The Student Christian Movement

Irish Church Quarterly

The Student Christian MovementAuthor(s): F. C. LongSource: The Irish Church Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Jul., 1908), pp. 223-237Published by: Irish Church QuarterlyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30066899 .

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THE STUDENT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT. 223

THE STUDENT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT.

MosT people who take any interest in Foreign Missions are at least aware of the existence of the Student Volunteer Missionary Union, and know that its object is to secure recruits for the various Missionary Societies from among College and University students. But the history of the Union, and its relation to the more comprehensive organization of which it forms a part, deserve to be better known and understood ; to which end it is hoped that this article will contribute something.

The Student Volunteer Missionary Union of Great Britain and Ireland owes its origin in some degree to the American Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions. The latter was started in i886, when, at a conference of students for the purpose of Bible study, no less than one hundred men signed a declaration that they were "willing and desirous, God permitting, to become foreign missionaries." In the following year one of the American volunteers, Mr. J. N. Forman, came to England to tell of the formation of the American Movement; and the outcome of his visit was the formation, in London, in 1889, of the Student Foreign Mis- sionary Union. The objects of this Union were thus expressed:-" To band together students who feel called to Foreign Missionary work; to urge the claims of the heathen upon Christian students every- where; and to advocate the formation of Missionary Associations in connection with the various Universities and Colleges where they do not already exist." The basis of membership was somewhat similar to that of the American Volunteer Movement: " It is my earnest hope, if God permit, to engage in Foreign Mission Work."

The next important date is January, 1892, when a Conference was held at Edinburgh, which was attended



224 THE STUDENT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT.

by delegates from Oxford, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Belfast, and from Cambridge, where a local Student Volunteer Union had just been founded on the basis of the American Movement (" I am willing and desirous, etc."). The Student Foreign Missionary Union was also represented. The result of this Conference was the merging of the Student Foreign Missionary Union in a new organization, called the Student Volunteer Missionary Union of Great Britain and Ireland.

In the summer of the same year four of the British Volunteers attended the Annual Conference of the American Movement at Northfield. At this Conference it was decided to adopt a more strongly worded Declara- tion, in order to lessen the danger of Volunteers lightly joining and as lightly leaving the Union; and the basis of membership now in use was accepted by both the American and the British Movements: " It is my purpose, if God permit, to become a foreign missionary."

The Student Volunteer Missionary Union, being a combination of pre-existing unions, was able to start its career with a membership of about three hundred During the first year of its existence this number increased to five hundred. But of the original members, who had signed the old form of declaration, some had lost their " earnest hope

" of becoming missionaries; and the wisdom of the change to the phrase " It is my purpose

" has been vindicated by the fact that the proportion of "

lapsed" Volunteers has been very much lower on the new basis than on the old.

The Student Volunteer Movement being thus started on its career, the need was soon felt for some organization in the colleges through which Volunteers might press the claims of Foreign Missions upon their fellow students. With this need in view a Conference was summoned at Keswick, in July, 1893, attended by about one hundred delegates from twenty colleges. Here was formed the Inter-University Christian Union. The function of this Society was to bind together existing




College Christian Associations, and to promote such Associations in colleges where none existed. The management of its affairs was entrusted to an Executive of three elected at an annual conference by the presidents and secretaries of affiliated Associations. While in the ,closest touch with the Student Volunteer Missionary Union, which had called it into being, it was in its organization and working a distinct society.

At the close of the year 1893 the Inter-University *Christian Union had affiliated seventeen Christian Unions. By April, 1895, the number had increased to forty-five, largely through the work of the Travelling Secretary of the Union. In this year the name was changed to " British College Christian Union"; and a profession of " belief in Jesus Christ, as God the Son, and only Saviour of the World," was adopted as the basis.

The year 1895 was a notable one for the Student Movement in other respects. It saw the Women's Inter-Collegiate Christian Union recognized as an organic part of the Student Movement by the inclusion of a representative of women students on the Executives of the Student Volunteer Missionary Union and the British College Christian Union. In that year too an organized endeavour was made to bring Theological Colleges into closer touch with the Movement; a branch of work which has steadily been developing ever since. It is interesting to note also that in 1895 the first Irish Conference took place, the beginning of a series held at intervals, usually, of two years, in Belfast and Dublin alternately. Similar local conferences have been held by Oxford and Cambridge since 1877, and by the Scottish students since 1892.

But the most notable event in 1895 was the foundation of the World's Student Christian Federation. Parallel with the rise of the Student Movement in Britain similar Movements had begun in the United States, Germany, and Scandinavia. In August of that year accredited delegates of these Movements and of the Movement in




Mission Lands met together in the Castle of Wadstena, on Lake Wettern, Sweden, to consider the question of organizing a world-wide movement among students. After three days of prayer and discussion, they decided to unite the national Movements which they represented into one league under the name of the World's Student Christian Federation. A committee was appointed, consisting of two men from each Movement; and Mr. John R. Mott, of the United States of America, was made General Secretary. The Federation has a threefold aim, to win the students of the world to Christ, to build them up in Him, and to send them into the world to work for Him. Each Movement in the Federation is self-contained and self-governed, but only those Movements can be admitted which embrace a national or international group of colleges, and whose objects are in harmony with those of the Federation. Inter- national Conferences have been held in 1897 in the United States, in 1898 in Germany, in 19oo in France, in 190o2 in Denmark, in 1905 in Holland, and in 1907 in Japan. At the time of its formation the Federation included five Movements uniting 599 Student Christian Unions, with a membership of 33,275 students and pro- fessors. Besides these there were in existence at that time in the world 301 local student religious societies, with a membership of II1,725, unconnected with the Federation. These have now been brought into the Movement, and at the close of 1907 the Federation com- prised eleven Movements among nearly forty nations, with about 2,000 unions, and a membership of about 132,000.

To return to the Movement in the British Isles: the year 1896 was marked by the introduction of the " Bible Circle" system. The ideal Bible Circle is a group of six or seven members who agree to make some topic or book the subject of their private devotional Bible study for the time being. They study daily in private, and meet together for an hour once a week for discussion on the subject of the preceding six days' study. A Circle




is not a Bible Class; it is a mutual affair. A " leader "

is usually chosen; and the best leader is one who seems not to lead, but gets the most out of the members of the Circle. At the close of the session 1896-7, at least 1,150o students were members of Bible Circles or similar groups, of which there were 158 held weekly. Ten years later the number of Circles had increased to 7o0 and the membership to 4,955-

Hitherto the relation of the Student Volunteer Mis- sionary Union to the British College Christian Union had indeed been intimate; but in organization they were separate. After long and careful consideration it was decided at the Summer Conference in 1898 to unite the two under the name of the British College Christian Union. The constitution then adopted is that which is now in force, except that in 1905 the name was changed to the Student Christian Movement of Great Britain and Ireland. The Movement comprises three departments: --(a) The Student Volunteer Missionary Union; (b) The General College Department; (c) The Theological College Department.

Each of these departments has its own Executive of students elected annually at the Summer Conference. The General Committee of the Movement is composed of representatives from the Executive of each of the departments. The Movement has its offices at 93 and 94, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., where the Rev. Tissington Tatlow, M.A., of Trinity College, Dublin-assisted by a staff of six-is kept busy in fulfilling the threefold function of General Secretary, Educational Secretary, and Editor of the magazine, the Student Movement. This latter is published monthly from October to June, and in addition to reports of Christian Union work and Federa- tion news, contains articles on religious topics of interest to students, by competent writers. There are now several localized editions of the Student Movement got out by certain Universities and groups of Colleges. An Irish edition is in contemplation, but is not yet an




accomplished fact. It may fairly be claimed that both in quality and in general interest the Student Movement is superior to the vast majority of religious societies' organs.

The Movement publishes a considerable amount of literature bearing on its work; in particular, text books and outline studies on missionary subjects and on portions of the Bible, specially prepared to assist Missionary Study Bands and Bible Circles. The function of the Educational Secretary is to advise and assist in carrying out the scheme of missionary study pro- moted by the Student Volunteer Missionary Union.

Travelling Secretaries are perhaps the most important agency used in furthering the objects of the Movement. There are now five appointed annually, three being men, and two women; besides which there is a special London Secretary on account of the extent and difficulty of the field in the colleges of the Metropolis. These Secre- taries make periodical visits to the Colleges, and give help in the organization of local unions, in special meetings, missions, and conferences. Like the itinerat- ing

" prophets

" of the early Church, they serve both to stir up the Unions and to keep them in touch with one another and with the whole Movement.

It is at the Summer Conference that the Movement becomes, as it were, visible and articulate. The Con- ference lasts for about eight days in the end of July, and has been held in different places from time to time. For the last four years it has been at Conishead Priory, a hydro on the northern shore of Morecambe Bay. This year it is to be in the Duke of Devonshire's Park of Chatsworth, Derbyshire. The men, of whom there were 534 last summer, camp out, while the women, who numbered 355 on the same occasion, stop in hydros or lodgings near at hand. The mornings and evenings are given up to meetings, the afternoons being left vacant for recreation; but each delegate is absolutely free to attend as few or as many of the meetings as he pleases. To give a true and adequate description of one of these




Conferences is impossible. One might speak at length of the various meetings, such as prayer meetings, Bible readings, discussions on the practical problems of the Christian Unions, sectional meetings appealing to special classes' of students, the Federation meeting at which the delegates from other lands-there were fifteen of them last year-are welcomed, and deliver messages from their respective Movements; or finally the great evening meetings at which such themes as personal consecration, social service, and world-wide evangelization are pressed home with an intellectual sobriety and spiritual intensity that are rare indeed. One might go on to speak of the good-fellowship and amenities of camp life, in the mess-tent, on the football-field, on the excursions (for which the greater part of one day is left vacant), or at the camp sports, at which the women delegates are spectators, and the events are chosen rather for the amusement they afford than for the athletic qualities they demand. One might tell of all this and yet fail to convey an impression of the wholesomeness (if the term may be allowed) which characterizes the whole Conference. To quote the words of a delegate from South Africa in describing last year's Conference: " Conishead in the mess-tent, the meeting-tents-and I presume the Priory, too--is a thing of life, a moving inspiration, a moulder of character; while Conishead on paper is but a dismal apology of the skeleton."

To speak now of the several departments of the Move- ment, the Student Volunteer Missionary Union may be completely defined in terms of the Basis, the Volunteer Declaration, and the Watchword. The Basis is that of the whole Movement and of all societies affiliated to it, " I desire in joining this Union to declare my faith in Jesus Christ as my Saviour, my Lord, and my God." This statement does not, on the one hand, involve a claim to any special religious "experience," nor, on the other, is it intended to be a mere expression of intellectual assent to a theological doctrine; it is rather a solemn personal reco'gnition of the relation of Jesus Christ to




oneself, as to all men, and of the obligations of sacrifice, obedience, and service which that relation involves. Subject to acceptance of this Basis, it is by signing the Volunteer Declaration, " It is my purpose, if God permit, to become a foreign missionary," that a student becomes a member of the Student Volunteer Missionary Union. " This Declaration is not to be interpreted as a 'pledge,' for in no sense does it imply that he who signs it is withdrawn from the subsequent guidance of the Holy Spirit. But it is more than a mere expression of willingness or desire to become a foreign missionary. It is the statement of a definite life purpose formed under the direction of God. The student who signs this Declaration fully intends to spend his life as a foreign missionary. Towards this end he will shape his plans; he will steadily set himself to prepare for this great work; he will do all in his power to remove the obstacles which may stand in the way of his going; and in due time he will apply to a Missionary Society to be sent out. Only the clear leading of God will prevent his going to the foreign field." The third part of the definition of the Student Volunteer Missionary Union is its Watchword, " The Evangelization of the World in this Generation." This has been the Watchword of the American Volunteers from the first, and was adopted by the British Movement at its first Inter- national Missionary Conference, which was held at Liverpool, January 1-5, 1896. For three years previously it had received the careful consideration of the Executive; and it was only after a whole night spent in prayer and discussion about it that the Executive decided unanimously to adopt it. The definition at that time given of the Watchword was: "The presenting of the Gospel in such a manner to every soul in this world, that the responsibility for what is done with it shall no longer rest upon the Christian Church, or on any individual Christian, but shall rest on each man's head for himself." The Watchword iri no sense claims to be a prophecy. It is rather the expression of an




ideal and a duty. The Church of Christ has been com- missioned tb preach the Gospel to the whole creation, to make disciples of all the nations; and the responsibility laid on the Church of to-day for fulfilling this commission is towards the men and women now living. The acceptance of this Watchword does not commit the Movement or the individual to a belief even in its possibility. It may or may not be within the Divine counsels that the world is to be evangelized in this generation; it is clearly the Divine command--or so the Student Volunteer Movement understands it-that the Church should sincerely make the attempt. And now, in fact, for the first time in history has the achievement of such an aim seemed to be within the bounds of possibility. Almost the whole world is now open to Christian Missions. Railways, steamships, postal and telegraphic services, have reduced the globe for practical purposes to a fraction of its size a hundred years ago. The numbers, the wealth, the missionary organization of the Church are adequate to the task. The Bible, or some portion of it, is already published in the languages of more than four-fifths of the world's population. The experience of the last hundred years in missionary methods has laid the foundation of a science of missions which would facilitate a rapid extension of missionary enterprise, were men and money forthcoming. The chief, if not the sole obstacle to the evangelization of the world in this generation is the indifference of Christians. Finally, this Watch- word is not to be interpreted in terms of numbers; it is not to be identified with any such aim as that of providing so many missionaries for every million heathen. At the present time indeed there does appear to be an urgent need of large reinforcements almost through- out the mission-field, if special opportunities now offer- ing are not to be let slip. But this is merely a question of missionary policy varying with time and place. The Watchword expresses not a passing policy but an enduring principle, not a method but an ideal




and a challenge. It has been accepted as their own by many who are not Student Volunteers, and whose work in life is not that of the foreign missionary; and in so far as it is a summons to go to the heathen, it is rather quality-spiritual quality-than numbers that it calls for.

According to official statistics corrected to ioth June, 9go8, the membership of the Union is as follows:-

Men. Women. Total. I. In College ..................... 389 174 563 2. In further preparation ....... 187 168 355 3. Sailed ........................... 990 312 1,302 4. Temporarily hindered ......... o103 61 64 5. Permanently hindered ......... x64 49 213 6. Withdrawn ..................... go 70 260 7. Awaiting classification ....... 83 14 97 8. Missing ......*.......... ........ 67 20 87 9. Died before sailing ............ 21 8 29

2,094 876 3,070 In Colleges where there are a sufficient number of

Volunteers they usually form themselves into a band for mutual fellowship and prayer, and in some instances for missionary study; for example, in Trinity College, Dublin, the Volunteers meet every Saturday morning at eight o'clock for a prayer meeting and breakfast in the rooms of one or other of them. The Volunteers also are usually in charge of the Missionary Department of the Christian Union, which works by means of Mission- ary Study Bands. These Bands-which have a total membership of over two thousand-are somewhat similar to Bible Circles, except that they are generally larger, and the discussion, instead of being on a passage from some book, is on the subject of one or two short papers by some of the members. In many places the Student Volunteers have organized Student Missionary Cam- paigns. These are "

missionary missions " to some city or group of parishes, directed towards stirring up a missionary spirit in the children and young people. Student Volunteers also take part in similar campaigns organized by Missionary Societies, such as that which




the Church Missionary Society held so successfully :n Dublin last autumn.

In addition to the general Summer Conference of the whole Movement, at which the annual business meeting of the Student Volunteer Missionary Union takes place, the Union has held International Missionary Confer- ences at intervals of four years, beginning with the Liverpool Conference of 1896, of which mention has already been made. That of i9oo was in London, the next in Edinburgh, and the last took place this year in Liverpool. The time of year at which these are held is the first few days of January; this being practically the only time, except in July and August, that all Colleges are in vacation. They differ in many respects from the Summer Conferences; they are briefer, but the meetings are more frequent; and the delegates, instead of living together in camp or hydro, are dispersed in ones and twos among the hospitable citizens. The subjects dealt with also are all connected with foreign missions ia place of the more varied programme of the Summer Conference. The presence of a large number of foreign delegates-at Liverpool this year there were 145, one- ninth of the whole number of students present-brings home in a vivid way the world-wide scope of the Move- ment. But much that might be said of the Summer Conferences is no less true of these Missionary Confer- ences; and in the case of both, those who have taken part in them will agree that the best must be left unspoken.

The General College Department of the Student Christian Movement is composed of affiliated Christian Unions in Universities, University Colleges, Medical Schools, Technical Colleges, Training Colleges, and Schools of Art. In the case of co-educational institu- tions there are separate Unions for men and women students. The number of affiliated Unions is, in men's Colleges 6o, and in women's Colleges 75. This Depart- ment of the Movement is, it will be remembered, the continuation and extension of the Inter-University




Christian Union. The component Unions are quite autonomous, practically the only conditions of affiliation being the acceptance of the Basis, " In joining this Union I desire to declare my faith in Jesus Christ as my Saviour, my Lord, and my God"; the meaning of which has been already explained. The work of a Christian Union is very various, and naturally differs according to the conditions in the different Colleges. The differences are not so great, however, but that one can give a general account of the methods pursued. The aim of the Christian Union is " to lead students to become disciples of Jesus Christ, to unite them in seek- ing a fuller spiritual life, to promote among them regular habits of prayer and Bible study, to keep before them the importance and urgency of the evangelization of the world, the Christian solution of social problems, and the petmeation of public life with Christian ideals, and to enlist them in whole-hearted service of these ideals." In furtherance of this aim the members, by arranging for evangelistic meetings and by means of

personal influence, endeavour to bring the claims of Christ before other students. Meetings for united

prayer are held daily or weekly. Of Bible Circles and

Missionary Study Bandswe have already spoken. General

meetings of members are held, in some cases weekly, in others less frequently, for business, discussion, or hearing addresses on devotional, missionary, and social subjects. In an increasing number of Colleges, Social Problems are studied in a similar manner to that of Missionary Study, and work in connexion with Clubs, Settlements, etc., is undertaken by members of the Christian Union. An important function in many Colleges is the " Freshers' Social," at which one or two brief practical addresses are given, usually by students or by one of the travelling secretaries if available; all Freshmen are invited, and at the close of the meeting, while tea and cake are passing round, an opportunity is secured for the members to get acquainted with the new-comers.



rHlE STUDEN1 CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT. 235

The potentialities of such meetings may be inferred from the fact that for many youths, entering fresh from the restraints of school on the freedom of College life, every- thing depends on the kind of friends they make during the first three weeks in College. One of the chief events in the Christian Union is the periodical visit cf the Travelling Secretary. From his experience and observation of other Unions he is often able to give assistance and advice in matters of policy and organization; he takes part in special missions and local conferences; and serves to remind the members of their relation to the vaster Movement in which they are taking part. But perhaps the most valuable part of the Travelling Secretary's work is not done on the platform, but in meeting little groups at breakfast or lunch in some student's rooms, and in the personal interviews to which these gatherings often lead.

The Theological College Department of the Move- ment exists to foster the ideals of the Movement in Theological Colleges, and to bring the students of these Colleges into touch with one another and with the Movement as a whole. It has affiliated to it societies in

forty-four Theological Colleges. The Department arranges special sessions for theological students at the annual Summer Conference, and gives such help as may be asked for in missionary study and the study of social problems. The influence of the Movement in

Theological Colreges has been to emphasize the importance of devotional Bible study, to raise men's ideals of consecration and service, and to counteract the tendency to narrowness of outlook and professional spirit to which theological students are so often prone.

The relation of the Student Christian Movement to the various denominations may be treated here. The Movement is not undenominational but inter-denomina- tional. That is to say, while it does not encourage its members to regard the differences between sect and sect as of no importance, it operates among students of all denominations alike on the basis of their common belief




in Jesus Christ as God and Saviour of mankind. Ir[ answer to a question asked, at the London Student Volunteer Conference, as to the possibility of starting Christian Unions in Romish or Greek Church lands without withdrawing students from the fellowship of their own Church, Dr. Karl Fries, the Chairman of the World's Student Christian Federation, replied that wherever students feel that they can be loyal disciples of Jesus Christ, and, at the same time loyal adherents of their own native Church, there is nothing to prevent the formation of an association of the kind; though, of course, it was another question if these Churches would suffer their members to unite in organizations on such a basis. And in this connexion it is pleasant to note that Archbishop Nicolai, the venerable founder of the Mission of the Russian Church in Japan, was one of the speakers at the Federation Conference in Tokyo last year. In Russia some beginnings of Christian Movement work have been made both among men and women students; but, as yet, little has been accomplished. Hitherto, then, the Movement has been practically con- fined to Protestants. And within the wide limits com- prehended by this term it is found possible to work together without friction and without indefiniteness. This result is undoubtedly due to the spirit of prayer which has characterized the Movement from its incep- tion. But it is rendered possible largely by the special circumstances of student life and by the place which the Christian Union occupies. The function of the Christian Union is not substitutionary but supplemen- tary to that of the denominations to which its members belong; and in the very diversity of the elements of which it is composed it contributes to one of the chief educational influences of College life, the interaction of diverse minds pursuing similar goals by various routes. Those who during their student days have kept in touch with the Movement, in College and in Camp, will ascribe to it not the least valuable of the lessons they have learnt.




It is difficult to estimate or to over-estimate the importance of this Movement. Judged by a merely numerical standard, a world-wide society of 132,ooo members is a force to be reckoned with. But where spiritual matters are concerned, statistics should be given a very subordinate position. It is more to the point that it is students who in after life exercise a stronger influence for good or evil than any other class of men. The years spent in College are for most a critical period, upon which, more than upon any other, will depend the attitude of a man to religion and to righteousness. They are for many a time when the beliefs of childhood are searched and questioned, if not overthrown. And yet it is proved by statistics collected in Japan and India as well as in the West, that a much larger proportion of students are Christians than of any other class of young men. In the Mission Field, in the home ministry, among the learned and scientific pro- fessions, there is an ever increasing number of those whose lives have been profoundly influenced or radically changed by means of the Student Movement; and through such men its effects are spreading in an ever widening circle over the whole Church, over humanity itself. Finally, this Movement is not, like so many movements, due to the enthusiasm of any one man. There are, of course, certain whom one might single out as leaders; yet only to a secondary degree. On the whole, the Movement began sporadically, and in its development the constituent parts have each contributed to determine the character of the whole. To the historian such a phenomenon is symptomatic of a general tendency of the age-a tendency towards a Christianity at once intelligent and practical on the part of the more thoughtful classes. To the believer who has seen what, in spite of actual shortcomings of its members, the Movement is and means, this can be nothing less than the Finger of God.

F. C. LONG. R



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