Henry Martyn

“The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary Born in Cornwall, England in 1781, at sixteen we become. ” years of age Henry became a student at Cambridge University.

Whilst there, his tutor could see that he was struggling and arranged some extra help for Henry. But even with this help, Henry despaired about his own ability and even packed his belongings Henry to go home. However, another student persuaded him to remain, and with his encouragement to persevere, Henry graduated first in Martyn his class in the field of mathematics! A friend at one stage thought Henry was too concerned with the praise of others and so asked 1781 - 1812 Missionary to him, ‘shouldn’t you be doing that for the glory of God?’ Henry paid India & Persia little notice to this but later would realise the importance of his friend’s advice.

With tears rolling down his cheeks, Henry responded to the call of God to travel to India as a missionary. After spending some time in India, he met his missionary hero William Carey. As a chaplain to the British East India Tea Company in Calcutta, Henry exclaimed, ‘Let me burn out for God.’ Henry was a great preacher with a love for God’s word and would go on to translate the New Testament into Hindustani. Despite threats of violence towards him, he continued spreading God’s word, and at his own expense, established schools for the Indian children. In 1810 he travelled to Shirez in modern day Iran where he completed translating the New Testament into Arabic and Persian. Often he would debate with Muslim intellectuals to uphold the divinity of Jesus Christ and the truth of the gospel.

In 1812 at the age of thirty-one, he tried to make his way back to England to recover from a terrible fever. Sadly, whilst journeying through Armenia (now in modern day Turkey) he passed into eternity, his body laid to rest by strangers.

Henry had blazed a trail for God. It has been said of him, “His genius was coupled with humility, and his love for God was reflected in his passion for the scriptures.”

For further copies please email: [email protected] Accompanying powerpoint presentation available on request. India Trailblazers 2/3