best speaker from your Junior committee to prepare a little talk to the children. They will listen to those nearer their own age more readily at first than they will listen to you.

After the proposed methods of the new society are fully explained, being put in as attractive a form as possible, ask the children present who would like to join such a society to rise. With these, go over the constitution carefully, article by article. Explain each point, and let each division of the constitution and by-laws be adopted by those who intend to join the new society. Appoint a nominating committee to meet with the superintendent during the week and nominate the officers ; then bring forward the refreshments, and at the close have an orderly adjournment to meet on the next Sunday afternoon.

The Call.— At this meeting the superintendent will preside. Have some lively singing and a few short prayers. Then let the superintendent talk earnestly about the conditions of joining the new society, briefly explaining the pledge and its importance, and what a solemn thing it is to sign such a pledge. Then ask the children to tell you whether they wish to join as active or associate (trial) members, and make a note of each on your list. Announce a topic and leader for next Sunday's meeting, and close with singing, " God be with you till we meet again," and with the Christian Endeavor benediction.

Go Slowly. — You will notice that up to this point you have not received a single member, nor has a single pledge been signed. During the following week visit each child separately. Talk over the pledge. See that they understand it perfectly, and accept their signatures to it only after you are thoroughly assured of their sincerity, and that they are not merely attracted by the novelty of the affair. Admit them as associate (trial) members unless you are certain that they are deeply in earnest as active members.

Receive no signature without the signature of the parent to the pledge, and do not accept the latter until you have talked with the parents yourself, and shown them just what the pledge means both for their child and for themselves.

Now you have your body of Juniors, and can go to work to form your committees and choose your officers. The meetings from this time on should be conducted by the Juniors, and along regular lines.

This is a slow way to begin, and it may seem to some that it is too cautious, but the most experienced workers know that a little caution at the beginning will save much discouragement and vain effort farther on. A society thus founded will be founded on the rock.

Outside Help. — It is always well, in organizing a new Junior society, to get the assistance of some experienced Junior worker, having her upon the ground, having her talk with the children, and consult with the new superintendent and her assistants at every point. In addition to this, it is helpful to have present Juniors from other societies, especially at the first meeting, when the Juniors come together to decide for or against membership

HOW TO ORGANIZE A JUNIOR SOCIETY. II

in this society. Let two or three of these speak to the young folks, and tell them what their society is doing, and how much they enjoy it.

A Recognition Service. — It will be pleasant for the older society to hold a recognition service as soon as their younger brothers are organized. Both societies will be present. The president of the older society will congratulate the Juniors on their organization, and the Junior president will respond briefly. The older Endeavorers will discuss plans for aiding the Juniors in their work. The pastor will give some hints as to the tasks all his Endeavorers might undertake. There will be much prayer. Be sure to assign to the Juniors themselves some decided part in the meeting, having them recite, give responsive readings, sing, and take part, it may be, in sentence prayers.

Don't Wait. — In your church there may be (it is still possible !) some opposition to the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor. Do not wait for this opposition to die down before you organize a Junior society, provided the opposition would not extend also to that. It has happened in many instances that the organization of a Junior society taught the older church members what Christian Endeavor really means, and prepared them to accept with readiness an older society of Christian Endeavor.

Do not wait either, before you organize your Junior society, to make too elaborate preparations and consult with too many workers. If you delay too long, the children's enthusiasm, that you are so eager to utilize, will have vanished.

Do not wait too long, either, seeking for a single Christian with grit and grace enough to undertake the superintendency. If, after diligent search, no ideal or half-ideal superintendent appears, appoint a Junior committee from the older society. It is a good plan to have a committee of six, two of whom are to carry on the society each month, all six serving in the course of the quarter. Of course they will all be in constant consultation with one another.

An Impressive Beginning. — The plan of an Iowa superintendent in starting her Junior society will be suggestive to others. She had carefully watched her trial members for some time before permitting any to sign the pledge, After some weeks she found three boys and three girls who were, she decided, true Christians. After talking with them beforehand, she asked them at one of the meetings to take the front seat.

With her watch and a needle she showed how so small a thing as a needle can stop the entire machinery of the watch, and applied this to the principle of pledge-keeping, failure to hold to any of the things promised being the little needle that would stop the right action of their lives. Earnestly and solemnly the superintendent went on to speak of the seriousness of taking such a pledge.

She then gave each of the six a pledge card, and they all knelt, the other Juniors bowing their heads. On their knees the six Juniors read the pledge slowly together. Each little head then went down on the seat, and, taking turns, they repeated this sentence: "Dear Jesus, help me to keep this pledge.' 1 After an earnest prayer from the leader, each Junior went forward to the desk and signed the pledge, and thus the active membership of that society was started.

Junior Companies. — If you are compelled to start your society with few members, try the plan adopted by a Kansas Junior society at whose initial meeting only twelve young people were present. These twelve were made leaders of twelve companies, on condition that each promised to get three more members. Other young people later undertook the same task, volunteering to raise companies. This organization into companies was continued, and the work of each leader was recorded by a chart. If all four members were present, a blue star was placed on the chart. Five cents in the collection from that company placed a silver star there, and a new member added to their number glittered as a gilt star.

Committee Outlines. — At the outset of your society work, however familiar the plans may be to you, remember that they are all strange to the children. One of the best ways of setting the wheels smoothly to running is to give to each officer and to each member of the committees simple outlines of the main features of the work they are about to undertake. Such outlines are given for the committees in the chapter on committee work.

It is essential that each member of the society be set as soon as possible to doing something. Let each committee hold a meeting at the earliest possible date. You cannot attend them all ; but you can see that some older Endeavorer, familiar with the work of that committee in his society, is present to superintend the planning of the Juniors.

Country Societies. — In country districts the children may be so scattered and the parents so busy that it will seem quite difficult to get them together at any one season for the purpose of carrying on a Junior society. In some localities this difficulty has been met by holding the Junior society in immediate connection with the Sunday school, letting it occupy the last half of the Sunday-school hour. Another good plan is to adopt a single centre convenient for the greatest number, holding the Junior meetings there, and permitting the other children who belong to the church to join this society as members of what might be called the home department. They will be given committee work to do in their own neighborhoods. They will sign the pledge and keep its provisions as far as possible under the circumstances, engaging in daily prayer and Bible-reading. They will make monthly reports to the central society to be read at the consecration meetings, and will attend whenever attendance is possible.

Chapter III. Pastors, Churches, And Juniors

The Juniors at Church. — A pastor has truly said that the Junior Endeavor society is, next to the home, the best instrumentality in existence for insuring the presence of the children at church. The superintendent should keep the church meeting in mind in all Junior work. If the congregation is in the habit of repeating the Apostles' Creed, singing the Gloria or the Doxology, let these be taught the children, and frequently practised.

The training for responsive reading given in the Junior society will make the Juniors more ready than many of their elders in the responsive readings of the church services.

Above all things, teach the Juniors the church hymns, not to the exclusion of their own bright children's songs, but in addition to them. The pastor will be glad to tell the superintendent what hymns are to be sung in church the next Sunday, and these the Juniors may sing at the Junior meeting. Such methods in some churches have made the Juniors a strong factor in congregational singing. In fact, nobody else knows the hymns quite so well as they.

Sermons for Juniors. — If the pastor does not preach five-minute sermons to the children, it would be a good thing for the Junior superintendent to suggest that he take up this most helpful line of work. An Australian pastor has obtained the attendance of all his Juniors, — and he has a large number, — at the regular church services. He uses this excellent programme : The first Scripture reading is read by the congregation and the Juniors alternately. This Scripture lesson contains the text of the five-minute children's sermon, which the pastor then preaches. A child's hymn is next sung by the whole congregation, and the pastor then turns to the mature portion of his audience.

PASTORS, CHURCHES, AND JUNIORS. 1 5