Would you believe it possible for a shoemaker to become a missionary and Bible translator? God has a plan for each of His children, and once we give over our lives to Him miraculous things can happen in His name.
William Carey was born in England in 1761 to a weaver’s family. He became a shoemaker’s apprentice, then a schoolmaster, and then a Baptist pastor. By age 21 he had mastered the languages of Latin, Italian, Hebrew, and Greek all the while practicing his trade of shoemaker and also pastor.
William Carey believed that “If it be the duty of all men to believe the Gospel … then it be the duty of those who are entrusted with the Gospel to endeavor to make it known among all nations.” William Carey surrendered to missions with the cry of, “Here am I; send me!” One of the biggest problems that he faced was getting to the missions field as there were no missionary societies or even much interest in missions at all at the time.
The Enquiry Into the Obligations of the Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen was written by William Carey and is considered to by many to be a masterpiece on missions. In 1792 he and a group of fellow missions minded people were successful in beginning a missionary society – the Baptist Missionary Society. This society then allowed William Carey to begin his foreign missionary career to India in 1793.
William Carey spent 41 years on the mission field in India where he saw many conversions for Christ. He ended up translating the Bible into Bengali, Sanskrit, and numerous other languages and dialects, and he is known as the “father of modern missions.” His most famous quote by far is:
“Expect great things from God; Attempt great things for God.”
If we all had but a fraction of the desire to reach the lost that William Carey had, then imagine the difference that could be made towards reaching the lost!
Photo by jjpv2000
