The Missionary Concept of the China Inland Mission in China

The Missionary Concept of the China Inland Mission in China

Daniel KT CHOI

The China Inland Mission (CIM, renamed as Overseas Missionary Fellowship, OMF International in 1964) was the largest missionary agency in China. It was set up in 1865 under the direction of James Hudson Taylor and William Thomas Berger. The first missionary party of CIM , including Taylor, reached Shanghai in 1866, and the first Mission base was established at Hangzhou. The work was concentrated on the coastal provinces initially, but after the headquarters of CIM was moved to Yangzhou in 1868, the mission began its work in the interior areas, all the way to Manchuria, Mongolia, Tibet and Upper Burma. Meanwhile, Taylor traveled across several continents to recruit for the CIM. The number of missionaries peaked at 1,387 in 1937.

Although the missionaries of CIM were badly hit by the massacres of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, the CIM underwent considerable growth and development in the following years. In the years after the late 1930s, however, war and revolution led to a decline in the number of CIM missionaries in China. After the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and the Communist victory (1949), the CIM decided that further work in China was impossible and ordered all CIM missionaries to leave. The CIM continues its work in other East Asian countries as OMF, and still maintain a ministry to China and the Chinese nowadays.

The goal of the CIM was the evangelization of China's inland provinces. Their chief aim was to proclaim the Gospel, which was believed to be a more direct way of evangelism. Hence, it eschewed the more passive ways of evangelism, such as the provision of social services. As a nondenominational faith mission, it aimed to reach out to as many areas which were not yet evangelized by other missionaries as possible.

The CIM requested all of its missionaries to learn the Chinese language, dress in the Chinese way and find a way of living without a guaranteed salary. Missionaries were expected to become closely involved in the Chinese way of living. From the early 20th century, the services of CIM missionaries covered a wide spectrum including literature, medical services, social services, education, student movement, works among minorities and women.

Despite the many shortcomings of the CIM, it has contributed significantly to the spiritual needs of the Chinese population during its existence in Mainland China.