EMQ » April–June 2019 » Volume 55 Issue 2
By Marvin J. Newell
Recently, while reading Bill O’Reilly’s book, Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History, I was taken aback when I encountered the account of a Canadian missionary present at the 1962 execution of the notorious Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. This murderer had sent millions of innocent people to their deaths.
But Eichmann was not to go into eternity without hearing about God’s grace that is extended to the chief of sinners, even to him. Twenty minutes before being led to the gallows, Canadian missionary Rev. William Hull was permitted to meet with Eichmann in his Israeli cell for the purpose of presenting the gospel to him. After his twenty futile minutes were up, Hull sadly left the cell, unsuccessful in his attempt to bring Eichmann to Jesus in his final moments on earth.
That’s the kind of compassion, forgiveness, and missionary zeal Canadians have exhibited for nearly two hundred years of foreign mission activity. Granted there was much missionary activity within Canada early on, especially among indigenous peoples. Then just before the middle of the nineteenth century, missionaries began to go globally. In 1845 Richard Burpee went to India with support from Maritime Baptists. In 1846 the tiny Presbyterian Church of Nova Scotia sent John Geddie to the New Hebrides. Others quickly followed.
Through the years many notable Canadian missionaries have served with distinction. Here are a few standouts that should not be forgotten:
Jonathan Goforth (1859–1936)
Goforth was a Presbyterian missionary to China with the Canadian Presbyterian Mission, along with his wife, Rosalind. He became the foremost missionary revivalist in early twentieth-century China and helped to establish revivalism as a major element in Protestant China missions.
George Leslie Mackay (1844–1901)
Mackay was the first Presbyterian missionary to northern Taiwan. He served with the Canadian Presbyterian Mission and is among the best known Westerners to have lived in Taiwan.
Robert A. Jaffray (1873–1945)
Jaffray was a missionary to China, Indonesia, and several other countries, with The Christian & Missionary Alliance. He served as the founding principal of the Alliance Bible Seminary in Hong Kong, and principal contributor and editor of the Chinese language Bible Magazine. He died at seventy-two years of age in a Japanese concentration camp in Indonesia.
Isobel Miller Kuhn (1901–1957)
Isobel a.k.a. “Belle,” was a Canadian missionary to the Lisu people of Yunnan Province, China, and northern Thailand. She served with the China Inland Mission (now OMF International) along with her husband, John, as a Bible translator, church planter, Bible teacher, evangelist, and authored nine books about her experiences. Three of her best known are: Green Leaf in Drought, In the Arena, and Stones of Fire. All three impacted me as a student.
Susanna Carson Rijnhart (1868–1908)
Susanna “Susie” Carson Rijnhart, was a Canadian missionary medical doctor and Tibetan explorer. She was the second Western woman known to have visited and even lived in Tibet. Susanna was an independent and adventurous woman. She and her first husband Petrus never joined a mission agency and lived a very frugal life filled with hardship.
Rowland Bingham (1872–1942) and Walter Gowans (1868–1894)
Bingham was co-founder, along with Canadian Walter Gowans and American Thomas Kent, of Sudan Interior Mission (now SIM). Read Gary Corwin’s compelling article “Walter Gowans and Rowland Bingham: The Spirituality of SIM’s Canadian Founders” to learn about these missionary pioneers and the spirituality that drove them.
Don Richardson (1935–2018)
Don Richardson was a Canadian missionary (born on Prince Edward Island) with RBMU (now World Team). He was a teacher, author and international speaker who worked among the tribal people of what is now Papua, Indonesia. He is known for his impacting books: Peace Child, Lords of the Earth, and Eternity in Their Hearts.
This edition of EMQ focuses exclusively on Canadians doing mission. Every contributor (except Corwin, who features Bingham and Gowans) is Canadian. They present current thinking pertaining to missions both in Canada and beyond. With this edition, it is our hope that (1) Canadians will be encouraged by current missiological thinking in their particular circle, and (2) non-Canadians will gain a deeper appreciation for the contributions Canadians are making to global missions.
Marvin J. Newell
General Editor
