Modern Missions: The Personalities behind the Missionary Endeavor

And the Future of Modern Missions

By

Michael Vincent Paddy

Student I.D. 22282275

Presented to Dr. Jerry Sutton

In partial fulfillment of the requirements of

Church History Part II

CHHI 525 Sub-Term D

Liberty Theological Seminary

Lynchburg, VA

December 18, 2009

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 Abstract

To us it might seem natural that missions and missionaries are a natural always present

ministry of the church at large. This is not so. But for the pioneer spirit and revolutionary efforts

of certain individuals, the modern mission movement might not exist at all.

What made these personalities so important to the modern mission movement was not

difficult, but simple in their strategy and vital to the success of their evangelistic efforts. The

ability of these individuals to break down the barriers to the Gospel may have seemed unique to

them in their day, but today stand as absolutes in missionary work.

This paper in its brevity wishes to look at some of those individuals who for better or

worse changed the pre-modern era of missions forever, establishing it till this day as a work of

God into the utter most regions of the world.

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 Table of Contents

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………..2

Missions: A Working Definition…………………………………………………………………4

The Father of the Modern Missionary Movement………………………………………………..4

The Children that Followed………………………………………………………………………6

David Livingstone………………………………………………………………………..6

Hudson Taylor……………………………………………………………………………7

The Rise of Mission Societies and Para church Organizations…………………………………..9

The Future of Modern Missions………………………………………………………………….9

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………11

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………….12

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 Modern Missions: A Working Definition

The idea of missions today is very common among churched people. Though the mission

may vary from church to church, organization to organization, even person to person; missions,

(with an s), in general has a collective agreed definition among the majority of the populous.

Missions, usually refers to the specific act of the church and missionary agencies in the

proclamation of the Gospel.1 This is how it will be presented in this paper.

Missio Dei, another term used in modern missions’ vernacular refers to the mission of

God or the sending of God and usually refers to the fact that all mission, whether the

proclamation of the Gospel and/or making disciples is an act which God initiated and through

Him is sustained.2 This is an important fact to know when speaking about modern missions so

that the emphasis both of the mission and this paper shows that no matter what man does, God is

present.

The term Missions is not used in the Scriptures and is by no means a New Testament

idea, rather it’s more specific idea and understanding is an implicit term of action placed before

believers in Jesus Christ who desire to proclaim Christ to unbelievers of different ethnic,

language and cultural origins.3

The Father of the Modern Missionary Movement

There is overwhelming consensus that the modern mission movement began with

William Carey’s publication of: An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for

the Conversion of the Heathens (1792). Published in 1792 it proclaimed the need for structured

1
A. Scott Moreau, Gary Corwin, & Gary B. McGee, Introducing World Missions, A
Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishers, 2004).
2
Ibid.
3
Paul Borthwick, A Mind for Missions (Colorado Springs: Navpress 1987).
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missionary strategies and order to support the ongoing missions efforts of individuals sent out by

the church.4 Not only did William Carey write about the need but he lived out that need by

sailing the following year to Serampore, India the following year to begin a 41 year missionary

endeavor to bring the Gospel to the people of India. With Joshua Marshman and William Ward

they began to translate the Bible into the vernacular of the people. They ended up translating

hundreds of portions of the Bible into many diverse and difficult dialects.

This endeavor is not unnoticed in the beginnings of the modern mission movement

because it was such a revolutionary idea. It went against not only many who subscribed to

keeping the Bible in English but also in its simplicity of understanding founded by Luther’s

ideals of the Reformation in getting the Bible into lay people’s hands in their own language.5

They also undertook the training of Indian Christians to bring the Gospel to more and

more of their people. Though they had little training themselves they seemed to have a strong

sense of leading in the area of discipleship and the words of the Lord: “Therefore go and make

disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you..”6

Even as the Great Awakening was happening in Great Britain and some were attempting

to evangelize the new colonies, it was William Carey who established a pattern of going to

unreached people to truly evangelize rather than seek spiritual renewal and revival.

Bruce J. Nicholls, "The Theology of William Carey." In Evangelical Review of

4

Theology 17 (Cambridge, UK: Paternoster Publications 1993)

F. Deaville Walker, William Carey. Missionary Pioneer and Statesman (3rd repr.
5

Chicago: Moody Press, 1971)

6
Matthew 28:19, 20
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 The Children That Followed

If Carey is to be considered the Father of Modern Missions, it would suffice to say that

those who followed in the 19th Century were birthed by him in the modern missions’ movement.

Two important personalities established a pattern for two types of strategies in bringing the

Gospel to the darkest parts of the world at that time.

David Livingstone

Born in 1813 in Scotland, his family were simple people but had a strong sense of duty to

make sure their children were educated by any means possible. It was because of a strong sense

of calling and influence that Livingstone wanted to become a doctor. It was the need of China

that first caught his attention. Saving money and studying hard he became a doctor but the

Opium Wars closed that door for Livingstone. While in his studies he met Robert Moffat who

inspired him to go to Africa.7 Moffat said, "Often, as I have looked to the vast plains of the north

[of the southern tip of Africa] I have sometimes in the morning sun seen the smoke of a thousand

villages where no missionary has ever been."

Livingstone’s response, "A thousand villages!" thought Livingstone. "No missionary! No

Gospel! No Christ! No salvation! No life! No light! Nothing but sin and death and darkness! I

will go to Africa."8

It was in the coastal areas of South Africa where Livingstone initially but he quickly

became agitated by the complacent work of missionary conclaves and settlements and longed to

go inland to the villages Moffat spoke about. It was in 1852 where Livingstone traveled inland

and never looked back. Though he never forgot his evangelical roots, his mission changed to

7
David Livingstone, Travels and Researches in South Africa, (Whitefish: Kessinger
Online Publishing, 2004)
8

Ruth Tucker, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya, A Biographical History of Christian

Missions, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004)
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medicine and more importantly exploration. His discoveries were nothing short of incredible,

almost challenging to the understanding and belief system of the geographers of his day. His

penetration into the darkest parts of Africa was the first of any missionary moving from the

coastal missionary settlements, into the primitive areas where unreached people truly lived.

As stated he never forgot his first calling, even the swaggering self proclaimed agnostic

Henry Stanley, sent to find Livingstone and write about him. After traveling with Livingstone for

several months Stanley said this of Dr. Livingstone, "Finally, after these months, Livingstone

converted even me to Christ."9

Livingstone’s missionary efforts establish his place in the evolution of modern missions.

Hudson Taylor

Born in 1832 to a Methodist lay preacher, Taylor did not find faith in Christ till his

seventeenth year.10 Professing faith in Christ in 1849, he committed himself to going to China as

a missionary.11

He sailed for china in 1853 arriving over five months later in March of 1854. His first

season as a missionary was filled with discouragement and setbacks. He returned to England in

1860 and spent five years wrote about the need of China, translated portions of the Bible for the

Church Missionary Society and in 1865 he rededicated himself to the task of evangelizing China

forming the China Inland Missions, (CIM). He summarized the core values of CIM in his first

publication for the mission:

Henry Stanley, How I Found Livingstone; Travels, Adventures, and Discoveries in

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Central Africa, 4th abbreviated ed. (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2002)
10
J. Hudson Taylor, Hudson Taylor, ( Men of Faith), (Bloomington, MN: Bethany House,
1978)
11
Ibid.
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 “Object. The China Inland Mission was formed under a deep sense
of China s pressing need, and with an earnest desire, constrained by
the love of CHRIST and the hope of His coming, to obey His
command to preach the Gospel to every creature. Its aim is, by the
help of GOD, to bring the Chinese to a saving knowledge of the
love of GOD in CHRIST, by means of itinerant and localized work
throughout the whole of the interior of China.
Character. The Mission is Evangelical, and embraces members of
all the leading denominations of Christians.

Methods. Methods somewhat unusual and peculiar were adopted

for working the newly-proposed organization. It was determined:
1. That duly qualified candidates for missionary labour should be
accepted without restriction as to denomination, provided there was
soundness in the faith in all fundamental truths.
2. That all who went out as Missionaries should go in dependence
upon God for temporal supplies, with the clear understanding that
the Mission did not guarantee any income whatever ; and knowing
that, as the Mission would not go into debt, it could only minister
to those connected with it as the funds sent in from time to time
might allow.
Support. The Mission is supported entirely by the free-will
offerings of the Lord's people. The needs of the work are laid
before God in prayer, no personal solicitations or collections being
authorized. No more is expended than is thus received, going into
debt being considered inconsistent with the principle of entire
dependence upon God”12

This made the contribution of Hudson Taylor an important facet of Missions’ history by

establishing the first “Faith Based” Mission. It also solidified once again the Lutheran idea of the

reformation that the common man can believe and serve in the church, with or without a higher

education.13

12
Drawn originally from the Overseas Missionary Fellowship, (OMF), website, it can be
found in most evangelical missions’ journal searches and paraphrased in some of the writings of
the OMF mission, www.omf.org.
13
J. Hudson Taylor, Ibid.
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 The Rise of Mission Societies and Para church Organizations

The influences of these three missionary giants catapulted into the Twentieth Century.

Most churches and “mission” endeavors were kept close to home. Evangelists began to appear

and ironically when converts came, there were some who felt the call to foreign missions.14 The

status quo felt that missionary work was a specialized field, (and it can be). It was this excuse

that seemed to get a vast majority of people home without even considering missionary work as a

called ministry for their lives. Except for a few passionate called ones.

The twentieth century produced many men and women who felt the passionate call to go

to foreign lands and endure the hardship of living in another country, culture, and language

group to proclaim the Gospel. It could be said that there were those who went with little or no

home church support that saw the need for mission organizations, like those denominationally

driven societies of the past to take up the mantle of reaching unreached people.15

These mission organizations were mainly driven toward unreached people. The members

of these organizations had much passion and their Hudson influence on anyone having the ability

with the Lord’s help to be a missionary appealed to hundreds of people who joined the call.

Minimum training was given except for survival training. The anthropological understanding of

these early pioneer missionaries was small. There were a few like Cameron Townsend who with

the beginnings of Wycliffe Bible Translators understood the imminent danger of entering into a

primitive group of people without understanding the culture and language. The Summer Institute

14
Norman Grubb, C.T. Studd, Cricketer and Pioneer, 6th ed. (Harrisburg, PA: Evangelical
Press, 1935)

Jerry Bridges, Church and Para church, an Uneasy Marriage, (Portland, OR:
15

Multonomah Publishers, 1983)

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of Linguistics was started to help pioneer missionaries called to unreached peoples to be more

effective in their work.16

The ignorance of a few was life threatening, with five missionaries from the New Tribes

Mission in the 1940’s and Jim Elliott and four other men in the 1950’s paying dearly with their

lives. Other small isolated incidents of injury and death made the goal of most of these

organizations understand some of the basic principles needed in incarnating themselves into

primitive societies if they wanted to see success in their mission endeavors.

Another transition was the focus of the mission. In the past evangelization of people one

on one and in groups was the goal. The new emphasis was church planting. Seeing groups of

people saved and forming their own indigenous churches in their language and using their own

cultural form of worship.

Today there are literally tens of thousands of missionaries from all corners of the world

working with primitive cultural groups. It is said that there are still 2,000 plus language groups

needing to hear the Gospel.17

The Future of Modern Missions

As we as end the first decade of the Twenty-First Century the future of Modern Missions

still evolves.18 The growing distance of denominationally driven enterprises is in a sharp decline

with only a few large denominationally driven mission organizations still working in urban

ministries throughout the world. The Third-world effect and outreach by Para church groups

16
Ruth Tucker, Ibid.

Patrick Johnstone, Operation World, Twenty-First Century Edition. (Waynesboro, GA:

17

Paternoster Publishing, 2005).

18
Gene Getz, Sharpening the Focus of the Church, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1984)
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seems to be the giants of today making headway and seeing large people groups in unreached

areas establishing believers and churches.19

The cell church movement, house church movement, and church planting movements

seem to have momentum in philosophy and passion. Seeing smaller groups of people become

believers thus making small groups of churches, family style, household groups, are gaining

impetus as many feel the Lord will return in their life time. More and more resources of people,

time, technology and money are being spent in this arena and the future of Modern Missions is

right now at least is in the churches ability to mobilize fast missionary teachers who go in, teach,

see believers come to Christ evangelize the first generation and quickly begin to teach and train

the first generation to reach out to the next generation reduplicating this effort till the region is

covered with lay native missionaries.20 Will they be successful?

Conclusion

This paper started out trying to define modern missions by looking at three men

specifically and their influence on modern missions. It ends as does the book of Acts unfinished.

The work of missions by those who are called and obey, is simple yet brings complexity because

of a world that ironically is being made smaller by technology, is also becoming a new

humanistic ideal of how we should view spiritual things.

The Biblical mandate is clear and how we learn from the past to move forward to the

future of modern missions will be our defining moment as the Bride of Christ, the Church!

19
A. Scott Moreau, Gary Corwin, and Gary McGee, Ibid.

David Garrison, Church Planting Movements, How God is Redeeming a Lost World,
20

(Midlothian, VA: WIG Take Resources, 2004)

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 Bibliography

Borthwick, Paul, A mind for missions. Colorado Springs: Navpress 1987.

Bridges, Jerry. Church and Para church, an uneasy marriage. Portland, OR: Multonomah
Publishers, 1983.

Garrison, David. Church planting movements, how god is redeeming a lost world. Midlothian,
VA: WIG Take Resources, 2004.

Getz, Gene. Sharpening the focus of the church. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1984.

Grubb, Norman . C.T. Studd, cricketer and pioneer. 6th ed. Harrisburg, PA: Evangelical Press,
1935.

Johnstone, Patrick. Operation world, twenty-first century edition. Waynesboro, GA: Paternoster
Publishing, 2005.

Livingstone, David. Travels and researches in South Africa. Whitefish: Kessinger Online
Publishing, 2004.

Moreau, A. Scott, Gary Corwin, and Gary B. McGee, Introducing world missions, a Biblical,
historical, and practical survey. Grand Rapids: Baker Publishers, 2004.

Nicholls, Bruce. "The Theology of William Carey." In Evangelical review of theology 17.
Cambridge, UK: Paternoster Publications 1993.

Stanley, Henry. How I found Livingstone; travels, adventures, and discoveries in Central Africa.
4th abbreviated ed. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2002.

Taylor, J. Hudson. Hudson Taylor, (men of faith). Bloomington, MN: Bethany House, 1978.

Tucker, Ruth. From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya, A biographical history of Christian missions. 2nd
ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004.

Walker, F. Deaville. William Carey. missionary pioneer and statesman. 3rd repr. Chicago:
Moody Press, 1971.

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