Needled from the Haystack
Adoniram Judson was a 19th-century American Christian missionary who worked in Burma (now Myanmar). He is best known for translating the Bible into Burmese and for his enduring contributions to the Southeast Asian missionary efforts. Later, after a period away from his faith, Judson returned and became convinced of the need for mission work in Asia. Eager to serve abroad, he became convinced that "Asia, with its idolatrous myriads, was the most important field in the world for missionary effort." He and three other students from the seminary appeared before the Congregationalists' General Association to appeal for support. The elders voted to form the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1810.
On September 19, 1812, Judson was appointed by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions as a missionary to the East. He was also commissioned by the Congregational Church and married Ann Hasseltine on February 5, 1812. He was ordained the next day at the Tabernacle Church in Salem. On February 19, he set sail aboard the brig Caravan with Luther Rice, Samuel Newell , Harriet Newell, and his wife, Ann (aka, "Nancy") Judson. He would become a Baptist later.
Like most providential narratives, this one has a backstory. Judson did not call a meeting with the Congregationalist elders and convince them to start an international mission with his persuasive speech or political ability. God was providentially at work with something that began six years prior.
The famous “Haystack Prayer Meeting” took place in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is recognized as a significant event in the history of modern missions. On a Saturday in August 1806, five students from Williams College gathered in a grove of trees near the Hoosack River to discuss the theological aspects of missionary service. A thunderstorm suddenly interrupted their meeting, and the students, Samuel John Mills, James Richards, Francis L. Robbins, Harvey Loomis, and Byram Green, took shelter under a haystack until the sky cleared. The storm did not dampen their enthusiasm. Samuel Mills shared his burden that American missions would take the gospel throughout the Orient. The five interceded for international mission efforts and prayed fervently for the nations, particularly those unreached with the Gospel. They also expressed a strong desire to dedicate their lives to mission work. This gathering is often acknowledged as the birth of the American Missions movement, inspiring many to pursue missionary endeavors.
In 1808, the Haystack Prayer Group formed “The Brethren” as a society to “effect in the persons of its members a mission to the heathen.” Adoniram joined the group in 1810; he and these students inspired the establishment of America's first organized missionary society, called the “American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). Several students, including Judson, were among the first group of foreign missionaries sent from America and went to Asia. Samuel Mills stayed behind and recruited others to go. Mills became the Haystack individual with the most significant influence on the modern mission movement. He later helped organize the American Bible Society and the Foreign Missionary Society.
The Haystack Prayer Meeting significantly influenced Adoniram Judson’s life and work. His commitment to evangelism, Bible translation, and church planting in Burma has left a legacy. The Haystack Meeting is celebrated in missionary history as a moment when young people were inspired to commit themselves to spreading Christianity around the globe. Judson was one of the most notable figures who arose from this commitment. As a side note, we are seeing God move among young adults today. He could be preparing some of them for similar service.
By the time of Judson's death, he had translated the Bible into Burmese and a half-completed Burmese-English dictionary. At the time, Burma had 100 churches and over 8,000 believers. By 2006, Myanmar had the third-largest number of Baptists worldwide, behind the United States and India.
In its first fifty years, the Board sent over 1250 missionaries. After 150 years, the American Board assisted in sending nearly 5000 missionaries to thirty-four fields. It all began with a prayer meeting in a haystack during a thunderstorm.
Throughout American history, we have seen God’s providential hand. We have mentioned episodes during the various wars we have engaged in, but God is not the War God. He is overall, and sometimes His most evident and powerful actions occur regarding the physical battles the nation has fought. He is the God of the spiritual conflict as well. Paul reminds us of the invisible battle. Ephesians 6:10-11 (NKJV) reads:
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
We are engaged in an unseen war. The spirit of despotism, fascism, communism, etc., comes from the evil one. It imprisons people in their sins with no recourse to Christ for forgiveness. Someone has said that prayer is not preparation for the battle; prayer is the battle. The five young men who prayed through the 1806 thunderstorm in Williamstown set foot on the spiritual battlefield, and God blessed them. That event occurred forty years after our Declaration of Independence. For a generation, Americans knew freedom from tyranny, and Christian Americans knew freedom from sin. The spirit of liberty captured the hearts of these men, and they determined to share freedom in Christ worldwide.
Keep The Light of Fervently Praying for God’s Providence Burning!
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