There exist in the mission field large numbers of what are called "self-supporting churches".

Our missionaries often set this self-support before their converts as a status of honour, and offer them encouragements of various kinds to induce them to become self-supporting as soon as possible.

At home, if we ask concerning the progress of the native Church, they often answer us by telling us the numbers of these self-supporting churches.
What then is meant by a self-supporting Church?
We might naturally suppose that a self-supporting Church was a Church which was independent of external support; we might suppose that it could maintain itself without any assistance from mission funds; we might suppose that, when a Church became self-supporting, the mission, so far as finance was concerned, could withdraw and move to some fresh place.

That is sometimes the case, but very rarely.

We know, for instance, a case where fourteen Christians in a small town provided their own chapel and its furnishing and upkeep, and all subsidiary expenses without any assistance.