The young Hudson Taylor
It was said of him:
‘No other missionary in the nineteen centuries since the Apostle Paul has had a wider vision and has carried out a more systematised plan of evangelising a broad geographical area than Hudson Taylor.’[i]
Hudson Taylor’s story is one of the most exciting and challenging in church history.
Oh not another rule breaker!
At first he was frowned upon by his fellow Europeans because when he arrived in China he was neither an ordained minister nor even a qualified doctor. He was looked down upon by the qualified missionaries as an upstart, almost an imposter – relying merely upon a supposed call from God.
He made it worse! When he adopted Chinese clothing and insisted on his fellow workers doing the same he became the laughing stock of the Shanghai missionary community.
But he persevered and soon, by faithful prayer and faithful preaching, he won converts and ‘mission stations’ (prototype church plant communities) were gradually established across China.
Wisdom (+faith+perseverance) vindicated
Before too long, Hudson Taylor’s organization, ‘The China inland Mission’, was the single most productive movement for evangelisation in Chinese history.
We are going to spend a little time examining certain aspects of Taylor’s life and ministry. Much has been written about him and his work and I trust we will be inspired to ‘imitate his faith’ in our own contexts.
To read the next part of the Hudson Taylor Story click here
© 2011 Church History / Lex Loizides
[i] Ruth Tucker, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya, Zondervan p.173
Hudson Taylor is one of my hero’s of the faith – I grew up reading about him so great that you are going to share his amazing story with more people! He was a great man! Blessings!!
hey this is great. keep it coming. i have always like Taylor.