The question of self-support and independence is one of the gravest in connection with the native church. All are agreed as to its desirableness, and all aim ultimately to attain it; but the success hitherto attained in Japan is not what might be expected. There are perhaps a larger number of self-supporting churches in Japan than in most mission fields, but not so many as there should be. The native churches, as a rule, do not contribute what they should or could toward their own support. In this regard the statistics usually given are very deceptive. Many of those churches put down as self-supporting either are so largely through the private contributions of the missionaries of the station, or are churches in connection with mission schools, where the expense is small because one of the professors, who draws a salary from the board, acts as pastor. I have heard of one church marked "self-supporting" that was composed of only one man and his family. This man was the evangelist, who, having some private means, supported himself. While the annual statistics show fairly good contributions "by the native churches," it should be borne in mind that the contributions of a large body of missionaries, who are liberal givers, are {294} included. At most stations they give more than the whole native church combined. Native Christians do not contribute as much toward the support of the gospel as they formerly did toward the support of their false religions. The reasons for this are, first, that heathenism induced larger gifts by teaching that every one who makes a contribution for religious purposes is thereby heaping up merit for himself in the life to come. And, second, that the native churches have from the beginning leaned on the missionaries and societies, until independent giving and self-sacrifice have been discouraged. The mission board is looked upon as an institution of limitless resources, whose business it is to provide money for the work. And, third, that in many instances the native evangelists do not heartily second the efforts of the missionaries to bring the churches to a self-supporting basis. They would much rather draw their salaries from the mission treasurer than from the members of their churches. The reasons for this are obvious: they could not conscientiously urge their flocks to support them on a better scale than they themselves live, but they can ask the mission to do this; again, when their salaries come from the mission they are prompt and sure, while if they come from the churches they are irregular and uncertain. But in justice to Japanese {295} pastors it should be said that, while the above is true of many of them, there are others who have willingly made personal sacrifices, living on much smaller salaries than formerly, in order to assist their churches to self-support.