For 51 years, Hudson Taylor planted seeds in China. As a young boy, he felt the call to go to China as a missionary. By several accounts his ministry was widely successful: 205 mission stations, 849 missionaries, and approximately 125,000 Chinese Christians professed Christ by 1905 (the year he died). He was 73 when he went to his heavenly reward. When communism broke loose on the scene in 1943, there were estimates that the church had grown to 1 million Christians. But then missionaries were ordered out of the country, Bibles were outlawed and public assembly of the church became illegal. There began intense persecution of the church!
Thirty years later in 1978 after the church had been forced to go underground for some time, martyrs were dying and many others suffered great losses. Yet, missiologists estimate that some 50 million people would now proclaim their faith in the risen Savior. Some plant, some water, but God gives the increase! The next time you feel discouraged because you haven’t seen the results you had hoped for, plant a seed. Remember, it’s not what you “see” in your lifetime…but what you “seed” in your lifetime that will make the difference!
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By: Glenn Burris Jr., general supervisor
