Sharon James is the author of Ann Judson: A Missionary Life for Burma (Evangelical Press).
In 1805, a new schoolmaster arrived in the small New England town of Bradford. Unlike many in the town who were merely nominal Christians, he had experienced the new birth. He was a living Christian. Several of his students came under conviction of sin and were powerfully converted. Parents too came to saving faith.
Events that summer in the quiet New England town were just a microcosm of what was taking place through towns and villages in many parts of America. Later, the great number of conversions and the great increase in people formally joining the church would become known as the Second Great Awakening.
It was from that time of revival that the American mission movement gathered momentum. When people came to see the glory of God in a powerful way, they longed for all peoples everywhere to praise him.
