Missions - Robert Morrison Project

For more information on the this outreach, click here.

The year 1807 was a major milestone in the history of the church. On September 4, 1807, the Rev. Robert Morrison set foot on Chinese soil and became the first Protestant missionary to China. Serving under the London Missionary Society, Morrison labored tirelessly for 27 years to acquire the Chinese language, proclaim the faith, and translate the Scriptures for the first time. The early years were filled with untold hardship and toil. Yet from that humble beginning, by God’s grace, over the past 200 years, the church in China has grown from zero to millions today.

On the 200th anniversary of Robert Morrison’s entry into China another major milestone in Chinese church history is occurring. Over the last eight to ten years it has become possible to legally publish some genres of Christian literature. The door for publishing in China is not completely open. However, more and more literature is slowly becoming legally available.

Needless to say, this is a remarkable turn of events. Starting from just a handful of titles eight years ago, today approximately 600 Christian titles are in legal circulation. For many titles, sales figures are still quite low and have minimal impact within the Chinese church. Some believers have almost no Christian literature beyond a Bible. In many ways, it is fair to say that Christian publishing in China is still a blank slate with almost nothing written on it.

The good news is that reformed publishers can play a vital role in addressing this publishing vacuum. Reformed publishers have a unique set of circumstances that strongly favor the wide dissemination of their literature. The most significant circumstance is that the genres of literature that the Chinese government is allowing to be published are the same genres that reformed publishers have been focusing on for the past 50 years. In recent years the government censors have been allowing biographies, old literature by major historical figures (Calvin, Luther, etc.), and anything dealing with marriage and the family to be published. Providentially, over the last several decades reformed publishers in the West have been focusing on this same kind of literature.

The chief objective of the Robert Morrison Project is to begin to lay the foundation for the long-term, legal presence of quality reformed literature in China and beyond. On an annual or semi-annual basis the Board of Directors of the Project will select a number of titles that reflect the Puritan and Reformed tradition (as defined by confessions such as the 1689 London Baptist Confession and the Westminster Confession of Faith). Grants will then be given to various Christian publishing companies in China/Asia to legally publish these titles. The Project has no aspirations of establishing a company of its own but rather seeks to partner with existing ones to facilitate the publication of reformed literature. Our long-term goal is the establishment of financially independent, self-governing reformed publishing companies in Asia and will focus on regions where literature needs are greatest.

Will you consider partnering with us on this project by making a financial donation? Publishing these titles will begin to fill the publishing vacuum in China and help satisfy the church’s hunger for God-glorifying literature.

Soli Deo Gloria,

The Robert Morrison Project