::

T
his rcading will takc us back to thc vangcli
cal Awakcning in ngland. arlicr you rcad
about thc Clapham Scct, which was a group
ol wcalthy cvangclicals. A numbcr ol thcm wcrc in
Parliamcnt, and wcrc involvcd in all sorts ol things.
Lord Vilbcrlorcc was onc ol thcm, and his chicl ac
complishmcnt was outlawing slavcry in ngland.
Anothcr mcmbcr was Hannah Moorc, who produccd
what wcrc callcd pcnny tracts. Tcsc wcrc littlc bits ol
papcr, which taught thc poor pcoplc ol thc country how
to rcad, and includcd moral lcssons to raisc thcir idca
ol how to livc in a godly way. Tc young lawycr who
hclpcd Vilbcrlorcc prcparc lor all thc battlcs hc laccd in
Parliamcnt was also conncctcd with thc Clapham Scct.
Tcy scnt him as a common scaman on a slavc ship to
nally gct thc data thcy nccdcd to prcscnt to Parliamcnt.
Tcrc was anothcr onc ol thc Clapham Scct who bccamc
a grcat writcr. Tcy wcrc an amazing group ol pcoplc!
nc ol thc othcr things that thcy got involvcd in was
missions. Tcy dccidcd that it was not right lor ngland
to bc scnding colonial administrators to rulc ovcr !ndia
without bcing intcrcstcd in !ndias spiritual wcllarc. So
thcy put out a rcqucst lor a voluntccr to go to !ndia as a
chaplain to thc 8ritishcrs who wcrc ovcr thcrc.
Tc young man who voluntccrcd was Hcnry Martyn,
thc onc who said, Lct mc burn out lor God! Hc was a
missionary saint and numcrous storics havc bccn writ
tcn about him! A trcmcndously brilliant young man, hc
lcarncd a numbcr ol languagcs in that short pcriod ol
timc. Hc was ncvcr actually a missionary in thc scnsc ol
working mainly with thc indigcnous pcoplcs thcrc. 8ut
hc did do a lot ol work on thc nativc languagcs.
Martyn was a studcnt whcn hc got caught up with this
idcal, this goal, and this vision ol missions. Morc than likcly
hc prcccdcd thc group ol young mcn who mct togcthcr
pcriodically, at Villiams Collcgc in thc Unitcd Statcs.
Te Ungodly Years
after the Revolutionary War
A book that our sccond daughtcr wrotc as hcr scnior
thcsis in history at Caltcch is callcd, Te Night Cometh:
Two Evangelicals Face the Nation. Tc intcrcsting thing
about thc bcginning chaptcr ol this book is that it tclls
you what it was likc in thosc ycars, thc ycars just altcr
thc Amcrican Rcvolutionary Var.
Vc oltcn think ol that point in history as a vcry godly
timc, whcn actually it was just thc oppositc. At that point
thc USA was a nation just torn asundcr by all sorts ol cvils.
Tc thcsis rcads,
!t was 1836. Two brothcrs, both millionaircs and both
dcvout Christians, wcrc undcr sicgc. Lcwis had only
thrcc wccks carlicr complctcd his ncw homc on Rosc
Strcct in a quict, middlcclass scction ol Ncw York City.
Now, latc at night, in his lamilys abscncc, a mob had
convcrgcd, hackcd his doors, lurniturc and picturcs to
picccs and burncd thcm in a hugc bonrc. Arthurs namc,
mcanwhilc, was bcing broadcast lar and widc as a wantcd
man. Almost a million dollars, in todays currcncy, was ol
lcrcd lor his dclivcrancc, dcad or alivc, to a Ncw rlcans
addrcss. And thc owncr ol thc storc across thc strcct
lrom his importing company had also ocrcd 8150,000
to anyonc who would kill him. Ncwspapcrs rcvilcd thcm
both in issuc altcr issuc. vcn thc policc turncd thcir
Student Movements in Missions
Ralph D. Winter
Rcprintcd with pcrmission lrom Vintcr, Ralph . Te Unfolding Drama f the Christian Movement. n.d., Chaptcr 14.
:: S:ibvx: Movv:vx:s ix Missioxs
backs and ignorcd thcir dangcr. Arthur and Lcwis must
havc lclt uttcrly alonc in thcir troublcs.
Vhy would two mcn, so wcalthy and so dcvout,
absolutcly inluriatc so many pcoplc: Tat qucstion
bcgins a long story almost totally lorgottcn in our day,
and bclicvablc only il wc go back bricy to 1792 to an
Amcrica wc may not rccognizc, a nation with a ncw
drcam and with sccmingly impossiblc problcms. Vash
ington, usually impcrturbablc, was alarmcd. So was John
Adams. !t had bccn only a lcw short ycars sincc thc
Rcvolutionary Var had bccn won, yct libcrty had not
brought thc long sought pcacc. Likc tccnagcrs suddcnly
awarc ol thcir prowcss, thc ncwly indcpcndcnt Amcri
cans, now having no 8ritish authority to rcsist, rcsistcd
thc ncwly cstablishcd Amcrican onc. Tcy lclt scll
sucicnt lor any crisis, and did not want, nor lccl thc
nccd lor, any ccntralizcd lcadcrship. 8ad habits, usclul
in winning thc war, provcd irksomc and cvcn dangcrous
in cstablishing a nation (Vintcr 1977).
Shc gocs on to spcak ol thc privatccrs who had hasslcd
thc 8ritish shipping industry and how thcy still kcpt
on with thcir pirating. Ncithcr did thc soldicrs ol thc
Rcvolution lay down thcir guns altcr thc war. thcy now
uscd thcm against thcir pcrsonal cncmics. Tc wholc
busincss ol taxation without rcprcscntation, which had
bccn thcir battlc cry against ngland, was now bcing
carricd ovcr into thc Amcrican sccnc. Tcy rcluscd to
givc any support to any ccntral govcrnmcnt.
Part ol thc problcm was cconomic, but not just cco
nomic. !n Francc, right altcr thc Amcrican Rcvolu
tionary Var, it was thc timc ol Lavoisicr, dAlcmbcrt,
and \oltairc. Tc studcnts in thc Amcrican collcgcs
callcd thcmsclvcs by thcsc lamous namcs and dclightcd
in bcing as antiGod as thcy could possibly bc. !t was
said that in all ol thc collcgcs that had bccn cstablishcd
undcr Christian principlcs, as Christian institutcs lor
training ministcrs, it was hard to nd cvcn onc pcrson
who would admit to bcing a Christian.
!n onc school thcrc wcrc thrcc Christian studcnts, who
nally had to ask lor thc prcsidcnts pcrmission to usc
his pcrsonal occ in ordcr to pray. Tcy would lock
thcmsclvcs in bccausc il thc othcr studcnts kncw that
thcy wcrc praying, thcy would mob thcm.
Timothy wight, Jonathan dwards grandson, and
pcrhaps onc ol thc grcatcst ol Yalc Collcgc prcsidcnts,
lcarcd that thc grcat objcct ol dcmocracy was to dc
stroy cvcry tracc ol civilization in thc world, and lorcc
man back into a savagc statc. And Hamilton, whcn
conlrontcd with thc idca ol a govcrnmcnt by thc
pcoplc as in Francc, cxplodcd, Your pcoplc, sir, your
pcoplc is a grcat bcast!
Tcrc was so much rowdincss and drunkcnncss on thc
lronticr that it was dangcrous to go into Kcntucky, lor
instancc, and othcr such placcs. Tc custom ol cyc
gouging in ghts was so common that it was said that
hardly anybody in Pcnnsylvania had morc than onc cyc.
Acccss to alcohol addcd to thc problcm. At a point
whcn thc population was 5 million, thc Unitcd Statcs
had 300,000 drunkards and buricd 15,000 ol thcm an
nually. Alcohol was uscd as part ol thc pay lor working
mcn, cvcn thosc who wcrc building churchcs.
!n that kind ol socicty, clcrgymcn wcrc undcr a grcat
dcal ol ridiculc. Jccrson, in bcing critical ol thc church
and anything Christian, vicd with Tomas Painc, a
known athcist, lor thc rolc ol bcing thc most hatcd man
among conscrvativc Christians. n at lcast onc occa
sion, a \irginia scnator complaincd that at Jccrsons
dinncr tablc (during a discussion ol rcligion) only a Jcw
would join him in thc dclcnsc ol thc charactcr ol Jcsus.
Tis was thc statc ol aairs just altcr thc Rcvolutionary war.
Te Haystack Prayer Meeting and
Te Student Volunteer Movement
for Foreign Missions
Villiams Collcgc was not unlikc thc rcst ol thc
schools alrcady namcd. !t similarly cxpcricnccd a situ
ation whcrc no onc was Christian cxccpt lor about vc
young mcn. Against thc status quo thcsc vc young
mcn dccidcd to mcct lor praycr cvcry wcck. Tcy
would go out into thc clds whcrc thcy would not bc
attackcd by thc unbclicving studcnts, and thcy would
mcct thcrc lor praycr.
nc day whcn thcy wcrc mccting, a hugc rainstorm
camc upon thcm. So thcy ran lor a haystack closc by
and crawlcd in undcr thc hay to nish thcir praycr
mccting. ut ol this Haystack Prayer Meeting, as it
camc to bc known, was born thc rst Protcstant mis
sionary socicty in Amcrica.
Tcsc studcnts thcmsclvcs wcrc not thc oncs who sct
up thc Amcrican 8oard ol Commissioncrs lor Forcign
Missions, but thcy did go back to thcir collcgc pro
Ralph D. Winter ::
lcssors to insist that somcthing bc donc. Tcrc was at
lcast onc Christian prolcssor who took thcm to various
church lcadcrs and hclpcd thcm to prcss thcir way
through. Adoniram Judson, thc lamous missionary to
8urma, was onc ol thcm. Samucl Mills was anothcr.
Tcrc wcrc scvcral othcrs, such as Luthcr Ricc, who
wcnt with Judson.
wight L. Moody lollowcd on thc hccls ol Finncy,
at about thc samc timc as thc Civil Var. Moody was
a shoc salcsman in 8oston who had an unusual gilt.
Latcr hc wcnt to Chicago and startcd a Sunday School
class rclatcd to a local church. Tc class got so big that
nally hc startcd tcaching thc young pcoplc in an cmpty
warchousc. Tat was whcrc hc lcarncd his cvangclistic
tcchniquc. Moody was quitc unlcttcrcd in comparison
to Finncy, but thc Lord uscd him. Hc wcnt ovcr to
ngland at onc point. Hc was invitcd to Cambridgc to
prcach, and many qucstioncd how this unlcttcrcd guy
could pull it o. Tc statc ol Christianity in ngland
was about as bad as it was in thc Unitcd Statcs. 8ut
thcrc was somcthing about Moodys spirit and about his
soul, that turncd Cambridgc Univcrsity upsidc down!
A group ol young mcn at Cambridgc bandcd togcthcr
and startcd to pray. At thc samc timc, or shortly thcrc
altcr, young pcoplc in thc U.S. collcgcs bcgan to band
togcthcr and pray.
nc such group consistcd ol thrcc young mcn at
Princcton. Tc lathcr ol onc, r. Vildcr, was a prolcs
sor thcrc who had bccn a missionary in !ndia. His son
and his sons lricnds mct in thc homc quitc oltcn lor
praycr, asking that thc Lord would somchow opcn
up pcoplcs hcarts to thc nccd to go as missionarics
into thc world. Vildcrs sistcr was as much on rc lor
missions as hc was, but shc was not allowcd to mcct
with thcm lor praycr bccausc shc was a woman. So shc
would pray on onc sidc ol thc wall whilc thcy mct on
thc othcr, and thcy would all pray.
Tcn thcy dccidcd that thcy had to do morc than pray,
thcy had to organizc. Moody had bccn prcssurcd to call
a convcntion ol collcgc studcnts to mcct in Mt. Hcrmon
in Massachusctts, and thcy had invitcd studcnts lrom
all ovcr thc Unitcd Statcs. Tcrc is a book that lists all
thc studcnts that camc to that Mt. Hcrmon Conlcrcncc.
At that timc thcrc wcrc cvcn two young womcn lrom
Calilornia, who wcrc studying in Mainc. Studcnts lrom
all ovcr thc Statcs camc to that conlcrcncc. Vildcr, his
lricnds, and his sistcr Ruth wcnt, too.
Vhilc thcrc, thcy startcd to organizc thc mission, lrom
which camc Tc Studcnt \oluntccr Movcmcnt lor
Forcign Missions. !t is to Moodys crcdit that hc did
not lorcc, or cvcn cncouragc this. Hc himscll was not
a missionary. His scrmons wcrc cvangclistic, rcach
ing out to what wc call 0 and 1 pcoplc, but hc
cncouragcd thcsc youth in thcir missionary vision.
Tc S\MFM (Studcnt \oluntccr Movcmcnt lor
Forcign Missions) bccamc probably thc most potcnt
lorcc lor missions that wc havc cvcr known. !n about
10 ycars timc, thcrc wcrc 80,000 young pcoplc mcct
ing togcthcr on a rcgular basis, praying that thc Lord
would scnd lorth missionarics into thc harvcst. l
thosc 80,000, somc 20,000 voluntccrcd to go ovcrscas
(and actually wcnt). Tc othcr 60,000 staycd homc and
lormcd thcmsclvcs into a group callcd thc Laymens
Missionary Movement. !t was composcd ol malc collcgc
graduatcs, who wcnt on to bccomc thc busincssmcn,
lawycrs, bankcrs, and doctors ol that day. Tcy mct
rcgularly to pray lor thcir collcagucs who had gonc
ovcrscas and cvcntually cncouragcd thc giving ol hugc
sums ol moncy lor thcir support. !n lact, bctwccn
1907 and 1914, thc Laymcns Missionary Movcmcnt
quadruplcd thc amount ol moncy givcn to missions
bccausc ol thcir cmphasis and thcir cort!
nc ol thc pcoplc who was caught up in this movc
mcnt was a young man by thc namc ol Kcnncth Scott
Latourcttc. Hc was a studcnt in rcgon and thcn wcnt
back ast to Yalc. Tcrc hc got caught up in this mis
sions movcmcnt that was vitally intcrcstcd in praying
that thc Lord would scnd lorth laborcrs. Tcrc wcrc so
many at Yalc that thcy sct up what thcy callcd Yalc in
China (a univcrsity in China whcrc thcy would scnd
Yalc graduatcs to sta thc univcrsity).
A namc, which you may rccognizc lrom that timc is
8ordcn ol Yalc. Tcrc is a book by thc samc namc.
8ordcn was son ol thc loundcr ol thc lamous 8ordcn
milk company, onc ol thc wcalthicr companics in thc
Statcs today. Adlai Stcvcnson, who ran lor thc U.S.
prcsidcncy, camc lrom that 8ordcn lamily. 8ordcn
ol Yalc voluntccrcd as a missionary and got as lar as
gypt, whcrc hc bccamc sick and dicd.
Anothcr intcrcsting thing about thc Studcnt \oluntccr
Movcmcnt was thc amount ol litcraturc thcy produccd.
Hugc numbcrs ol books, pamphlcts, and charts wcrc
put into print and scattcrcd all ovcr. At thc samc timc,
thc Christian ndcavor Movcmcnt bcgan on thc high
::6 S:ibvx: Movv:vx:s ix Missioxs
school and gradc school lcvcls, picking up thc samc cm
phasis on missions, not to mcntion thc missions cmpha
sis in Sunday Schools, with pcnny banks lor collccting
moncy. !t was a day whcn missions was a hot topic.
Reviving a Movement
nc ol thc things that wc arc trying to do is to start
anothcr studcnt voluntccr movcmcnt. Tcrc is a book
lct writtcn by John R. Mott callcd, Te Responsibility
of the Young People for the Evangelization of the World.
Mott was onc ol thosc youth lcadcrs who rcccivcd
his training in thc Studcnt \oluntccr Movcmcnt and
cndcd up bccoming a vcry important man. nc might
think that this booklct was writtcn lor today. Simi
larly in a publishcd addrcss, Robcrt Vildcr, onc ol thc
young mcn carlicr mcntioncd, answcrs all thc argu
mcnts that pcoplc put up lor not bccoming missionar
ics. nc by onc hc touchcs on cach conccrn, shrcdding
any argumcnt to ribbons. Tat addrcss is as apropos
today as it was thcn.
Tcrc is anothcr book by avid Howard callcd, Stu-
dent Power in World Evangelism. Hc spcaks ol somc ol
thc studcnts that havc bccn involvcd in missions. Most
adults lccl that you havc to bc an adult to do anything
missionsworthy, but thc Studcnt \oluntccr Movcmcnt
showcd that you do not havc to bc an adult to start a
major movcmcnt. nc ol thc things thcy did show is
that organization is vcry important. Praycr and organi
zation togcthcr arc vital, and that is what thcy did.
nc ol thc problcms today ol starting a succcssor to
thc Studcnt \oluntccr Movcmcnt is that thcrc has not
bccn anothcr organization likc it that is cxclusivcly
locuscd on lorcign missionscxccpt lor onc. Tc lull
namc ol thc S\M is thc Studcnt \oluntccr Movc
mcnt lor Forcign Missions (S\MFM), and it was not
just a studcnt Christian movcmcnt, nor just a campus
Christian movcmcnt. !t was spccically locuscd on
what thcy callcd in thosc days foreign missions. Tc
onc cxccption was an organization that workcd al
most cxclusivcly on Christian collcgc campuscs. !t was
callcd thc Student Foreign Mission Fellowship (SFMF).
Tis lcllowship was consciously bcgun as a mcans
ol rccouping thc momcntum ol thc Studcnt \olun
tccr Movcmcnt. it got along lairly wcll lor vc or six
ycars. Tcn along camc !ntcr\arsity lrom ngland, to
Canada, and thcn to thc Unitcd Statcs.
J. Christy Vilson, Jr., whcn hc bccamc thc hcad ol thc
SFMF (callcd FMF at that timc) was ablc to work
with !ntcr\arsity to pcrlorm a marriagc ccrcmony
bctwccn thc two organizations.
Now, no onc can possibly accusc Christy Vilson
(whosc lathcr was a missionary to !ran, and who
himscll grcw up in that country) ol trying to wrcck
thc studcnt missions movcmcnt, but in all honcsty,
! bclicvc that is what happcncd. !ntcr\arsity did not
solcly havc thc mission clds in its sight. !t had othcr
purposcs, and addcd missions to what it was alrcady
doing at thc timc whcn thc FMF joincd in. Missions
was addcd as somcthing cxtra. Tc third purposc ol !n
tcr\arsity bccamc, to promotc lorcign missions. Tis
mcant that thcrc wcrc othcr things compcting in thcir
structurc at thc vcry bcginning and in its continuation.
Today !ntcr\arsity and Campus Crusadc arc about
cqual in sizc in tcrms ol thc numbcrs ol thc campuscs
and studcnts thcy arc rcaching.
8oth ol thcm arc working vcry dicrcntly and both ol
thcm arc providing thc lunctions ol a dcnomination.
Tcy arc sort ol likc a church away lrom homc, on
campus. 8oth organizations would bc morticd and
humiliatcd to hcar mc say this. Tcy try vcry hard to
avoid any implication that thcy arc compcting with thc
churchcs. My own lccling is that thcy arc not compct
ing with thc churchcs but rathcr arc going whcrc thc
churchcs cannot rcadily go. Not cvcry church livcs ncxt
to a campus whcrc 2030,000 young pcoplc arc.
Tc churchcs cannot go with thcsc studcnts onto
campus. Tc studcnts arc simply lortunatc that somc
organizationsNavigators as wcll as thcsc othcr two
organizationsarc working on campuscs and hclping
studcnts with a broad spcctrum ol spiritual nccds.
8ut, as my daughtcr lound out whcn shc was at
UCLA, you cannot cmphasizc missions vcry much
without ovcrdoing it, in thc cycs ol somc lrom thcsc
organizations. Shc wantcd to start a missions praycr
group, and thcy said, h, no! Tat would bc divisivc.
! am not trying to tcll you that this has bccn thc univcrsal
policy ol !ntcr\arsity and Campus Crusadc. My daugh
tcrs !ntcr\arsity group said to hcr, Vhy dont you cdit
thc !ntcr\arsity Ncwspapcr, and you can cdit in stu
about missions il you want. No problcm! Vould you bc
willing to do that: So shc startcd to cdit thc papcr callcd
Te Fishwrapper. Soon thcy wcrc saying, Look, yourc
putting in too much about missions. Toward thc cnd ol
Ralph D. Winter ::
hcr nal ycar, shc brokc down, disobcycd thc policics and
got togcthcr a littlc group ol studcntsabout vcand
bcgan to study somc missions books.
!ntcr\arsity, working on sccular campuscs, has littlc
missions cmphasis, cxccpt oncc cvcry thrcc ycars whcn
thc Urbana missions convcntion comcs along. Tcy rc
ally promotc Urbana, and you havc to hand it to thcm
that thcy havc hcld on to that ccntral cvcnt. 8ut Ur
bana no longcr has, as lar as its lunction is conccrncd, a
uniqucly mission purposc. nc ol thcir vcry top pcoplc
said to mc, Vc would promotc Urbana whcthcr or
not wc talkcd about missions. Vc cannot lct go ol it.
Tat is thc timc whcn wc raisc all ol our moncy lor our
intcrnational work lor thc ncxt thrcc ycars. Tcrc is no
way wc could stop promoting thc Urbana Convcntion.
!t is our nancial lilclinc and it providcs our psycho
logical unity.
! do not mcan to say that !ntcr\arsity is just doing it
lor thc moncy, but thc lact is that it has othcr lunctions
to pcrlorm, and that missions, whilc lcaturcd at that
tricnnial mccting, is not always thc main locus.
!t is a pcrplcxing problcm, cvcn in !ntcr\arsity, to g
urc out how a rcal cogcnt cmphasis on missions can bc
rcscucd in thcir organization. My own opinion is that
it is no morc dicult to do within !ntcr\arsity than it
is within a dcnomination or congrcgation.
Vc arc up against a scrious problcm. How do wc, thc
pcoplc ol God, thc community ol thc laithlul, rcmain
loyal to a spccializcd conccrn (missions) within a gcn
cralizcd community structurc:
Tc answcr is: Vc cant.
My opinion, spcllcd out in cvcrything that ! writc on
thc subjcct ol modalitics and sodalitics, is that wc havc
to havc spccializcd organizations that harmoniously
work with, in, through, by, and alongsidc thc churchcs
(thc morc gcncralizcd lcllowships). Tcsc two typcs ol
organizations should not conict nor compctc with onc
anothcr. !l thcy coopcratc, thcy will both bc bcttcr o.
As lor my daughtcr, thc lollowing summcr in 1974 thosc
vc, plus lour othcr studcnts, wcnt o to thc Vhcaton
Summcr !nstitutc ol !ntcrnational Studics (now callcd
Perspectives). Shc had comc back lrom thc rst sum
mcrs !!S program and was cnthusiastic on thc subjcct ol
missions (you cant imaginc what 500 hours ol mission
studics docs to a collcgc studcnt!). Shc was rcally on rc,
and that was why shc had bccn a problcm to !ntcr\arsity.
At thc cnd ol that ncxt ycar, thcn, thcrc wcrc ninc stu
dcnts who wcnt o to this program callcd !!S (Summcr
!nstitutc ol !ntcrnational Studics), carclully disguiscd as
an !ntcrnational Studics Program to lacilitatc thc translcr
ol crcdits back to UCLA and othcr schools.
Tc !!S summcr intcnsivc program is an outstand
ing, widcranging program. For spcakcrs, thcrc may
bc thirty prolcssors lrom all thc lcading schools in thc
country, as wcll as dicrcnt mission cxccutivcs. 8ut
whilc it has bccn succcsslul, simply cducating young
pcoplc (as csscntial and as good as it is) is not thc
wholc answcr. At thc US Ccntcr lor Vorld Mission,
wc havc gonc out on a limb to buy a wholc campus in
ordcr to bccomc a prototypc lor similar cxpcrimcnts
as thc !!S program, but thcrc is somcthing clsc that is
ncccssary. Vhat is nccdcd is a movement.
Kcnncth Scott Latourcttc is thc chicl cxamplc ol somc
onc caught up in a movcmcnt. Rcad his autobiography.
Hc was a rcluctant missionary. Hc was not a pcrson
who, against thc crowd, dccidcd to bccomc a missionary
and so wcnt ovcrscas. Hc wcnt with thc crowd.
You may say, Vcll, wc dont want missionarics likc
that. Most missionarics arc ordinary human bcings.
You ccrtainly havc to havc somc ordinary human bc
ings in missions. You cannot havc all ccccntric, non
constructiblc, strongwillcd individuals. Tcrc arc too
many ol thosc kinds ol pcrsons in missions, prcciscly
bccausc thc sclcction proccss, duc to thc attitudc ol
socicty, is so advcrsc. How will wc gct thc middlc spcc
trum ol nc, solid, balanccd pcoplc, who arc not always
trying to do things dicrcntly lrom othcrs: You all
know missionarics charactcrizcd by thc lact that thcy
always think ol things dicrcntly, to which it is vcry
hard to gct othcr missionarics to agrcc.
Tc Studcnt \oluntccr Movcmcnt allowcd many
normal pcoplc to say, Ycs, this is a good idca, and to
go out and do a labulous missionary job. You cannot
say that Kcnncth Scott Latourcttc was a lailurc, cvcn
though, duc to his hcalth, hc did not stay in China.
Tc lact is that oncs bcing swcpt up in a movcmcnt is
a vcry normal thing. Tc Church, thc pcoplc ol God, is
a movcmcnt.
Vc arc studying people movements. ! bclicvc that thc
scminary lcvcl is an cxccllcnt placc to bcgin. Howcvcr,
! think that Fullcr Scminary, lor instancc, is lcss likcly
to scc a studcnt movcmcnt lor world missions simply
bccausc thc School ol Vorld Mission is thcrc. Young
::8 S:ibvx: Movv:vx:s ix Missioxs
pcoplc arc rcluctant to gct rcally cxcitcd and do things
lor thcmsclvcs, whcn thcy havc thc looming, monstrous
hulk ol onc hundrcd grayhaircd missionarics all around.
Vc prolcssionals in missions havc to rcalizc that wc arc
sitting on a limb that is bcing sawcd o. Vc havc got to
rccrcatc and to do as thcy did in thc carlicr days: Scck
and pray and work toward thc goal ol a movement.
How docs a movcmcnt start: Morc than likcly it is not
possiblc to prcdict cxactly what to do and how to do it,
but il wc havc any rcal mandatc to organizc, thcn why
not organizc a movcmcnt, a sodality: Lct us not hold
back, thinking that thcrc has to bc somc holy, hcavcnly
rcvclation to do what obviously nccds to bc donc.
References Cited
Vintcr, Rcbccca
1977 Te Night Cometh: Two Evangelicals Face the Nation.
Pasadcna, CA: Villiam Carcy Library.