The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of Missions

"The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become.”

-Henry Martyn

Martyn was educated at Oxford, and he was deeply affected by the commitment of William Carey and the devotion of David Brainerd. He fell in love with his cousin’s sister in law, but he considered marriage an earthly joy that would distract him from missions. When he arrived in India in 1806, Carey recognized his brilliance, and encouraged him in translation work. In the next four years he was able to translate the New Testament into Urdu, Persian, and Arabic. Martyn died at the age of 31, having only one convert, and before seeing his translations make it to print. “He was one of the first Protestant workers to direct his energies almost entirely towards Muslims.”[1]

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[1] Survey of Islam. Survey of Islam, Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity. On the CDROM “The World of Islam: Resources for Understanding.” Global Mapping International: 2000.