WILLIAM CAREY
William Carey was an English missionary who did not take the easy route on his way to achieve great things for the Kingdom. He patiently worked hard for permission to preach the Gospel to people in India and when it was finally granted, he sailed to the unknown Indian subcontinent with his wife and children.
The book starts by describing his childhood in the village of Paulerspury in the 1760s when, as a thirteen year old, a young William Carey sneaked away from his village to hear John Wesley preach. The turning point in his life occurred when as a young man, William Carey was invited to a minister’s conference where a robust discussion on foreign missions was taking place. After a heated back and forth, it was decided within the year that William Carey would be sent to India, and after jumping over hurdles set by the East India Company, he was aboard the Kron Princessa Maria, a Danish vessel headed to Calcutta.
In his four-decade service to the people of India, William Carey the Baptist preacher, professor, linguist and botanist was the first person to translate the entire Christian Bible into six Indian languages and the New Testament into 30 Indian languages. He also built a printing press, trained thousands of civil servants, worked with the British administration to abolish child sacrifices and widow-burning, founded Serampore University to be the “Oxford of the East”, and most important of all, led thousands to Jesus Christ through compassion and love.
The missionary must be resolved to face poverty, poor housing and unrelenting hard work. And yes, he may also face hatred, intimidation, imprisonment, torture and even death.
William Carey: Heroes of the Faith
Written against the backdrop of the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the march of Napoleon across Europe, and William Wilberforce’s drive to abolish slavery, “William Carey: Heroes of the Faith” is an enriching book chronicling the life of one of Britain’s (and the world’s) most influential believers.
PRAYER
Dear Jesus, for people who have only known oppression and have been longing for the chance to live better lives, thank you for providing missionaries like William Carey to deliver the life-changing teachings of the Gospel. For those whose lives have been touched by William Carey, we pray for the Gospel to be kept alive in their (and their future generations’) lives. Help them to, in turn, share the faith with others in need of the compassion and wisdom found in the Gospel.
INSTAGRAM
DID YOU KNOW?
Before setting sail, William Carey is introduced to a man while attempting to obtain licenses to travel. That man’s name was John Newton, the author of the hymn Amazing Grace. John Newton turns to William Carey and says, “I want you to meet the man who will champion the abolition of slavery to its conclusion”, before introducing him to William Wilberforce!