It has always been my ambition to preach the Gospel where Christ is not known Romans 15:20 (The Apostle Paul) Five People Who Changed the World The greatest missionary is the Bible in the mother tongue. It never needs a furlough, is never considered a foreigner. William Cameron Townsend (Tribal People) He was born in California in 1896, and grew up in a Christian family. During college, he sold Spanish Bibles in Guatemala and was shocked when local South American Indian tribes who could not understand Spanish asked him, Does God speak my language? In response, he founded Wycliffe Bible Translators in 1934, which is now the largest independent Protestant missions organization. This organization has translated the New Testament (Bible) into over 700 languages around the world and produces about 30 new translations each year. Townsend began a missionary movement by calling attention to the unreached people who lived in isolated groups, or tribes, around the world. These unreached people have their own language, customs, and beliefs, and need the message of Jesus Christ presented to them in a way they can understand.
Attempt great things for God. Expect great things from God. William Carey (Hindu People) He was born in 1761 in England and had no unusual skills or education. As a young man he worked as a shoe maker and began preaching in a small Baptist church. In 1789, he became the pastor of a large church in Leicester, England. He developed a deep concern for those people of the world who had not heard the Gospel. In 1792, he published a small book encouraging Christians to preach the Gospel to those who had never heard. God used this small book to change the world. Because of Carey s enthusiasm for missions, many missionary societies were formed in western countries for the purpose of sending missionaries all over the world. Thus, William Carey became known as the father of the modern protestant missions movement. Carey and his family labored as missionaries in India for over 35 years. During that time, he translated the Bible into 37 different Indian languages, founded a Bible college in India, planted many churches, and founded a beautiful botanical garden near Calcutta.
God s work done in God s way will never lack God s supply. Hudson Taylor (Unreligious / Chinese People) He was born in England in 1832, and received a missionary calling to China at the age of 5. Later in his life, he made a firm commitment to Jesus Christ at the age of 17 after reading a Gospel tract. Hudson Taylor studied medicine and arrived in Shanghai, China, in 1854. He adopted Chinese dress and hairstyle in order to reach the people of China more easily with the Gospel. His desire was to preach the Gospel to the unreached people who lived in the interior (countryside) of China far from the missionary bases on the coast. He founded China Inland mission (CIM) in 1865 for this purpose and began a whole new missionary movement of reaching inland with the Gospel. His organization still exists today as Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF) and has sent over 700 missionaries into China and other countries to preach salvation through Jesus Christ. Hudson Taylor also began faith missions where missionaries trust God for their support.
No regrets. William Borden (Muslim People) Born into a wealthy family, he was the heir to the vast Borden dairy fortune. During a trip around the world, he saw many people who lived far from the understanding of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Feeling great compassion for those people who had never heard the Gospel, William joined the Student Volunteer (Missionary) Movement in college and gave away hundreds of thousands of dollars to Christian organizations to preach the Gospel. In 1912, he joined Samuel Zwemer in Cairo, Egypt, and began passing out Gospel tracts to Muslims as he peddled his bicycle through the hot streets of Cairo. Unfortunately, after only 4 months on the mission field, he died during an illness with meningitis. William Borden had written in the margin of his Bible, No regrets. After learning of his death and his deep commitment to preach the Gospel on the mission field, many, many college students followed his example and gave their lives to missions. William Borden lived his life for true, eternal riches the souls of people who came to Jesus because of his preaching and example.
The prospects are as bright as the promises of God. Adoniram Judson (Buddhist People) He was born in 1788 in Massachusetts. He was an honors student and graduated at the top of his class from Brown College. After college, he went to the new Andover Theological Seminary, where he dedicated his life to the Lord Jesus Christ and to world missions. Judson and his wife became the first American missionaries and went to the country of Burma in 1812. There they worked with William Carey s son, Felix, to reach the people of Burma with the Gospel. He worked tirelessly to preach Jesus Christ to the Burmese people in a way they could understand. War broke out between Burma and England, and all foreigners were arrested as spies. Judson spent years in prison and endured many hardships. He translated the Bible into the Burmese language and produced a Burmese-English dictionary; both are used today. He is known as the father of American missions.