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Adoniram-Judson

Jason Duesing and Nathan Finn on Adoniram Judson

By Matthew Barrett —

In the March issue of Credo Magazine, “Make Disciples of All Nations,” we sought to ignite a passion for missions. And what better timing as this year marks the 200th anniversary of Adoniram and Ann Judson setting sail aboard the Caravan with to take the gospel to Burma. In weeks past we have highlighted articles and book reviews by Ted Kluck, the Housley Family (missionaries in Papua New Guinea), Kenneth Stewart, Brian Vickers, David VanDrunen, Matt Williams, and many others. Today we want to highlight two more articles by Jason Duesing and Nathan Finn. Duesing’s article, “Ambition Overthrown: The Conversion, Consecration, and Commission of Adoniram Judson, 1788-1812,” covers Adoniram Judson’s conversion and call to missions, while Finn’s article, “Adoniram Judson: Pioneer Missionary to Burma,” explores Adoniram as a missionary. Both of these articles are a taste of their larger contribution to the new book, Adoniram Judson: A Bicentennial Appreciation of the Pioneer American Missionary, edited by Jason Duesing.

Here is the introduction to Duesing’s article:

Resting 165 feet above Plymouth Rock is a forgotten cemetery. By the end of the nineteenth century, a memorial slab placed in Burial Hill commemorated one of Plymouth’s notable families. Surrounded by a small white fence and elevated on short pillars, the six-foot stone lists the names of the Judsons. Among the inscriptions one finds:

ADONIRAM JUDSON.D.D.

Missionary of the American Baptist

Missionary Union to the Burman

Empire, who died at Sea

April 12, 1850, Æ. 62 years.

Though by the end of his life he gained the type of national notoriety generally reserved for public officials and dignitaries, Judson would not have wanted even this obscure and hidden tribute.  However, this selflessness did not always characterize Judson. During his formative years, he sought fame and the praise of men. How was this ambition overthrown and redirected?

And here is the introduction to Finn’s article:

Adoniram and Ann Judson embarked from Salem, Massachusetts for India on February 19, 1812. The young couple had been married only two weeks earlier, the day before Adoniram’s ordination to the gospel ministry. The previous fall, Adoniram had been appointed by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). After a brief delay, the day had finally arrived for the Judsons and their friends Samuel and Harriett Newell to board the Caravan and depart for Calcutta. Their fellow missionaries Luther Rice, Gordon Hall, and Samuel and Roxanna Nott set sail from Philadelphia a few days later on board the Harmony. These two ships carried the first formally commissioned foreign missionaries in American history.

The Judsons and their colleagues were Congregationalists, but Adoniram knew that upon arriving in India they would meet William Carey, the famed Baptist missionary. Carey, who has sometimes been called the father of the modern missions movement, had been in India for almost two decades. During their voyage, the Judsons made a Scripture study of the topic, eventually coming to Baptist convictions. Upon their arrival in Calcutta, they received believer’s baptism by immersion from one of Carey’s colleagues and resigned their appointment with the ABCFM; they were now without financial sponsorship. Luther Rice, who had also become a Baptist during this period, returned to America on behalf of the freshly minted Baptist missionaries. Rice proved instrumental in the formation of the so-called Triennial Convention, which subsequently adopted the Judson mission.

Read both articles today in the March issue of Credo Magazine, “Make Disciples of All Nations.”

To view the Magazine as a PDF {Click Here}

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) These words, spoken by Jesus after his resurrection, are famously known as The Great Commission. As disciples of Christ, it is our great joy to go and tell the nations about the good news of salvation for sinners through Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. The March issue of Credo Magazine will seek to ignite a passion for missions. And what better timing as this year marks the 200th anniversary of Adoniram and Ann Judson setting sail aboard the Caravan with to take the gospel to Burma. Contributors include: Ted Kluck, Jason Duesing, Nathan Finn, the Housley Family (missionaries in Papua New Guinea), Kenneth Stewart, Brian Vickers, David VanDrunen, Matt Williams, and many others.

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