Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod of North America. Board of Foreign Missions.

See also AUG 24 Administrative History.

In 1908 the Augustana Synod voted to take over responsibility for the China mission field from the China Mission Society (CMS). This society had started its work pertaining to China in 1902 with the goal of the mission field's eventually becoming a Synod-owned mission. By 1908 the CMS felt the time was right to ask the Synod to assume control of the China mission field. At the Synod's annual convention in June 1908, in addition to voting to assume responsibility for the work in China, they also approved a measure to create a study committee to examine the question of whether or not a separate board should be created to oversee the China mission field. It was eventually decided to create a China Mission Board (CMB) to oversee work in that field. The other fields in which Augustana was involved would remain under the control of the Board of Missions. On July 7, 1908, the China Mission Board assumed its duties. The first officers elected were the Rev. Carl A. Hultkrans, Chairman; the Rev. Frans M. Eckman, Vice-Chairman; the Rev. John Torell, Secretary; and Dr. Axel F. Almer, Treasurer. The board's official name was The China Mission Board of the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod. It would be composed of five ministers and four lay people elected annually. There was not a set pattern to the frequency of board meetings. In 1911 the name on the CMB charter changed to the Foreign Mission Board of the Augustana Synod, but informally the body was still known as the China Mission Board. The Board's focus in its early years was the recruitment of missionaries to serve overseas. At first when the Board would send out several calls each year, it would only receive one or two positive replies. In 1913 the Board began to reap the benefits of perseverance when it was able to send its first large group to China. The China Mission Board remained in existence until 1923 when the Synod created a Board of Foreign Missions to oversee all mission work abroad.