J. Hudson Taylor – Economize to Evangelize
How can we reach the world for Christ? I was reading about the life of J. Hudson Taylor who founded the China Inland Mission in 1866 and the phrase “economize to evangelize” came to mind, as he lived a frugal life in England from the 1840s, to be better equipped for his part in the Great Commission.
If the cost of living is hitting your household, then spare a thought for the missionaries abroad and other fellow labourers, many of whom have come to our country to sow back into our needy land. How much harder must their struggle be? As inflation increases disposable income decreases and the cost of living begins to bite.
In January 2008, the ByFaith Team began a two-hundred-day mission down the East Coast of Africa, food prices were increasing by the month and within a year, the cost of oil per barrel had more than doubled. The global economics of the basics of life had drastically changed thus putting millions of people in developing countries in dire straits. The news media reported global demonstrations and riots over the cost of staple foods and spiralling oil prices demanding that governments assist them. Has anything changed since then?
The price of oil peaked at $147 a barrel in 2008 and thankfully, by November, it had dropped below $50 a barrel. The knock-on effect of increased oil prices is transferred to virtually everything, especially public transport, and food distribution. For many, the financial crunch hit home and even in the West many of us began to buckle our belts and make saving as best as we could. It was similar during COVID-19 in 2020 when most of the world was disrupted, many people lost their jobs, it was hard to obtain some goods and prices increased. The 2021 cost of Living Crisis followed by the cost of everything, especially energy, fuel, services, food and insurance increasing year-on-year.
J. Hudson Taylor lived his frugal life from the 1840s so he could serve Christ’s Great Commission. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen
– Matthew 28:19-20
In England, J. Hudson Taylor made cutbacks, he bought cheaper food and less coal for the fire and walked more frequently rather than take public transport. He economized so that he could not only survive but thrive and evangelize. On occasions, there was hardship as he took up his cross daily, but through them, his training ground, many life lessons were learnt which would be invaluable on the mission field of China.
His economizing was with an eye to God’s heart – ‘For God so loved the world…’ (John 3:16) and through Hudson’s lifestyle he was able to show forth the practical love of God; not only in word, but in deeds as well. By his sacrifices he was able to be a greater blessing to the families he visited in the slums of London, England, assisting the poor, distributing tracts and preaching. His cutbacks also helped fund the extra expenses needed to pay his medical college fees and within two years he sailed for China, a five-and-a-half-month voyage, and arrived in Shanghai in 1854.
In China, J. Hudson Taylor was a medical missionary and a pioneer. He lived to serve God and the Chinese and came down to their level to identify with their needs. This self-sacrifice of living in Chinese dwellings, eating Chinese food, wearing Chinese clothes as well as having a Chinese-style haircut and pigtail was outrageous for many European missionaries from different organisations who scoffed at the naïve lad in his early twenties. But his economizing, amid famine prices in Shanghai, not only saved the missionary society money, which was heavily in debt but opened many doors for itinerant and pioneering evangelism inland where the name of Jesus Christ had never been heard.
He would go on to found the China Inland Mission (1866) and by the time of his death, he had over one thousand workers, with a CIM missionary in every province in China who were proclaiming the glorious riches of Christ.
In the present what can we do? We can all economize to evangelize and be better stewards of what is entrusted to us. We can all make cutbacks, even if only a little, and use that money to help fulfil the Great Commission.
It is required in stewards that one be found faithful
– 1 Corinthians 4:2
For some, we may have to make savings to pay our bills and should evaluate our monthly finances to see what is an essential need and what is not. Shop around for gas, electricity, phone, internet, streaming services, car and home insurance etc. and big savings can be made. Likewise, when we go shopping, we should ask ourselves, is this item a need or a want? Do we need it because it is essential; we cannot do without it, or do I want this non-essential item?
Economize to survive and thrive and evangelize. Self-denial for the betterment of others is a good discipline and follows the life that Jesus lived. We are called to ‘be imitators of God’ (Ephesians 5:1).
By Mathew Backholer. Find out about Mathew’s books here.
