Missionary Concepts and Practices of the Early Protestants

Missionary Concepts and Practices of the Early Protestants

Nathan K. N.G.

The Indian ministry of William Carey, which began in 1793, has long been regarded as the starting point of the overseas mission of the Protestant Church, before which nothing on trans-cultural evangelization had been done. Is this view correct?

By reviewing the missionary concepts and practices of the early Protestants, this article shows that the reformers and the church following them have actually fulfilled what they believed to be the “mission” of the church. The key issue is not whether they have put the Great Commission into practice, but what their missionary concepts were. Because of different theologies of mission, they have dissimilar opinions and actions on trans-cultural evangelization. The Indian ministry of Carey is not the true origin of Protestant mission.

An auxiliary goal of this article is to explain the close relationship between missionary concept and missionary practice with examples from the early Protestants. The former is the foundation of the latter. Doing mission without a correct and clear concept is like an athlete running without looking at the goal. All efforts may be lost. Frequent reflection and adjustment on one's missionary concept is an important factor for fruitful and meaningful missionary practices.