Recalling U.S. missionary beginnings
When America's first ordained foreign missionaries sailed from
Massachusetts toward India 200 years ago, they launched a movement to
spread the faith and created America's most potent export: Christianity.
That
message reverberated through nine "Judson 200" commemorative events in
February in and around Salem. Speakers recalled how the course of
history changed with Adoniram Judson and four other missionaries.
Religious
liberals and conservatives, both of whom lay claim to Judson's legacy,
held separate events. One event celebrated the recent merger of two
evangelical mission societies, CrossGlobal Link and the Mission
Exchange, representing some 35,000 missionaries.
