The Most Important and Exciting Short-Term Missions Trip Ever
From the biography, “On the Missionary Trail” by Tom Hiney.
If you lived in the 1790s, most of Asia and Africa was not reached for the gospel. Millions had never heard the name of Jesus.
It is true that most of Ethiopia, North Africa, and Central Asia knew of Jesus since the early church, but the Muslim takeover killed most Christians in Africa and Asia. From the 600s to 900s AD, many thousands in China came to Christ because of the Nestorian missionaries during the Tang dynasty, but the next Chinese dynasty killed all of the Christians. And many Japanese came to Christ in the 1600s, but Japan killed off most Christians after that. The apostle Thomas planted churches in South India from the early church days, but the Hindu kingdoms would not allow the message of Christ to spread to Central or Northern India.
Therefore, in the 1790s, if you lived in Africa, India, China, or in any part of Asia and the Pacific Islands, like the Polynesians, Tahiti and beyond – you would have never heard the name of Christ or had access to a Bible.
Then, a humble cobbler with a shoe shop was led to Christ by John Warr in a Baptist Sunday school ministry in England. William Carey was saved and later became a Baptist pastor who would pray for the world. He would pray over maps of the world, praying for God’s kingdom to come through missionary gospel preaching and church planting as the apostle Paul had started in the book of Acts. The simple pattern of gospel missionary-sending obedience was interrupted and corrupted by state controlled and sponsored churches. Jan Huss was burnt at the stake for his stand for truth. The Moravian Missions Revival in the early 1700s was fruit of that. Yet, it was the Baptists in the 1790s who got the vision of a spiritual Kingdom of God to transform hearts by the Holy Spirit, the Word, and the power of the cross – and to reach people one by one, city to city in Matthew 28, normal, evangelistic discipleship.
William Carey’s Baptist friends met together with him for prayer and missions focus. They formed the first Baptist Missions Society, and William Carey volunteered with passion, vision, and leadership to be the first missionary sent out. He initially wanted to be sent out to the Tahitian Islands, but the team chose India as the first mission field. Calcutta, India was suffering under the wicked, greedy hands of the East India Company. The local Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Buddhists, and tribal animists there in Bengal were all suffering and lost. No one knew about Jesus Christ.
God led William Carey to translate the Bible into over 30 Indian languages. As he preached Jesus’ gospel, he had to wait 7 years before the first convert, a man named Krishna Lal, was saved and born again. He started the first university in India called Serampore University. He taught civil servants, printing technology, horticulture, and more in Jesus’ name. God used him to stop widow burning and child sacrifices. We don’t have time to discuss all of the amazing details of William Carey and his powerful, life-changing mission. Watch the Christian movie “Candle in the Dark – William Carey” free on YouTube and read the biography on William Carey written by Vishal Mangalwadi.
But the story I want to tell here is of the greatest missions revival and the most exciting and fruitful short-term missions trip in history.
The exciting summary of this book is that God used William Carey’s prayers and one desperate, pleading letter to call forth and birth a revival of missionaries being trained and sent out to the whole world - and you and I are a part of that continuing movement of God today.
When William Carey was still a new missionary, all alone with no results, it was like trying to light a candle to melt an iceberg. He sat north of Calcutta in the midst of millions of souls lost from the true God. He was the only missionary. He was praying a team would be assembled to help him in the gargantuan task. And he was praying for more missionaries to be sent to the parts of Asia and Africa that he would never see or impact personally.
So, William Carey wrote a letter to his Baptist friends back in England.
Pastor John Ryland and his Baptist association read the letter and sprang to action.
The need was so great in their time that they all agreed that they should move ecumenically with all “dissenting” churches in London, cooperating together in prayer, revival meetings, recruitment, and training. All Baptists, Methodists, and non-conforming churches were called by God together for this. William Carey recommended such unity in the Body of Christ.
Revival and prayer meetings were held each night in London for God to call out missionaries into all the world. Preaching of the Word of God regarding the Great Commission was declared with holy boldness and fire, pleading the desperate need of Asia and Africa who had NEVER HEARD OF JESUS! Believers were stirred and many were caught up in the same experience the prophet Isaiah had in his chapter 6 vision - hearing God speak to them, “who will go for us?” And many London believers answered, “Here am I. Send me”!
I don’t know how many were sent out from 1795 to 1803 AD. This biography says there were hundreds. Men and women with practical vocational skills were preferred so they could bring practical developments to the pagan cultures in order to show love and good works. 30 missionaries were sent on a boat to Tahiti to reach the Polynesian islands with Henry Nott, the leader of that first boat.
The London Missionary Society (L.M.S.) sent others by boat to reach all sections of India. Robert Moffat was sent with a team to South Africa. Robert Morrison was sent to China. (He was the first to translate the Bible into Mandarin and Cantonese.) Daniel Jones and his family were sent to Madagascar. Others were sent to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and all the South Pacific.
But then the drama happens. Around 1803 AD, Napoleon took control of Europe and stopped all British boats. Boats full of British missionaries were turned back home and not allowed to go to their fields. All communication between the mission home base and their missionaries was cut off as all letters and mail never got to their destination because of Napoleon. Napoleon must have been from the devil! For almost 15 years the London mission base and their pastors did not know how the missionaries were doing.
Finally, after Napoleon was defeated, the London Missionary Society looked for volunteers to lead a follow-up mission trip to visit all their missionaries to see how they were doing after 15 years of no communication.
Two men volunteered and their story is told in this book, “On the Missionary Trail” by Tom Hiney. Pastor Daniel Tyerman and Christian businessman George Bennett were sent out on a boat. They didn't know how long they would be gone to visit all the mission fields. It ended up taking 8 years! That's why this is literally the most important, exciting, and fruitful short term missions trip ever taken.
After sailing around Africa, the first stop is Tahiti to see Henry Nott. They get off the boat and ask, “How are you? What has God done the last 15 years?”
There was bad news and good news. The good news is – after many barriers and failure, after many prayers, language and culture learning, and preaching – most of the Tahitian island people have accepted Christ. Nott had Tahitian disciples taking the gospel to their own people and leading new churches. But the bad news was reported by Nott, saying, “26 of the 30 you sent on the boat with me quit the mission after 6 months and gave up. They moved to Australia.” Oh no! But “no worry! The 4 remaining missionaries have been strengthened by Christ to lead Tahiti to Christ - and the only remaining islands that have not been reached yet are Hawaii!!” This team of 2 men say, “well then, take us to Hawaii now and let’s lead them to Christ.”
And it happens! They stay 6 months in Hawaii, and during those 6 months, because they brought Tahitian disciples with them, all Hawaii comes to Christ! All because of their visit!
Then they visit Robert Morrison’s work translating the Chinese Bibles! There is not much response yet in China or Hong Kong, but they are hoping for China to open up. Then they visit their missionaries in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, who also have very little results. Yet the L.M.S. missionaries are faithful to continue. Then Daniel Tyerman and George Bennet take over 2 years to visit over 30 of their missionaries they had sent to India. They travel from Andhra Pradesh to Maharashtra to Bengal to Bihar to Varanasi and Allahabad and many towns on the Ganges River. They visit L.M.S. gospel preachers in Vishakhapatnam and Bellary, Bangalore, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Many Hindus were coming to Christ! I personally recognize most places they went as I have also preached the Word and invested love in people in most of those places in my 19-year career in India. I was ecstatic to read about these pioneers, of whom I stand on their shoulders.
Africa is the last stop. They visit Daniel Jones, whom they had sent to Madagascar. His wife and 2 children had died for the gospel cause during the last few years, and yet there was still no fruit. No Madagascar souls had come to Christ even after Daniel Jones’ sacrifice, seeing his wife and children die. But this 8-year short-term follow-up missions trip was to be the answer to his many prayers. Because of this follow-up visit, the King of Madagascar comes to Christ and then 25 % of the island became Christian! Missionary Daniel Jones rejoices with tears flowing.
In the midst of this joyful revival, tragedy strikes and one of the two follow-up men dies in Madagascar. Pastor Daniel Tyerman is buried there still today, and only George Bennett is left to carry on to the last stop in South Africa and then to return home to England to give the report of all the glory of God they saw on the 8-year short-term missions trip journey!
On the last stop in South Africa, Bennett meets Samuel Moffat. Moffat shows him many Xhosa tribals coming to Christ. (That is the language of the Black Panther fictional Wakanda movie.) But Samuel Moffat pleads with George Bennett to request more missionaries as he gives his report to churches all over England.
And guess what? David Livingstone is a youth who hears the London Missionary report and is moved by God to go to Africa to help Moffat, and he marries his daughter. And it is through Livingstone that all South and Central Africa open up, by God’s grace!
One man’s pleading letter, by God’s Spirit, can effect a movement of missionary revival. What a thrilling true story that you and I stand upon and continue by God’s grace. There are still millions of souls in the earth today who have never heard of Jesus Christ. Even for millions who have heard the name of Jesus, they have no idea who He is or what the grace of God is. Let us be trained in the Word and the Spirit and go. After we are trained, why do we not go? Let us be sent. Pastors, please send more of your people. Risk for love’s sake and send people to suffer and live for reaching this generation for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Halleluiah!
The book: “On the missionary Trail” by Tom Hiney
Doug Pearson, along with his wife Bethany, are missionaries in India.
