A Historical Sketch of the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Synod

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE 91 would not have l>een so bad, but in many cases the emigrants did not settle in colonies and build uip the church in the west. They settled often in the place where they thought they could get the best land, or a chance to make a livelihood, forgetting the church entirely, and so lost to our church, and in many cases to any church whatsoever. 2. There was a shortage of ministers to supply even those who were in sufficient numbers to organize a congregation, and the people did not have the patience to wait for some one to supply their spiritual needis. However, there were some noted exceptions to this in some places. 3. The hardships of western pioneer life were such that very few mnisters, especially the younger ones, cared to go west. The older men largely bore the burden for many years. The younger men, desiring better and more refined wayis of living, stayed east and sought for the places where the work was more to their taste, and had a better show for success. Horace Gree­ ley said. “Young man, go west.” Many did for lands and other worldly gain, but not so many for the spiritual and moral wel­ fare of western civilization. At the isame time, many of the eastern churches were without pastors, where the salaries were necessarily very small. 4. Our ministers while pretty well educated, were not trained to go out and build up the church from the raw material of the world. As long as they could go down to the wharf when the ship came in from Scotland or Ireland, loaded with fresh re­ cruits, the work wan prosperous. However, when the induce­ ments to go west were not so good after the west became set­ tled up, and immigration from the British Isles was reduced, the eastern churches began to feel the pinch, and were not in a condition to maintain themselves. The harvest was indeed plen­ tiful, and thp laborers few; but even worse, the laborers did not know how to do the work after being so long simply housing those who had already been used to the work of the church and were simply waiting for a church home and an opportunity for service.