Missionaries from the Younger Churches

Abstract

The assumption of responsibility for sending missionaries beyond the borders of their own countries has been in most cases a comparatively recent development in the life of the “younger churches”, Themselves the product of missions from churches longer established, they have obeyed the missionary imperative first at home and then have begun to share in the wider task. In some cases the young church arrived at this stage early, as in the South Seas; but conditions in other areas of the world are very different: some churches cannot yet send missionaries, others can help toward the support of missionaries sent by other agencies, and some now can support a growing program of foreign work.

In previous reports prepared by the Missionary Research Library, some instances of the sending of missionaries by the younger churches were cited, but no documentation was specifically given. In the present report, considerably more material has been available, and sources are listed in the footnotes. There is no doubt that more missionaries have been sent by younger churches than are here reported. Some are sent by agencies of which the Missionary Research Library has no record; some are completely independent; some belong to groups which for one reason or another have not made information available. Insofar as replies have come in from national councils of churches and other field representatives, they have teen included. The many periodicals available in the Missionary Research Library have been found a fruitful source of currant information about the missionaries of the various churches, and some helpful data is also found in yearbooks and annuals. Special appreciation should be expressed to these who replied to the questionnaire sent to national Christian councils. Especially useful were the report and list of missionaries prepared in 1961 by the East Asia Christian cauncil, and the two current study books on Latin America.

Further information and corrections from the field would be gladly received, in order that the record may more fairly reflection the actual situation, as the Church moves forward in her task.