The first body of native Christians with whose oversight he had anything to do was that very small band that had been gathered into the church at Tengchow. Mills was the senior missionary, and as such he presided over that little flock until his death. In 1867 he was installed as the pastor, and he continued in this office nearly twenty years. During this long period Dr. Mateer at times supplied the pulpit and cared for the church in Mills’s absence or illness, but for most of the time it was only as a sort of adviser that he could render help in that field. We have no reason to think specially unfavorably of Chinese converts because some of those with whom he then had to do at Tengchow, or elsewhere, proved themselves, to him, to be a discouraging set of professing Christians. Were not a good many of Paul’s converts very much of the same grade when he traveled among the churches, and wrote his letters? Did it not take much patience, and fidelity, and persistence on the part of Christ to make anything worth while out of his select disciples? Yet these constituted the membership of the primitive church from which even the missionaries of our day have originated. At any rate some of the earliest experiences of Dr. Mateer with the native Christians were of a very depressing sort. In his Journal, under date of March 17, 1864, he made this record: Since coming to Tengchow there have been great difficulties in the native church. Several of the members were accused by common fame of various immoral practices,—one of smoking opium, another of lying and conforming to idolatrous practices, and another of breaking the Sabbath. The second of these confessed his fault, and was publicly reproved; the third also confessed, and on his profession of penitence was restored to the confidence of the church. But though the first confessed to the use of the ashes of opium, he gave no certain assurance of amendment; and he was suspended, and so remains. These matters gave us all a great deal of anxiety and sorrow of heart. It is sad thus to find that even those who profess the name of Christ are so much under the power of sin. It is one of the great discouragements of the missionary work. Yet God is able to keep even such weak ones as these unto eternal life. Under date of September 15, 1866, he told of a worse case of discipline: We had a hearing with the accused, and gave him notice that he would be tried, and of the charges and witnesses. We wrote to Mr. Corbett at Chefoo, to get depositions for us. He did so, and we met, and tried him. The evidence was sufficient to convict him of lying, and of forging an account, and of adultery; notwithstanding, he denied it all, endeavoring to explain away such evidence as he was forced to admit. We decided to excommunicate him, and it was done two weeks ago.