William Carey (1761-1834) is considered the “father of modern missions.” He was born in Paulersbury, England to a poor weaver. As a young man, he worked as an apprentice to a shoemaker but spent his spare time studying for the ministry. Amazingly, while still a teenager, he was able to read the Bible in six languages. This gift for languages would serve him well as a missionary. In 1787 he became pastor of a Baptist church where, in 1792, he preached a sermon with the famous line, “Expect Great Things from God, Attempt Great Things for God.” He helped organize the Baptist Missionary Society and became one of the group’s first members to go abroad when he went to India in 1793. He suffered greatly during the early years of his ministry due to financial setbacks, the death of his children, and the mental illness of his wife. In 1799 he was able to purchase a small indigo plantation and it was from here that he started his first successful mission. Opposition from the East India Company forced him to shut down his operation, however, so in 1800 he moved to Serampore where he and other missionaries preached, taught, and started Serampore Press to distribute Christian literature. In 1831 Carey was appointed professor of Oriental languages at Fort William College in Calcutta, a position he held for 30 years until his death. During this time he was largely responsible for translating the Bible into 36 dialects, making the Scriptures available to over 300 million people. His philosophy toward missions – missionaries and natives should live equally and missionaries should be self-sustaining – revolutionized the work of mission societies and led to field successes previously unmatched.
