THE DIFFICULT DECISION FOR ADONIRAM JUDSON
The more Judson sought to answer these questions, the more he was forced to conclude that Christian baptism was only for believers and that church membership should only be made up of the converted. Now, Judson faced an excruciating decision: would he hold fast to his newfound convictions? Or would he choose expediency? Writing to her parents a few months later, Judson’s wife Ann confided:
We knew it would wound and grieve our dear Christian friends in America—that we should lose their approbation and esteem. We thought it probable that the commissioners would refuse to support us. And, what was more distressing than anything, we knew we must be separated from our missionary associates, and go alone to some heathen land. These things were very trying to us and caused our hearts to bleed with anguish. We felt we had no home in this world and no friend but each other.[4]
Adoniram and Ann Judson wept and poured out their hearts before God about this decision. And by God’s grace, they held fast to their convictions. For their decision to hold fast to Scripture, they would be cut off from the support of their churches, damage their reputation, be alienated from all their friends and colleagues, and bring grief to their families. And yet, in God’s kindness, a new era of American missions would begin. Baptists rallied to form the Triennial Convention to support the Judsons and the cause of foreign missions.
CONCLUSION
Do you want to be sent out for cross-cultural missions? Undoubtedly, you should have a robust, theological understanding of the gospel—of God, of sin, of Christ, of justification, of conversion. All these matters (and more) are crucial for cross-cultural evangelism.
But the goal of missions is not merely individual conversions. Rather, it’s to see indigenous, gospel-preaching churches planted. This means that before being sent out, you also need to come to a robust, theological understanding of the church—its ordinances, membership, discipline, leadership, worship, and more. This understanding shouldn’t merely be academic but rather a lived-out reality of your Christian discipleship. The best missionaries are those who have proven themselves in the local church, who love the church, and who long to see it established among the unreached.
As Judson demonstrates, for the missionary, ecclesiological convictions can sometimes be painfully inconvenient. They often complexify the relationship with supporting churches. But as he also reminds us, holding fast to biblical convictions is always worth whatever difficulties may arise.
[1] Some would argue that George Liele was the first American foreign missionary, though the circumstances of his sending were quite different from the Judsons. See https://www.imb.org/2018/06/26/missionaries-you-should-know-george-liele/
[2] Adoniram Judson, A Letter to the Third Church in Plymouth, Mass. On the Subject of Baptism (Boston: Lincoln & Edmands, 1820), 15-16.
[3] Ibid. 16.
[4] Wayland, Memoir of Adoniram Judson, 1:107.
This article originally appeared here.
