This collection contains papers related to John Balmer Showers. The bulk of this material includes writings by Showers. There are three folders of short typed pages. Some are on selected topics such as faith, Pentecost, stewardship and service, evangelism, the home, and the preacher. Other writings are greetings, welcomings, or dedications prepared by Showers on special occasions such as anniversaries, dedications, and conference meetings. The remaining writings are tributes or memorials to A. B. Statton, Elizabeth Ann Powell, Harold C. Urschel, Sam Stanrod, and Walther Murth.

Also included is a booklet kept by Showers when he was a student at Berlin University. It contains a listing of courses in German. There is a certificate of appreciation present to Showers from Otterbein Press in 1946 and an honorary degree diploma presented to him from Indiana Central College in 1947 are part of this collection. An essay Showers wrote on his father-in-law, Edmund S. Lorenz, is part of these papers. Some work Lorenz did on the hymnal book questionnaire can be found in the same folder. Finally, there is a scrapbook entitled, "Memories of My Years at Otterbein Press." This contains photographs of Showers and staff members, as well as articles written by Showers.

This collection documents the ministry of Roger Stillman Guptill both on the mission field and his subsequent teaching and administrative positions at Gammon Theological Seminary. Though not extensive, the collection gives a clear window into Guptill's life. The Methodist Episcopal Church had a strong connection between African missions and Gammon Theological Seminary. It was at this institution that a number of African-American and African Nationals were trained for full-time ministry in both the United States and Africa.

The first seriesilluminates the early stage of Guptill's adult life when he was sent as a missionary by the Methodist Episcopal Church to Africa's Belgian Congo. Topics include observations on general Congo mission work as well as a detailed account of Guptill's own mission work in the area. He also wrote and published a biography on Melville B. Cox.

Within this series documents a point of transition which takes place regarding Guptill's shift in career appointments after service with the local and general church. He was the editor and manager of a serial called " The Foundation." This was published under the auspices of Gammon Theological Seminary, which Guptill was a faculty member. "The Foundation" was a quarterly publication printed in the interest of Gammon Theological Seminary, alumni, The Stewart Missionary Foundation for Africa, and the School of Missions. The serial published news on African missions, alumni, campus events such as lecture series, as well as articles on philosophical and practical theology. Guptill was an important participant in many of the above mentioned organizations.

Given this transitional point, the second seriesbegins to expand the scope of, and enter into, a new phase of Guptill's work at Gammon. Here we have a number of items directly related to both the Stewart Missionary Foundation for Africa and Gammon Theological Seminary. Topics include institutional histories, a biography on William Fletcher Stewart who founded and endowed the Stewart Missionary Foundation, various opinions about the feasibility and value of starting the Foundation, Stewart Foundation School of Missions, charters and by-laws, courses of study, and a constitution and by-laws of the Friends for Africa.

The third series, Africa, gives the largest picture of that which profoundly influenced Guptill's life. The series contains information on the development of the Congo mission, a history of Methodist missions in Africa, general information about the continent, biographical material which includes Henry M. Stanley, World Service, African studies, medical missions, the beginnings of Protestant mission work in hte Congo, native education, native economics, native literature, and a missionary conference report.