Transcript History of Misisons: Part 1 Pentecost – 1800

Reformation Period
1517-1792
This was the beginning of change, but the
Reform Church brought a lot of baggage with
it (i.e. church-state concepts, infant baptism,
sacramentalism, formalism, and territorialism).
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Reasons the Reformation began
Renaissance education emphasized critical
thinking
Availability of printed material & Bible
Abuses of the Roman Catholic Church:
Pope Leo X’s lifestyle
Sale of Indulgences and Relics
Sales of Church offices: “simony”
Mariolatry, saints intercession, infallibility of
pope, celibacy
“Once you hear the money’s ring, the soul
from purgatory is free to spring” Tetzel
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Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Luther was a professor at Wittenberg
University
Religious truth found only in the Bible
Sales of indulgences reduced/cancel
purgatory suffering ensuring heaven
Supported lavish lifestyles of Church
leaders
Financed the building of St. Peter’s Basilica
for 400 years
Criticized Church practices and
leadership in 95 Theses
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Spread of Lutheranism
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Spread of Lutheranism 1560
Wittenberg
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John Calvin (1509-1564)
French student associated with
Radical movement in Paris, fled to
Geneva wrote Institutes at 19
Calvinism/Presbyterianism
Sovereignty of God who determines
everything and every destiny of man
Theocracy in Geneva (church-state)
Established a training Institute in
Geneva which sent out graduates
to spread Calvinism
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Spread of Calvinism from Geneva
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Reformation Period: 1517-1705
Protestant Reformation was attempt to return to
apostolic Christianity
New truth did not affect missions for 200 yrs
Roman Catholic counter reformation resulted in more
missionaries—RCC gained more than lost! (approx
1560-1650)
Reasons for apathy among early Protestants:
Some taught Commission only for apostles
Lutheran and Reformation churches fighting among
themselves– 30 yrs War left Germany in economic and
social chaos
Protestants tended to Deterministic Theology: God does it
without human intervention!
Protestants had no religious order dedicated to
evangelizing as did the Catholics: Franciscans, Dominicans
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and Jesuits
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Limited Missionary Effort for 200 yrs
In 1555 French Calvinist Huguenots
went to Brazil
Chaplains primary concern was French, not
Brazilian
Little success (less than 1-yr) and soon murdered
by Portuguese Catholics
In 1649 the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel in New
England formed to reach the Indians of
New England
John Eliot spent two years learning language of
Algonquians and by 1663 completed NT
translation
Formed Christian Indian “praying” towns
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Limited Missionary Effort for 200 yrs
In 1664 Baron Von Welz criticized the
Lutheran church for lack of missionary interest,
gave up his title, sailed to Surinam, SA
Official refutation of Welz’s view was
1) difficulty of missionary task,
2) difficulty of recruiting,
3) depravity of heathen making conversion nearly
impossible,
4) great need at home,
5) it is the responsibility of the few Christians already
there
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Reasons for the
Great Omission
Difficult circumstances of the Protestants
Always a minority in Europe, fighting for existence
Authorized killing Protestants, like the St. Bartholomew's Day
Massacre in 1572 where 3000 killed resulted Edict of Nantes,
1598, gave rights to Huguenots
Protestants drawn into Religious Wars to survive
Protestants argued among themselves theologically each with
threats of capital punishment
Lutherans and Calvinists joined to persecute the Anabaptists,
who wanted radical reform of Protestant church
Protestants only reluctantly took advantage of Protestant
countries’ colonial expansion – then only as chaplains of their
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people, often prohibiting the preaching within the colonies
More Reasons for Omission
Lack of Para-church Orders (mission agencies)
Nothing compared to the Franciscans, Dominicans,
Augustinians, and Jesuits
Not until para-church mission boards formed did
Protestant missionary movement begin (1792)
Common Rationalizations for disinterest
1. “Charity begins at home” to justify unconcern
Rebuttal: We can never reach our homeland, so time will
never come to send out missionaries!
2. Heathen are too depraved and quote, “The holy things of
God are not to be cast before such dogs and swine” (Mat
7:6)—Does not refer to heathen but false teachers!
Rebuttal: All men are equally depraved (Rom 3:22-23),
nor did they understand the power of the Spirit to convict
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and convince men of truth
Theology of the Reformers
Exegetical excuse: Commission only given to Apostles –
problem: phrase, “until the end of the age”!
Exegetical excuse: Col 1:23 ingressive aorist participle, “the
gospel that you have heard, which is beginning to be
proclaimed in all creation under heaven.”
Political excuse: Held that the Commission was the
responsibility of the government
Anabaptists held to a separation of church and state
Reformers held to a Landeskirche, a territorial church—any church
outside the territorial church is illegal
Theological excuse: it is God’s responsibility to save the
heathen, not ours—since regeneration is not necessarily related
to preaching or faith, we are not needed to evangelize!
Theological excuse: Most believed that the end of the age
was soon, so there was no time to evangelize – though it is
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clear that no one can know the time (Mt 24:36)
Final Reasons
Limited concept of Missions
Thought the church was merely to grow within its
national boundary —as ripples across a pond
Thought reaching numerically more people, was equal
or better than reaching all peoples
Thought a special call from God to be a missionary
was necessary to make a commitment—the expressed
desire of Christ was not sufficient!
Spiritual Weakness of the Reformation
The Reformation was not a revival in which millions were
born again
Most were sweep along with the territorial church
Reformers did not spell out a clear doctrine of
regeneration or the new birth – still depended upon baptism
and communion (“sacraments”) and the church
Sardis church, “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of
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being alive, but you are dead” Rev. 3:1
Beginning of Missionary Movement
Pietists of central Europe started movement
Reacted against barren orthodoxy and formalism of
Reformation churches
Philip Spenser (1635-1705) sought to renew church
through small groups, personal conversion experience, Bible
study, prayer, godly living, compassion and missionary zeal
In 1705 first mission, Danish-Halle Mission, sent out first
missionaries, Bartholomew Ziegenbalg and Heinrich
Plutschau, to Danish colonies in East Indies
Second step was Moravian Church in 1722 Count
Zinzendorf gave refuge to Anabaptists. In less than 10 yrs
226 Moravians sent to 10 countries.
Puritanism under Jonathan Edwards, a missionary to the
Indians, challenged through “Concert of Prayer” for spread
of Gospel to world—origin of Wed. night prayer meeting16
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Early Missions to S. America
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Launching of Missions
1792 William Carey’s book “An Enquiry into
the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for
the Conversion of the Heathen”
Carey’s mentor responded, “Young man, sit
down. When God pleases to convert the
heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine”
Carey founded the Baptist Missionary Society;
took family and 2 associates to India for 40 yrs
Carey called “Father of Missions”
Soon all European denominations had a mission
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European Explorations
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Three Early British Missionaries
1. Robert Morrison, Pioneer to China
(1782-1834)
After training sailed to China in 1807
China was very closed to “foreign
devils” plus British Trade Companies
opposed them (opium trade)
Prohibited to learn Chinese—he
witnessed secretly and translated
Bible
Motivated Parliament to permit
missionaries to evangelize
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Three Early British Missionaries
2. Robert Moffat: Pioneer to Africa
Evangelist, translator, educator, diplomat
and explorer
A Scotch Calvinist saved through new
Methodist movement
Arrived in 1816, Married on the field,
started “mission compound”,
mediated tribal warfare, failed to
evangelize through trade language,
translated Bible but British presses refused
to print it, first converts in 1829,
eventually would win about 200, after 53
years in Africa with 1 furlough returned to
promote missions in British Isles
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Three Early British Missionaries
3. David Livingston (1813-1873):
Explorer in Africa—Most famous
missionary
Semi-nomadic ministry of exploration and
witness, opening central Africa
Henry Stanley, American newsman, went
to find and interview Livingston – found
him in 1871—later challenged and
surrendered to be a missionary
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American Join World Evangelism
Samuel J. Mills, left a farm, went to college
to
prepare for ministry in 1806
At Williams College he was challenged by 4 other
students: often met for prayer
During a storm they fled to a haystack for protection—
Famous “Haystack Prayer Meeting”
Adoniram Judson joined Haystack prayer group at
Andover Seminary
Together they formed the American Board of
Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1810
In 1812 Judson and seven colleagues sailed for India as
first of thousands of American missionaries
En route Judson and Luther Rice became convinced of
believer’s baptism – Luther returned to start mission 24
Missionary flow from America
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3 Eras of Mission Activity
First Era: to the coastlands—William
Carey (1761-1834)
Mobilized by early student movements
Typically nondenominational missions
Astonishing readiness to sacrifice
Second Era: to the inland areas—
Hudson Taylor (1832-1905)
Mobilized by Student Volunteer
Movement
Many “Faith” Missions planted churches
in every geographical area by 1940.
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3 Eras of Mission Activity
Third Era: to the “unreached people” —
Cameron Townsend (1896-1982) and
Donald McGavran (1897-1990)
Mobilized by Inter-Varsity Fellowship, Campus
Crusade & Student Foreign Mission Fellowship
Townsend discovered languages groups needing
translations, started SIL and Wycliffe Bible Trans.
McGavran focused on social groupings and Church
Growth Principles
“People Group” concept was born: defined as
ethno-linguistic groups (cultural traditions and
prejudices)
Missions is defined as: “From all nations, to all nations.” 27