William Carey

William Carey, the “Father of Baptist Missions,” was born in Paulerspury, England, in 1761. At the age of 24, he accepted a call to become the pastor of a Baptist church. Carey kept urging his fellow pastors to set up a missionary agency, but they always seemed to have more urgent problems closer to home. At one meeting an elder pastor reportedly snapped at him: “Young man, sit down. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he’ll do it without consulting you or me.” But Carey simply would not let anything stand in the way.

After stimulating Baptist Missionary Society, he became its first missionary. Serampore College, which Carey and his colleagues established in 1810 to train Christian leaders, remains today as one of the outstanding educational institutions of Asia.

Carey devoted 41 of his 73 years to India without a return to his homeland. He was an able linguist and translator; a botanist of considerable reputation; and a missionary statesman par excellence. With the aid of other linguists, he translated the Bible into forty-four languages and dialects. Carey’s name is still held in the highest esteem in India. The Indian Department of Posts celebrated the life and ministry of William Carey with the 6 rupee stamp. He lived and died by his often quoted motto.