Evangelism Only? Theory versus Practice in the Early Faith Missions

Abstract

It is often stated in the historiography of the faith mission enterprise that early faith missions focused almost exclusively on evangelism, whereas denominational missions invested heavily in schools, hospitals, and the like. This article explores the experience of Cameron Townsend in the Central American Mission during the 1920s, and argues that conservative evangelicals in faith missions were every bit as concerned as the more liberal denominational missionaries with schools and hospitals. That historians have paid such attention to the “evangelism only” focus of faith missions indicates that they have attended closer to the rhetoric of home councils and conservative home constituencies than to the missionaries themselves.