Extraordinary Methodist Missionaries in India

  

Odilon Massolar Chaves

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Copyright © 2025, Odilon Massolar Chaves

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Books published in the Wesleyan Digital Library: 591

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Cover: Clara_A._Swain and William_Butler.

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All glory to God!

Odilon Massolar Chaves is a retired Methodist pastor, with a doctorate in Theology and History from the Methodist University of São Paulo.

His thesis dealt with the Methodist revival in England in the eighteenth century and its contribution as a paradigm for our days.

He was editor of the official Methodist newspaper and coordinator of the Theology Course.

Copyright Statement: These files are in the public domain and are derived from an electronic edition that is available on the Ethereal Library of Christian Classics website.

Rio de Janeiro – Brazil

 

 

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Table of Contents

 

 

 

·       Introduction

·       Highlights of the book's chapters

·       Early Methodism in India

·       Founder of Methodism in India and Mexico

·       First missionary bishop in India and Malaysia

·       An extraordinary missionary

·       Pioneer Medical Missionary in India

·       An Indian pioneer of Methodism in Singapore

·       School and church planter in India and Indonesia

·       Missionary in India and best-selling author

 

 

 

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Introduction

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"Extraordinary Methodist Missionaries in India" is a 30-page book that recounts the selflessness, pioneering and immense dedication to the Gospel of six missionaries and one missionary in India, in very difficult times. 

The first missionary in India, a few days after arriving, had to flee to the mountains with his wife. His house was destroyed. Other missionaries died. He was presumed dead in the USA. But he continued the work and was still a pioneer of Methodism in Mexico, later. 

The name of the book is based on the title given by the Methodist Church to Stanley Jones in 1959: "Extraordinary Missionary". It is a title that everyone deserves for the immense dedication in India. 

The chapters of the book are divided as follows: Beginning of Methodism in India; founder of Methodism in India and Mexico; First missionary bishop in India and Malaysia; an extraordinary missionary; Pioneer medical missionary in India; an Indian pioneered Methodism in Singapore; Planter of schools and churches in India and Indonesia; missionary in India and best-selling author. 

Stories that awaken us to give due importance to the missionaries who dedicated themselves to sowing the seed of the Gospel based on Wesleyan Methodism. 

Stories that awaken us to missionary work.

 

The Author  

 

 

 

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Highlights of the book's chapters

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Early Methodism in India

Subsequently, Methodist missionary James Mills Thoburn was sent to India by his church's Missionary Society in 1859.

"Initially, Thoburn worked with William Butler doing village evangelism and church planting in northern India"

 Founder of Methodism in India and Mexico 

There was aSepoy Rebellion, just ten weeks after the Butlers began their work onBareilly.  They were forced to flee to the mountains, where inNaini Tal, found refuge for several months 

First missionary bishop in India and Malaysia

Thoburn went to India as a missionary in 1859. "Initially, Thoburn worked with William Butler, the first American Methodist missionary in India who had arrived in 1856, doing village evangelism and church planting in northern India

An extraordinary missionary 

In 1959, Stanley Jones was named by the Methodist Church "missionary extraordinaire." He was called a "conciliator" because of his efforts in Burma, Korea and the Belgian Congo, between China and Japan, between Japan and the United States.

Pioneer Medical Missionary in India

Her success gave her a position at court to attend to women's health and, in her spare time, to work in a clinic and a school for girls. She took the opportunity to teach that Christ had come to deliver women from sin and elevate their position. She has been called the "pioneering medical woman in India."

An Indian pioneer of Methodism in Singapore

 

In 1873, Oldham was invited to the preaching tents of the American visitor Daniel O. Fox in India. The teachings of these Methodist missionaries, led by Bishop William Taylor, led to his conversion and he became a Methodist. 

School and church planter in India and Indonesia 

"He was president of the Epworth League Office of the Conference and district superintendent from 1930 to 1952. He also served on the faculty of Jean Hamilton Theological School in 1924, where training was provided to preach the Gospel in Chinese, Malay, and Tamil." 

Missionary in India and best-selling author

David was an author of books on emotional healing and a pioneer in the field of Christian counseling. As such, he was recognized at the Cristian Counseling congress in 1992. "Along with James Dobson, Larry Crabb and Gary Collins, he received the special 'Paraklesis' award

 

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Early Methodism in India

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Subsequently, Methodist missionary James Mills Thoburn was sent to India by his church's Missionary Society in 1859.

"Initially, Thoburn worked with William Butler doing village evangelism and church planting in northern India"

 

The history of Methodism in India begins in 1856 with the arrival of William Butler from the USA. He began the work of the Methodist Episcopal Church at a site called Bareilly.

Subsequently, Methodist missionary James Mills Thoburn was sent to India by his church's Missionary Society in 1859.

"Initially, Thoburn worked with William Butler doing village evangelism and church planting in northern India."[1]

Thoburn invited American Methodist evangelist William Taylor to come to India to lead a revival and the expansion of Methodist work.

In 1864, Methodist work grew and was renamed the India Mission Conference.

"The year 1870 marked the beginning of a new era in the history of Methodism in India. The famous evangelist William Taylor was invited to India to hold special revival meetings. It was this that changed the course of Methodism in India and took our church outside its provincial borders and made it a national factor."[2]

The year 1870 is remarkable in Methodist history in India, for it marked the arrival of the first female missionaries of the Foreign Women's Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church "to commence their wonderful work of education among the girls and women of India; and Clara Swain, to inaugurate medical work among women". [3]

"Between 1871 and 1900, the Methodist Episcopal Church expanded to become a national Church throughout South and Southeast Asia, with work carried out in twelve languages, extending from Manila to Quetta and from Lahore to Madras; and the Christian community increased from 1,835 to 111,654."[4]

It was the evangelism in the villages of northern India, however, that resulted in the baptism of large numbers of people among the depressed classes.

Thus began the work of the mass movement, which brought several hundred thousand converts to our church in the rural areas.

In 1904, Rev. Samuel Solomom Pakianathan was sent by the London Missionary Society to the town of Dornakal, the location of the Telugu people, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. The forest was full of wild animals. He went alone, without knowing anyone, and learned to read and write Telugu in two months. He lived for a good part in a tent, in a tree.  The forest became his home and service to God. A collector met him and gave him many acres of land and so came the buildings. Pakianathan, finally, can take his wife and children.

"In 1981, the Methodist Church in India was established as an 'affiliated autonomous' church in relation to The United Methodist Church."[5]

The Church currently numbers approximately 648,000. They are: 2460 local churches, 2156 pastors and 10 pastors.

The Methodist Church in India "runs 102 boarding schools and 155 village schools in which more than 60,000 children are enrolled. 89 residential hostels serve 6,540 boys and girls. The Church also operates 19 institutions of higher and vocational education, 25 hospitals and health centers, and many welfare and community development programs in the country." [6]

 

 

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Founder of Methodism in India and Mexico

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There was aSepoy Rebellion, just ten weeks after the Butlers began their work onBareilly.  They were forced to flee to the mountains, where inNaini Tal, found refuge for several months 

 

William Butler (1818-1899) was born in Ireland where he went through a conversion experience.

"Orphaned early in life, he was for some years under the care of a great-grandmother, who used to induce the boy to set up a chair for a pulpit, and, dressed in a  makeshift surplice, read the day's lessons from the prayer book of the Church of England. This service was a great comfort to the old woman, who could no longer attend church."  [7]

Her conversion and her connection with the Methodist movement was brought about by a woman, who had entered into a conscious religious experience under the influence of the Methodists."[8]

 In 1842, he learned that an American preacher was speaking in a Methodist chapel. "He was impressed by the speaker's clear presentation of the gospel. Its text was Isaiah 42:3: "A bruised reed shall not break, and a smoking wick shall not be quenched." He understood the mercy of Christ and gave his heart and soul to God.

Butler attended the Wesleyan Theological Center in Didsbury, England, for two years. Then he went to the west of Ireland, where most of the people were Catholic. He was successful in revivals and preached in other parts of Ireland. He immigrated to America in 1850."[9]

"His first sermon was preached at St John's Market, Liverpool, in 1839.  He joined the Irish Methodist Conference in 1844.  After three years of theological study, he joined the Irish Wesleyan Conference and was ordained in 1848." [10]

"He immigrated to the U.S. in 1850. After being widowed twice, he wrote to Clementina Rowe in Ireland, who had been influenced by his preaching a few years earlier. Clementina crossed the ocean and they were married in 1854."[11] 

He was the founder of the Methodist Episcopal Mission in India and later the Mission in Mexico. 

"The Butlers were probably the best-known Methodist missionary couple in the late nineteenth century."[12] William was considered the best person to found Methodist work in Mexico in 1873. [13] 

But first, he went to India. 

"After a few years, the project of a mission in India was taken up by the Missionary Council of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and appeals were made to the ministry for someone to volunteer to begin the work. But for more than three years, no one fit for the position was found. Butler shared the anxiety of the secretaries and bishops that the venture would not fail for lack of a suitable leader. Because of his four young children, he was hesitant to volunteer. But at last his sense of the great need of the people of India led him to consult with the authorities, and in November, 1855, [4] he was appointed by Bishop Matthew Simpson as superintendent of the new mission. His wife supported him in his determination. Leaving two boys at school in the USA, the family left the USA in April 1856".[14] 

Arriving in Calcutta in 1856, William Butler found that the people were intensely hostile to Christianity. 

There was a "Sepoy Rebellion, just ten weeks after the Butlers began their work onBareilly.  They were forced to flee to the mountains, where inNaini Tal, found refuge for several months. Your Closest Missionary Neighbors, MissionPresbyterian, on the other side of theGanges, who had fled fromFuttyghurin search of safety, were massacred, Butler's house was burned, and aStrengtherected to him in the public square at Bareilly, the rebel leader expressed his great disappointment when he found that the missionary had escaped."[15] 

In the USA, they even published his death. 

As soon as peace was restored, work resumed. It was reinforced by missionaries from the USA, and in 1864 the Mission was organized into an Annual Conference.  Butler's plan for the missions was to avoid controversy. The Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church came to assist in this work. The principal cities of the two provinces were supplied with foreign missionaries, and from these centers the work was pushed to the surrounding villages. 

Butler's health made it necessary for him to leave India. He left for the United States in January 1865 aboard a sailboat." [16]

In 1872, Butler was appointed overseer of a mission to be founded in Mexico. He arrived in Mexico in February 1873. Within six years, the mission was well established, and Butler returned to the U.S. in poor health.

Two sons continued the work of their parents. John W. Butler and Clementina Butler.[17]

Butler and his wife revisited India in 1883 and 1884 to review the progress of the work. They also visited Mexico.

One of the books he wrote was "THE LAND OF THE VEDA".

After retiring, "he liked to read weekly field reports. He also continued to write supplications for church missions, one of his last efforts being to secure chapels in some villages of India.

Butler died onOld Orchard, Maine, on August 18, 1899.  He is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters.  The presidentPorfirio Díaz, from Mexico, was one of the first to send a letter of condolence to Butler's son, Dr. John W. Butler, who continued the work begun by his father."[18]

 

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First missionary bishop in India and Malaysia

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Thoburn went to India as a missionary in 1859. "Initially, Thoburn worked with William Butler, the first American Methodist missionary in India who had arrived in 1856, doing village evangelism and church planting in northern India

 

James Mills Thoburn (1836 -1922) was born inSt. Clairsville, Ohio, USA. He was the son of immigrants from Ireland.

He "graduated from theAllegheny CollegePosted onMeadville, Pennsylvania, in 1857, beginning his Methodist preaching ministry in the same year at the Pittsburgh Conference. He wasSalary elderin 1858". [19]

He was "sent to India by the Missionary Society of his church in 1859. He married widow Sarah Minerva (Rockwell) Downey in 1861. She died in 1862 after giving birth to a son. [20]

Missionary career

Thoburn went to India as a missionary in 1859. "Initially, Thoburn worked with William Butler, the first American Methodist missionary in India who had arrived in 1856, doing village evangelism and church planting in northern India. Dissatisfied with the pace of expansion and the restrictions of the courtesy arrangements, Thoburn invited the American Methodist independent evangelist, William Taylor, to come to India to lead a revival and the expansion of Methodist work." [21]

"Thoburn left Lucknow in 1874 to serve as a missionary, without pay, for the Missionary Society in Calcutta, and was associated with this missionary enterprise in 1888." [22]

It was parked successively inNynee Tal,Moradabad,LucknoweKolkata, where he founded theKolkata Boys' Schoolin 1877". [23]

Thoburn he preached in native and European languages. "He built the largest church in India at that time. As Elder President of the Indian Conference, he preached for a time inSimla, the summer capital of India, and was for five years editor ofIndian Witness”. [24]

"In 1874, Thoburn began a thirteen-year pastorate of the flourishing church founded by Taylor in Calcutta. In 1880, while speaking in the United States, Thoburn met and married Anna Jones, a would-be medical missionary, in Philadelphia. He returned to India two days after the wedding; She followed two years later, after completing medical school." [25] Anna died in 1902.

In Calcutta, Thoburn built a church, which was twice packed every Sunday.  "Thoburn established the Burma Mission in 1879." [26]

At the 1888 Methodist Episcopal General Conference held in New York City, "Thoburn was elected the first missionary bishop of India and Malaya . he was committed to an effort to "put India at the heart of America."[27]

"Thoburn began Methodist work in Rangoon in 1879 and in Singapore in 1885. In 1888 he was elected bishop, with episcopal responsibility for the whole of India and Methodist work in Burma and Malaya." [28]

Thoburn was also a writer. He published the book entitled 'My Missionary Apprenticeship' in 1884, a history of twenty-five years in India and a collection entitled Missionary Sermons in 1888.

Among other works are: Christless Nations (1894), The Church of Pentecost (1899), Life of Isabella Thoburn (1903), The Christian Conquest of India (1906), India and South Asia (1907) and Heroes of God, Our Examples (1914).

Thoburn retired in 1908 inMeadville. He died on November 28, 1922, at the age of 86.[29]

 

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An extraordinary missionary

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In 1959, Stanley Jones was named by the Methodist Church "missionary extraordinaire." He was called a "conciliator" because of his efforts in Burma, Korea and the Belgian Congo, between China and Japan, between Japan and the United States. 

 

Eli Stanley Jones (1884-1973) was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 3, 1884 and passed away at the age of 89 on January 25, 1973, in India. 

His father was an alcoholic. At the age of five, Jones began attending the Methodist Episcopal Church's Sunday School. He was deeply converted at the age of 17. 

He thought he was a lawyer, but at the age of 23 he went as a Methodist missionary to India, where he stayed for more than 50 years. He was also a missionary in China. 

He was educated in Baltimore schools and studied at Asbury College. In 1907 he went as a Methodist missionary to India where he stayed for more than 50 years. He was also a missionary in China.

 "E. Stanley Jones marked the history of missions"[30] and was considered the extraordinary missionary of the twentieth century.

In 1911, he married a fellow missionary, Mabel Lossing, with whom he had a daughter, Eunice, who later married an American Methodist bishop.[31]

 

In 1938, Time magazine  called Stanley Jones "the world's greatest missionary evangelist." For others, he was the greatest Christian missionary since the apostle Paul. 

In 1959, Stanley Jones was named by the Methodist Church "missionary extraordinaire." He was called a "conciliator" because of his efforts in Burma, Korea and the Belgian Congo, between China and Japan, between Japan and the United States.

This effort to contextualize Christianity for India was the subject of his work "The Christ of the Indian Road," which sold more than a million copies worldwide upon its publication in 1925.

He was called "the world's greatest missionary evangelist" by Time magazine in 1938.[32] This applies to the twentieth century.

He was an advisor and friend to Mahatma Gandhi and Franklin D. Roosevelt and an inspiration to Martin Luther King Jr., among other world leaders.[33]

At least twice, Stanley Jones was in Brazil, in Campinas in the 20s, and in the sixties, in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, in a Ministerial of the Methodist Church.[34]

He wrote 28 books and was nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize.

When he was elected bishop in the USA, he resigned soon because his ministry was to be a missionary.

He created the first Christian Asham in the world.

Stanley Jones wrote books that inspire us, among them, "Jesus is Lord"; "Conversion" and "The Christ of all paths".

Stanley Jones continues to attract many readers. In 2018, three million copies of his books were sold.[35]

In 1959, Stanley Jones was appointed by the Methodist Church as an "extraordinary missionary," which is the title of the book.

 

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Pioneer Medical Missionary in India

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Her success gave her a position at court to attend to women's health and, in her spare time, to work in a clinic and a school for girls. She took the opportunity to teach that Christ had come to deliver women from sin and elevate their position. She has been called the "pioneering medical woman in India."

 

Clara A. Swain (1834-1910) was born in Elmira, New York, USA. At the age of eight, he joined the Methodist Church, a decision that influenced his Christian life.

At the age of 21, Swain began teaching private students in Castile. Later, he moved to Canandaigua, New York, to teach in a school, developing an interest in Medicine, to take care of the sick. She graduated from Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania.

Her call to service in India came from the need to have a quality female doctor for the high caste of women in India. Swain arrived in Bareilly, India, in 1869, where he spent 27 years caring for women and children and evangelizing.

In her first year, she trained 17 medical students to help her with patients and treated at least 1,300 patients. By 1874, she had built the Women's Hospital and School of Medicine, the first in all of Asia.

Despite resistance to Western medicine, the mission was successful. She became a palace doctor in Rajputana State.

Her success gave her a position at court to attend to women's health and, in her spare time, to work in a clinic and a school for girls. She took the opportunity to teach that Christ had come to deliver women from sin and elevate their position. She has been called the "pioneering medical woman in India."

Work began in Bareilly with a clinic for women and children that evolved to become Sara Swain Hospital, the oldest and largest Methodist hospital in India.[36]

 

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An Indian pioneer of Methodism in Singapore

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In 1873, Oldham was invited to the preaching tents of the American visitor Daniel O. Fox in India. The teachings of these Methodist missionaries, led by Bishop William Taylor, led to his conversion and he became a Methodist.

 

 

William Fitzjames Oldham (1854-1937) was born in Bangalore, India. As a baby, he lost his mother and was breastfed and raised by an Indian woman.

 

His father, James Oldham, was a Catholic and an officer in the British Army in India.

William Fitzjames Oldham went to study in the USA. "Oldham got aBachelor's Degreeby theBoston Universityand aMaster's DegreebyAllegheny College, and became a government surveyor. He was handpicked for the Great Trigonometric Survey of India, a key 19th-century survey of India and its adjacent lands."[37]

In 1873, Oldham was invited to the preaching tents of the American visitor Daniel O. Fox in India. The teachings of these Methodist missionaries, led by Bishop William Taylor, led to his conversion and he became a Methodist.

 

In 1876 he obtained his license as a local preacher and was able to preach in Methodist churches.

"During this time, he met Marie Augusta Mulligan (1857-1938); The two later married and began working as educational missionaries. [1] In 1879, Oldham traveled to Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, for training; Marie later traveled to the United States to study at Mt Holyoke College.[38]

In 1879, he was sent to study at Alleghany College in Pennsylvania, USA. His wife Marie Augusta only went to the U.S. when William was well off financially. In 1883, he graduated from Boston University with a degree in theology

In 1883, Oldham joined the Michigan Annual Conference of  the M.E. Church.

"He also served for a time under the auspices of the Ohio Conference. He was the founder of a missionary ministry in Singapore. The Oldhams were then appointed to accompany Bishop Thoburn to begin pioneering Methodist work in Singapore. They arrived on 7 February 1885 on the SS Khandalla and were met by Charles Phillips. The Oldhams' work included services in English at City Hall, lectures in homes, evangelistic meetings at the Christian Institute in Waterloo Street, and regular street preaching." [39]

In Singapore, Oldham "found access to the Chinese merchant population through schools; he established what became the first of a large number of Methodist schools in what was then British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), as well as the first Methodist Church in Singapore."[40]

With the conversions, in 1885, he organized the Wesley Methodist Church and was pastor of the first chapel built in Peninsular Malaysia.

Two girls' schools were established: Girls' Methodist School and Fairfield Methodist School between 1887-1888.

The mission also developed a clinic and hostels for homeless children.[41]

In 1887, missionary Sophia Blackmore organized a Methodist school for girls.

William became ill, obtained a leave of absence, and returned to the U.S. in 1889. Later, he was a pastor in the USA. In 1904, he was consecrated bishop of northern India and Malaysia.

In 1912, he was appointed secretary of the Methodist Council of Foreign Missions. In 1916, he was elected general superintendent and assumed supervision of South America until his retirement in 1928.

March 1 is designated as the Founder's Day of the Anglo-Chinese School in Singapore. William wrote several books and laid the spiritual and intellectual foundations for many generations in Asia. He is remembered as a friend, father and teacher of the Anglo-Chinese family.[42]

"He was a strong supporter of the church's early unity efforts in the Philippines and supported the Interdenominational Committee on Cooperation in Latin America. In India, Southeast Asia, and the Philippines, he encouraged the development of educational and social ministries as a compliment to evangelistic work." [43]

His primary contribution to "missiological thinking in the Methodist Episcopal Church was in three related areas: semi-self-sufficient missions, education, and native leadership." [44]

He died on March 27, 1937, Glendale, California, USA.

 

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School and church planter in India and Indonesia

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"He was president of the Epworth League Office of the Conference and district superintendent from 1930 to 1952. He also served on the faculty of Jean Hamilton Theological School in 1924, where training was provided to preach the Gospel in Chinese, Malay, and Tamil." 

 

Rev. Pakianathan, also known asSolomon Swamidason Pakianathan (1881-1961) “was an important Indian-born Methodist Christian leader who dedicated his life to religious and educational service in Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysia."[45]

 

At a meeting of the London Missionary Society, Rev. Pakianathan volunteered to be the first missionary in India. 

In 1904, he was sent to the town of Dornakal, the location of the Telugu people, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. 

The forest was full of wild animals. He went alone, without knowing anyone, and learned to read and write Telugu in two months. He lived for a good part in a tent, in a tree.  The forest became his home and service to God. A collector met him and gave him many acres of land and so came the buildings. 

Pakianathan, finally, can take his wife and children. His wife knew herbal medicines for all ailments. When there was a cholera epidemic, Pakianathan and his wife went to live in a shed to care for the sick about to die. They didn't get sick. This fact and testimony have led many to the Church. 

In 1908, Pakianathan went to Palembang in South Sumatra, Indonesia, where he opened an English language school and a night school for Arabs. He planted churches and schools (1905-1918) in Medan, Buitenzorg and Palembang in Sumatra. 

"Encouraged to study for Christian ministry, Pakianathan joined the Malayan Conference in 1915 and was ordained a deacon in 1918 and an elder on January 8, 1922." [46] 

He was married to Kanagamany Daniel. 

In 1927, the Malaya Methodist Church made an attempt to develop education in a rural area in Banting, Malaysia. 

In 1930, Rev. Pakianathan, Rev. J.A. Supramaniam, and Rev. J.J. Kovilpillai were appointed District Superintendents. 

"He was president of the Epworth League Office of the Conference and district superintendent from 1930 to 1952. He also served on the faculty of Jean Hamilton Theological School in 1924, where training was provided to preach the Gospel in Chinese, Malay, and Tamil." [47]

 By 1931, Pakianathan was in charge of the school's Chapel and was president of the Union Epworth League. He was consolidating the position of this small school. In 1935, under Pakianathan's leadership, the Tamil district was organized and the Tamil Select Methodist Church formed. 

"Rev. Pakianathan, like his predecessors and those in Christian ministry in the Methodist Church, had two careers as a teacher and pastor, and was self-reliant. This practice continued until the appointment of Rev. C.A. Watson as the first full-time pastor of the Tamil Methodist Church of Singapore in 1965. Rev. Pakianathan entered the full-time ministry in 1931 when he gave up his teaching position."[48] 

After Pakianathan's pioneering spirit, the American Methodist missionaries arrived.[49] 

He passed away in 1961, at the age of 80. 

 

 

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Missionary in India and best-selling author

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David was an author of books on emotional healing and a pioneer in the field of Christian counseling. As such, he was recognized at the Cristian Counseling congress in 1992. "Along with James Dobson, Larry Crabb and Gary Collins, he received the special 'Paraklesis' award

 

David A. Seamands (1922-2006) was born in India. He was the son of missionary parents.

He graduated from theAsbury University, in theDrew Theological Seminaryand in theHartford Seminary Foundation. He has also received honorary degrees from Asbury University and theAsbury Theological Seminary.

He and his wife, "Helen, served as United Methodist missionaries in India from 1946 to 1962."[50]

He then served as pastor at the Methodist Church in Wilmore for 22 years.

He was a professor and rector of Asbury Seminary in Kentuchy. He retired in 1992.

David was an author of books on emotional healing and a pioneer in the field of Christian counseling. As such, he was recognized at the Cristian Counseling congress in 1992. "Along with James Dobson, Larry Crabb and Gary Collins, he received the special 'Paraklesis' award.[51]

"Seamands was also a delegate to six General Conferences, beginning in 1976. In four of them, he presented the minority report to the legislative section that deals with issues of human sexuality. He was also responsible for the founding of the Council of Evangelical Missions. In 1983, the Missionary Society for United Methodists was organized." [52]

His books have sold millions of copies. Among them are: "Healing for emotional traumas"; "The healing power of grace," etc.

In his book "The Healing of Memories," he said, "The ultimate goal is not simply to relieve past pain or some level of mental and emotional sanity, but growth into Christlikeness and a work of maturation in sanctification and true holiness."

In a synopsis it was explained that "The book Healing for Emotional Traumas by David Seamands presents the idea that God wants to break the chains that bind you to a past of painful experiences and free you, healing your traumas and restoring you to perfect emotional balance.

The book Healing for Emotional Traumas David Seamands admirably addresses biblical teaching with Christian psychology and common sense, writing about anger, guilt, depression, inferiority and perfectionism mania. The book Healing for Emotional Trauma focuses in a practical and direct way on the issue of pain that endures, showing how you can achieve permanent liberation. Healing for Emotional Traumas: a must-read book for everyone who wants to be free from constant inner restlessness and the emotional traumas of the past. A remarkable contribution by Dr. David Seamands to our understanding of inner healing."[53]

He died at the age of 84. The funeral service was at Wilmore United Methodist Church, where he was pastor.

At the time of his passing, he was survived by Sharon Irvine and husband Peter, OK., Stephen Seamands, and wife Carol, Wilmore and Deborah Mostad and husband Keith, Ohio, nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

 

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mills_Thoburn

[2] worldmethodistcouncil.org/asia/name/india-methodist-church

[3] worldmethodistcouncil.org/asia/name/india-methodist-church

[4] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodist_Church_in_India

[5] https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodist_Church_in_India

[6]https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodist_Church_in_India

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org//wiki/William_Butler_(missionary)

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org//wiki/William_Butler_(missionary)

[9] https://thealabamabaptist.org/heroes-of-the-faith-william-butler/

[10] https://en.wikipedia.org//wiki/William_Butler_(missionary)

[11] https://www.bu.edu/ missiology/missionary-biography/a-c/butler-william-1818-1899-and-clementina-rowe-1820-1913/

[12]Ditto.

[13]Ditto.

[14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Butler_(missionary)

[15]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Butler_(missionary)

[16]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Butler_(missionary)

[17]https://www.bu.edu/ missiology/missionary-biography/a-c/butler-william-1818-1899-and-clementina-rowe-1820-1913/

[18] https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/William_Butler_(missionary)

[19] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mills_Thoburn

[20] https://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-biography/t-u-v/thoburn-james-mills-1836-1922/

[21] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mills_Thoburn

[22] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mills_Thoburn

[23] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mills_Thoburn

[24] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mills_Thoburn

[25] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mills_Thoburn

[26] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mills_Thoburn

[27] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mills_Thoburn

[28] https://pt.findagrave.com/memorial/56336607/james_mills-thoburn

[29] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mills_Thoburn

[31] https://www.ultimato.com.br/conteudo/stanley-jones-1884-1973-o-maior-missionario-do-seculo-20

[32] https://www.abingdonpress.com/product/9781501871283/

[33] https://www.plenitudedistribuidora.com.br/produto/o-caminho-stanley-jones-85797

[34] https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Stanley_Jones

[35] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Stanley_Jones

[36] Search: http://xntdnn.azurewebsites.net/gcsrw3/Leadership/WomeninUMChistory.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Swain

http://www.fofweb.com/History

http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/no-rest-for-a-weary-clara-swain-11630553.html

[37] https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/William_Fitzjames_Oldham

[38] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Fitzjames_Oldham

[39] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Fitzjames_Oldham

[40] https://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-biography/n-o-p-q/oldham-william-fitzjames-1854-1937/

[41] https://www.liquisearch.com/methodist_church_in_singapore/history

[42] * Peninsular Malay is a large peninsula in Southeast Asia and includes Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore, and Malaysia.

Photo credit: Library of Congress/Prints and Photographs Division/Washington. Photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/12678842233

Search: http://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-biography/n-o-p-q/oldham-william-fitzjames-1854-1937/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Fitzjames_Oldham

http://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-biography/n-o-p-q/oldham-william-fitzjames-1854-1937/

http://www.methodist.org.sg/index.php/about-us/our-church

[43] https://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-biography/n-o-p-q/oldham-william-fitzjames-1854-1937/

[44] https://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-biography/n-o-p-q/oldham-william-fitzjames-1854-1937/

[45] AI-Powered Overview

[46] https://dcbasia.org/biography/pakianathan-solomon-swamidason

[47] https://dcbasia.org/biography/pakianathan-solomon-swamidason

[48] https://dcbasia.org/biography/pakianathan-solomon-swamidason

https://en.wikipedia.org/[50] wiki/David_Seamands

[51]https://www.hagerandcundifffunerals.com/ obituaries/david-a-seamands

[52] https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/David_Seamands

[53] https://www.magazineluiza.com.br/combo-livro-cura-para-os-traumas-emocionais-david-a-seamands-curando-as-feridas-da-alma-sheila-walsh-cristao-igreja-crista-amigo-evangelico/p/dhd48d10g5/li/liao/

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