Adoniram Judson's Advice for Missionaries

Before you depart …

“I want to be a missionary. Now what?” Here, in paraphrase, is the advice Adoniram Judson gave to a missionary association in New York:

1. Be a missionary for life, not for a limited term.

2. Select a healthy and good-natured spouse.

3. Don’t be overzealous to do good on board ship and thereby get in the way.

4. Take care that you are not weakened by the hardships you will face during the preparation and travel to your destination.

5. Don’t judge the local Christians in your field of labor before you know their language and understand their culture. You will undoubtedly be disappointed when you first arrive and may regret that you came, but don’t let first impressions dishearten or embitter you.

6. Don’t let fatigue and frustration tempt you into seeking retreat or focusing on tasks that distract from real missionary work.

7. Beware of pride arising from your good reputation and guard against it by openly confessing your shortcomings.

8. Trust God in all things; don’t lay up money for yourselves.

9. Exercise to maintain your health.

10. Avoid excessive socializing with other Westerners and don’t try to keep up a fashionable lifestyle that will separate you from the people you are there to serve.

Adoniram Judson (1788-1850) Is know as the Father of Baptist Missionaries, lexicographer, and Bible translator to Burma. Born in Massachusetts in 1788. Helped form the American Baptist Missionary Union. In 1834 completed a translation of the whole Bible into the Burmese language. During the Anglo-Burmese War, he spent twenty-one months in prison. From 1845-1847, after thirty-four years in Burma, he took his only furlough to his native land. Returning to Burma, he spent his remaining years working on his English-Burmese dictionary. He died in 1850 and was buried at sea.

Bibliography:

Christian History Magazine-Issue 90: Adoniram & Anne Judson: American Mission Pioneers (Carol Stream, IL: Christianity Today, 2006).