Missions History of Missions

Dr. Robert PattonMissionary to Suriname,

South America

Missions in the far east Much less success - Japan, China &

Korea were isolationist, and resented western missionaries

Their cultures were 4000 years old, and with ancestor worship,

Later they organized with Confucianism Buddhism, Taoism & Shinto

They had great national pride

Far east missions

Nestorian Christianity from 7th to 14th century despite fierce opposition

Roman Catholics - 13th century Friar John went, but persecution destroyed his work

16th century – Jesuits went and persisted focusing like Francis Xavier on infant baptism

Far east missions

Opium war – opium produced in India was sold at huge profits by the East India Company

The emperor of China banned all imports to stop smuggling

First war Britain won and opened 5 ports

Opium was legalized after a second war, and missions came in

Robert Morrison Robert Morrison was the youngest of

8, wanted to be a missionary, and promised his mother he would not before her death. She died when he was 20 years old

Getting to China was difficult – only after 5 years, and via the USA, he went to Canton with a letter from Secretary of State James Madison. At that time it was forbidden to teach a foreigner Chinese

Robert Morrison

Robert Morrison secretly translated and worked on a dictionary while working for the East India company. He met his wife and married, living in Macao 6 months of the year with her. He had two children; his wife went to England for a long time, returned and died.

When his New Testament translation was complete the company threatened to fire him

Robert Morrison

There was unfortunate competition between Morrison and Marshman in terms of translating the Bible. Morrison’s was better though Marshman finished first

He went to England, recruited missionaries including ladies, remarried and returned with Elizabeth and two children

Robert Morrison

He fathered 5 more children His time in China was difficult. The

Chinese made it a capital crime to publish Christian books in Chinese, directed against his translation. He was opposed by the Roman Catholics. The opium war was beginning. Still he labored on under difficult circumstances

Robert Morrison, shown with Chinese assistants

Robert Morrison – first Protestant missionary to China

He was involved in negotiating the next war, but died in 1834, the same year as William Carey

Translated the New Testament in 1814 and Old Testament in 1818.

He only saw Chinese 10 baptized He founded Anglo-Chinese college

in Malacca 1818 – 15 eventually baptized

Others worked with Morrison

Elijah Coleman Bridgeman worked 30 years on the Chinese Bible. A second American missionary that served faithfully for 40 years was Matthew Yates. A Welchman, Griffen John, worked over 50 years in China. He made a translation of the Chinese Bible into the more common Mandarin tongue instead of the more scholarly previous translations.

Liang Afa

Born 1789 as a Buddhist printer; he was sent to help Milne – and was converted and baptized in 1817

His wife was converted and baptized. He was repeatedly beaten, imprisoned, etc but continued to preach and print

His literature had impact on many

William Burns

Already successful evangelist in England and Canada spent a number of years in China with real impact. Learned the language well, and translated Pilgrim’s Progress

Worked for a while with Hudson Taylor, went to the interior

Excellent devotional life

William Burns

Karl F A Gutzlaff

Went to Indonesia under Dutch missions board. Tried to reach Chinese

He went to Bangkok, Thailand, adopted customs, but wife and daughter died

He traveled along the Chinese coast with literature until the Opium War

He set up a training institute to send national workers into China

Karl Gutzlaff

Karl Gutzlaff

His workers tricked him – sold the literature back to him for reprinting, and falsely reported baptisms. They used the profits in opium smuggling

Gutzlaff interpreted for some of the opium smugglers, and his ministry was difficult to separate out from that and gave a mixed name to missionaries

Karl Gutzlaff

He apparently was partially aware of the situation but covered up because of pride.

He wanted to contextualize the gospel and have Chinese reach Chinese – a good thing.

He later died in China

J. Hudson Taylor J. Hudson Taylor was raised poor, but his

father was a lay preacher. He loved missions as a child, especially

China, but did not get saved until 17 while his mother prayed 75 miles away

He learned medicine to better contact the Chinese

He was disciplined in poverty and prayer. He visited the poor – tells of a time when he gave his last money for a poor woman

He determined to move men by prayer alone

J. Hudson Taylor Twice he was engaged to Ms. V, but she

was not interested in missions Sent to China age 21 by LMS Trouble learning the language, never

happy in the international community though he did not succeed living alone the first time

In a year, he traveled to the interior, where he was an oddity

J. Hudson Taylor He wore Chinese clothing against the

movement of the times though rejected by other missionaries.

He worked with William Burns, who had been greatly used as an evangelist in Scotland and England

He resigned from CES after 3 years. He was turned down for marriage again from

Elizabeth Sisson; became interested in Mary Dyer

Waterways Taylor travelled, searched by a thief

J. Hudson Taylor Mary Dyer, who grew up in England, returned

to teach. Miss Aldersey and Pastor Russell strongly disapproved, but they were engaged secretly, and a few months later married after permission from an uncle.

Hudson Taylor was made head of Ningpo hospital for three years, a task above his training, and got more training in England.

He got more medical training, revised the Chinese New Testament, and started China Inland Mission.

J Hudson Taylor age 21, then with wife Maria

J. Hudson Taylor

CIM got support from the working class. Missionaries did not request money and were supported by free-will offerings.

Initially there was great tension with the 15 missionaries accompanying the Taylors, and virtually a split with rebellion in the group – petty jealousy & rebellion about Chinese clothing

First group of CIM missionaries

Jennie Faulding, Taylor’s second wife & Taylor

Hudson Taylor In 1860, he sent 3 children away with

Emily after Samuel had died. The following summer his wife died at age 33 following the death of another baby.

His first wife died, and Emily expected to take her place, but he returned engaged to Jennie Spaulding, who became his second wife. The mission continued to grow.

CIM rules

No debt No guaranteed income No solicitation Dependence on God alone There was a lot of secrecy in CIM,

as well as internal strife

Hudson Taylor After the death of his 8 year old

daughter, and the resignation of one couple and two single women the mission became unified.

Then they were attacked at Yangchow, which created an international incident with loss of support in Britain.

Depressed, he came to learn the Spirit filled life with a dramatic change.

J. Hudson Taylor His goal was to spread the knowledge

of the gospel, and had 650 missionaries, with missionaries in every province

Heavy emphasis on evangelism, but not on church planting and development of national leadership.

The mission was hurt by Boxer Rebellion, when China ordered the death of all missionaries and eradication of Christianity

J Hudson Taylor

J. Hudson Taylor

135 missionaries and 53 children were killed

Hudson Taylor resigned in 1902, and Jennie and then he died by 1904

The mission peaked in 1934 with 1368 missionaries, many in the interior, many single women - not a heavy emphasis on education. CIM is now OMF – overseas mission fellowship

Timothy Richards 1845-1914

Followed Hudson Taylor, but emphasized the use of native evangelists and technology.

Extremely effective writer

45 years in China

Timothy Richards

He wanted to appreciate the best of Chinese culture and reach all by starting with the intelligentia.

He supported educational progress After this time, many groups

started at the university level – though small in number

Jonathan Goforth

Jonathan Goforth - the best evangelist of China, where revival came frequently.

He was initially ostracized and ridiculed at Knox College. Worked in city work, and met Rosaline Smith, an art student. They were soon married

China 1888. 5/11 children died

Jonathan Goforth

They opened their home, and preached as much as 8 hours a day. Then they went on itinerate ministry to the interior

They nearly died in the Boxer Rebellion, traveling 1000 miles to escape

He would travel, set up housekeeping, and preach to men, his wife to ladies

Travel in China

Jonathan Goforth

There is a powerful evidence of the Holy Spirit’s working in both the life of Jonathan and also his wife Rose - By My Spirit, and also Climbing.

He saw great revivals in Korea, Manchuria, and in China till 1918.

He conflicted with the Presbytery when he felt the Holy Spirit’s guidance

Jonathan and Rose Goforth

Jonathan Goforth

He demonstrated what the Holy Spirit can do through one man. The revivals were unbelievable. Many saved, many restored – not only the Chinese, but also the missionaries.

His wife Rose had a dramatic change when she discovered the Spirit-filled life

Jonathan Goforth

He was greatly disturbed by the influx of missionaries who were modernists, but preached with more conviction

He returned to Canada age 74, continued to preach though blind for another 18 months until his death

Gilmour of Mongolia

Approximately the same time James Gilmour ministered widely in Mongolia. He adapted the Mongolian clothing, food and customs (including horseback riding), learned the language, and witnessed widely to the Mongolians

James Gilmour

Dr. A. Macdonald Westwater

Dr. Westwater was a Scottish Presbyterian medical missionary who was a skilled surgeon. He gave free care to all sides in difficult battles between the Russians and the Chinese at the Boxer Rebellion. He actually assisted the Russian general in surgery, and arranged for peace in Liao-Yang with no loss of life.

Mildred Cable & French sisters

Mildred went to China in 1902, met Eva French & then her sister.

They ran a girls school for 200 and a place for opium addicts to rehabilitate

Then they began to travel during the summers throughout China, evangelizing and distributing literature

Mildred Cable and the French sisters

In middle age, moved to the far interior to the “City of Prodigals”… church planting during the winter, and 8 months of traveling by ox cart in the summer over trade routes in Central Asia. The traveled into the Gobi desert until 1936, when interior missionaries were ordered out. She “retired” to be active in the British & Foreign Bible Society until her death in 1952

Site visited by the trio

Mildred Cable & French sisters main headquarters area

James Frazer 1886-1938

Came from a large family, and his mother prayed that one child would become a missionary

He was bright and talented – linguist, musical, and an engineer

Volunteered to CIM, and age 22 was already one of the best speakers of Chinese

James Frazer 1886-1938

Developed a burden for the Lisu people and worked with them a number of years without much result

Married, and his wife helped with translation

He developed the an alphabet which is still used officially for the Lisu language; translated the Bible.

James Frazer 1886-1938

He went through much soul-searching and depression. He learned to place great reliance on resisting the devil with prayer, and developed a powerful prayer team in England

He worked with the Lisu to develop independence financially and in leadership

James O Fraser

Thousands of Lisu eventually were saved

It is estimated that 90% of the Lisu are Christians, and represent one of the largest tribal groups in the world

His spiritual growth and walk in the spirit has inspired many others

Lisu people

Lisu people

Don Richardson’s contention

The Lisu had a tradition that a white-faced teacher would bring them a holy book that they must listen to: Fraser!

Dr. George Lesley Mackay

Canadian Presbyterian dentist/missionary in Formosa, working with the headhunters of Malay background and the Chinese. He extracted as many as 40,000 teeth! He used his dentistry to get a hearing. Used national helpers. Started schools and 60 stations using national helpers.

Dr. George Lesley Mackay – Taiwan & Canada memorials

Catholics in China They regrouped in the mid 19th

century, and started training Chinese priests. During the Boxer Rebellion, about 40 foreigners were killed, but perhaps 30,000 nationals

In the following decades, they were able to expand to about 1,700,000, with over 800 Chinese priests but no Chinese bishop.

Catholics in Japan

Some were found after 1860 who had maintained their beliefs during the time of persecution. About 10,000 came back to the Roman Catholic church, and the same independent

There was some slow growth present

Catholics in Indochina

There was heavy persecution on two different occasions during the middle of the 19th century, with both 115 priests and as many as 300,000 nationals killed

The direct involvement of the French was greatly resented

Catholics in the Pacific Islands

Some places were newly opened by priests. Others largely represented attempts to pull people out of the Protestant churches already established.

Orthodox church

Makary Glucharev -distinguished young linguist when called to the Altai range in Russia. He labored for many years, and baptized 675 persons. He focused on preaching the gospel and seeing people clearly saved. He left a church, 3 schools, and several Christian villages

Orthodox church

John Viniamonov – initially placed in the Aleutian Islands, and very successful in training people. He had to build his own home and train people “from scratch”. His work gradually expanded to include northern Siberia and Japan

When he “retired” age 70, he was made the metropolitan of Moscow for 11 years

John Vianamonov

St. Innocent (John Vianamonov)

Nikolai Kasatkin

Successful Orthodox priest in Japan. He trained the Japanese and wanted a truly Japanese (not Russian) church

Trained nationals, and left 33,000 persons, 266 congregations, and 35 Japanese priests.

Nikolai Kasatkin