21 May 1832 – 3 June 1905
James Hudson Taylor
founder of the China Inland Mission missionary society
James Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission missionary society, was a member of Westbourne Grove Chapel for his entire adult life, worshipping here when he was in the UK which, granted, wasn’t often as he spent a total of 51 of his 73 years on earth in China. But he maintained strong connections to Westbourne Grove Chapel (now called Westbourne Grove Church) because his sister Amelia and his brother-in-law Benjamin Broomhall were also members here over many years.
James Hudson Taylor aged 21 years – oil Reproduced by permission of OMF (UK). Find out more about the China Inland Mission and OMF
Entry for James Hudson Taylor in the Westbourne Grove Chapel pew book
Missionary to China
James Hudson Taylor was a pioneer missionary doctor with a great love for the Chinese people.
He is said to be on par with Apostle Paul due to the scope of his missionary work across China. He encouraged at least 800 missionaries into service during his lifetime, started 125 schools and 300 missionary stations, and founded The China Inland Mission one of the world’s largest missionary societies (now OMF International).
Taylor worked hard to gain the respect of the Chinese people and to gain open doors to preach. After hearing that the Chinese objected to his Victorian coat tails, calling him the black demon, he adopted wearing Chinese clothing and wore his hair in a pigtail with a shaven forehead out of respect for the Chinese culture.
He studied to be a doctor, surgeon, and later also a midwife so that he could minister to people’s bodies and as well as their souls.
Taylor’s love for the Chinese people came at great personal cost. He and his family faced incredible hardships and loss to work in China.
Hudson Taylor approximately aged 30. Reproduced by permission of OMF (UK). Find out more about the China Inland Mission and OMF
“If I had a thousand pounds China should have it; if I had a thousand lives China should have them.
No! Not China, but Christ. Can we do too much for Him? Can we do enough for such a precious Saviour?”
Amelia Hudson Taylor Broomhall, sister of James Hudson Taylor and member of Westbourne Grove Chapel. Reproduced by permission of OMF (UK). Find out more about the China Inland Mission and OMF
At home in Westbourne Grove
In his letter of 14th February 1860 to his sister Amelia, who was a member of Westbourne Grove Chapel, James Hudson Taylor wrote,
“Shall not the eternal interest of one-third of our race stir up the deepest sympathies of our nature, the most strenuous efforts of our blood-bought powers? Shall not the low wail of helpless, hopeless misery, arising from half the heathen world, pierce our sluggish ear, and rouse us – body, soul, and spirit – to one mighty, continued, unconquerable effort for China’s salvation?”
Hearing these words, William Garret Lewis the pastor of Westbourne Grove Chapel, along with the church congregation were ready to encourage and support Taylor and his family when, shortly after this, they decided to return to England for a furlough because of health problems.
On their return to England, they lived for a short while at No. 63 Westbourne Grove on the same street as the church and worshipped at the church here.
Westbourne Grove Chapel during the late1800s
The Birth of The China Inland Mission
On 25th June 1865, James Hudson Taylor dedicated himself before God to start a new missionary society for the evangelization of China and very soon after that he and William Thomas Berger founded the China Inland Mission.
China Inland Mission was unlike other missionary organisations of his time in that Taylor accepted duly qualified candidates for missionary labour from all walks and stations of life, from all Christian denominations (provided there was soundness in the faith in all fundamental truths), both married and single, men and women, as well as multinational recruits into his missionary society. The Mission and the missionaries were supported entirely by the free-will offerings of the Lord's people. The needs of the work are laid before God in prayer, no personal solicitations collections being authorised. These values were soon adopted by other missionary societies.
The missionaries dressed in Chinese clothing, even the women missionaries, which was deemed semi-scandalous at the time. While other missions were keen to preserve their British ways, but Taylor felt it was important to respect the Chinese culture.
Hudson Taylor in Chinese clothing. Reproduced by permission of OMF (UK).
Find out more about the China Inland Mission and OMF
The Lammermuir party – the first of the missionaries who joined Taylor on his return to China with the newly formed China Inland Mission. Reproduced by permission of OMF (UK). Find out more about the China Inland Mission and OMF
Hudson Taylor about 1885, Wikipedia
Westbourne Grove Supports Hudson Taylor
William Garret Lewis and the congregation of Westbourne Grove Chapel continued to support and encourage Taylor throughout his missionary work in China with the China Inland Mission (CIM). Church members, Amelia (Taylor’s sister) and Benjamin Broomhall were particularly involved with the CIM and the work in China. Benjamin was the General Secretary of the China Inland Mission for many years and five of the Broomhall’s ten children served in China with the CIM.
James Hudson Taylor and The China Inland Mission left an extraordinary legacy for both the people of China and the UK. Some of his descendants are still missionaries in China.
Find out more about the China Inland Mission and OMF here
Hudson Taylor - From The Story of The China Inland Mission, by Geraldine Guinness. Morgan & Scott, 1893