But that was not the intention of the founders of the institution.

The difficulty arose because there was no dominant purpose which governed the direction of the mission.

There was no purpose so strong and clear that it could prevent the foundation of, or close when founded, an institution which was leading it far from its primary object.
Again it is notorious that what we call the work of the evangelistic missionary is so manifold and variegated that it includes every kind of activity, every sort of social and economic reform.

Our evangelistic missionaries are busy about everything, from itinerant preaching to the establishment of banks and asylums.

Can we afford it?
What purpose is dominant, what aim really governs the policy of those who send out evangelistic missionaries?
What decides the form of their work and the method by which they pursue it?
It is hard to guess, it is hard to discover, it is hard to understand.
Now when our missions are presented to us and we are asked to support them on all sorts of grounds, as though a society with its slight funds could really successfully practise every kind of philanthropic work, we begin to doubt whether it can really be wisely guided.