History

The mid-eighteenth century was a time of great religious awakenings. People of all races were motivated to create and sustain modern missions and efforts were taken to provide people with the Gospel. One significant piece of literature during that time was Humble Attempt, a narrative written by Jonathan Edwards in 1747, which advocated regular prayer for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom, and argues for missions. In 1792, English preacher William Carey called for the establishment of an Association to send missionaries to the non-Christian world after reading Edwards’s Humble Attempt.# The following year Carey began a mission in India after the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society. It was the writings of Carey and other British Christians that led directly to the formation of the London Missionary Society, which allowed for Christians of the region to put aside their sectarian differences and unite through the work of missions.

American Christians quickly joined the missionary movement that begun in London in 1795. For fifteen years American church leaders promoted missionary societies by raising funds through annual congregational collections and subscriptions, producing sermons about the work of missionaries and their biographies, and offering prayers during parish events. Preachers and writers exalted the work of missionaries as the model of Christian self-denial and disinterested benevolence. All of this had an influence on the young Christians that were growing up during this period. Many of whom sought to understand what duty and mission God had for their lives.