It means only the subscription of money sufficient to pay for certain things which are more or less arbitrarily fixed by the missionary or his society.
Neither is it any sure evidence of the zeal and liberality of the Church which is called self-supporting.

The existence of self-supporting churches is indeed sometimes used as an argument to show that the Church is growing in this Christian virtue.

But this is largely deceptive.

The existence of self-supporting churches does not necessarily prove Christian liberality.

Take the case which we quoted above where the Christians subscribed $5 a head.