August 1988

In 1881, an article was published in the Missionary Review entitled "Can the World Be Evangelized in Twenty Years?" This document set off a debate that would be vigorous until at least 1892. The focus of the debate was the question, "Can the World Be Evangelized in the Present Century (by the year 1900)?" Most of the widely circulated missions periodicals of the day joined in, either supporting or criticizing the idea. By the time it was no longer possible (~1895) much ground had been covered. The leading proponent of the idea, who wrote this important article, was a pastor of a Presbyterian church in Philadelphia, who was also a widely known missions speaker. Arthur Tappan (A.T.) Pierson continually set before the church of his day the idea that the Great Commission could be finished within a single generation, perhaps even by the turn of the century. He used statistics in his left hand and the Biblical mandate in his right to keep the church constantly aware that bringing the gospel to every creature was a distinct possibility if only they would wake up to the opportunity.

Early History
Where did Pierson get this idea? He was certainly not the first person to voice this concern. Pierson looked back to several others who had helped him come to the understanding that the world could be evangelized in a single generation. Pier-son gives credit to Dr. Joseph Angus who preached a sermon before the Baptist Missionary Society in 1871 titled "Apostolic Missions; or. The Gospel For Every Creature." Though Angus' numerical scheme may have been an underestima-tion, the basic philosophy of the sermon puts forth the feasibility of bringing the Gospel to every creature in a short amount of time. "The Gospel for every creature! Can we give it? Is it possible for the age to tell the age, for the Church to tell to the world the glad tidings of the kingdom? In ten or twenty years can repentance and remission of sins be preached through Christ to all nations? I believe they can." (Quoted in the Missionary Review, July 1892:485) Pierson wrote, "it impresses us as one of the boldest, wisest, strongest appeals for immediate and world-wide evangelization we have ever read÷So far as we know, it was this address from which was drawn the motto of this new crusade: "The World for Christ in our Generation!'" (Missionary Review, July 1892:542)

Earlier expressions of this concept include an appeal issued in 1818 by Gordon Hall and Samuel Newell, two of the First American missionaries. They wrote a pamphlet entitled 'The Conversion of the World:, or the claims of Six Hundred Millions, and the Ability and Duty of Churches Respecting Them." They wrote, "It is the duty of the churches to send forth preachers in sufficient numbers to furnish the means of instruction and salvation to the whole world." (p. 9) This idea of the church taking responsibility for the whole world became central in Pierson's thinking.

In 1836 a document entitled "The Duty of the Present Generation to Evangelize the World: An Appeal from the Missionaries at the Sandwich Islands to their Friends in the United States" was sent to churches in the U.S. The missionaries urged the church that "the present generation can preach the gospel to the heathen. The men are already educated. Other means are ready. God requires it as a present duty÷The world has long been under the influence of this scheme, of committing the heathen to the next generation." (p. 34-35) These missionaries hoped that the church would not wait for the next generation but take responsibility for their own generation.

Anthony Grant gave a series of lectures at the University of Oxford in 1843 entitled "The Past and Prospective Extension of the Gospel By Missions to the Heathen." He stated,

We cannot contemplate the predicted fortunes of the Church, without seeing how strong an obligation rests upon each age to give effect to the implied charge of Christ, when He said that 'this Gospel of the kingdom shall' first 'be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; and then shall the end come.' (Grant, 1910:23)

He also said,

For neither the promise of its divine Author, nor any probability, would lead us to expect that it would be in all places at all times, nor in all places at any one time; but in some place at all times, and in all places at some time;÷ in a word, that it shall never fail from the earth, and shall at some period or other be preached over the whole world, before the end come. (Grant, 1910:29)

Grant's idea that the gospel would eventually be preached in all places was later quoted profusely in missions periodicals. Pierson used Grant's words, coupled with Scripture, to show the universality of the gospel.

Other books that Pierson may or may not have been aware of include Sermons by John James Weitbrecht published in 1857. This is a collection of sermons by the late J.J. Weitbrecht, a missionary of the Church Missionary Society in Burdwan, India. Of particular interest is the first sermon in this collection, "The Cause of Missions" preached in 1843. He takes Isaiah 52:10-11 as his text and writes,

...it gives a prospective view of the happy time, when the blessings of Christ's redemption are to be proclaimed to sinners, and enjoyed by believers, throughout the whole world. Now, the things which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of the prophet, and which the prophet beheld from a great distance, are being fulfilled in our days, and before our eyes. The word of eternal life is now published in every country, and in almost every language of the inhabited parts of the earth; and the Church of Christ is raising the banner of the cross in every land. From what the Lord has begun to accomplish in our days, through the instrumentality of His servants, and the blessings which have accompanied their efforts, the observer of daily events can safely infer, that the time is drawing near when the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord and where is the Christian who does not rejoice in the fact, that the long reiterated prayer of the church, "Thy kingdom come,' is now being answered and confirmed by the divine Amen; even by the conversion of a great multitude, which no man can number, of all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues?" (Weitbrecht, 1857:1-2)

Weitbrecht's words reflect an early instance in which the concept of "fulfilling the Great Commission in our day" is prevalent. This theme would become a major motivating force in the missions movement of the late nineteenth century. Weitbrecht places the duty of waking up the church to this fact in hands of the pastors.

Clearly and evidently as the historical facts concerning the establishment of the kingdom of Christ, and the conversion of people of different nations, present themselves before us; there are yet numbers who seem not to recognise them, or who are rather inclined to dispute the truth of them, or at least, feel no interest in them; and this, for the simple reason that they cannot appreciate the value of immortal souls, in comparison with the things of the world. It belongs therefore to the duty of the minister of the gospel, to direct especial attention to this great subject; for the glory of God- the welfare of his fellow-sinners,- and eternal interests are concerned with it. (Weitbrecht, 1857:3)

A year later. Dr. Joel Parker, one of the leading pastors of New York, preached a sermon entitled "The Duty of Present Generation of Christians to Evangelize the World." He said," It is the duty of Christians to evangelize the whole world immediately. The present generation is competent under God to achieve the work. There are means enough in the power of the Church to do it" (pages 21-22)

Another book, published in 1866, is equally optimistic.

Looking at the results which have been achieved, some persons may consider the work of evangelizing the world an hopeless task; others may say that we are not to expect such a consummation until after the return of the Lord Jesus to His Church. Without entering into the question of whether the blessed time predicted, when 'the earth shall be filled with the glory of the knowledge of the Lord,' is to be pre or post Millennial, let us look more fully at the success which has already attended the missionary efforts of the Protestant Churches. Speaking generally, we think we may safely say, that God has given success proportionate to the efforts put forth...With such results as these, it surely is not too much to expect that if the Christian Church increased its efforts an hundredfold. God would vouchsafe His blessing in the same proportion; and then we might hope to see India, China- yea, the whole world- completely evangelized. Why should this not be realized? Seventy years have only just passed away since the foundation of Missions, and in that period the standard of the cross has been erected, and Churches founded, in almost every country of the world; the Bible has been translated into the languages of nearly all people; multitudes have been induced to cast away their idols, and worship the living God; and all this has been accomplished in what may be regarded as only a sowing-time- a seed-time, moreover, which was preceded by a long winter of ploughing- countries invaded, savages tamed, languages learned and reduced to order, and the Bible translated. The plough having done its work, the seed having been scattered, it only remains that the labourers enter the fields which are even now ripening for the harvest. (Hassell, 1866:7-8)

Pierson was probably well aware of the last words of veteran missionary Simeon A, Calhoun, who had served with the American Board in Syria and died in 1875. "It is my deep conviction, and I say it again and again, that if the Church of Christ were what she ought to be, twenty years would not pass till the story of the cross should be uttered in the ears of every living man." (Missionary Tidings. May 1893:1)

In 1876, F.F. Ellinwood, a Presbyterian missionary, published a book entitled The Great Conquest which ended with the statement,

And this thought should never be forgotten, that all that human agency can do for this generation of the heathen world must be done by the Christians of to-day. Our children, however faithful in their time, cannot help the 1,200,000,000 of the perishing who pass their probation with us. Going to India and China, they will only tread the graves of those who have perished through our neglect. The generation now living is our stewardship. (Ellinwood, 1876:184) [Italics his]

In 1877, in a prayer meeting at a Presbyterian church in Detroit, Pierson himself, then a young pastor, for the first time voiced before his congregation his conviction that the world could be completely evangelized in the present generation.

Perhaps some ofPierson's enthusiasm was fired by the Shanghai conference of May 1877, where 120 missionaries representing most of the denominations working in China met to discuss the evangelization of China. They produced an appeal which read, "We want China emancipated from the thraldom of sin in this generation. It is possible. Our Lord has said, 'According to your faith be it unto you.' The church of God can do it, if she only be faithful to her great commission." (China's Millions, October 1877:121) They also wrote,

Christian brethren, we may take shame to ourselves that we have felt so little and done so little for the millions of China. If the meeting to-night shall be the means of laying China upon our hearts more than it has ever been before, it will not be in vain; and if there shall go forth from this conference upon Missions an entreaty÷an appeal÷to the whole Christian church to wake up to its high, and glorious, and greatest work÷the spread of the gospel throughout all the world, it will not be in vain that this Conference has been held. (China's Millions. October 1877:167)

This document is particularly significant because, like the appeal form the Sandwich Islands, it reflects the faith of missionaries, not armchair strategists. Proponents of the speedy evangelization of the world were quick to point out that the concept was heavily supported by missionaries. They also pointed out that its most vigorous opponents were not!

The expansion of the British empire fueled the belief in the possibility of the world being evangelized quickly.

An English preacher asked some British soldiers, "If Queen Victoria were to issue a proclamation, and placing it in

what the Lord has begun to accomplish in our days, through the instrumentality of His servants, and the blessings which have accompanied their efforts, the observer of daily events can safely infer, that the time is drawing near when the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord and where is the Christian who does not rejoice in the fact, that the long reiterated prayer of the church, "Thy kingdom come,' is now being answered and confirmed by the divine Amen; even by the conversion of a great multitude, which no man can number, of all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues?" (Weitbrecht, 1857:1-2)

for the glory of God- the welfare of his fellow-sinners,- and eternal interests are concerned with it. (Weitbrecht, 1857:3)

Another book, published in 1866, is equally optimistic.

Looking at the results which have been achieved, some persons may consider the work of evangelizing the world an hopeless task; others may say that we are not to expect such a con

summation until after the return of the Lord Jesus to His Church. Without entering into the question of whether the blessed time predicted, when 'the earth shall be filled with the glory of the knowledge of the Lord,' is to be pre or post Millennial, let us look more fully at the success which has already attended the missionary efforts of the Protestant Churches. Speaking generally, we think we may safely say, that God has given success proportionate to the efforts put forth...With such results as these, it surely is not too much to expect that if the Christian Church increased its efforts an hundredfold. God would vouchsafe His blessing in the same proportion; and then we might hope to see India, China- yea, the whole world- completely evangelized. Why should this not be realized? Seventy years have only just passed away since the foundation of Missions, and in that period the standard of the cross has been erected, and Churches founded, in almost every country of the world;

the Bible has been translated into the languages of nearly all people; multitudes have been induced to cast away their idols, and worship the living God;

and all this has been accomplished in what may be regarded as only a sowing-time- a seed-time, moreover, which was preceded by a long winter of ploughing- countries invaded, savages tamed, languages learned and reduced to order, and the Bible translated. The plough having done its work, the seed having been scattered, it only remains that the labourers enter the fields which are even now ripening for the harvest. (Hassell, 1866:7-8)

In 1876, F.F. Ellinwood, a Presbyterian missionary, published a book entitled The Great Conquest which ended with the statement,

pass their probation with us. Going to India and China, they will only tread the graves of those who have perished through our neglect. The generation now living is our stewardship. (Ellinwood, 1876:184) [Italics his]

wrote,

The expansion of the British empire fueled the belief in the possibility of the world being evangelized quickly.

An English preacher asked some British soldiers, "If Queen Victoria were to issue a proclamation, and placing it in the hands of her army and navy, were to say, "Go into all the world, and proclaim it to every creature,' how long do you think it would take to do it?" One of these men, accustomed to obeying orders without delay, and at peril of life, replied, "Well, I think we could manage it in about eighteen months." (quoted in China's Millions, January 1886)

If the Queen's word could spread this quickly, what could be said for the word of the King of the universe?

In 1878 Royal G. Wilder started the Missionary Review, a missions magazine intended to promote the idea of evangelizing the world in the present generation. In the opening issue. Wilder stated, "There has been a strange omission, for the most pan, of all public discussion of the ways and means employed for evangelizing the world." (Missionary Review, January. 1878:10) From the first issue the Missionary Review painted a realistic, yet hopeful view of the missionary enterprise. Surrounded by so much pessimism in the Christian community following the Civil War, Wilder chose "Nil desperandum, Christo sub duce" (Nothing to be despaired of under Christ as leader) as a motto. Wilder's opening editorial is full of references of what can be done in a generation.

Wilder's son, Robert, later documented his father's influence in promoting the watchword, "The Evangelization of the World in This Generation." "He believed in the Watchword, and that God's plan was 'that those of us living should do our utmost to carry the Gospel to those living then.'" (Braisted, 1930:17) When Wilder was at Princeton in 1883-84, his father "impressed upon us the duty of seeking to evangelize the world in our generation." (Wilder, 1915:15) In a letter written to a colleague, Charles Ober, Wilder wrote, "What later became the Watchword of the Movement, "The Evangelization of the World in this Generation,' was frequently discussed in the Princeton group." (Ober, 1927:96)

All of these men's ideas might have passed into history relatively unnoticed had not Wilder decided to publish Pier-son's ideas in 1881. The Missionary Review was only 4 years old but already was gaining popularity among people knowledgeable about missions. Pierson's article, "Can the World Be Evangelized in Twenty Years?" came from many years of consideration and study. By 1881 his own idea of what could be done in the present generation was solidly conceived. Pierson's article begins,

Why not! These are days of giant enterprises in the interests of commerce, science, art and literature. Why not carry the spirit of sanctified enterprise into our religious life and work! I wish by voice and by the aid of the press to set forth a practicable business proposition, namely that before the year 1900, the gospel shall be preached to every living soul! (Missionary Review, November-December 1881:437) [Italics his]

Royal Wilder added his "amen" following the article by saying, "The above proposal is entirely feasible...The work may require more men and money than are here computed; but more can be furnished, and the church of God become all the richer for furnishing them." (Missionary Review, Nov-December 1881:439) Wilder also mendons a similar plan set forth by Thomas D. Marshall of London "some years ago." Evidently Marshall also proposed

a special mission for the whole Heathen world. He wrote, "As by the good providence of God, doors are now opened for us into nearly every part of the earth, it is a question whether the time has come in which it would be practicable for some Christian men of statesmanlike and organizing capacity, to prepare a feasible plan for a Special Evangelizing Mission to the whole Heathen World." (quoted in Missionary Review, Nov-December 1881:440) [Italics his]

Wilder praised the spirit behind Marshall's plan but felt that the three years it provided for were too short to effectively evangelize the world. Wilder closes with "Let this consecration of self, life and property, obtain in the praying, going and giving of believers, and this world's evangelization in 20 years becomes practicable and easy." (Missionary Review, Nov-December 1881:441)

Pierson showed the practicality of his plan by using numbers.

One hundred and eighteen millions belong to Protestant and Evangelical churches. If personally, or by proxy, every such believer should, during these twenty years, reach six souls with the gospel, the whole world would be evangelized. But suppose that only ten millions have real evangelical knowledge, faith and experience: let each of these during twenty years reach sixty new souls with the gospel, and the grand result is still reached. Think of it. We may take one in ten of the Protestant church-members, and bring the whole present population of the world to the knowledge of the gospel, if each one of that number shall in some way bring the gospel into contact with three souls who have not heard it each year for twenty years. (Baptist Missionary Magazine. November 1881:381)

In January of 1882 responses began to pour in. Two articles appeared in the New York Evangelist recognizing the feasibility of Dr. Pierson's proposal. The Missionary Review made reference to these in January 1882 and added that Dr. Angus (who gave the famous sermon in 1871) thought it would only take ten years to preach the gospel to every creature if there were 50,000 missionaries and $75,000,000 a year to support them. Wilder felt that this estimate was low, citing 100,000 missionaries and $100,000,000 a year as more realistic over a 20 year period. He then closed with the challenge:

Any live man, who will send us earnest words, aimed with point and purpose directly to the accomplishment of this work÷the evangelizing of the world in 20 years÷shall command our pages to any reasonable extent. It is the largest proposal, the mightiest and grandest, and holiest undertaking within the scope of human hearts and hands. (Missionary Review, January 1882:43)

Evangelization vs. Conversion
An early objection to A. T. Pier-son's proposal was published in the Presbyterian Monthly Record in December of 1881,

Some writers speak of "evangelizing the world" in a few years. All Christians must desire to see the world converted at the earliest possible day; but a mistake may be easily made if the theory be adopted that this great change is to be made by simply announcing the gospel message... If the world is to be really convened, we must add to the idea of evangelizing that of making disciples of all nations, as our Lord's words teach us... This making disciples is not slight nor hasty work. (Presbyterian Monthly Record, December 1881:416-417)

The Missionary Review picked up these words in March of 1882 and brought out the difference between evangelizing and converting. Rev. H.A. Nelson wrote, "No writer on this theme has ventured to calculate what time it will take to'convert the world.' None of us assume that every inhabitant of any land will be spiritually renewed. Many may hear and refuse to accept the Gospel. But what we claim is that those who now have the Gospel and believe it, can make all men know of it within a calculable time÷say twenty years÷probably less." (Missionary Review, March 1882:95-96)

On this subject of which Pierson was to write much, he simply stated, "If the enterprise involved the absolute conversion of the whole world, it would indeed seem appalling, but 'to preach the Gospel to every creature' is neither appalling nor difficult." (.Missionary Review, My 1882:251)

Under the title "What is Evangelization?" a writer explains the confusion that results from this word being used to mean two different things.

Those who understand that "evangelize" means simply "to preach the gospel" are in haste to send the gospel messengers flying abroad "to every creature" as rapidly as possible. Heralds of salvation are to be sent at once into every portion of the earth yet without the gospel, that the world may be speedily "evangelized" in this sense; that is, may have the gospel preached, so that all who will hear may hear and be saved. It is presumed that they have this meaning in mind who speak of the world's "evangelization" as a thing to be speedily accomplished. To carry the gospel message to every part of the world not yet reached, within a few years, is a thing by no means impossible, and not even difficult when the strength and resources of the Christian Church of to-day are considered. In this view of the missionary work, methods are of little consequence: the great thing is to reach the "regions beyond" with the gospel as soon as possible. (Baptist Missionary Magazine, November 1885:415-416)

On the other hand, if evangelize means more than preaching, then more time is required to complete the job. Churches must be build up and strengthened, schools must be established, governments must be reformed, in short÷ peoples must be civilized. This civilizing process is the work of centuries, not of a single generation.

The work of proclamation, on the other hand, requires haste. Professor S. H. Kellogg wrote in to the Missionary Review,

God has foreordained the universal preaching of the Gospel as the absolutely necessary antecedent and condition of this glorious issue...It is clear as the sunlight that the Gospel 'must first be published among all nations.' To hasten this work, therefore, is to hasten the kingdom; to delay it is to delay the kingdom...Is not this sublime purpose of evangelizing the world within the present generation÷suggested, I most truly and thankfully believe, by God the Holy Spirit÷to be strengthened and encouraged in every way, till purpose shall take shape in action, and the close of the nineteenth century witness a sublime crusade of the united Church of Christ, which shall prepare the way for the speedy establishment on earth of the Kingdom of our Lord? (Missionary Review, March 1882:96-97)

Rev. G. H. C. Macgregor later wrote in China's Millions,

One of the best measures of the power of a king's word is the rapidity with which he can make it known to his people... The main business 01 a Christian's life is to make the Word of the Lord run and be glorified: and the rate of running, and the measure in which the Word of GOD is glorified, are proportionate to the obedience of Christian disciples to this command of the LORD'S that they should be witnesses. (China's Millions, June 1896:71) [Italics his]

Eugene Stock of the Church Missionary Society, speaking at a meeting of the China Inland Mission, said, "If we are to serve 'our own generation,' there is no time to spare. Why, those who will be going into eternity between this quarter past nine o'clock and midnight, belong to this generation now! It is too late for you and me to reach them. There will be more going into eternity to-morrow. It is too late to reach them. Oh! let us lose no time in reaching those whom we can reach, whether at home or abroad." (China's Millions, March WT.30) [Italics his]

In March of 1882, H. Grattan Guinness wrote,

Eighteen hundred years of gospel preaching, and not one in ten of mankind as yet a Protestant Christian? At that rate all our efforts are futile, and eighteen thousand years at least must elapse before the world is converted! Such reasoning is false, such discouragement unfounded. We are not sent to convert the world, but to evangelise it. Nothing is clearer on the face of Scripture than that the sphere in which the redeeming grace of God operates among fallen men has increased and widened with each succeeding age, and is destined ultimately to embrace all mankind...Never was there greater obligation to do all we can to this end than now; never was there more evident certainty that in so doing we are working together with God. Never were facilities for reaching every part of the earth so great, never were volunteers for missionary service so numerous, or encouragements in it so abundant, and never before was the time in which to finish our appointed task so short, as now in 1882! God help us to be in earnest! (Regions Beyond, March 1882:385,387) [Italics his]

Guinness continued his theme,

We must not let the immensity of the task paralyse us with discouragement. It is immense, but so are our resources... There is no doubt that the Protestant churches of England and America, of this last quarter of the nineteenth century, could give the gospel to the men of this generation, if they tried. And this only is our task; to evangelize the world, not to save it, is our responsibility. We are not called to aim at the impossible, we are not commanded to convert the world. We are told to evangelize it. This is a most important distinction, removing any sense of discouragement which might otherwise arise from the apparently insignificant results of missionary efforts. (Regions Beyond, March 1883:224) (Italics his]

This entire article was reprinted in The Illustrated Missionary News in June of 1883, giving it a wider audience.

These attempts to explain the difference between evangelization and conversion helped to bring clarity to what Pier-son meant by world evangelization. Several years later Pierson also defends bringing the gospel to all a first time before bringing it to any a second.

Some say that it is a very shallow thing this preaching the Gospel as a witness. They exclaim, "Why not thoroughly pervade all these nations with the Gospel!" That is the thing to do, when we have first given the witness, but let us do one thing at a time. If we are to make a second proclamation, it is necessary to have a first proclamation, and this let us be eager to do. (China's Millions, 1890:111)

Time and Evangelization
In the March 16, 1882 issue of The Gospel in All Lands Eugene R. Smith commended Pierson's view of history and salvation. "We are reminded that the past achievement is best viewed in its relation to the work to be done. So ought it to be. Forgetting the things that are behind, face the things that are before. The generation that now is, enters into the labors of that which is gone and going, with a vast accumulation of materials at its hand, a vantageground never before occupied by any body of Christian workers since the world began." (The Gospel in All Lands. March 16, 1882:121) Pierson saw continuity in the history of missions. He looked back to see how and where the gospel had spread and he looked forward to the day when "the earth [would] be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."

Pierson's 'The Progress of Missions," a lengthy article, was reprinted here as well. Pierson outlines the outstanding advances of missions in the past eighty years and then, with optimism, takes up the theme of the future. "I cannot resist the conclusion that the fulfillment of prophecy may be just before us÷Whichever way we turn our eyes, the signs of the times are the sure tokens of a day dawn. We have passed the dull grey that is the first advance herald of the morning÷even the purple and crimson tints that tell of the glory, hastening on; the east shews something more than dark clouds edged with gold÷the sun of righteousness is rising on the world!" (The Gospel in All Lands, March 16, 1882:126-127)

According to Pierson, three things must take place for the evangelization of the world to be a reality. First, the whole church had to be involved in evangelization. Second, evangelistic zeal was needed in the lives of all believers. And lastly, a baptism of the power of the Holy Spirit was needed. Only then, was the goal realistic and reachable. Others concurred, 'To do this work in twenty years, we must get more Gospel, more vitality÷The church has money, brains, organizations, rivers of prayer and oceans of sermons, but she lacks in power." (Missionary Review, March 1882:132)

Some did not feel so confident that the twenty years was an adequate length of time for the world to be evangelized. Referring to A.T. Pierson's article, a writer in the Reformed Missionary Herald wrote, "Had he said 20 decades he would have been nearer the region of possibility. It took that long for Christianity to gain victory over the old Greek and Roman worlds." (Quoted in Missionary Review, May 1882:186) This quote reflects the continuing confusion over what was meant by the term evangelization.

Commenting on the concept of possibility Wilder answers, "Is there the slightest doubt of the possibility of evangelizing the world in 20 years if the church would concentrate her forces as intimated, and seek God's help?" He further emphasizes, "The question, we submit, is not what will be done, but what ought, and can be done." (Missionary Review, May 1882:187) [Italics his] This is a key concept in that both Wilder and Pier-son always spoke of what could and should be done and never what would be done. Nonetheless, they were accused of setting dates for the completion of the ask in a prophetic manner.

The fact remained, however, that the church did have the resources to finish the job. Dr. William Butler wrote in Zion's Herald, "It is a fact, and a wonderful fact it is, that we have reached an hour when the Christian church is strong enough and rich enough to save this whole world in a very few years, would she only realize her ability and put forth the requisite efforts to accomplish her duty." (Quoted in Missionary Review, May 1882:187)

Finally, Wilder clearly states why it is unacceptable to believe that evangelization is a process meant to take centuries:

Those dear brethren who seem to think and argue that some minds are too ardent on this subject, that this work must be prosecuted for generations and centuries and ages yet to come, before we can expect its completion, overlook the fact that thousands of heathens have been fully enlightened and won to Christ within the current generation who never before heard a word of Gospel truth; that if a sufficient Christian force were enlisted the whole 800,000,000 of heathens might have been as thoroughly evangelized as these thousands, in the same period of time; that the life-time of one generation is all the time possible for evangelizing that generation; and the theory of occupying centuries in evangelizing the world deliberately consigns the intervening, unreached generations of heathens to eternal heathendom without their knowing that Jesus died for them. (Missionary Review, May 1882:188)

Several other articles appeared that offered alternate plans÷some only requiring ten years. On April 27, 1882 an article appeared in the Presbyterian Journal entitled "Speedy Evangelization." The writer set forth a plan whereby,

Let each Christian during ten years be the means of reaching fifty souls, or five new ones a year, and the work is done. The commission is fulfilled; our duty is done, and God will thus gather out of the Gentiles a people for his name. Acts xv. 14. The enterprise is practicable, and I do not doubt that men of the world would not fail to accomplish a similar enterprise if they saw gain enough in it. We can do it if we have a mind to do it. ( Quoted in Missionary Review. July 1882:250) A.T.

Pierson wrote "Let it be fully known that the church of God to-day has ample means in men and money for the thorough evangelization of the whole world within ten years, without sacrificing any of the necessities or comforts of life, or crippling the work at home." (Missionary Review, July ISS2-.251) The Christian Missionary of the Disciples of Christ concurs, "Surely this is not an impossible task-More than eighteen hundred years have passed since Jesus said, 'Go into all the world'; and why should the church wait a hundred years longer before inaugurating a work that will reach every nation, tribe and people?" (Quoted in Missionary Review, July 1882:251)

In this same issue of the Missionary Review Pierson outlined some of the particular problems associated with preaching the gospel to every creature in a single generation. First of all a generation only lasts 30-33 years÷that is the period of time the job must be finished in. Pier-son used the end of the century as a goal because he counted from the beginning of his generation÷ from the late 1860's, the years when the world began to really open up to the gospel. Secondly, the church has to hold its own in membership÷it can't decline over the period, but has to outstrip population growth to keep on the cutting edge. Thirdly, more converts needed to be made to keep pace with world population growth. Lastly, the church lacks power.

Pierson continually turned to the lack of spiritual vitality in the church as a root cause of its inability to evangelize the world. The church needed evangelistic zeal and a baptism of power from the Holy Spirit to effectively evangelize the world by the year 1900. The Missionary Review also continued to emphasize this point. 'The chief hindrances to this greatest, noblest, holiest enterprise among men are not the superstitions or depravity of the heathen, but the infidelity and mistakes of Christians." (Missionary Review, May 1885:258)

At this stage a famous British missions advocate, Robert Arthington, wrote in. He agreed with both Dr. Nelson and Professor Kellogg "that we should at once, as evangelical Christians, proceed to apportion the entire globe as fields for evangelization." (Missionary Review, July 1882:255) Arthington went on to detail how this might work underlining the feasibility of finishing the job in the present generation. Kellogg and Pierson responded positively to Arthington's suggestions, corresponding with him frequently on his plans.

As a result of Arthington's plan, the Missionary Review began to carry a special section on some portion of the unevangelized world, giving details of the progress of the gospel. The Illustrated Missionary News also took Arthington seriously and published an appeal in April 1883,

To Missionaries in Heathen Lands and All Who Possess the Knowledge, being strongly advised by Robert Arthington, Esq., of Leeds, we desire to ask for the following information.

1st. As to such tribes, peoples or lands to who or where the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ has never been preached.

2nd. Respecting all populations, consisting of ten or twenty thousand persons, in any part of the globe, who have not even one copy of the written or printed Word of God, or any single portion thereof. (Illustrated Missionary News, April 2, 1883:38) [Italics his]

In January 1883, Rev. Charles Lee wrote an article outlining the unoccupied fields of the world. He then gave a historical sketch that showed that "Christianity has gained more in the last eighty years than in the previous eighteen centuries. This is a striking commentary on the boast of Voltaire that he uttered in 1760: 'Ere the beginning of the nineteenth century Christianity will have disappeared from the earth.'" (Missionary Review, January 1883:6)

After Lee's sobering look at the un-evangelized world. Wilder commented, "It is time that those of us who hope and pray for this world's evangelization leam to look upon the work in its entirety; that we consider it in its full extent and difficulty; that we look heathenism in the face, despite all its horrors; that our look be steady and prolonged till we can fully fathom its depth and extent, and estimate rightly that forces needed to grapple with it and overcome it" (Missionary Review, January 1883:8)

In this same issue a brief was reported that showed how the church needed to grow at a pace ten times faster to keep up with world population growth. "Surely this outlook is one to drive every Christian to God in earnest cries for help, while plying his own energies and efforts with tenfold effectiveness." (Missionary Review, January 1883:62)

In May of 1883, Wilder reported how Joseph Cook said that the church should supply one missionary for every 50,000 heathen or a total of 20,000 missionaries for the 1,000,000,000 unevangelized. Wilder comments,

Mr. Cook's number is altogether moderate. With a resolute purpose to evangelize the world in the present generation, his proposed number of Missionaries should be quintupled. A hundred thousand Missionaries is not a man too many for the work, nor are they too many for the Protestant Churches of Christendom to send out and support, till the world's evangelization shall be completed. Let Protestant Christendom take hold of this work with a will, as wealthy capitalists do with the work of building railways and ocean canals; let Christian young men and women obey Christ, and go, fired with love to Christ and souls, and let those who stay by the stuff pray and plan and work for this highest and holiest purpose in the scope of human effort, and 20 years will suffice to preach the Gospel to every creature. (Missionary Review. May 1883:235) [Italics his]

In September of 1883 another important issue was brought up÷again in response to Pierson's article published in the New York Evangelist. This time a man named Ambrose wrote,

Over and against the project of hurrying up the conversion of the world, there stands an array of difficulties which it seems worth the while, at least, to look at. "The whole earth can be covered with the Gospel proclamation in twenty five years,' say the ardent and the sanguine. Perhaps it can. But to preach is one thing, and to convert is another thing. After pondering awhile, I find myself asking the question, If anything is to be certainly gained by haste in the matter of Gospelling the world? I mean to ask if some time is not truly a necessity of Missionary progress as a supply of instrumentalities? (Quoted in Missionary Review, September 1883:335)

Wilder gave an unusually harsh commentary on Ambrose's thoughts÷ dealing with both the meaning of evangelization and the time required to complete it

We knew this sacred work was being hindered by such sentiments in Christendom, but we did not think any pastor would avow them÷least of all "Ambrose," many of whose sententious utterances we have long admired..."Is anything certainly to be gained by haste?" etc., says "Ambrose." Most assuredly. If the living generation of heathens are to have the Gospel, there is not a moment to lose...The great hindrance to the world's evangelization hitherto, has been this lack of definite aim and fixed purpose to do the work. Men, like Ambrose, prefer to look at the work and its difficulties in the misty distance rather than to grapple with them near at hand and in dead earnest. They prefer to say, "God only can convert souls," and wait for Him to convert; rather than to say and feel, 'To preach the Gospel to every creature, as Christ commanded, is wholly in man's power, and this must and shall be done." (Missionary Review, September 1883:335-336) [Italics his]

Besides haste, hope was an essential element of the church's responsibility to finish the task. Dr. S. F. Smith wrote, "I seem to see the work of reducing the whole world to the sway of Christ, no more a thing of anticipation, but of actual fulfillment÷Men do not like to embark in an enterprise which may prove to be a forlorn hope and end in disappointment. The enterprise of missions to the heathen is one enterprise of earth, which is sure not to end in disappointment" (Baptist Missionary Magazine, Oct. 1883:348)

Missionaries and Evangelization
At this critical point in the debate, missionaries began writing in from the field saying that evangelization in their countries was possible in a short amount of time.

George King of the China Inland Mission added fuel to the fire by asking the question, "Shall the Gospel Be Preached to This Generation of the Chinese?" This document was sent to The Christian for publication and was printed in Regions Beyond in May 1883. Hudson Taylor also printed it in the January issue of China's Millions from which I quote,

The Gospel preached to this generation? Then there is not much time to lose if that is to be done. "The King's business requireth haste.' ... Preach the Gospel to this generation? Yes, dear friends, it is neither impracticable nor impossible... Now the first step is a thorough and general stirring up of believers, so that the great duty of the Church to disciple all nations may be recognized as the burning question of the day. We may be sure GOD never intended that a mere sprinkling of earnest souls÷a few here and a few there÷should be the only ones possessed by an intense longing for the salvation of the heathen. (China's Millions, January 1884:2-3) (Italics his]

Taking the Moravians as an example, in The Gospel in All Lands, January 1884, Pierson asked the question, "What Hinders the World's Speedy Evangelization?"

It has been often and clearly shown to be mathematically possible, and practically feasible, to preach the gospel to every creature now living, within twenty-five years! The Moravians give one in fifty-eight of their numbers to the missionary work, and their converts number four times as many as their own Brotherhood. What if all the Protestant Evangelical Christians did the same! We should have two million missionaries, enough to gather all the heathen under easy supervision, giving only a few hundred to each missionary; and if the converts should ever bear the same proportion to the laborers, as with the Moravian missionaries, there would be over 464,000,000! (The Gospel in All Lands, January 1884: )

Also in 1884, Pierson's article "God's Hand in Missions" was published as a forward to a reprint of David Brainerd's Memoirs. Here Pierson states that the time has come for the world to be evangelized,

The fullness of the times has surely come for the last great crusade against the powers of darkness. Everything is providentially ripe and ready. Nearly fourscore missionary societies enclose the globe in their golden network. The walls of the nations lie flat, and challenge us to move from every quarter, and move together and at once, and take the very capitals and centers of Satan's dominion. The word of God may be had in ever leading tongue, and the miracle of Babel is reversed, and the miracle of Pentecost crystallizes into permanence! The coffers of disciples contain wealth so vast that a tithe of it would furnish all the funds for a world's evangelization; and the numbers of disciples are so vast that a tithe of them would give one missionary to every one hundred of the population of the globe! Time and space are practically annihilated and all nations are neighbors. And in addition to all, from out the shining pillar of a luminous and leading Providence rings out the trumpet voice of God, bidding us "go forward!" (Sherwood, 1884:lxxix-lxxx) The Regions Beyond continued to provide food for thought on this subject.

The question is really this. Is it the will and purpose of God, that one race of men should be evangelized ten thousand times over, and another never once hear the glad tidings? or is it His will and purpose that all nations should receive the good news of forgiveness of sins and eternal life through Christ?... It is of the very essence of Christianity to extend itself till it has embraced the world, and it ceases to be pure and powerful in proportion as it ceases to expand... We need to realize more than we do the breadth, the width, the all-embracing character of our blessed faith÷its missionary nature. There is nothing narrow or limited or even bounded at all, save by the limits of humanity, about it. It is not local to any land, special to any family of the race, but wide as the world, universal, eternal!" (Regions Beyond, January 1884:18) [Italics his]

Looking back to the Old Testament, missionaries found encouragement that, if they took their job seriously, their task could be completed by the year 1900.

If about 2,400 years ago two separate messages from Ahasuerus, King of the Medes and Persians, could be translated into various languages, written and delivered, at different times, in 127 provinces, and both messages delivered in one year (see the book of Esther), how long ought it to take Christians now to obey the command of their King, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, to translate, print and deliver to every creature in all the world his one message? (From The Christian quoted in Baptist Missionary Magazine. February 1885:50)

National Christians also caught the vision for evangelizing their countries÷ believing that it could be completed in a short amount of time. "The Japanese Christians are praying and working that their country may be wholly Christian by the year 1900." (Baptist Missionary Magazine, February 1885:51)

More Plans
August 18,1884, Dr. McDonaId from Maryville, Tennessee wrote in the Missionary Review suggesting that the reason the world had not been evangelized

...is because we have never attempted to carry out our marching orders in their entirety... Christendom has in an unsystematic way attempted to go into parts of the world, and to preach the gospel to some creatures but I have never heard of Christendom, or a part of it, in Council or Evangelical Alliance, taking a map of the world and laying it out before God and themselves, divide the world-field into sections, apportioning to each country or, denomination their particular division and then entering on the work with the intention and determination that it shall be prosecuted vigorously and ceaselessly until 'every creature' shall have heard the Good News, instead of waiting until opportunities offer. (Quoted in Missionary Review. January 1885:13-14) [Italics his]

Wilder concurs, "Any enterprise undertaken by men must be studied and grasped in its entirety, or it will never be achieved." (Missionary Review, January 1885:14) He also agrees that a council is needed to divide up the world for the purpose of preaching the Gospel to every creature.

Pierson then published his "Plan to Evangelize the World" in the September 1885 issue of the Missionary Review. Here are some key extracts from that plan:

After twenty years of almost constant thought, study and prayer over this missionary problem, I ask my brethren to consider the entire feasibility of the following measures: First, an ecumenical council, called in some of the great world centers, like London, New York...Let the representatives of every missionary field and work of the world be present... rehearse all that God has done with them, and how he has opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. Then let the whole world-field be mapped out, and divided and distributed among the evangelical denominations of Christendom, so that every province and district shall be under competent and responsible care...let the great purpose and motto be, occupation of destitute fields and evangelization, where, as yet, no missions have reached...But above all, let no field be left unprovided for in all the world. (Missionary Review, September 1885:369-370) [Italics his]

Shortly after this. Rev. J. M. Driver of the Methodist Episcopal Church stated similar views in a lengthy article published in Zion's Herald. Concurring with Dr. Pierson he added that the outcome of a world council would be the "speedy occupation of every field." He added that "being all together 'with one accord' as touching plans and purposes, and agreeing 'as touching' one point, the Lord would mightily baptize His church as He did aforetime, and nations would be born in a day, that being the burden of the hourly prayer of God's people." (Quoted in Missionary Review, November 1885,465-466) [Italics his] Wilder added that the council should not require a large investment of funds for itself but that all interested parties should pay their own way. The council should not attempt to do anything by authority but "the plans proposed will enforce themselves by their own weight and worth." He continues,

Hence we suggest, that Bros. Pierson and Driver, and others like-minded among the leaders of the different evangelical churches, bend their minds and energies at once to the drafting and perfecting of such a programme of plans and apportionments as shall command the consensus of Christendom. As preliminary to the gathering of any such council, such a programme should be placed before all Christian minds, have the benefit of fullest discussions and suggestions, and the most reliable information from all mission fields, and from all parts of the unevangelized world. (Missionary Review, November 1885:468)

Dr. Josiah Strong, General Secretary of the Evangelical Alliance, wrote in 1885,

We have seen that there is no lack of wealth; there is money enough in the hands of church-members to sow every acre of the earth with the seed of truth; but the average Christian deems himself a despot over his purse. God has entrusted to His children power enough to give the gospel to every creature by the close of this century; but it is being misapplied. Indeed, the world would have been evangelized long ago if Christians had perceived the relations of money to .the Kingdom, and accepted their stewardship. (Strong, 1885:203)

The Crisis of Missions
A book was published in 1886 that added considerable fuel to the debate. Pierson's The Crisis of Missions described both the opportunity and the responsibility associated with the end of the nineteenth century in relation to preaching the gospel to every creature. As a significant step in that direction it also called for an international conference of mission agencies in which the unevangelized world would be divided up between agencies.

The Crisis of Missions majored on the opportunity that the present church had to evangelize the world in a short amount of time. This was the theme that Pierson had repeated again and again over the years in the Missionary Review and other missions periodicals. The opportunity related to the opening of the world, the revivals in the churches, the advances in technology and a host of other factors that pointed to a world that could be speedily evangelized.

Most missionaries and mission executives agreed with Pierson on the opportunity facing the church. Bishop Thoburn of India expressed it like this,

During the comparatively short period which has elapsed since I became a missionary obstacles of various kinds have been taken out of the way, until now I can look abroad and see a way of easy access to seven hundred millions of the human race, all of whom would have been beyond my reach had I desired to go to them in the days of my youth. And this process is still going on. High walls are falling into ruins at the quiet approach of Christ's messengers; remote regions are coming nearer; hostile people are becoming friendly; prejudices are melting away, and thus the opportunities set before us make it possible to accomplish things which would have been considered wholly impossible even as late as the middle of the present century. (Thoburn, 1895:57-58)

Secondly, The Crisis of Missions emphasized the responsibility that comes with the opportunity. What would the church do in light of all the doors that God was opening? A heavy responsibility came with this opportunity and the church would be strictly judged if she failed to respond.

The Crisis of Missions was wry well accepted and received stirring reviews in practically every missionary periodical. The Illustrated Missionary News said, "This book is worthy of attentive perusal by all thoughtful Christians, being carefully written by one who has the subject deeply at heart, and whose scholarly pen arrays his arguments and facts so that the mind may not be wearied while taking the deep import of the matters discussed." (Illustrated Missionary News, January 1887:15)

The Crisis of Missions ended with an Appendix entitled "An Appeal to Disciples Everywhere" which was the text of the appeal agreed upon at Moody's North-field meeting in August of 1885. This document called for the church to rally together to finish the job of world evangelization by the year 1900. "An Appeal to Disciples Everywhere" faithfully recorded the dreams of several leaders present at Moody's Northfield conference in 1885.

Moody was supportive of the foreign missions cause before this meeting. Moody's brother-in-law had published Pierson's plea for the world to be evangelized "Within Twenty Years." In the Evangelistic Record in 1882 Pierson urged that "by the year 1900, the Gospel shall be preached to every living soul. Of course, to evangelize is not always to convert; it is simply making known the Gospel." (Quoted in Findlay, Jr., 1970:349) But the significance of Moody's involvement in this particular plan cannot be understated. Two years later a famous missionary to Syria, Dr. Jessup wrote, "For years I have been waiting to hear Brother Moody's voice on this great subject of Foreign Missions, and now that he has thrown his heart and help and voice into the work, the Lord has granted a rich blessing. Your plan of apportioning out the unevangelized world among the Christian churches is a grand one." (Missionary Review, January 1888:49)

"An Appeal" was a significant document that was reprinted in many publications in the year following its declaration. China's Millions, the official organ of the China Inland Mission, featured it on the cover of its December 1885 issue with the following comments: "The following appeal is a cause for praise to God, and yet a very solemn message to every believing reader. Will the Master say of each of us that we have done what we could÷all we could to carry out his parting command to preach the Gospel to every creature?" (China's Millions, December 1885:147) [Italics his]

Part of "An Appeal" was reprinted in The Gospel in All Lands, December 1885, with these comments, 'There ought to be enough of spirituality in the different branches of the Church of Christ to produce harmony in the efforts being made to evangelize the heathen world÷The great need of urging forward at once the army of Christ in its contest with heathendom, ought to overshadow all minor considerations, and we welcome any plan which will the more speedily bring about the desired result." (p. 517) The Missionary Review published it in the January 1886 issue.

More support came from The Gospel in All Lands in 1886. "We are in hearty sympathy with the plan proposed by Dr. Pierson, of Philadelphia, Mr. Robert Arthington, of Leeds, England, and others, of 'mapping out the whole world in portions, in its heathen parts, and allotting it amongst all missionary societies." (The Gospel in All Lands, 1886:228)

The Presbytery of Philadelphia also lent its support. In response to a letter presented by A.T. Pierson entitled "The Problem of Missions and Its Solution" they wrote, "We fully agree with him that we ought not readily to acquiesce in the slow progress which Christ's kingdom is making; that we ought to be far more impatient than we are for the coming of the day of promise and prophecy, when the whole world shall be filled with a knowledge of the glory of God." (The Gospel in All Lands, 1886:228)

In light of all these developments Pierson continued to put his pen to the theme of the crisis of missions. "The crisis of missions is now upon us. What is a crisis? It is the parting of the way, where opportunity and responsibility meet; where the chance of a grand success stands opposed to the risk of awful failure. We call this THE CRISIS; for never, in the whole history of missions, have such opportunity and such peril confronted the Church of God, and entailed such fearful responsibility." (The Gospel in All Lands, 1886:516)

Here again it is the opportunity and responsibility that are stressed. "The command of our ascended Lord, the voice of an enlightened conscience, the impulse of the new nature, the leading of the providential pillar, the working of transforming grace, the grandeur of the opportunity and the peril of delay÷all these converge like rays in one burning focus, urging us onward and forward to the outposts of civilization and the limits of human habitation with the Word of Life." (The Gospel in All Lands, 1887:325)

This responsibility is unlike that given to earlier generations. Reginald Radcliffe, speaking at an annual meeting of the China Inland Mission put it this way,

We are to redeem the time. We are to appreciate the responsibilities of the day in which we live. The responsibilities of our fathers were not like our responsibilities. They were born, I repeat, into a world locked against the gospel. Now we are living in a world thrown open to the Gospel, and we are now to redeem the time, and seize our opportunity. (Broomhall, 1887:73)

Mrs. H. Grattan Guinness, founder of the East London Institute for Home and Foreign Missions, wrote,

True Christians were never so numerous in the world as they are this day, and it is easier for them to travel and dwell among the heathen in every corner of the earth than ever it was before. The printed gospel exists in hundreds of languages, and the Church has never been so rich in material resources. There is no question that living Christians could give the gospel to their own generation if they tried. The demand for laborers is enormous, but the supply is equal to meet it, if every man and woman who could and should be a missionary would become such. (Guinness, 1886:246) [Italics hers]

Many held the conviction that the responsibility was in the hands of the church. Dr. Judson Smith gave an address to the American Board in which he said,

What hinders the immediate effort to plant the Gospel in every nation and island and home in all earth within the next few decades? Nothing but the faltering zeal and purpose of the mass of Christian believers now on the earth. That precisely is the critical question. Are we, the Christians of to-day, awake to these facts and responsive to the claims of this glorious work? Do we understand that his vast responsibility rest upon us? That it is possible now as never before in the world's history, to preach the Gospel to all nations? And do we mean. God helping, that his work shall be done ere we die? This is the deep significance of the hour to this generation. We÷the Christian people of this land÷we are on trial; the reality and power of our Christian faith are put sharply to the test. Favored beyond all past generations in our opportunities to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth, are we equal to our privileges? (The Gospel in All Lands. 1887:505)

The Evangelisation of the World
Perhaps the most significant place "An Appeal" was published was in a British book edited by B. Broomhall of the China Inland Mission titled The Evangelisation of the World. This book was essentially an earlier book, A Missionary Band, lengthened by 100 pages. A Missionary Band was a record of the the Cambridge Seven, seven young aspiring British students who a few years earlier had left for China with CIM a few years earlier.

The Evangelisation of the World came highly recommended from mission agencies. The Church Missionary Intelligencer said, "It should lie on every drawing room table, be within reach in every clergyman's study, and be given as a present to every Christian young man." (Church Missionary Intelligencer, February 1888:120)

The latter half of this book is a series of articles on the evangelization of the world. An introduction to "An Appeal" is taken from The Christian where speaking of Pierson's talk on the opportunity of missions, they write,

These remarkable and undeniable facts were used by the speaker to press home an earnest appeal for a final and united effort to carry the message of the Gospel to the parts of the heathen world as yet unevangelised. This may be done during the remainder of the century. Dr. Pierson believes, if the whole Church of God will but brace its energies to the task. In order to its accomplishment, however, there would have to be a laying aside of all denominational jealousies, a sensible shortening of the time demanded for preparing missionary students, and a spirit of prayerful consecration in the Church as a whole. (Broomhall, 1887:71)

Speaking of the role of Scotland in evangelizing the world, A.N. Sommerville writes,

Much may be done ere the century close. Fourteen years! What may not be accomplished in fourteen years? Form the dark hour of the death of George Wishart÷burned at the stake at St. Andrews÷till 1560 when the first Genera] Assembly was held in this city, and Protestant truth prevailed over Scotland, was just fourteen years. Shall not then the entire churches of Scotland, and all that will associate with them, fixing their eyes on the Lord's promised inheritance, say, like Caleb when he stilled the agitated people in the wilderness, "Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it." (Broomhall, 1887:142)

On Feb. 11, 1886, Robert Arthing-ton of Leeds was at a meeting of the Church Missionary Society. He made a resolution that promoted some of the same ideas as The Crisis of Missions. The resolution read as follows:

This meeting, deeply sensible that far greater missionary effort is needed in order to fulfil the parting command of Christ to his disciples, resolves that the time has come to map out the whole world in portions, in its heathen parts, and allot it amongst all missionary societies÷whose aim it is to give a whole Bible to a whole people÷thus enlarging the fields already occupied, and giving new spheres to each society, so as to cover the entire globe. And further it is resolved÷that a request be sent from this meeting to the Committee of the society originating these conferences, asking that they will confer with the various missionary societies in Europe and America÷with the view thus to map out the world and devise by mutual suggestion, a plan for general adoption. (Missionary Review, May 1886:194)

Pierson, upon receiving Arthington's resolution, suggested that this should be carried out by 1892, the 100th anniversary of the Baptist Missionary Society. Dr. Driver concurred as well.

In October of 1886, Arthington wrote a letter to all the missionary societies of Europe and America, pleading with them to "lose no time" in dividing up the world for the preaching of the gospel. His letter begins, "It may be assumed that all real Christians would rejoice in heart if every living person was a Christian indeed. But do we indeed expect that more than a few comparatively, in any one locality, will ever be real Christians? Look to the Scriptures and to secular history for the answer. Of course, as seen at the last, the saved are an innumerable multitude, coming out of every nation and tribe." (Missionary Review, January 1887:18)

Arthington continued by suggesting that if the world were divided up, success would be sure÷nothing would be lost by trying. He then made specific suggestions of how this might be done, making reference to continents and societies. "Thus a great advance could be taken by missionary Societies all over the world, and the Gospel message far more extensively diffused and accepted,÷for the saved in the vision were gathered,÷they came out of every kindred and nation, tongue and people." (Missionary Review, January 1887:19) [Italics his]

The spirit of these documents was once again affirmed in other sources. The editor of the Baptist Missionary Magazine wrote,

Where is the man so faint-hearted as to doubt the future of an accomplished work like this? Where is the Christian, who, if the Lord were to put the decision of the whole matter into his hand, would say aught but that this work must go on till prophecy be accomplished, and the earth be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea? The great danger and anxiety for all Christian hearts today is, lest we may awake to the finished triumph of this glorious work, in this world or the hereafter, and find that it has gone on by us, beyond us, and without us... (Baptist Missionary Magazine, December 1886:446-447)

Hope seemed to be an essential element of such a plan. "Men always work better when they are assured of the possibility and even certainty of success. Listiessness and indifference are the offspring of despair. Men will not long continue to labour at hopeless tasks, and a new spirit of enterprise would fill the hearts of us all, if our minds were to grow assured, not only of the ultimate, but of the near approach of the triumph of our Holy Faith." (The Chronicle, November 1886:458)

Certainty of success is another encouraging feature of the missionary enterprise. "It is a work in which there is certainty of success. Whatever our views of the second Advent, whether it is to be before or after the millennium, we are made absolutely certain by the word of God, that the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, that all nations shall serve him..." (The Missions of the World, March 1894:3)

In 1887, in response to Arthington's urging, a Missionary Intelligence and Registration Office was set up in London for the express purpose of keeping track of occupied mission fields in order to better ascertain where new efforts were needed. Royal Wilder encouraged his readers to pray that such an office would be set up in the United States, without tapping into current mission funds.

Others were not so hopeful about what might be accomplished. Although he emphasized that the task of world evangelization can be finished. Dr. D.M. Welton wrote that reviewing the history of missions in the last fifty years "we have reason to believe that in another hundred years, or about the year 2000, the whole world will be thoroughly evangelized." (Missionary Review, March 1887:165)

The Rev. Joseph Edkins preached a sermon in Peking, China in June of 1888 entitled, "Final Success of Christianity as seen From a Missionary Standpoint." He said, "Next century, therefore, we may expect to see the work of the Church tenfold. It is not Utopian to believe that that sums now devoted to mission work are small compared with what will be devoted to this purpose next century. The work of conversion will then advance with accelerated speed. Thus the attitude of the Church now favors the probability of the ultimate victory of Christianity." (The Gospel in All Lands, 1888:453)

A.T. Pierson continued to put before the church the great opportunity of missions. "And we repeat, that we may burn it in, that the critical hour of missions is not simply approaching; it is even now upon us. This hour is the turning point of history. The crisis of missions is found in the peril of failure. These open doors demand immediate entrance and occupation. Delay is not only danger but disaster." (Missionary Review, April 1887:192) [Italics his]

With the opportunity comes the responsibility. A.T. Pierson believed that if the church would recognize its responsibility to the present generation and consecrate itself, the job could be finished by the year 1900!

Evangelization ought to be pushed with such a spirit of consecrated enterprise, so systematically, so constantly, so rapidly, that every generation of disciples would actually see to it that their fellow human beings of that same generation should have the gospel at their hands. It can be done. The church of Christ needs only consecration, to insure such a result within the bounds of this century!" (Missionary Review, April 1887:194) (Italics his]

That Pierson equated the end of the nineteenth century as the end of his generation is clear from his book Evangelistic Work in Principle and Practice, where he states,

The opportunity of evangelization is practically limited to the lifetime of each generation, which is about one-third of a century. Within that short period every new generation of Christian workers must accomplish whatever work they are to do for their fellow-men, for both they and the souls for whom they are held responsible are rapidly passing away. The great bulk of disciples now living must contribute their part to the solution of this evangelistic problem within the bounds of this present century. (Pierson, 1887:3)

The Role of the Student Volunteers
In 1886, at Mount Hermon, Massachusetts, A.T. Pierson spoke to 251 students on missions. He told these students that "all should go and go to all." 100 of these students signed a pledge saying that they would become foreign missionaries if God permitted. Within a few years this small band grew into a mighty army, so that by their first quadrennial there were over 5000 signers of the pledge. This band, known as the Student Volunteer Movement (SVM) adopted as their motto, "The Evangelization of the World in This Generation." One would get the impression that these students would get behind the drive to evangelize the world by the year 1900. But this was not so.

A. T. Pierson was led to believe that the world could be evangelized in a single generation, which to him, meant the year 1900. (late 1860's-1900) Though the students had the same belief, their generation extended well into the twentieth century. It was obvious that many of the students would not even reach the field by the year 1900. This may have discouraged them from joining the older generation in their crusade. John R. Mott expressed it well in an address he gave in Victoria, Australia in 1898. He said, "Is there a starting point in time of the 33 years? If there is then later movements have a less and shorter chance of fulfilling it than earlier movements. If there is no definite time limit then it is unmeaning and means no more than, as one man put it, the 'Back in 10 minutes' card left on one's door. " (Personal papers at Yale Divinity School Library)

Alexander McLeish, in his book Jesus Christ and World Evangelization, gives a recap of the views expressed by the leaders of the SVM,

[The words, "in this generation"] do not imply a prediction, nor do they set a time limit to the purposes of God, but they seek rather to express the conception under which the work has to be done. They set a time limit to the worker rather than to the work, and define the horizon of his outlook. 'In this generation,' in short, is a time idea when applied to the work; a time limit when applied to the worker. This is pre-eminently an ideal for the worker, for it sums up his responsibility and duty from the viewpoint of the faith of Jesus Himself, and he is called to work, not under the conception that he is merely touching the fringe of a task which centuries will see still unfinished, but with the assurance that the will himself see the work completed. It is the prophetic outlook, and it shuts out all thought of the distant future. It seeks to concentrate all resources, both material and spiritual, upon the accomplishment of the work within the limits of a single generation. (McLeish, 1930:140)

Nonetheless, the Student Volunteers, when trying to press the urgency of the task, pointed to Simeon Calhoun's dying words, the Earl of Shaftesbury's famous quote and the desire of the Shanghai conference of 1877 to reach their generation. All of these words pointed to finishing the job by the year 1900, but the Volunteers looked to them primarily for inspiration to reach their generation. Yet they were inspired by all the excitement generated by their elders. They wrote, sounding a great deal like Pierson, "Though in some generations the carrying out of such an enterprise might have seemed like a march up to the Red Sea with the command to cross, it is not so in this. Every door is wide open, all peoples can be reached, all mission boards arc calling for more men." (Missionary Review, July 1889:517)

Like those mission leaders who looked at the task and tried to determine how many workers were needed to finish the job of world evangelization, John R. Mott spoke of the need for 20,000 laborers to evangelize the world in his generation. That would give one missionary for every 50,000 of the unevangelized. Interestingly enough, this was very close to what the SVM would eventually thrust into the field!

The responsibility for their generation would be brought home to them time and time again over the years. Reporting on the Northfield meeting of SVM leaders in June of 1890, Max Moorhead wrote, "Scarcely a speaker during the ten days which followed failed to recognize the fact that personal responsibility in regard to the evangelization of this blood-bought world was the problem uppermost in the minds of the majority of the men present... One of the most vigorous and stirring addresses ever heard in Northfield was ...by A.T. Pierson. With great eamestness and power he bore in upon the hearts of men his own deep conviction that the world can be evangelized in this generation." (Missionary Review, September 1890:685) [Italics his] In that address, Pierson tried to tie the end of the century into the students' plans for their generation.

At the end of the nineteenth century we have covered only a tenth of the earth. What is the matter? We have not enough enterprise. Let there be secular spirit, secular capital and secular gain back of it, and the gospel would be brought to the knowledge of everyone in ten years. If God should touch the hearts of the young generation, who have not family, business or any other ties yet, we would give the gospel to the entire world before the end of the century. (Norton, 1889:242)

Pierson then went on to use the Ahasuerus illustration and concluded, "What reason is there why thirty million Christians should not carry this gospel to thirteen rimes as large a territory in thirteen times as many months? With no vain and unintelligent enthusiasm, I suggest that the young men of this generation rise in their might and solemnly covenant with God that, while they live, they will see the gospel carried to every inhabitant." (Norton, 1889:243)

Yet there were many who criticized the Student Volunteers and all others who suggested that the world could be evangelized in a single generation. "They objected that this ideal of missionary enterprise set a time limit to the purposes of God; that it contemplated a method of evangelization quite alien to that shown in history; that the method indicated implied a lack of thoroughness in the work to be done; and that, if it gave a more hopeful outlook on the world, it was because it tended to overlook or to minimize the difficulties rather than to do anything to multiply means." (McLeish, 1930:132)

John Nevius, a missionary to China, credited the student volunteers with an increased awareness in the churches of this very area they were being taught in. "It is due largely to the influence of the volunteers that the attention of the Church, and especially of young men and women, has been roused to consider the prominence given to missions in the Bible, and to understand more fully the responsibility resting upon all Christians of giving the Gospel without delay to unevangelized nations." (Missionary Review, May 1892:337)

There were those who, early on in the movement, saw these Student Volunteers as the answer to the evangelization of the world by 1900.

The wonderful wave of missionary zeal which has swept through our American colleges during the last eighteen months has moved about 1800 young men and 600 young women to offer their lives in service to Christ as foreign missionaries. If all these could be sent out and supported in the Field as rapidly as their education may be complete, the next ten years would witness a missionary advance and success such as has never been known. (Missionary Review, July 1888:531)

Some saw the simultaneous uprising of youth in the Student Volunteer Movement, Christian Endeavor and the YMCA as providential. "Thousands of young missionaries going into all the world to preach the Gospel to every creature; and thousands of Christian Endeavor societies, in all parts of the world, with millions of members, ready to encourage, give, pray, and aid in every way÷what does it mean? Is God at the same time raising up the commissioners for this chief work, and the constituency that is to send and support them?" (Missionary Review, July 1893)

Some workers did go out in haste..."Notwithstanding contrary statements, there are positive and encouraging facts to prove that the more and more fully each year the movement is realizing its supreme purpose÷viz., the hastening forth of volunteers to accomplish the evangelization of the world in this generation. More volunteers sailed during the two years following the Cleveland Convention of 1891 than during the preceding five years." (Missionary Review, December 1893:929)

Others didn't see the need for such haste; to them the young men and women had only the responsibility to evangelize their own generation. "And the spirit of God has so moved upon the young people in the Church of God in this land, that as a class of Christians they say to-day to the Church of God, 'We are ready to go. We are eager to try within this next generation to fulfill the glorious command of Christ and 'make disciples of all nations."" (Missionary Review, January 1892:16) [Italics his] In October of 1892 a special day of prayer was held all across the United States to ask for volunteers who had completed their schooling to depart for the field immediately to meet the crisis and opportunity of the unevangelized field.

Less than a year after the Mount Hermon meeting, A. T. Pierson was defending the Student Volunteer Movement, seeing it as the catalyst the church might need to wake up from its slumber. He wrote,

Perhaps it is His will to produce such an army of volunteers to knock at the gates of the Church and say, 'Here we are! Send us!' that the Church, long apathetic and lethargic, shall wake up to the fact that her present agencies and instrumentalities are inadequate; that her present gifts are disgracefully disproportionate to the needs of the work and the destitution of perishing millions; that the world never can be evangelized at the present rate of progress; that after long and patient waiting. God is taking the matter out of the hands of those who are older, more conservative, over-cautious, and who lack the daring of a courageous faith, and Himself leading on the younger men of our generation to take up the great work of evangelizing the world. (Missionary Review. May 1887:354)

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