1. Reformation Period
This was the beginning of change, but the Reform Church brought a lot of baggage with it (i.e. church-state concepts, infant baptism, sacramentalism, formalism, and territorialism).

2. Reasons the Reformation began
Renaissance education emphasized critical thinking
Availability of printed material & Bible
Abuses of the Roman Catholic Church:
Pope Leo X’s lifestyle
Sale of Indulgences and Relics
Sales of Church offices: “simony”
Mariolatry, saints intercession, infallibility of pope, celibacy
“Once you hear the money’s ring, the soul from purgatory is free to spring” Tetzel

3. Martin Luther ( )
Luther was a professor at Wittenberg University
Religious truth found only in the Bible
Sales of indulgences reduced/cancel purgatory suffering ensuring heaven
Supported lavish lifestyles of Church leaders
Financed the building of St. Peter’s Basilica for 400 years
Criticized Church practices and leadership in 95 Theses

4. Spread of Lutheranism

5. Spread of Lutheranism 1560
Wittenberg

6. John Calvin ( )
French student associated with Radical movement in Paris, fled to Geneva wrote Institutes at 19
Calvinism/Presbyterianism
Sovereignty of God who determines everything and every destiny of man
Theocracy in Geneva (church-state)
Established a training Institute in Geneva which sent out graduates to spread Calvinism

7. Spread of Calvinism from Geneva

8. Reformation Period:
Protestant Reformation was attempt to return to apostolic Christianity
New truth did not affect missions for 200 yrs
Roman Catholic counter reformation resulted in more missionaries—RCC gained more than lost! (approx )
Reasons for apathy among early Protestants:
Some taught Commission only for apostles
Lutheran and Reformation churches fighting among themselves– 30 yrs War left Germany in economic and social chaos
Protestants tended to Deterministic Theology: God does it without human intervention!
Protestants had no religious order dedicated to evangelizing as did the Catholics: Franciscans, Dominicans and Jesuits
Counter reformation of RCC: Such reforms included the foundation of seminaries for the proper training of priests in the spiritual life and the theological traditions of the Church, the reform of religious life by returning orders to their spiritual foundations, and new spiritual movements focusing on the devotional life and a personal relationship with Christ, including the Spanish mystics and the French school of spirituality.

10. Limited Missionary Effort for 200 yrs
In 1555 French Calvinist Huguenots went to Brazil
Chaplains primary concern was French, not Brazilian
Little success (less than 1-yr) and soon murdered by Portuguese Catholics
In 1649 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England formed to reach the Indians of New England
John Eliot spent two years learning language of Algonquians and by 1663 completed NT translation
Formed Christian Indian “praying” towns

11. Limited Missionary Effort for 200 yrs
In 1664 Baron Von Welz criticized the Lutheran church for lack of missionary interest, gave up his title, sailed to Surinam, SA
Official refutation of Welz’s view was
1) difficulty of missionary task,
2) difficulty of recruiting,
3) depravity of heathen making conversion nearly impossible,
4) great need at home,
5) it is the responsibility of the few Christians already there

12. Reasons for the Great Omission
Difficult circumstances of the Protestants
Always a minority in Europe, fighting for existence
Authorized killing Protestants, like the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in 1572 where 3000 killed resulted Edict of Nantes, 1598, gave rights to Huguenots
Protestants drawn into Religious Wars to survive
Protestants argued among themselves theologically each with threats of capital punishment
Lutherans and Calvinists joined to persecute the Anabaptists, who wanted radical reform of Protestant church
Protestants only reluctantly took advantage of Protestant countries’ colonial expansion – then only as chaplains of their people, often prohibiting the preaching within the colonies
Religious Wars around Population of German states killed 30% in 30-years War
Male population reduced to 50%
In some areas 75% of population killed

13. More Reasons for Omission
Lack of Para-church Orders (mission agencies)
Nothing compared to the Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, and Jesuits
Not until para-church mission boards formed did Protestant missionary movement begin (1792)
Common Rationalizations for disinterest
1. “Charity begins at home” to justify unconcern
Rebuttal: We can never reach our homeland, so time will never come to send out missionaries!
2. Heathen are too depraved and quote, “The holy things of God are not to be cast before such dogs and swine” (Mat 7:6)—Does not refer to heathen but false teachers!
Rebuttal: All men are equally depraved (Rom 3:22-23), nor did they understand the power of the Spirit to convict and convince men of truth

14. Theology of the Reformers
Exegetical excuse: Commission only given to Apostles – problem: phrase, “until the end of the age”!
Exegetical excuse: Col 1:23 ingressive aorist participle, “the gospel that you have heard, which is beginning to be proclaimed in all creation under heaven.”
Political excuse: Held that the Commission was the responsibility of the government
Anabaptists held to a separation of church and state
Reformers held to a Landeskirche, a territorial church—any church outside the territorial church is illegal
Theological excuse: it is God’s responsibility to save the heathen, not ours—since regeneration is not necessarily related to preaching or faith, we are not needed to evangelize!
Theological excuse: Most believed that the end of the age was soon, so there was no time to evangelize – though it is clear that no one can know the time (Mt 24:36)

15. Final Reasons Limited concept of Missions
Thought the church was merely to grow within its national boundary —as ripples across a pond
Thought reaching numerically more people, was equal or better than reaching all peoples
Thought a special call from God to be a missionary was necessary to make a commitment—the expressed desire of Christ was not sufficient!
Spiritual Weakness of the Reformation
The Reformation was not a revival in which millions were born again
Most were sweep along with the territorial church
Reformers did not spell out a clear doctrine of regeneration or the new birth – still depended upon baptism and communion (“sacraments”) and the church
Sardis church, “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead” Rev. 3:1

16. Beginning of Missionary Movement
Pietists of central Europe started movement
Reacted against barren orthodoxy and formalism of Reformation churches
Philip Spenser ( ) sought to renew church through small groups, personal conversion experience, Bible study, prayer, godly living, compassion and missionary zeal
In 1705 first mission, Danish-Halle Mission, sent out first missionaries, Bartholomew Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plutschau, to Danish colonies in East Indies
Second step was Moravian Church in 1722 Count Zinzendorf gave refuge to Anabaptists. In less than 10 yrs 226 Moravians sent to 10 countries.
Puritanism under Jonathan Edwards, a missionary to the Indians, challenged through “Concert of Prayer” for spread of Gospel to world—origin of Wed. night prayer meeting

18. Early Missions to S. America

19. Launching of Missions
1792 William Carey’s book “An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen”
Carey’s mentor responded, “Young man, sit down. When God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine”
Carey founded the Baptist Missionary Society; took family and 2 associates to India for 40 yrs
Carey called “Father of Missions”
Soon all European denominations had a mission

20. European Explorations

21. Three Early British Missionaries
Robert Morrison, Pioneer to China ( )
After training sailed to China in 1807
China was very closed to “foreign devils” plus British Trade Companies opposed them (opium trade)
Prohibited to learn Chinese—he witnessed secretly and translated Bible
Motivated Parliament to permit missionaries to evangelize

22. Three Early British Missionaries
Robert Moffat: Pioneer to Africa
Evangelist, translator, educator, diplomat and explorer
A Scotch Calvinist saved through new Methodist movement
Arrived in 1816, Married on the field, started “mission compound”,
mediated tribal warfare, failed to evangelize through trade language,
translated Bible but British presses refused to print it, first converts in 1829,
eventually would win about 200, after 53 years in Africa with 1 furlough returned to promote missions in British Isles

23. Three Early British Missionaries
David Livingston ( ): Explorer in Africa—Most famous missionary
Semi-nomadic ministry of exploration and witness, opening central Africa
Henry Stanley, American newsman, went to find and interview Livingston – found him in 1871—later challenged and surrendered to be a missionary

24. American Join World Evangelism
Samuel J. Mills, left a farm, went to college to prepare for ministry in 1806
At Williams College he was challenged by 4 other students: often met for prayer
During a storm they fled to a haystack for protection—Famous “Haystack Prayer Meeting”
Adoniram Judson joined Haystack prayer group at Andover Seminary
Together they formed the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1810
In 1812 Judson and seven colleagues sailed for India as first of thousands of American missionaries
En route Judson and Luther Rice became convinced of believer’s baptism – Luther returned to start mission
“Why, how stupid, stupid I have been! Missions, why the NT is all missions!” Judson.
Luther started the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society in 1814
Dedicated to language learning and publishing Bible, health problems, death of son, seven years before first convert, appealed to Emperor for permission to evangelize but was denied, converts pled that he say even if it meant martyrdom! He did!
Ann Judson returned to US for health reason for 2 years.
Emperor eventually favored Judson, invited him to capital Ava, but British declared war in 1824.
Emperor captured Judson and put in “Death Prison” presumed a spy, tortured, awaiting execution, asked to translate in peace negotiations with British
The couple met after 18 months of prison for only 2 weeks, followed by months of negotiations during which his wife, Ann, died delivering a baby, who also died.
The next 14 years spent translating and evangelizing, completing the Burmese Bible in He took one furlough after 33 years returned to Burma where he died 3 years later—leaving a vibrant Burmese church and Bible

25. Missionary flow from America

26. 3 Eras of Mission Activity
First Era: to the coastlands—William Carey ( )
Mobilized by early student movements
Typically nondenominational missions
Astonishing readiness to sacrifice
Second Era: to the inland areas—Hudson Taylor ( )
Mobilized by Student Volunteer Movement
Many “Faith” Missions planted churches in every geographical area by 1940.

27. 3 Eras of Mission Activity
Third Era: to the “unreached people” —Cameron Townsend ( ) and Donald McGavran ( )
Mobilized by Inter-Varsity Fellowship, Campus Crusade & Student Foreign Mission Fellowship
Townsend discovered languages groups needing translations, started SIL and Wycliffe Bible Trans.
McGavran focused on social groupings and Church Growth Principles
“People Group” concept was born: defined as ethno-linguistic groups (cultural traditions and prejudices)
Missions is defined as: “From all nations, to all nations.”