This week in Christian history: ‘Black National Anthem’ debuts, naked protest, missionary is born

By Michael Gryboski, Editor Sunday, February 07, 2021

Jonathan Goforth born – February 10, 1859

A portrait of Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936), a Canadian Presbyterian missionary who preached the Gospel in China. | Wikimedia Commons

This week marks the anniversary of when Jonathan Goforth, a Presbyterian missionary known for his work in China and the Korean Peninsula, was born in Thorndale, Ontario, Canada.

The seventh child of an English immigrant, Goforth was inspired to undertake mission work while in college after listening to a missionary named George Leslie Mackay.

“I heard the voice of the Lord saying: 'Who will go for us and whom shall we send?' and I answered: 'Here am I, send me,’” later recounted Goforth, according to the 1955 book Pioneer Missionaries for Christ and His Church by Thomas John Bach.

“From that hour, I became a foreign missionary.”

According to Bach, “Goforth had a passion for winning souls for Christ."

“Goforth was convinced that it was the simple gospel message that was ‘the power of God unto salvation,’ and he was eager to share this conviction with others," Bach wrote.

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