William Carey

The vast majority of church leaders, however, did not share his zeal. When he proposed to a meeting of ministers:

“…the command given to the apostles to teach all nations was binding on all succeeding ministers to the end of the world,”

He was greeted with this response:

“Young man sit down! When God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without consulting you or me!”

But God was not converting the heathen without them. So in 1793, with the backing of the mission society he established, Carey took it upon himself to obey the Great Commission and go to India. The expected lifespan of an Englishman in rural India in the late 1700s was six months. In spite of the humid, unsanitary conditions, Carey survived malaria, dysentery, cholera, tigers, and cobras, and ministered for 41 years without a furlough. He preached for seven years before he baptized his first convert!

Through intense hardships, Carey’s indefatigable spirit and strong confidence in God’s call carried him through to victory. His often repeated motto was, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”

Carey made many significant contributions to the methodology of modern missions.

• He developed a systematic plan for world evangelization, laying the foundation for modern missiology with a comprehensive survey of the world.
• He demonstrated great cultural sensitivity toward the Indians, establishing indigenous churches and training native pastors.
• He set up mission schools to teach the Bible and a wide range of subjects. He established Serampore College to provide liberal arts and theological education to Indians regardless of denomination or caste.
• He spearheaded the push for social reform in his crusade against infanticide and the ritual burning of widows.

Carey and his team founded 26 churches and 126 schools in India, translated Scripture into 44 languages, produced grammars and dictionaries, and organized India’s first medical mission, savings bank, seminary, girls’ school, and vernacular newspaper. William Carey is rightly called the “father of modern missions.”