Protestant Missionary
Movement
Lesson 12
Objectives: Lesson 12
• Describe the widening sense in European Protestantism of the
universality of the gospel and discuss the theological and
evangelical impulses behind the modern missions movement
• Describe the factors that impelled the beginnings of Protestant
missions, especially the life and work of William Carey (1761-1834)
and Adoniram Judson (1788-1850)
• Compare methods the church used to implement her mission in
history with present attempts to meet fresh challenges facing the
church today
• Describe some of the ways in which Christianity grew in various
Asian countries
• Describe the development of missions in the South Pacific
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Term Paper Project
Hymn Project
Articles of Faith
TULIP
Wesleyan Quadrilateral
European Protestantism
•
Describe the widening sense in
European Protestantism of the
universality of the gospel and
discuss the theological and
evangelical impulses behind the
modern missions movement
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Protestant Calvinism did not promote
missions
Pietists and the Moravian groups felt
that their message needed to be
spread
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To their own people in remote
locations (USA / Africa)
To foreigners
European Protestantism
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As strict Calvinism was rejected, the call for
saving the souls of others grew
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instead of "God will save them" it became "We
must at least preach that they may hear and
respond"
Early Protestant missions groups
(1700’s)
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Catholics! :-) Don't forget, they were there the
whole time!
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England - SPCK and SPG
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First Spain and Portugal
Then France
Wesley went with SPG to Georgia
Whitefield too
Danish Pietists to India
Moravians
German and Swiss
London Missionary Society (1795)
Church Missionary Society (1799)
1800’s
• Wesleyan Methodist Missionary
Society (1817)
– South Pacific
– Americas
• American Board of
Commissionares for Foreign
Missions (1820)
– To Hawaii
• At first, these societies were
basically non-denominational.
100 years later most joined with
denominations for administrative
or financial support.
South Pacific Missions
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LMS sent missionaries
to Tahiti - 1796
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John Williams killed in
Tonga 1839
Tonga - Methodists from
1820s
Samoa
CMS to New Zealand
(1814)
Factors that impelled the
beginnings of Protestant missions
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Describe the factors that
impelled the beginnings of
Protestant missions, especially
the life and work of William
Carey (1761-1834) and
Adoniram Judson (1788-1850)
Protestant Missionary
assumptions:
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Humans are basically the same
spiritually
Humans are equal in God's sight
Other religions are inadequate or
evil
My culture is better (oops!)
William Carey –
“Father of
Protestant
Missions” was
actually not the
first.
Compare methods
• Compare methods the church used to
implement her mission in history with
present attempts to meet fresh
challenges facing the church today
• Catholic Missions:
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Focus on giving clergy positions only
to Europeans with training
Focus on Christianizing, but not
elevating
"Paternalistic" Father-child
relationship
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Local people not trained because
“they cannot do the work as well”
Early Protestant Missions:
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Focus on equality and
Christianizing
Focus on cultural
superiority
Converts could
sometimes be leaders
if they changed culture
Later Protestant Missions:
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Increasing discomfort with "Westernizing" or
"civilizing"
Quickly transfer leadership to national pastors
and lay people
3-self churches: self-governing, self-supporting,
self-propagating (spread)
– But where is the "body" in 3-self?
– 3-self is a good phase of missions
– Interdependence has great value
Schools are expensive and disappointing
Schools should only be for training pastors and
teachers
– They should serve the church
– They should be in vernacular
Translation efforts are important
Missionaries should not get involved in politics
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These views diminished during the 1890's
due to "high colonialism"
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Compassionate Ministries became a focus
Sometimes to the neglect of evangelism
Often seen as working hand-in-hand
Describe some of the ways in
which Christianity grew in various
Asian countries
• William Carey (1761-1834) to India
• Adoniram Judson (1788-1850) - China
• China and most of Asia affected by
Communist growth in 1950's
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Most missionaries were forced out
Church forced "underground"
Extreme persecution
• Nationals had to take full responsibility
• Today some estimates say that over
30,000 Chinese people come to Christ
every day!
• Back to Jerusalem Movement - Chinese
missionaries want to evangelize from
their country to Jerusalem and "complete
the circle"
Back to Jerusalem
Describe the development of
missions in the South Pacific
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Captain Cook sailed the South
Pacific and wrote letters that people
in England read.
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Stirred clergy and laity
Catholics had not come to the South
Sea
Formed an interdenominational group
called London Missionary Society
(LMS)
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Send missionaries to Tahiti or other islands
Mostly British at first
Most did not want American or British control
of islands until French Catholics arrived
around 1850
Early missionaries were very opposed to
Catholics
Early missionaries faced several
problems:
• Animist religion (worshipping
rocks / animals / appease
spirits) often made visitors
unwelcome. A curse would
come if new people arrived.
• Ocean transportation
• European traders that would
stir up the nationals against
the missionaries
• Temptations
1797 39 Missionaries from LMS
arrived in Tahiti
• Many were curious about these new
missionaries
• Well received and taken care of
• But no signs of success for 16 years!
• Many went home, 3 went "native"
• Henry Nott stayed with the mission
through many trials. Finally the king
of Tahiti gave up his idols, was
baptized 7 years later, and the
people were able to openly accept
Christ.
• Infanticide and cannibalism stopped
• Tahitian Christians became a major
missionary force to Tonga, Samoa,
New Caledonia, New Hebrides
(Vanuatu) and Cook Islands
10 went on to Tonga with Captain
Wilson
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Not well received
Sailors that had run away
were on Tonga
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They made fun of the
missionaries
They tempted the missionaries
to join them in sexual
immorality and drinking - 1 did!
Civil War and 3 missionaries
died, the others had to be
rescued
LMS Mission to Tonga failed
In 1820 Wesleyan Methodists came
and were more successful in Tonga
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New Zealand Maori
Tonga
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LMS Missionary John
Williams took Fauea and his
family back to Samoa and
started the church work there.
Fauea said that their biggest
opposition would be the high
priest of the animist religion.
The priest died 3 weeks
before the arrival of Fauea
and Williams, and no new
priest was named!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-TALA-Banknote-SAMOA-1985-COASTAL-Harbor-View-UNC-/380212934975
http://amazingchronoscope.blogspot.com/2012/08/samoan-child-on-london-missionary.html
Further Expansion of Missions
work
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Fiji
New Guinea
New Britain
Northern Solomons
Solomon Island Missions
development
• Spanish Catholic explorer baptized some people of
Makira Island (1568). They did not know why.
• 1845 French Catholic Jean-Baptise Epalle, who was
killed his first day on land. Catholics did not return until
1898.
• 1852 Anglican missionaries to Norfolk Island took young
boys to New Zealand for schooling and brought them
back to do evangelism. Today Anglicanism is the largest
denomination in Solomon Islands.
• SSEC (Queensland Kanaka Mission) in 1894 with Peter
Abu'ofa. It became SSEC in 1907.
• Methodist Mission arrived in 1902 in New Georgia. They
relied heavily on islanders from other countries.
• 1914 Seventh Day Adventists arrive in Western
Solomons
• 1971 Assembly of God
• 1977 Jehovah's Witness
• 1992 Nukukaisi Church of the Nazarene with Dickson
Manongi and Wallace White. :-)
• See _00_Religion in Day 09 for chart and table of
membership
SSEC
Missions is at home and missions
is overseas.
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Missionary is a Christian ministering
cross-culturally
Much Solomon islands missions is crosscultural!
7 billion people live on Earth, 1/3 have
never heard of Jesus - what will you do?
Homework
http://www.google.com.sb/imgres?sa=X
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g&w=750&h=566&ei=QAxJUt2kAojMyQ
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en&sout=0&tbm=isch&tbnid=EsMqGWMbTnoUuM:&imgrefurl=http://www.janeresture.com/i
n&sout=0&tbm=isch&tbnid=r-20oE4wUbYFyM:&imgrefurl=http://anglicanhistory.org/oceania
&sa=X&hl=en&sout=0&tbm=isch&tbnid=9EbDTUHmmUDurM:&imgrefurl=http://www.greats
en&sout=0&tbm=isch&tbnid=7x6KRvTdapn6HM:&imgrefurl=http://www.postcardman.net/so
ress.anu.edu.au/apps/bookworm/view/An+Otago+Storeman+in+Solomon+Islands/10011/ch
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahiti
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Tahiti
http://www.google.com.sb/imgres?imgurl=http://www.chrisrainey.com/images/2449-1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.chrisrainey.com/index.php%3Fs%3D116%26clr%3D1&usg=__o3JR9EgKdZbYVp3FA7JYALItiYA=&h=570&w=876&sz=95&hl=en&start=20&zoom=1&tbnid=MUKiiZaFEC8UYM:&tbnh=95&tbnw=146&ei=HgxJUuDgBO2MyAHi14CYDA&itbs=1&sa=X&ved=0CFEQrQMwEw