Establishing the British Mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 1863-1887: Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

THE BRITISH MISSION: SUCCESS OR FAILURE

At the November 1879 General Conference, one year after the official commencement of the British Mission, the subject of foreign missions received a great deal of attention, and "the deepest interest was felt in their prosperity." Certainly the General Conference Committee was aware of the difficulties that had to be faced by their representatives on foreign soil, and with them perhaps was a large portion of the American membership, if the expressions of the Committee were anything to go by:

The hearts of our dear people in America are drawn out toward our dear Brn. Andrews, Loughborough, and Matteson, who have left us to go among strangers away in distant lands, to preach the precious truths of the last message, and toward their fellow-laborers who have united with them in the work. We know they must experience hardships and trials of peculiar difficulty, which we can little realize in America. It is in all our hearts to sustain them by our earnest prayers in their behalf, and by our means as duty shall require. We feel that these are our missions, and nothing fills our hearts with greater joy than to learn of their prosperity.¹

They had sent their best and most successful workers to open the Old World to their message, of this fact they had no doubt:

These dear brethren we know to be men of God, who would peril their lives to advance this cause and save precious souls for the Master. We greatly miss them, and feel their loss in the work here; but we know they are engaged in a branch of the work of the utmost importance, and for this reason we will try to bear patiently the loss we feel in their absence.²

Naturally the Church in America would look for indications of success from these men, from Loughborough in particular, representing as he did the last of the European Missions to be opened and the center of their plans for evangelizing the world. Here there must be success. What indicators would the leaders of the Church look for over the next decade to demonstrate that their efforts were bearing fruit in Britain.

Membership and Congregations

��� It becomes increasingly obvious, as one studies the history of these early years, that the Church determined its success primarily on the numbers of persons joining their Church, by individuals making covenant to keep the seventh-day Sabbath, adhering to the beliefs taught, and joining the Church as members by baptism. Every report places the number of members and the number of churches first. The activities of the Mission workers are seen as successful only by comparison with this criteria, and we therefore find emphasis placed on these areas in almost every single article written by those who labored in the British Mission. Obviously the faster the growth in churches established and membership gained the more successful the Mission was seen to be, irrespective of the faithful and hard work of the laborer. This attitude is seen at work as early as the end of Loughborough's first year in the British Mission. Sometime at the end of 1879 Butler wrote to Loughborough expressing the desire of the people of America to "learn the exact situation" in England.³ Loughborough had been sending regular reports throughout 1879 by way of Review but obviously they are looking for something more than accounts of his efforts at evangelizing the natives. They are obviously looking for reports of tangible results from these efforts. Almost a year has gone by and not a word about the baptisms of individuals into the faith, or of the establishment of congregations. In California and Nevada these signs of success had taken Loughborough but a few weeks to establish. Why not in England?

Obviously Loughborough was having a different experience in England, perhaps at times a very trying and frustrating one. Eventually, on 29 December 1879, he puts pen to paper and shares some of his real feelings and the "exact situation," although he has hesitated to report negatively in the past "lest any should think us complaining." Believing that God has called him to England, he will faithfully continue the work which he has started, although he owns to having a hard time:

There are difficulties connected with the work of introducing the truth in a kingdom like this which those laboring in free America do not have to meet.

If our labor should be like that of the minister who in his dream was set to pounding a rock with a sledge, it is our duty, like him, to pound away. If that is what the Lord bids us to do, it is for us to pound. Opening the rock belongs to the Lord. When I read of the trials and privations of those who in the seventh century labored so earnestly on British soil to displace the heathen gods Thor and Woden, and to teach the doctrines of the blessed Jesus; when I read how they, sometimes supperless and almost friendless, lay down on their blankets on the bare earth to awake in the morning and find the falling snow stopping their path; when I see that they yielded not to discouragements or complaints, but said amid it all, "If our way by sea and land is closed, the road to heaven is still open," I think: "If, under such circumstances, they did not murmur, why should we complain who meet comparatively slight difficulties in our efforts to plant present truth on the same soil?" We have thousands of brethren and sisters raising their prayers to Heaven in our behalf, and doing all in their power to help and cheer us on in our work. No: we have naught of which to complain: and if we are faithful to our duty, God will water the seed sown, and much fruit will appear by and by.⁴

This seems to have been Loughborough's experience and attitude over his years in Britain, and the case also with all the other workers who attempted to share their message with the British.

At the end of 1883, and Loughborough's permanent return to America, the British Mission claimed that 100 persons had "embraced the Sabbath and kindred truth," although not all these were official members.⁵ The official figure was about 70.⁶ In fact by the end of 1885 the actual "number of church members in the kingdom amounted to 60."⁷ By October 1886 Lane reported "81 members, with a further 41 keeping the Sabbath."⁸ Haskell himself reported "one hundred and fifty Sabbathkeepers" at the time of his arrival in Britain.⁹ The official report for 1887 recorded a registered 122 baptized Seventh-day Adventist members in Britain.¹⁰

These reports would indicate that the number of baptized members in Britain had grown very little since the close of 1883, although it is to be understood that the number keeping the seventh-day Sabbath had increased over the four year period. Generally speaking Church growth had been remarkably slow.

Haskell was also to discover that since Loughborough's arrival in England a very small number of towns or cities had actually been entered by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Among those places in which the Mission had established a presence were Southampton, Grimsby, Ulceby, Hull, Riseley, Exeter, Keynsham, Liverpool, Kettering, Wellingborough and Taunton, with one or two interests in such places as Dartmouth, Leeds, Blackburn, and Wigan. Lane reported in 1886 that there were only three established Seventh-day Adventist churches, a probable reference to Southampton, Grimsby, and Ulceby, and by the time of Haskell's arrival Keynsham, Riseley, Kettering, and Hull had been organized as functioning church congregations.¹¹

A lady in the town of Riseley had provided a building and fitted it out as a small mission hall and this constituted the first and only meeting house owned by the Seventh-day Adventists in England. The first church building was not erected until after Haskell's arrival as Superintendent of the Mission. This would be in Ulceby. All churches met either in hired halls or buildings, as in Southampton where leased properties had been used since 1879.

There is little doubt that many Sabbath-keepers were isolated, some having contact with the Church but not classed as members of a congregation. These often met in small groups in homes, as was the case with the company raised up by Loughborough in Taunton.¹²

Often a foray into foreign territory had borne some fruit which of necessity became isolated from the main flock. Generally speaking the believers were to be found in small towns rather than large cities, much scattered, with few places of worship. These did not prove to be very representative of the message the Mission claimed to have.

Lane reported to the General Conference in 1886 his belief that the work in Britain had hardly begun, and had "not increased as rapidly as we have desired."¹³

Ellen White's Views

At the end of her two years in Europe White was able to assess first hand the success of the work of the British Mission. That it was hard, slow work was not in question. �That it had not advanced as well as it might have was perhaps the fault of the American leadership. There had been, in her estimation, a slowing down of the Church's work in general with no decided advancement.� At the 1885 European Council in Switzerland she had informed the European leaders of her concerns:

I was wrought upon by the Spirit of God to tell them that as a people and also as God's ambassadors, we are far behind our opportunities and privileges. We stand condemned by the Word and especially by the law of God according to our delinquencies.¹⁴

Writing the leaders of the Church in Europe at the end of her two years stay, she indicated her concern that the work of the Church was "advancing slowly" and that "we are years behind."¹⁵ What was presently lacking in Europe was also lacking in her homeland. After her return to America she wrote, "Oh, that God would help me and help His languishing cause!"¹⁶

On 3 July 1887 White had spent some time with Robinson and Boyd who were on their way to labor in South Africa and they spoke together "about how the work should be commenced and carried forward in their new field" of labor.¹⁷�She had earlier written a letter to these men with the advice she no doubt gave them in person. This letter is important, for she draws heavily on her observations of the British Mission in making certain suggestions, and from this letter can be obtained an indication of how White viewed the success or otherwise of the British Mission:

I have been shown that the work in England has been bound about, without making that decided advancement that it might have made if the work had commenced right . . .

. . . The work in Old England might have been further advanced now than it is if our brethren had not tried to move in so cheap a way. If they had hired good halls, and carried forward the work as though they had great truths which would be victorious, and that God would have them start in to make the very first impressions the very best, that can be made as far as they go, the work would have advanced more than it has.

. . . If you undertake the work in a narrow, cheap plan, as they have done in the British Mission, it will be no more successful in Africa, than in British territory, and will not be wisdom in any big city.¹⁸(Italics mine)

White recognised that if the British Mission was to move forward in its work the leaders in Britain must act in cooperation with divine agencies, confronting what amounted to a serious situation:

The Lord is not asleep, if England is. The Lord will give success to His work when His workers arouse to the emergency of the situation. Tares were sown among the wheat while men slept, and unless there is an earnest pushing forward of the work, it will never assume the proportions that God designed it should assume.¹⁹

She believed that in the nine years since the commencement of the British Mission little had been done:

England has not had much labor. There has been something done, but to a very limited degree, and as we have seen the large cities in which no labor has been put forth, we have known that a much greater work is to be accomplished than has yet been accomplished for the cities of England. As yet the light seems to have been kept under a bushel; it has not been placed on a candle-stick where it could give light to all that are in the house.²⁰(Italics mine)

She wanted to see the work "make more rapid strides, because we know it can and should." She regretted that even she herself had not done more than she had while in the British Mission.²¹

There is obviously disappointment in the results of labor in the British Mission, it has not been as the leaders first expected, and there is little chance of change and advancement unless obvious drawbacks and difficulties are overcome, and mistakes of the past nine years rectified.

White encouraged the workers in the British Mission, and reminded the American membership, that in the commencement of a new mission, "in the beginning, the work goes hard and slow." For those who had concerns regarding the apparent few results seen everywhere in Europe in general, she reminded:

The work may now seem small; but there must be a beginning before there can be any progress. �First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.' The work may start in weakness, and its progress may for a time be slow; yet if it is commenced in a healthy manner, there will be a steady and substantial gain.²²(Italics mine)

The problem however, seems to have been that the slow, hard work of establishing the British Mission had not been commenced in "a healthy manner." The importance of starting the British Mission right had been expressed by White as early as July 1878 when she wrote in a special testimony that:

While pleading with Him in the night season, I was shown in a vision things connected with the cause of God. The state of things in the church, the college, the sanitarium, and the publishing houses located at Battle Creek, and the work of God in Europe and England, in Oregan and Texas, and in other new fields, was presented before me. There is the greatest need of the work in new fields starting right, bearing the impress of the divine.²³

When writing to Robinson and Boyd nine years later, using the British Mission to emphasis this important principle she told them:

I have been shown that the work in England has been bound about without making that decided advancement that it might have made if the work had commenced right.²⁴(Italics mine)

However, White does not see the slowness of the work in any mission field as a negative for the mission, unless this is the result of a poor beginning and the ill-chosen manner of working:

At some places there should be a slow beginning. This is all they can do. But in many places the work can be entered into in a more thorough and decided manner from the very first. But there must be no haphazard, loose, cheap manner of work done in any place. The work in Old England might have been much farther advanced now than it is if our brethren had not tried to move in so cheap a way.²⁵(Italics mine)

White was not blinded to the magnitude of the work to be accomplished by the young British Mission. She had read earlier articles written by such men as Loughborough and Ings that appeared regularly in the Review, and had received personal letters from these men as well as listening to reports from Mission representatives at the annual General Conference meetings. However, it does not seem that she really comprehended the size of the populations within Britain until after her arrival at Liverpool on 18 August 1885. It was not until then that she realized the terrible shortage of men and means to do the work, and that the young Mission had not been supported as it should have been from the very outset.

On her first evening after landing on British soil Drew and O'Neil had spoken with White about their work among the 300,000 inhabitants of Liverpool and Birkenhead, with only themselves working there. She asked, "What can those do to let rays of light shine in this great city?" She expressed her "pain" when considering these two men with so much to do. She felt even then, "There will have to be help sent to this city."²⁶ Little did she realize then that Britain was covered with such large cities and by the time she had visited Riseley, Southampton, and London, and arrived in Switzerland, she was writing of Europe as "a vast missionary field," recognizing that "there is a great work yet to be done."²⁷(Italics mine) She wondered how the great cities of England "with their millions of inhabitants" were going to be warned with the "last warning message."²⁸ For her, and for a people planning to take their message to the world in a short period of time, the prospect must have seemed daunting, especially when considering the work that must still be done in America and other parts of the world. White felt compelled to share her concerns specifically for Britain with the membership back home:

Although England covers a small territory, it has a vast population, and is a large missionary field. Hundreds could find room to work here if they had the missionary spirit. The city of London alone has twice as many people as all the Pacific Coast States and Territories.²⁹

Writing a missionary appeal after her first visit to Britain in 1885 White presented the need of the workers in Britain "who have borne the heat of the day." She had discovered what many believers in America had little real knowledge of, that "England needs many missionaries," especially London "with its five million inhabitants" and where there were no real workers.³⁰�When the publishing work moved from Grimsby to London in 1887 she believed that "London needs one hundred workers." She was aware that London had received "too little attention," and that this was the case for the majority of towns and cities in the British Mission. She believed that there was little hope ahead for changing this situation or for meeting the demands:

We have seen that the work is advancing slowly . . . England has not had much labor . . . As we have seen the large cities in which no labor has been put forth we have known that a much greater work is to be accomplished than has yet been accomplished for the cities of England. . . At the present time the outlook is not the most encouraging.

. . . The truth, the present truth, the truth for this time is what is needed in London. We should enter the great cities with the message of God's truth; but without means or workers we have a most discouraging outlook for work of this kind.³¹(Italics mine)

Although believing that "our people are not awake to the demands of the times," or that there never was a time "when there was so much at stake as today," that there never was such a period "in which greater energy and self-sacrifice were demanded," she remained optimistic, believing that "the greater the difficulties to be overcome, the greater will be the victory gained."³²

Unlike those in America who were supporting the British Mission with their finances, White was not so concerned over the small numbers of people joining the Church in Britain. Although believing the work in Britain to be slow, and would continue to be so, the answer to this problem, she believed, was to bring into the Church quality members. As she had pointed out to the workers attending the European Council meetings in Grimsby during 1886: "It is not the number that you gather into the truth but it is the quality, the pith of those who take hold of the truth, that counts." She was anxious to have the finest representatives of the Gospel and of the Church that could be found for Britain. She believed that the work would not go forward "as God would have it" unless there was a manifestation of "the Divine" in it. She considered the objective of the British worker should be "to so present the truth that all who will take hold of it will feel that they have something to do; not that they are to 1ower the standard, but they must lift the truth."³³

Haskell's Views

Stephen Haskell arrived to supervise the British Mission at the end of May 1887 and, after attending the Fifth European Council in Norway, met up with White in England during her third and last visit to Britain. They spent time together in Kettering over the weekend of 1-3 July,³⁴�and again in London over 4-7 July. On the evening of 7 July the two of them met together to discuss "upon many important matters connected with the work."³⁵ Haskell was familiar with the Church's work in general and its missionary outreach specifically. He was an experienced pastor and evangelist and had been responsible for organizing the first Tract and Missionary Society together with many others throughout America, and had been president of the New England, California and Maine Conferences. In 1885 he had led the first group sent by the denomination to work in Australia.³⁶ He had visited Britain before and attended two European Councils. In his capacity of General Conference representative overseas he had studied missionary worker reports sent back to America. Haskell was well informed concerning the British Mission. On arrival in England Haskell would have discovered what history has subsequently revealed.

In his administrative position Haskell would naturally wish to see increases in membership and congregations for these were the visible markers of success, and in his eyes little success had been achieved in Britain. Although he believed rather cryptically, "What God has done in England God has blessed," he considered, "the time has come when the cause must move forward," and had the courage to believe "that the time has come for God to work, not only in England but all over the world."³⁷ He would consequently put into operation not his own plans but those already considered by the leadership of the British Mission, European Council, and the American leadership.

By the end of August Haskell stated, "we have now been in England sufficiently long to form some general idea of the steps which seem to be necessary to give success in the work."³⁸ First believing that the work of the British Mission "has not been upon that basis which has reached the better classes as they must be reached,"³⁹�he considered this his major assignment in the Mission. He strongly believed that without a change here the Church's membership in Britain would not grow, nor be representative. �This was almost certainly the belief of the leadership in Britain and America, and of White. Hence some plans had already been put into effect necessitating Haskell's presence in London.

Haskell recognized the divisions of society in Britain, and the problems created for the Mission by the class structure, for many of the lower classes had been attracted to the Church leaving the better classes comparatively untouched. He had observed from history that the work of God for change often began among the more influencial classes and then through this class had reached all classes. Through the "providences of God" he wanted to see the Church's message reach a better class of people so that their influence would give the work of the British Mission "a character," and he did not think "the efforts of the past have fully met the design of God in this respect," "in this country."⁴⁰ Haskell saw no hope of the poor ever being prepared to give "the light of truth" to the more influential and

. . . if the work is shaped merely to reach the former, and the labor is put forth exclusively with them, there is a battle to be fought for the truth, and such an one as we never expect to see accomplished in the work of God.⁴¹

Consequently he felt that the time had come for the British Mission to gear its message specifically to those of the better, influential class, and through these perhaps reach the "poor of this world." This would call for a complete reversal of what had generally been happening in the work of the Mission,⁴²�although he did recognize that God had given them some of the better class, "with some favorably inclined toward the truth."⁴³

Like White and those workers and leaders presently in the British field, Haskell saw the need not so much for able preachers as for able workers, canvassers, and Bible workers in the British Mission. However they must be trained men and women "who understand the Bible thoroughly: discreet individuals, who know how to conduct themselves properly with different classes of people." He believed that in this way society could be "permeated."⁴⁴

With such views, not all his own, Haskell saw the need for a training school in London, and that unless the Mission established it "the work would be greatly retarded." He believed also that it would give "character" to the work.⁴⁵ In fact, since arrival in England he and others had been searching for a suitable building in which to establish such a school and had found one at the end of July, "Challoners," Anson Road, Holloway, North London.⁴⁶

The Mission had also seen the need to move their publishing interests to the metropolis of London as early as 1885, and had voted to do this in 1886. Haskell explained the major reason behind this move as being the great distance of Grimsby from any business center, and therefore "not calculated to carry the best impression." Consequently he secured a suitable office at 451 Holloway Road, London, and planned to issue Present Truth from it.⁴⁷

Looking over the situation before him Haskell believed it would take "no little outlay of means" to place the work where it would bring back returns, but he could not see the finances coming from within the British Mission, "we cannot see how the cause can be self-sustaining in England at the present time. If ever, unless it be through the special donations of its friends,"⁴⁸�something Ings had pointed out after his first visit to Britain in 1878.⁴⁹

Resolving Differences of Opinion

Perhaps Haskell should not be blamed if he wrote articles and letters expressing and intimating that a good beginning had not been made in the British Mission. With such a small membership, who in the main were from the lower classes; no representative church buildings; a desperate need to establish a training school for canvassers and Bible workers; and plans to relocate the publishing interests in London, where no work had yet been done by the Mission, it is no wonder that he felt as if he was beginning again, and in fact wished he could start from new the work in the British Mission.

On 1 September 1887 White, who had been reading the Haskell articles in the Review and was aware of his letters to the American leadership concerning the work in Europe and particularly in the British Mission, took pen to paper and wrote Haskell expressing some concerns:

. . . there is need for all of our ministers to be careful in regard to the character of the articles they insert in the paper in regard to matters in Europe, speaking as though not much had been done in Europe. Now, my Brother, I do not think I could truthfully say this for I consider that under the circumstances . . . there has been a good work done in Europe . . . I think even in England a good work has been done. It must be acknowledged to be a hard and trying field, and not one word of discouragement ought to be spoken. The Lord is at the helm and if we do not trust Him to work, naught will be done. There is a good beginning made . . .⁵⁰

Notwithstanding the castes of society and the difficulties to reach the higher classes:

However we may view the work, in no case put in print one single word as though there had not much been done. Do not intimate that it would be better if nothing had been done, and you could commence new.

We have before us, as did Haskell, the evidence of history and from that evidence we must deduce our conclusions of success or failure. Haskell chose to view the results of the first decade of the British Mission as would an artist a blank canvass upon which he is able to paint "as from new." Certainly the Mission had not demonstrated the success looked for and White does not fail in agreeing with this conclusion. One might be tempted therefore to ask why Haskell received this letter from White, being as close as he was to her thinking concerning the results of work in the British Mission. The reasons she gives for her advice are clearly seen in the letter itself and are fourfold:

1. The truth was, something had been done.

White believed that "a good work had been done," and "a good beginning made." She acknowledged Britain to be "a hard and difficult field" if Haskell wished to compare it with his experiences elsewhere:

Because you do not see the same results in Old England that you did in Australia you should not demerit that which has already been gained. There are some precious souls in Grimsby, in Ulceby and others will be gathered in. There are some good souls in Southampton.

She continues and mentions by name believers in these churches who have sacrificed much for their beliefs, and even speaks of the "precious souls in Kettering." Notwithstanding the problems there has been advancement and there is a "little army of souls."

2. There is a need to be positive.

There is a need to encourage this administrator in a difficult field, and as a friend she advises him to "be of good heart, and not withstanding the work may move slow, nevertheless it moves." She wants him to "look at every token of good and "let not one grain of unbelief be sown for unless we keep a brave front, we cannot expect to inspire others with courage."

3. His belief cooled benevolent impulses.

Not many persons are prepared to give of their means for something that is near to having been a failure, and White was very well aware of this from her contacts in America. Of the treasurer of the General Conference she wrote:

When Bro. Henry reads anything discouraging he says, "we have sent so much means over there to see nothing accomplished and will not send more means."

She advised Haskell:

If you want to close the door to any benevolent impulses you can talk as if there had nothing been done worthwhile . . . Talk faith, talk courage and do not block the way that we cannot make appeals to the people.

4. Out of Respect for Others

White strongly felt that to criticize the work that had been done in the British Mission was unjust to the missionaries who had labored there, and to God. In the past the workers had worked hard and with less help than he now has:

There has been a good work done in England and you should not make any such remarks when you did not make the commencement, therefore, cannot see the advance work that has been done.

With these remarks White reveals that she is prepared to view history, and the facts of that history, from a positive viewpoint. This to offset the negative indications that Haskell has given.

Haskell did seek to rectify his mistake and undo any harm he might have done. It would seem that White's letter written him on 1 September reached him in time to write his article for 20 September issue of Review. He expressed his belief that "there has been considerable money expended for the English Mission," and that all must recognize "the importance and magnitude of the work, and the relation which the past efforts have sustained to the progress of the truth." He felt that if the prospect of the future possibilities could be seen in the British Mission there would be only one feeling, that of "courage and hope for the future." He firmly believed in the faith and confidence of the American leadership and members of the British Mission, and in the eventual success of that Mission:

Sometimes we feel the strongest desire to go to our brethren, and lay before them the real facts in the case. But we know they have confidence in our foreign missions, and we beseech them to pray for us. We also need men and women to aid in carrying forward the glorious work. We confidently believe that it is but a little in the future that we shall see the triumph of the Third Angel's Message in the Kingdon of Great Britain, as we have never seen it before in any other nation on the earth. A wave of the power of God is destined to pass over this nation, and the spirit and power of Elias as will be manifested in the closing work, will yet stir the world. God selected this nation to be the guardian of the Bible. It is here that the first Bible society was organized, which has sent out over 112,000,000 volumes of the word of God. The Bible has been sent by this people to all the nations of the earth. God will not pass by a nation that has done so great and noble a work, without giving them the light of the closing work of the gospel. Will our American brethren consider these things, and step in at this time and help bring the truth before this people? We are certain that by so doing, they will not only see fruit for their efforts in the world to come, but even in this life. The message will be brought before men of integrity, of influence, position, and property, who will in turn, give of their means to advance the light of truth.⁵¹

As one views the years covered by this paper from an historical perspective, it would appear that the British Mission was organized by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in America much later than originally anticipated. The launching of the Mission coincided with a growing need to strengthen and expand the work already begun in Central Europe, Scandinavia, and the American home base, and the means provided for this new Mission were consequently insufficient to meet the requirements of an ideal program within Britain, and to make the best beginning possible.

Due to the limited means provided the British Mission, every economy in financial expenditure and number of workers employed was made, resulting in a poor second-rate approach to what should have been a high and lofty mission. The means of communicating the beliefs of the Church appear to have been, in the majority of cases, cheap and lacking in finesse. This naturally had its effects on the class of believer who eventually joined the Church. The methods of approach were not generally found attractive by the better class who could have supported the young Mission with their means and influence. The majority of the small number of new converts were from the poorer, undisciplined strata of society, unable to support the Church's program, and many of these were not a credit to the cause they professed. The lower classes could not hope, due to lack of education and position in society, to attract the better class that were so desperately needed in the membership of the Mission if it was to become self-supporting and grow from within.

The areas of Britain entered by the Mission would indicate a very scattered approach to evangelization, which in its turn introduced problems such as the care of new groups and interests, and lessened the effective influence a more concentrated effort could have had.

Without doubt, the British Mission had not made the kind of impression in Britain that had been envisaged, or should have occurred. At the close of 1887 the widely scattered believers numbered less than 100; they had no churches or institutions save a small publishing house and printing plant; had insufficient ministers and a small, untrained, unlettered, lay working force; and were financially unstable. If the situation was to be changed the Mission would need to work along different lines.

While Haskell's solution to the problems in the British Mission was to start again, learning from the mistakes of the past, White sees it as wisdom to not only learn from the mistakes but also to build upon the efforts and successes of the past, in an attempt to make the British Mission the success it should have been from the beginning.

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