s endeavor, as well as a decision promoter itself. There is no
unanimity of opinion relative to the best way of conducting the week
of prayer, except that the method will vary with conditions. Eight
college pastors and chaplains declare it injurious in the long run to
have professional evangelists. The others except four did not know,
as they had never given the evangelist a test. They were at least
dubious about making the experiment.

Some of the results reported from the week of prayer are as follows:
For the scholastic year 1916-1917 there resulted 322 confessions for
the better life. The most of these were followed by what the
presidents of these colleges denominated religious growth. In these
colleges there were, prior to the week of prayer, 390 confessors. This
means then that subsequent to the week of prayer 68 non-confessors
remained among the college men and women. This shows also that prior
to the week of prayer one-fifth of a student body of 1,952 were
non-confessors. The week of prayer was the occasion of transforming
82.5 per cent of that one-fifth into confessors. The Negro colleges
subsequent to the week of prayer 1916-1917, therefore, were 96.5 per
cent Christian as a result of the week of prayer, in part at least.
Just how much the personal work, the Christian environment and other
factors during other times prior to the week of prayer played is
conjecture.

Perhaps it will suffice to state that each of these colleges has
morning devotions every day at the breakfast hour. They are very
terse, consisting chiefly of the Lord's Prayer or a blessing sung or
recited. Seventeen have night devotions closing the study hour except
on the night appointed for the weekly prayer meeting. The benefit of
the dining-room is not easily detected. The enthusiasm often
manifested may be due to anxiety to dine. The interest due to that
desire, and that due to the religious stimuli, then and thereafter are
not easily distinguished one from the other.

Voluntary religious services are conducted under the auspices of the
religious organizations in the colleges and universities. These
organizations present quite a variety in name. But most of them are
very similar in function. Some of the organizations which are included
in the study of required religious services will be given space under
this topic because while they are required in some colleges, they are
voluntary in others. The organizations are the Young Men's Christi