The History Of Southern Baptist Missionary Activities In Shanghai

As one of the major Protestant denominations, Baptists traces its origin to the17th century via the English Separatists. It appeared in the American Colonies in the early17th century with the migration of Pilgrims, and split over the main issue of slavery into the Southern Baptist Convention and the The American Baptist Missionary Union (Known as the Northern Baptists Convention) in the mid19th century. The Baptist missionary came to China in1836, and gradually formed parishes in coastal provinces and southwest areas by different missionary societies as Baptist Church from South USA (from Southern Baptist Convention), Baptist Church from North USA (from Northern Baptist Convention), and Baptist Missionary Society from UK. The Baptist Church from South USA came to Shanghai and established the first Baptist Church of Shanghai or even that of East China, called the "Old North Door First Baptist Church"Witnessing its efforts in building churches and schools, publishing books and journals and cultivating many patriotic church members, and its experiences in religious movements such as indigenization and localization, the centennial history of the Baptist Church was supposed to represent a microcosm of Protestant Mission in China. During the century of the Church’s history, many famous people worked for it, some were missionaries like Dr. Matthew Tyson Yates, who engaged in business activities to afford the Church mission, and Frank Joseph Rawlinson. the editor of "The Chinese Recorder", the other were local church members such as Mr. Zhao Jinqing, the patriotic business leader and etc. Great influences were brought by the Church and the affiliated institutions, such as The University of Shanghai and the China Baptist Publishing House, to Shanghai and its neighboring areas in the Held of education, culture, charity and women’s liberation.In this paper, a brief investigation and overview was conducted into the centennial history of the Baptist Church from South USA and its relevant historical figures and institutions like schools and publishing house on the basis of some interviews with relevant people as well as the studies on Chinese and English documents and available research findings. Approaches of regional study were used in the observation on the dissemination and development of the contemporary Christianity in Shanghai to understand the spread of it and the factors which caused its transformation and development, and especially its influences to the growth of Christian Churches in Shanghai and the social process of China, as well as the enlightenment for the Chinese churches to develop after the reform and opening to the outside world.