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Griffith John - Apostle to Central China

GRIFFITH JOHN: APOSTLE TO CENTRAL CHINA
By Noel Gibbard
Bryntirion Press. £7.99
ISBN 1 85049 1534

An enthusiastic congregation of some 200 filled Ebenezer Baptist Church in Swansea last November for a special service to launch this biography.
Griffith John has not been forgotten in his native Wales, even though he may have been overshadowed by other missionaries to China such as Hudson Taylor. This may be because his mission, the London Mission Society, is no longer in existence. If so, this new biography, the first in more than 80 years, deservedly redresses the balance.
Arriving in Shanghai in 1855 to a China in the throes of political turmoil, John made his base in what is now the great metropolis of Wuhan (then called Hankow) on the central Yangtze. He was to serve in China for 54 years. In that time he ministered to a church of many thousands, set up schools, a hospital, a medical college, a teacher-training college and a theological college. As if this were not enough for his vast talents, he also made a major contribution to literature work, translating the Bible into Chinese and writing innumerable tracts and theological books in Chinese. All this was not accomplished without suffering: John narrowly escaped lynching at the hands of an angry mob. In 1885, his wife died in China and was buried in Shanghai.
Griffith John was thoroughly evangelical. He had no time for the theological liberalism which was beginning to filter through to the mission field towards the close of the 19th century. His confidence in the simple gospel message shines through everything he did. He stated unequivocally during the dark days of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 when many missionaries and Chinese converts were being slaughtered: 'These are glorious days for mission in China right before us. I am surprised that people are talking about giving up the work; they must be mad!' In 1905, now an old man, he wrote with continuing enthusiasm: 'Had I 50 years more to spare, I would willingly and gladly give them all to the glorious work of making known to the Chinese the love of God in Jesus Christ.'
This reviewer had the joy of visiting John's old church in Wuhan recently. It was packed with some 2,000 worshippers for the Sunday service. The old pioneer would have been thrilled, but probably not greatly surprised. After all, he had unwavering faith in the power of the gospel to make converts and transform people. The present great awakening in China owes much to the work of missionaries such as Griffith John. May it encourage a younger generation of Western Christians to catch a vision for China.

Tony Lambert,
OMF