The people of the Philippines, their religious progress and preparation for spiritual leadership in the Far East,

194 THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES

to take up the ministry among their own people. The Alliance
has proven that the Moros are ready for the Gospel.
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS
Mr. R. A. Caldwell, an evangelistic colporteur, came from
Sydney, Australia, in I905. The regular work was begun in
I908 with the coming of Mr. and Mrs. L. V. Finster. The
first church was organized in I9II with I8 members. There
are many valuable lessons to be learned from the methods of
these earnest people. For example, they have learned the value
of tents. Said Mr. Finster: "The tent was crowded every
night for ten weeks at a time. We pitched in three different
places, with the same results. One year later our membership
had grown to a hundred, with many more keeping the Sabbath." They give Filipino workers generous appreciation, by
word and in their written reports. They are very kind, very
free from caste. "The policy of the denomination is to develop
native ability and resources." They succeed at both-especially
the resources! Their members gave PI4.38 per capita for
evangelistic work in I921! To get the full weight of this
figure one must make comparisons. The nearest approach to
them is made by the Presbyterians-but "approach" is a poor
word to use-with a per capita giving for all purposes of P2.16
-a little more than one seventh of the per capita giving of the
Seventh Day Adventists. To reveal the per capita giving of
each denomination would be unpleasant, but it ought to prove
a valuable stimulus to them to state that they average PI.43
or exactly one-tenth of the per capita giving of the Adventists.
The tithing plan, in other words, produces among the Adventists exactly ten times as much in the way of contributions as
the methods used by other denominations. These figures may
be confirmed by dividing the total contributions of each denomination by its total membership.
One other, and the most striking, lesson to be learned from
the Adventists is told at length in the chapter on Christian
literature. Fifty colporteurs sell P20o,ooo worth of books in
nine languages each year!