Chester, Samuel H. Behind the Scenes : An Administrative History of the Foreign Work of the Presbyterian Church in the United States; Lectures Delivered at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, April, 1928. Austin, Texas: Press of Von Boeckmann-Jones Co., (1928). First Edition. [11365]
Maroon cloth with gilt titles, 7 3/4 x 5 1/4 inches, white call numbers on spine, a couple of ink stamps within, 145 clean pp. Very good. Hardcover.
15 chapters revealing the history and development of the foreign missionary work of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. Includes the chapters "Educational Problems in Japan and China," "Polygamy in the Mission Field," and "Troubles in the Congo."
Samuel Hall Chester (1851-1940). b. Mt. Holly, Arkansas; d. Montreat, North Carolina. Rev. Chester served as pastor of Southern Presbyterian Churches in North Carolina and Tennessee, and served the PCUS Foreign Missions Board in several executive positions. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Dr. Chester “served this committee and the church efficiently and unselfishly from 1898 as secretary, as executive secretary until 1911 and from that year until [1918] as secretary of foreign correspondence, and no one is more thoroughly familiar with the needs and accomplishments of this cause of the church.” During his service, foreign missionaries served in Africa, Brazil, China, Cuba, Japan, Korea and Mexico and the number of conversions to Christianity rose from 300 to more than 5,000 in one year as a result of their work. Dr. Chester’s position has resulted in his being “acquainted personally and by correspondence with every foreign missionary of the church, and no man more than he is the confidante of the missionaries; they tell him of their needs and their trials, of their accomplishments and their joys, being assured always of his sympathy and encouragement, for he is distinctly optimistic regarding every phase of the foreign mission enterprise."
