E-text prepared by Tom Roch and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Core Historical Literature of Agriculture (CHLA), Albert R. Mann Library, Cornell University (http://chla.library.cornell.edu/) and Internet Archive/American Libraries (http://www.archive.org/details/americana) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 32703-h.htm or 32703-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/32703/pg32703-images.html) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32703/32703-h.zip) Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive/American Libraries. See http://www.archive.org/details/makingofcountryp00mill or Core Historical Literature of Agriculture (CHLA), Albert R. Mann Library, Cornell University http://chla.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=chla;idno=2750849 THE MAKING OF A COUNTRY PARISH * * * * * LIBRARY OF CHRISTIAN PROGRESS _Volumes Issued_ The Church a Community Force. _By Worth M. Tippy_ The Church at the Center. _By Warren H. Wilson_ The Making of a Country Parish. _By Harlow S. Mills_ _Cloth, 50 Cents, Prepaid_ ADDITIONAL VOLUMES TO BE ISSUED * * * * * [Illustration: FROM BEULAH TO BENZONIA] THE MAKING OF A COUNTRY PARISH A STORY by HARLOW S. MILLS New York Missionary Education Movement of the United States and Canada 1914 Copyright, 1914, by Missionary Education Movement of the United States and Canada TO THE REV. AND MRS. F. A. NOBLE, D.D., WHO MADE THE SUMMER OF NINETEEN HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN MEMORABLE IN THE LARGER BENZONIA PARISH BY THEIR PRESENCE, AND BY THEIR KINDLY AND HELPFUL INTEREST IN ITS WORK, AND TO WHOM THIS STORY OWES ITS SUGGESTION AND INSPIRATION, IT IS MOST GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE FOREWORD BY NEWELL DWIGHT HILLIS ix INTRODUCTION xiii KEY TO MAP xvii DESCRIPTION OF THE MAP xviii I THE HISTORICAL SETTING OF THE STORY 1 II SOME CONVICTIONS OUT OF WHICH THE VISION CAME 12 III HOW THE VISION CAME 25 IV HOW THE VISION BECAME A REALITY 36 V THE METHODS OF THE LARGER PARISH 59 VI THINGS YET TO BE DONE 97 VII SOME RESULTANT CONCLUSIONS 113 ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE FROM BEULAH TO BENZONIA Frontispiece MAP SHOWING THE LARGER PARISH xvi CRYSTAL LAKE AND BEULAH FROM BENZONIA 10