April 14 - Mission Field

April 14 – Mission Field

The mission field was beginning to grow. Christians from all over Europe felt the call to take the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.

One young man, William Carey, heard the call and managed to get into the mission field though he had to overcome many different obstacles.

Carey grew up in England, the son of a weaver turned teacher. He loved reading, but was never a strong, healthy boy. He managed to get himself apprenticed to a shoemaker and learned the trade. He joined a church outside the Anglican fellowship and ticked his father off. He got married and began preaching – sometimes walking eight miles to get to the church he served.

The group of ministers that he associated with did not believe in foreign missions, insisting that God would save the heathen without their intervention, but Carey couldn’t believe that and began focusing on his vision of ministry outside his immediate location.

Soon things began to look promising. A doctor volunteered to serve in India and needed someone to go with him – Carey volunteered. But, then the obstacles began to arise. Carey’s wife was pregnant and they had three children. He wasn’t healthy. The doctor had unpaid bills and creditors were searching for him and then the threat of war with France stopped the ship they would sail on.

Carey managed to coerce his family to join him and soon they sailed. In 1793 they arrived in Calcutta. Things weren’t great. No one was paying attention to his message, the oldest children were always in trouble, the doctor’s debts continued to follow him. But, Carey wasn’t dissuaded. He moved to another location, joining Danish missionaries. A church was built and Carey translated the New Testament into Bengali.

He spent thirty years as a missionary, translating the Bible into forty-four languages or dialects. He started several schools and mission stations. Carey believed that rather than bringing British religion to India, he needed to respect the culture. Instead of condemning Hindu religion, he simply emphasized the death and resurrection of Christ.

William Carey lived a life in mission and helped establish foreign missions as a strength for the church.