Excerpt from Recreation and the Church There is no more potent influence or favorable approach to the inner life of childhood and youth than is found in recreational interests and activities. Play, games, athletic sports, are not merely ad junots to a religious educational program, baits to interest, or preventives of less desirable occupations. They are the open door to the real boy, the real girl, and they furnish the best of opportunities for direct as well as indirect moral and religious training. The church that fails to take account of, and to use to the best advantage, these means of reaching the children and youth misses an important part Of its opportunity. It is with the hope of aiding those who desire to increase their effectiveness in this field that this book has been written. The attempt has been made to present only such principles as have stood the test of experience and ideals that have been more or less fully realized in practical work. The author wishes to acknowledge his indebted ness to the many who have aided him with informa tion and suggestions. The chapter on Some Typical Church Programs would have been im possible without the letters from those mentioned therein, giving the results of their own experience. Special acknowledgment is due to Rev. J. W. F. Davies, of Community House, Winnetka, Illinois. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.