At a meeting of Baptist leaders in the late 1700s, a newly ordained minister stood to argue for the value of overseas missions. He was abruptly interrupted by an older minister who said, "Young man, sit down! You are an enthusiast. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he'll do it without consulting you or me." More …
William Carey is often called the Father of Modern Missions. But the first Protestant missionaries to Asia arrived almost a century before he did. By the time Carey established his mission community, there were thousands of Christians in a Pietist-led settlement in southern India.
My Top 5 Books on Early Evangelicalism Bruce Hindmarsh, professor of spiritual theology at Regent College in Vancouver and author of The Evangelical Conversion Narrative: Spiritual Autobiography in Early Modern England
The past generation has seen tremendous breadth and depth of scholarship on the 18th-century North Atlantic evangelical awakening, from deep in central Europe to the American frontier. There have been many debates about the origin, character, and significance of evangelical religion during this period. Here are some of the books that best introduce the general reader to early evangelicalism. All of these books are a pleasure to read, and all of the authors are experts in their fields.
Modern Missions Beginning in the 18th century, Protestants from Europe and North America started what has come to be known as the modern missions movement. Since that time, thousands of missionaries have gone out, Christians have given billions of dollars, and more people have become Christians than at any other time in history. To learn more about the history of modern missions, visit the Missions & World Christianity section of our archives. See especially Christian History Issue 36: William Carey: 19th c. Missionary to India, Issue 52: Hudson Taylor & Missions to China, and Issue 90: Adoniram and Ann Judson: American Mission Pioneers.
July 10, 1509: French Protestant reformer John Calvin is born in Nyon, France. (see issue 12: John Calvin).
July 10, 1863: Clement C. Moore dies. In 1819 he established the General Theological Seminary, where he taught Greek and Hebrew Literature for 28 years. He also authored "A Visit from St. Nicholas" ('Twas the Night Before Christmas . . . ) in 1823.
