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

SELF-SUPPORT

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9. On the 25th of each month all Stewards and the pastor
of each church shall meet, when the pastor shall receive all
money collected, giving receipt for it, and shall then forward
a report to the District Superintendent. The District Superintendent shall pass this report on to the Board of District
Stewards.
io. The proper blank forms in the local dialect are to be
prepared for this purpose.
It is easier to plan a scheme like that just outlined than it
is to carry it into execution. Only unwearied vigilance kept
the scheme from breaking down first at one point and then
at another. The greatest difficulty was encountered in the
development of tithers, and in persuading those who pledged
themselves to tithe, to stand by their pledges.
"Heroic efforts have been made by some of the brethren to
keep alive the work of the tithers.... If we were to enter
a certain fishing village church on a Sunday morning we
would see the primitive fisher folk as they bear to the table
of the Lord a tithe of what the sea had given last year. It
is an apostolic church.
"One of our tithers went into the fishpond business with
two Romanos. He explained to them that he was a tither and
asked them to prove the promise of the word of God. They
agreed. The day of the catch arrived. The fish were so large
and so plentiful that the two Romanos were convinced and
so they with our brother brought the whole of the tithe,
PI02.6o, into the Methodist meeting house." 3
Stage Three: Fixing a Goal. After this plan had been tried
for a year it became evident that the churches needed to have
some definite goal placed before them. The motive was not
yet strong enough for the members to be willing to make
sacrificial gifts. The Manila district therefore adopted the
ingenious "Proportionate Plan" which is everywhere spoken
of with enthusiasm. Like many great ideas this is perfectly
simple. "The circuits are divided into four classes, the first
class self-supporting; the second class receiving half as much
from the mission as they raise; the third class receiving an
8 Dr. Cottingham in M. E. Annual Report I9I6, p. 62.