F THE HU
CF · ·H ~ LC S ANGELES )IEI.E I .r1 STITUT 1 •
INTRGDlJCT ION
This Manual is for the guidance of the Board of Directors of the Bible Insti~ute of Los Angeles, hereinaft er designated ,:b:Me the Board, and of the members of the China staff including candi– / dates preoarin3 for service in China This Manual is not in a strict sense a formal co 1 tract rather presents the principles of action and rules which long ' cl(A_~~.l.,,~ .......,,. exnerience ..abowa will ma ..ke for efficient and harn1onious service. ,....
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fhe supreme and controlling aim of Foreign Missions is to n1ake the Lord Jesus Christ knov1n to all men as their Divine Saviour and to p,rsuade them to become His disciples; to bather these disciples :te into Christian churches vThich sr:all be self rop0'--ating, self-supporting, self-governin3; to cooperate, so long ~ s necessary, with these churches in the evangelizing f their countrymen, and in bringing to bear on all human life the spirit and principles of Christ.
HISTORICAL ST~4i.T.t.~.;Iv1ENT
The Hunan bible Institute, China department of the Bible In– stitute of Los Angeles, was founded by the late Mr. Lyman Stewart because of his firm belief in the Bible as the very Word of God, ana .. as "tl1e pov1er of God unto salvation to every o.ne that believeth 11 , and also because of his loyalty to the command of our' Lord Jesus Christ to Pree~ch the Gospel to every Creature." Mr. Stewart believed that the quickest and most effective way to reach the tkdrty-five millions of people in Hunan, and the hundreds of millions in adjoining provinces, was through consecrated and well- trained Chinese evangelists, and so one, and later two, and still . later additional bands of Chinese evangelists were organized and- sent out into unevangelized districts to proclaim the glorious messa6e of salvation in places where Christ had not yet been named. Soon the need was felt for n1ore thorough training for the evange- lists and a Bible school was started at Chan ~sha for this purpose. Miss - ionaries of various societies learning of this school asked if some of t 'heir promising young men and wo1 ..en mie;ht share in its opportunities and privileges, and so the work grew until in 1924-25, 156 men were at work in 12 evangelistic bands a d 140 students in the Bible school
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~ having come from twenty missions working in twelve different provinces.
ro:q R );- FORCE·
THE
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~oral and Spiritual. l. ~~) Candidates for appointment to the missionary force should be of a marked Christian character and culture, with deep conviction as to the fundamentals of the Faith and a strong desire to serve Christ, al– ready made evident by Christian work at home. (b) All candidates will be asked to consider prayerfully a.rd SiJ!. !!t-the State111ent of Faith adopted by the Bible Institut e of Los An- geles, and each member of th6 staff will be expected to sign this state- ment once annually. (c) All missionaries Gare .subject to the obligations and entitled to the ; ivileges set forth in this Ma.. nual. - -1.Ye...s of miss10·1ar.ieB are in- ~~ (a) Candidates are expected to answer a series of pere 0nal ques~ ions as to healtb , preparation and Christian ~ xperience; and to undergo ,...... a medical examin~ti o n by .fr" physiciam desig nated by the Board. L~ns~~e School and study !. A mastery of the language in which a missio nary is to labor is an indispensable qualification for missiorary service. xception to this ~ ,... ~ made ;. by definite action of the ~viission ( rare . J,-. \:here the special service to ·which a rnissionary is assigned. may be rendered in English. Even such missiolaries can increase the effic- iency of their general service by a knowledge of the language. f ter reaching the field, spend their first year in lang ue .. ge study. ----"""".. Ii OF .. he dur ation of t he f irst t e rm of servic t on the field shall be fi e ye a rs, t herea fter six ye ars exce pt by special arra1 ~e n e1t a s shall anprove d by the Board. ~pplicaJtion
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• (a) ohould a rnissionary retire fro· ~ the mission, before hav-
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in 7 completed a term of fout years, for any other cause than that of
failure of health, it is expected that an equitable return of the trav- el and outfit allowance will be maie to the Board, due regard being had to the expenses incurred and services rendered. (b) The general rule is that 25% of the amount will be deducted for each year of service. (c) In the event of withdrawals from the Board's service, for reasons considered sufficient by the Board, it v1ill defray the ex- pense of the OouDney to thia S@~nt~, provided said journey be made 1 .r1ithin a year from the date of withdra1Uval, and rnay n1ake a grant of funds to meet present exigencies in cases of special need. RECALL • The Board reserves tr1e risht of recalling n1issio,_r1aries or • of revoking their appointment for sufficient reasons, which are to be of record. I - Constitution of the Mission l. The Mission of the Hunan Bible Institute, China de~artment of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, consists of all foreign missionaries under appointment by the Board. The Board recommends that a mission~ry shall have a right to vote in mission rnatters only a1·ter two years . of service in connection with the mission and after he shall have passed the langua e ·examinations appointed for the first two years. mission may , however, give a vote under special circumstances after one year.
Power8. of the ission. 2. 1
rhe Mission has the 5eneral care and supervision of all v1ork within its limits. In all matters on the field it has the right of in-
it i · ti ve.
The Board may also exercise the right of initiative in con-
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ference and ~g~eement with the 1issio~ All questions of 1· ission policy and method, and of expendit ures within the budget of the Board for the Mission , are su1Jject to the decision of the I ·1ssion, but the right is reserved to the Board of supervisory action and authority where any pro– blems involve relations with other Boards and denominations, or relations and interests wider than those of any particular field and where funda– mental questions of mission policy affecting other Missions or the relat~ ion of r~issions and Governments concerned. Organization of the Mission 3. rxhe· ~ ±m:portanae ~· of . a \·Mission' s f\12nctions demands that its field organization be defined and coordinated and that its field administra- tion be wise and efficient. The best form of Mission organization em~ braces the following features: (l{) Pair.bicipation by all who are qualified. (~) Departmentalization of all the larger phases of Mission activ- ity. An active and competent executive committee. - xecutive Secretary or Superintendent. 4. The Board shall appoint an xecutive Secretary or $uperintendent who shall in conjubction with the executive committee give attention to the seneral supervision and administr 2.tion of the Ittsti tute' s activ– ity in C~1.ina. This Executive officer shall be member ex-officio of the Board and be responsible for official correspondence between the miss- ion and the Board Business Manager or Treasurer. 5. The Board shall appoint a Business mana5er or Treasurer who shall in co1J junctio N.itl1 the e:xecutive cor11n1.ittee=-~~~~e&~!!!i:allllllllllK be resoonsible for the careful preseivation of all ' ... deeds to the ~ission property;keep in official books, provided by the Board and pernianent ly the property of the Loard, clear and accurate ',ccounts of all receipts and pay11..ents.. ~r secure vouchers for the latter, l n. / · ~1. U. • •'l" ! •• !. :\.. ,_._ J.1 1.J,.. • ••
5o and preserve files of all official correspondence belonging to his - - department. Hts books must be open to the inspection of any member of the Mission at any reasonable time. ·istimates and appropriations. 6. (a) At a meeting o · the ~ission to be held the second Tuesday of October of e:;ch year, the £1ission Treasurer shall prepare, 111ith the appro;val of the Jv~ission Superintendent ful estimate of the probable necessary expense of its wobk for the year beginning January 1st, following the date of meeting. It is especially desired that in recommending appropriations for new work, such as sending out of new missionaries, the purchase of property, erection of buildings. etc., the Mission shall indicate the order of their importance, (b) The Mission should accompany all requests for new property or new missionaries, with a br&ef and careful statement of the reasons for these requests, even though said reasons have been set forth in previous correspondence. (c) lhe estimates should indicate first what is needed for tne I work of the ensuing year, the amount ot to exceed the gran~ of the I , year preceeding that for which the estimate is made, and, secondly, if is r equired, how the Mission would spend the desired increase. (d) Any anticipated. income from rents of properties on the field shall be included within the annual Mission estimates of receipts on the field .• Any necessary expenditures for rent shall be a first charge against such income. (e) The estimate should be forwarded to the Business hanager of the Bible Institute of Los ngeles and be pressnted by him to its oard of Directors at its meeting the first Friday in December. Pending such action the Mission is authorized to proceed with all expenditures included under 1 0perating Expenses" and the business I-lana-er of the
Bible Institute of Los Angeles will remit accordingly; but the Mission
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shall not proceed to make any expenditures for new expenses, purchase of property,etc., without authority from the Board . (f) I 11 case any work is partial¥y supported by receipts upon the field, these receipts shall be carefully estimated and stated. The to- tal estima.,tsd cost shall also be stated. Cnly that amount necessary to make up the difference between cost and field receipts shall be asked for from the Board. It will not be feasible- for the ·Board to n1ake additional a~propriations for such work, toward the close of the fiscal year, on re- presentations that estimated field receipts have fallen below expecta- t ~-ons. However, the usual privilege v1mll apply, that transfers of unused appropriati011s for other items in :ghe apf}Pe-P· ~at ·!-'ons fpf may be made up to the end of the fiscal year. (g) If the accounts for any such work at the close of the fiscal year show a deficit, this must be reported and must either be made a fir~ charge against the funds availab1a in the new fiscal year, or: must be covered by savings reported by the ~Iission business Iu1anager in a sta..te– ment of exolanation which he sha ll forward to the Board with the Annual ... Report. Should the actual receipts exceed the estimated receipts the gain shall accrue to the Treasury of the Boa~d, save that when the excess is due to an unforseen enlar3ement _,f the v1orlt, due, for example, to more paying students in the school, it shall be allowable to apply ~p~~ so much of the excess as is necessary to meet the increased cost of the w ~rk due to thisenlargement. (But this shall not be understood to entail upon the Board any obligation to increase grants from its Treasury for the work.
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Excha115e 7. Normally, the budget as compiled by the Mission will be made in ""' t11e currency ibf tl1e country and the Institute will remit according
to the rate of exchange prevailing. SalariesJ allowances, furlouµhs et~ •
• The salary of a n1arried n1issiona .. ry on the field shall be l:J~S. '1.tls currency $1800 a year (and is reckoned at the current rate of e/change. ( 1) The understanding is thc:tt the m.issionar·y is to have v1!1atever the gold salary prodlltces in ne ..tive currency and that in addition , -v1hen ~~ unusual conditions prevail and tbe - ld dollar is producing less thab the normal rate, the Board will guarantee a fixed rate, approximatel~ the normal rate, an such salary as is used on the field and there fore ~ffected ty exchange. On the portion of the salary expended outside of the country, the deduction is to be made in gold amounts, inasmuch as no question of exchan3e is involved. Charges going out to the field against salary accounts should be decucted eith 4D. in gold amounts or at the ar– bitrary rEtte fixed by the Boe ..rd. To this amount is added an allovv-ance for each child under twenty-one years of age, as stated below. A house is . provided, or house rent paid, for each married missionary . Sixty percent of a married man 's salary is provided as a rule 1 for unmarried ~en and \'VOff1en. To a rnissiona.r3r rema .. ining at his post v1hile his wife retL1rns to this country, the s alary of an unmarried missionary is allowed and to his wife tne usual home allowance of a single nissionary, with the usual children's allowances . ( 2) In case of the de:,,th of any missiona.ry , r.narried or single, or any child of a miss : onary , the full salary or allowance dhall be coLtinued for one month frorn date of death . {3) In the case of a missionary l eft a widower or wldo\ with childre n and keeoin 5 house, t .. J.e salary shall be especially ar·ranesed , in
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in view of all the circumstanc So
(Lt-) In ~eneral, the sala .. ry beg, ins on the day follov11n~ the final meeting of the missiont=try with the Board before sailing for China, and continues without break until the term ofl service is ended. - In the ca.se of a missionary ~1ho resigns a position to ac- cept a call to our '·1ork, the salary shc:tll begin when t11e pa .. yments in the former position cease. Children's Allowances ,- - • (a) An allowance of $200 per annum is made for each child under years of age and $300 perannum for the next eleven years, the payments for the last five years not to be made for children who are self-support- ing or are married or leave school permanently for other than health rea .. sons. (b) This provision does not apply to the adopted children of miss- 1onaries, I (c) The Board defrays the expense of the journey of the children of n1issionaries to this country up to the tirne that their children's allov1- ances cease, the total number of single trips not to exceed five, but
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the expense of their return to China after they go out as missionaries under the
it does not engage to meet · the age of sixteen, ( unless anpointment of the Board.) Medic i l Allowance
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• (a) Bills on the field for medic .:.1, surgical ~nd one-half dental expenses, includin3 the predcribed medicines, will be paid by the Miss- ion as an addition to the budget. (b) All bills of missiona ries on furl ough in excess of $25.00 ner annum for sing le missionaries a nd $50.9G per annum for a family, for medical, surg ical, oculist and one half dental charges, if ~n- curred by consent of the Board, will, upon request, be met by the boardo Remunera tion for Outside Work.
9. Remuneration for Utside vork • ._4.
The missionary ·while in connection v1i th tr1e Bible Institute of Los ngeles will give his tiffie and strength to its work in China, under the general direction of the M 1 ssion and in accordance with the provis– ions of the [anual. If, v-1ith t11e express sanction of the 1·1ission ~ .. rte. the Board, he shall temporarilly undertake work not under the care of the Board, any su1n or money paid for such -v1ork shall be turned into the treas- ury of the ~ission and reported to the Board, except lith the approval ~ the Mission and the ex) licit consent of the Board to the contrary. Where the regular work is a source of revenue, such as medical fees, tuition etc., the amount shall be similarly reported. This provision is not intended to cover gifts . or oc asional remuneration received by miss- ionaries for nersonal • se1~v1ce s. Trav;l to Field. 5. The Board pays the expense of the journey from the home of the . missionary to his station or viae versa, by~ direct route. If any miss- ionary wishes t c;. deviate fron1 tl1is route 1 .ana. there _be no .va;Lid ( the ~y, he shall receive a sum equal to tl1e expense of the direct journey as estimated by the Board at the tfme. The expense is based uoon the s~ortest and least expensive route and is not intended to include items of emergency beyond those incident to delays from disarranged ser– vice. In case of deviation from the direct route or delays, the additional expense is assumed by the missionary. The Business Department of the Bible Institute, except in a very fe 1 1 cases, arranges for all steamship tickets, but due to a ruling re– garding clergy fares, it is necessary for the missionary to secure his ov~ railNay transportation after arranging for clerical certificates through the Business office.
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B~3ga5e and Freight
llowances of M~ssionaries 6. The Board pays the expense of packing
1 al'lel: the fre irrh and custom / JJ~S .
dutie~ to the field;within reasonable limits,{duties not to exceed $50.00 per person) for necessary artic~es for personal and household use~~n~ not ·-, more tl1.an is included in the regular fre igl1t and baggage allow- ance. The freight allowance is two measured tons for a single mission- ary and four tons for a married missionary, except as may be determined special acti on of the Board. (one ton equals 40 cubic feet) The Board allows a maximum of 350 pounds of baggage) which the rnissiona_ry is entitled to carry free J frorr~ his hon1e to his eli~~11a,-Pi.~on on the field 0r vice versa. Half of the above allowance will be made for each child. ~ 0 f Pas snorts 7. The United States regulations in regard to passports change so constc~ntly that _careful inquiries should be made regarding them several weeks before the date of sailing. Missionaries should be very careful to fulfill all conditions and obtain passports necessary for travel. The cost of the passports will be defrayed by the Board. Furloughs. 8. The appointment of missionaries contemplates service for life if the Lord will. Stated furloughs, however, are 1n com) lete accord with such service. The change of environment afforded tends to preserve or restore the health and ener 6 ies of the missionaries, and their pre- sence in the churche f a .. t r1ome increa .. ses i .... terest in l~ission ·ark. In cases ,,.,,here a missi :J nar~ shall have been on the field lon-·er than tb.e usual term and his itTife for a period shorter than tl1e usual term or vice versa, it shall be a l lowable to fix the minimum term of service at a medium or average point for the two. In every case a furlough shall require the approval of t~e 11s- sion
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and, except an emergency health furlouch, inclusion of the expense in the estimates. The Board meets travel expense both ways unless specif- ically stated to the contrary. The period of furlough is in addition to the time required for direct travel. The Iiission shall ensure that the time of leavin3 the field be a suitable period after the full term of service; that the return to the field at th.e expiration of tl1e allo,~ed furlougl).. shall also be at aJ suit- able season of the year. The furlough period shall be t-v1e lve mor1ths. };!issionaries when they arrive at hollle on fttrlough are to have a thoroush medical exa1ninati-.;n, and a, sufficient portion of their furlou;~1s is to be spent in rest and recuperation to insure t~eir return to the fiEd in the best physical condition. 141ssionc:tries before their return to the field after fl1rlough should hevve another p:i.ysical examination in order ·t9 insure good heal th on the fie la_. It is desirable that furlo~hs be spent in the United States. Any missionary wishing to spend part of the furlough in foreign countries, is exnected to correspond with the ~oard with reference to the time to bef o snent and the date at which home allowance shall betiin . s the Soard pays the travel expense to the home of the missionqry, it is necessary that tl1e domicile be stated when rendering the travel aucount and that the journey thereto be in accordance with paragraph Home Allo\vance 9. (a) The allo·wance wl1ile at ho1ne shall be $2100 per annum to a husband and wife and $1,200 to an unmarried man , to an unmarried woman ~~ to a v1ife i:rhose husband remaios on the field. I\· issioneJries rnay, at their discretion , draw in advance one month's home allowance fvom the ~ ission Treasurer prior to lea\rinf~ the fielrl, or frorn the I usiness !'...an– a3er in Los Ange les upon arriving in the Unmted ~ States.
12. (b) The home allowance of wido11s and widov1ers v-1ith children shall • be presumptively that of unmarried missiona ries plus children's allowance with the understanding that these amounts may be supplemented if this is f ound necessary. (c) The home allowance begins on the date of arrival in the United States and ce a ses on the date of departure. (d) The home allowance shall in no dase exceed the amount for the term of furlough,except as serious physical disability, certified by a competent physician, rnay call for a longer period, or ur)on express con- sent of the Board. ( e) Child .. ren' s allovJe ..nce is not interru;) ted by travel or furlough. (f) An amount not to exceed $25 a month for a family, toward rent will be granted to furloughea.fuissiona riesw-who may neea. such help. (g) For satisfactory reasons the fur1·0G15h may be extended, but at te. the end pf the second year; except in special cases, 41 · the co -~ nection of the missionary with t he Board will be terminated. Vll RETIREl-IEl\JT • Date of Retirement 1. Retirement at 65 ye a rs of age or upon the com~) letion of forty yes years of service (whichever date shall arrive first) is automatic . The of retirement of a married couple is determined by the age or length of service bf the husband . By special Bgard action, a missionary who has be– come totally disabled after not less than thirty years of service , may alao be granted honorable retirement. The period of service contemplated in the retiring regulations is related the time durin3 v1t1ich tlle missionar· y has been to the ~ptf~ Miss ion on the field · may i nclude a former first term of service in China J before appointment . -~ae - *~s~~~~~e . to the Mission .
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2. Last furlou~h and Last term of service. In the case of a missionary who will become eligible to honorable retirement witnin three years after the expiration of furlough, the jud:;,n1ent of the ~iission sl1all be expressed, either before the missionary les~ves tl1.e field, as to wl1ether in its judg1nent such missiona .. ry is phys– ically and otherwise able to render acceptable service for a period of three years from the expiration of furlough, and if t11e judg1nent is fav– orable, the missionary may be authorized by the Board to return to the field with the understanding that at the expiration of the three year period, he or she will be eligible to be placed upon the honorably retired list in the usual way. In the case of a missionary on furlough '"rho is within a few years of hon- arable retirement, but whose return to the field is not deemed advisable by the Mission or the Board, or both, the Board shall determine the appro- priate action which should be taken in vie\ 11 1 of all circumstances. 3. Status .. Place of residence. A missionary with the approval of the Board may reside in the homeland or abroad as honorably retired but shall not be permitted to take up res- idence in or on Mission property on the field. 4. Financial allowances. The full retiring allowance to all missionaries who have rendered forty years of service or who have reached eixtjlj .;...$ years of age,. sl1~ll .:. be t11at of an active missionary. By special decision of the Board missionaries " granted retirement before the allotted tim~ shall be decided pro rata
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by the Boar.d
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