This week in Christian history: Granada conquered, Methodist missionary born

E. Stanley Jones born – Jan. 3, 1884

This week marks the anniversary of when E. Stanley Jones, a missionary with the Methodist Episcopal Church who became influential in India, was born in Baltimore, Maryland.

Jones was approved by the Methodist Board of Missions to become a missionary to India soon after he had graduated from Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky.

“Jones began his mission work among the lowest class of people. He did not attack the predominant religions of the area, but tried to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ without attaching Western culture to it,” noted Asbury on its website.

“As the Methodist Board of Missions’ ‘Evangelist-at-Large’ to India, Jones conducted large meetings in Indian cities. He presided over ‘round table conferences’ where people of all faiths could sit down as equals and share their testimonies of how their religious experiences improved their lives.”

In addition to his mission work, Jones would also become involved in political negotiations in Africa and Asia, and become close to prominent figures like President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mahatma Gandhi.