Carey, the Church, and the Commission

What comes to your mind when you hear the name William Carey? A shoe-cobbler turned missionary? A Bible translator in India? The father of modern missions?

Many Christians associate Carey with the work of missions, and it’s not hard to see why. Carey left his homeland, devoted his life to proclaiming the gospel among those who did not know Christ, and exhorted the churches of his day to join him in the work of the Great Commission. We rightly praise God for this godly man whose example continues to inspire us today.

But Carey’s work as a missionary included more than evangelism and Bible translation. It also involved church-planting. Carey believed planting biblical churches was a core component of the missionary task, by which Christianity would take root and spread throughout the lost world. Churches, therefore, were of utmost importance to Carey.

Planting Churches

Carey planted his first church in India in 1795. He had arrived in India two years previously, and the absence of a local church began to have a darkening effect on his soul. He expressed his feelings in his journal, “A day of business, hurry, sorrow, and dejection; I seem cast out of the Christian world. . . . I have not the blessing of a Christian friend.” Carey yearned for Christian community. As he learned language and proclaimed the gospel to the lost around him, he prayed for fellowship with the body of Christ.

Within a few months, Carey moved to a city where English believers occasionally met for Christian worship. Carey was overjoyed! After gathering with these believers, he exclaimed, “I feel now as if released from a prison, enjoying the sweets of Christian fellowship again.” This gathering, however, was informal and not structured. Carey delighted in worshipping with brothers and sisters in Christ but also recognized scripture’s command that Christians form themselves into churches. He discussed the matter with his fellow expatriates, encouraging them to form into a church community. Carey did not have to wait long.  On November 1, 1795, three Englishmen joined Carey in covenanting together as the first Baptist church in India. They even voted to appoint Carey as their pastor. At long last, Carey again relished the worship of a church community. “It is good to enjoy the communion of saints,” he wrote, “and its value can scarcely be estimated.”

As the shepherd of this small congregation, Carey fulfilled his pastoral duties with joy. He preached God’s word, administered the ordinances, and even walked through the church discipline process with members who lived in unrepentant sin. Within a few years, other missionaries joined Carey. They also united themselves to this congregation as members, faithfully participating in Christian worship. Through the church, Carey and his fellow missionaries received the edification and accountability they needed to serve Christ faithfully.

Membership in this church was not limited to foreigners or missionaries. After some time, many Indians professed faith in Jesus, received baptism, and joined the church community. As members of the church, they sat under the preaching of God’s word, received the ordinances, and served the church body in various ways. Carey welcomed these new believers into the congregation. He knew these Indian Christians needed encouragement, protection, and accountability, and that they would receive them in the context of the local church.

For this reason, Carey believed more churches must be planted throughout India. He and his friends began investing heavily in training up local believers to serve as future pastors. They eventually sent these men out to plant churches throughout the country. When other missionaries sought Carey’s guidance regarding their ministry efforts, he directed their gaze to the importance and necessity of the church and counseled them to lead nationals in forming congregations. With stunning clarity, Carey recognized that Christianity would never take root and survive in a churchless land.

By the end of Carey’s life, the first church he had planted in 1795 had multiplied into 26 separate congregations across the country that faithfully preached God’s word and administered the ordinances. When he considered this outcome, Carey would joyfully whisper to himself, “What has God wrought!” To see so many churches now healthy and growing testified to the wondrous grace of God.

Pursuing Faithfulness

When Carey planted churches, what did they look like? Three features characterized these congregations. First, these churches prioritized proper membership. While everyone was welcome to attend the church’s gatherings, Carey believed that a church’s membership must only consist of baptized believers. This conviction led these churches to evaluate professions of faith and require baptism before receiving people into membership. It also prompted them to remove members who lived in unrepentant sin, thus nullifying their testimony. For Carey, a person’s nationality, caste, or social status were not the measures for joining a church. Rather, true faith reflected through obedience to Christ’s word was the standard.

A second defining mark of these churches was proper leadership. Carey believed pastors (or elders) were called to lead churches through preaching and teaching, administering the ordinances, and guarding the flock from falsehood and sin. Deacons assisted by fulfilling various roles of service for the good of the church. Through the leadership of pastors and deacons, church members received the guidance, care, and support they needed to grow into spiritual maturity. Carey helped these churches understand the importance of proper leadership and who was biblically qualified to serve in these roles.

Third, the churches Carey planted valued proper worship. When these churches gathered together, their services reflected Scripture’s teaching on how Christians worship the true God: they listened to the reading and preaching of God’s Word, they sang songs of worship and praise, they prayed together, and they observed the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. While some of the forms of worship looked different from Carey’s experience in England, the elements remained unchanged and faithful to Scripture.

These features defined the churches Carey planted. Holding fast to these convictions proved difficult, yet Carey believed obedience to Scripture’s design for the church mattered.

An Example to Follow

Carey entered his eternal rest on June 9, 1834. At his direction, the inscription on his tombstone quoted a hymn written by Isaac Watts, “A wretched, poor and helpless worm. On thy kind arms I fall.” He had served in India for 41 years, faithfully proclaiming the gospel, translating the Bible, and planting churches.

As we consider Carey’s life, what are lessons we can learn today? Carey reminds us that local churches matter. It is not enough for missionaries to merely make converts, nor to disciple Christians on an individual basis. They must also gather these new followers of Jesus into visible churches. Why? One reason is that the church is the nursery where the seedlings of faith can grow and thrive into maturity. In the context of a local church, new believers learn true doctrine and are protected from false teaching. They are also ushered into a godly community so they can receive the encouragement and accountability necessary for growth in godliness. Like Carey, missionaries who cross the world for the sake of the gospel today must prioritize the church so that new believers grow into Christian maturity.

Carey’s example also galvanizes us, urging us to pursue faithfulness over ease or speed. Planting churches is hard. Planting biblically faithful churches is even harder. Yet service in the cause of Christ is not about ease and comfort. Rather, it demands a willingness to persevere in humble submission to the word of God, even in the face of hardship. Carey helps us see that obedience is worth it.

Carey may be known for his work as a missionary and his impact on the world of missions. It’s important for us to see, though, how vital the church was in his missionary labor. Even today, Carey’s ministry speaks volumes to us on the significance, value, and beauty of the local church.