Hope Love and Prayer

"China is not to be won for Christ by quiet, ease-loving men and women … The stamp of men and women we need is such as will put Jesus, China, [and] souls first and foremost in everything and at every time—even life itself must be secondary."

Missionary History Lesson. James Hudson Taylor (1832 - 1905) was an English Missionary to China. He founded the China Inland Mission whereby, at the time of his death in 1905, there were 205 stations with over 800 missionaries and 125,000 Chinese Christians. He planted one seed at a time!

The first known Christian missionary into interior China. God has truly moved mountains by blessing and guiding a young Hudson Taylor to see beyond Europe to the Far East. China was stricken with famine; the people were starving for spiritual nourishment and God used Taylor to deliver the message that would fulfill their hunger.
I have always admire the works and strength in Hudson Taylor. He took a leap of faith to leave the comforts of his home to enter into an unknown world where everyone and everything was completely foreign and different. A territory devoid of God's love. He trusted and obey God and dutifully surrender his life to Him. Through prayer and God's strength, Taylor was able to deliver His message to the lost.

"Taylor ministered in the river towns, married a wife and saw many miracles in converted Chinese. But on June 25, 1865, he made his move to minister to the millions of China "West of the Mountains, South of the Clouds, North of the Lake"--Inland China. At Brighton, England, on furlough, he opened a bank account: "Ten pounds" (Fifty dollars) in the name of "The China Inland Mission." His initial goal was twenty-four workers. The next May the twenty-four sailed. Then there were seventy more. And another hundred. And finally more than eight hundred missionaries ministered across the far-flung miles of China's interior. Truly this man of faith and fortitude had mastered in the ministry of moving men through God by prayer."  Link

Today Hudson Taylor's work has seen tremendous growth. China Inland Mission is now called Overseas Missionary Fellowship, International. Their mission is to reach beyond China but all of East Asia - where 2 Billion people live and the least evangelized place on Earth. I am a supporter of OMF and continue to pray for its ministry.