Young Men’s Christian Associations were originally founded mainly for the spiritual and mental improvement of young men by means of devotional meetings, Bible classes, lectures, and libraries. It is on record that some London apprentices met, in 1632, at 5 A.M. on Sunday mornings for prayer and religious conversation. In 1678 a band of young men in connection with the Church of England met to ‘apply themselves to good discourse and things whereby they might edify one another,’ and did practical work amongst the poor, and amongst young men. There were thirty-two such societies in 1698. The societies for the Reformation of Manners were recruited mainly from these associations; and Methodism sprang from an association of godly young men at Oxford (1729). There were other young men’s societies for missionary and other work previous to the founding of the London Y.M.C.A. in 1844, mainly through the exertions of Mr George Williams, of Hitchcock, Williams, & Co., of St Paul’s Churchyard. Twelve young men met on 6th June 1844, in a room in St Paul’s Churchyard, founded the ‘Young Men’s Christian Association’ as a ‘society for improving the spiritual condition of young men engaged in the drapery and other trades. In 1845 a course of lectures was begun, which, when published as ‘Exeter Hall Lectures,’ filled 20 volumes (1845-65). The movement took firm root in London and in the provinces. At the general conference of delegates from the associations of Europe and America, held in Paris in August 1855, a basis of alliance was agreed upon; and later conferences at Geneva (1858), in London (1862 and 1868), further aided the movement. Suitable buildings were secured in Aldersgate Street in 1855; and Exeter Hall was acquired in 1881 at a cost of £25,000, an additional sum of £30,000 being raised to adapt the building for use. Amongst the agencies in connection with this centre are fine gymnasiums; 109 classes, giving choice of a wide range of subjects, reading-room, conversation room, library, Bible classes, devotional meetings, tea and dining rooms; seaside homes, baths, employment and apartment register, &c. In 1892 there were 846 centres of work in the United Kingdom, with 83,817 members and associates, of which 504 were in England and Wales, 264 in Scotland, and 78 in Ireland. At the same date there were 3361 in Europe, 124 in Asia, 28 in Africa, 1440 in America, and 29 in Oceania, the total membership for the world being 418,972. Of this number there were 19 centres in Australia, 6 in New Zealand, 83 in Canada, 44 in India, 21 in Ceylon, and 24 in Cape Colony. In many of our home churches the Young Men’s Christian Association is a branch of the Guild of Christian Workers, and is called a Young Men’s Guild. Since 1851, when associations were formed in Montreal, New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, the movement has taken firm root in America, and there are splendid buildings in Brooklyn, New York, Philadelphia, and elsewhere, which, with their gymnasiums, libraries, reading-rooms, devotional meetings, and summer schools, are busy centres of Christian usefulness. It has developed lay activity, Mr D. L. Moody having begun his evangelistic efforts in the service of a young men’s Christian association. The Christian Endeavour Associations, formed at Portland in 1881, had a membership of upwards of one and a half millions of young people in 1892, scattered over America, with branches in England, Australia, and Japan. This movement is entirely undenominational.
The YOUNG WOMEN’S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION, founded in 1857, has kindred aims in seeking the spiritual good, and the moral, social, and intellectual well-being of young women. In London alone there were, in 1892, 47 institutes, homes, and restaurants, over 100 smaller branches, and 17,000 members. The total membership was computed at 100,000—Scotland having 18,000. The work includes evening classes, gymnasiums, reading-rooms, holiday homes, circulating libraries, provident and emigration and total abstinence departments, as well as a Factory Helpers’ Union, and Travellers’ Aid Society for meeting girls at the London railway stations or at the docks. Several periodicals are issued in the interests of the association, which is undenominational.
The Girls’ Friendly Society seeks to band together girls and young women for mutual help, religious and secular, and to encourage purity, thrift, and afford help in cases of sickness. There were over 1000 branches and a membership of 131,084 in 1892. Associates must belong to the Church of England, but there is no such restriction in regard to members. The work is carried on by means of classes, clubs, registry offices, homes. There is also a Scottish Girls’ Friendly Society, wholly undenominational.