This week in Christian history: Missionary in China, French secularism and Sunday School movement
Jonathan Goforth begins tour of Chinese region — Sept. 13, 1888
This week marks the anniversary of when Presbyterian missionary Jonathan Goforth began his tour of a region in China known as North Honan, where he would preach the Gospel.
Goforth and his wife sailed for China back in the month of February, with the missionary comparing the sights of the province to that of his native Canada.
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“We crossed the northern boundary into Honan province over the Chang River. The country before us lay rich and fertile with villages as thick as farmsteads in most parts of Ontario,” wrote Goforth.
“To the west could be seen the beautiful Shansi mountains. I was thrilled with the thought of being at last inside our Promised Land. Walking ahead of the carts, I prayed the Lord to give me that section of North Honan as my own field.”
Goforth would serve as a missionary in the region for several years and also visited multiple important mission centers in the Korean Peninsula in 1907.
“Goforth had a passion for winning souls for Christ,” wrote Thomas John Bach in his 1955 book Pioneer Missionaries for Christ and His Church.
“Goforth was convinced that it was the simple gospel message that was ‘the power of God unto salvation,’ and he was eager to share this conviction with others.”
