Hero of faith SOWING THE GOSPEL IN

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SOWING THE GOSPEL IN BOMBAY HERO OF FAITH

Horatio Bardwell

Gordon Hall preached the Good News and won souls for Christ in Bombay for over thirteen years. He promoted evangelization in India and spread the Christian faith with courage and persistence.

Renowned member of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), the first nondenominational American foreign mission society and first Protestant organization to establish a mission station in the Middle East, Gordon Hall played an important role in the introduction of God’s Word in Bombay, the most populated city of India. There, he sowed the Gospel and won many souls for Christ for over thirteen years.

Hall was born on April 8, 1784 in Tolland, Connecticut, to Elizabeth and Nathan Hall. His parents were a God-fearing couple that stood out in the community for their devotion and uprightness. Raised with love, he became a courageous and determined man. In his early years, he discovered his interest in reading and writing.

Hardworking and kind, Gordon prepared to pursue a university career since a very young age. In February 1805, when he was about to turn twenty-one, he was admitted to Williams College, a private liberal arts college in Massachusetts where the Sound Doctrine of the Lord was taught. He graduated with highest honors three years later transformed into a new creature thanks to the power of the Savior.

Converted to Christianity by the end of 1806, at Williams College, Hall became friends with preacher Samuel John Mills Jr., a missionary from Connecticut who contributed to the organization of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1810 and to the formation of the American Colonization Society in 1817. With him, he deepened his interest in the Holy Scriptures and strengthened his love for the Redeemer.

Rev. Ebenezer Porter, pastor of a church in Washington, who taught him the doctrine of Christ for about a year. Having gained the necessary knowledge to share the Word, he was ordained a preacher and moved in 1809 to Woodsbury, Connecticut, to start his ministry.

In 1810, Pastor Gordon entered the Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, where he met Mills

and other brothers with whom he shared his passion for missionary service. In addition to his spiritual training, he promoted the organization of the ABCFM and decided to travel to India to evangelize those who did not know God.

On September 18, 1811, the newly established ABCFM, which became the most important mission organization in America at the time, appointed him missionary

HERO OF FAITH

along with other outstanding brothers. Supported by this group, he went with Samuel Newell to Boston and Philadelphia to study medicine. There he gained useful knowledge for his missionary service.

On February 6, 1812, the preacher was ordained in a churche of Massachusetts along with Millsww, Newell and missionaries Adoniram Judson, Samuel Nott and Luther Rice.

Six days later, he left Philadelphia and set sail for India in the company of Rice and Nott. The three evangelists reached the territory under British rule after six months and settled in the city of Kolkata to spread the Gospel.

DETERMINED PREACHER All the missionaries were warmly received by a group of Christians of different denominations, including William Carey, who had preached God’s Word in the city since 1793. However, they were soon denied residence by the East India Company on ground that they were not English subjects and were forced to abandon the country.

Seventy days after their arrival to India, alarmed by the ultimatum issued by British authorities and by the war between the United States and the United Kingdom on June 18, 1812, the missionary decided to set sail for the Island of France, but an expected detention of the vessel resulted into an unexpected turn of events. On February 11, 1813, after passing government controls, he and Nott arrived in Bombay.

Once settled in the city located on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, they persuaded the Bombay governor and a vice-president of the British and Foreign Bible Society to allow them to stay and work to spread the Gospel.

He studied Marathi and then he preached the message of Jesus to the needy and pagan of Bombay. He also gave medical treatment to English and Indian patients. Hall was instrumental in the creation of the American Marathi Mission or Bombay Mission, the first American missionary station overseas, on December 21, 1813. It was one of the first fruits of the ABCFM, commencing the first mission in the Maharashtra region. The main goal of the organization was the salvation of native people through the teachings of Christianity.

OUTSTANDING SERVANT

As part of his evangelistic and missionary work, he was constantly in the search of lost souls and idol worshippers. His preaching resounded in markets and other public places in the city that welcomed him. In his messages he used to read passages of the Scriptures and explain the truth contained in the Bible.

Hall also produced literature in the local language and offered support and comfort to those who needed to be rescued from evil.

In 1814, thanks to God, he opened the first of thirtyfive schools that he established in Bombay.

On December 19, 1816, he married Margaret Lewis, an English woman resident of the West Indies, who helped him spread the doctrine of Christ among Gentiles, Jews, Muslims and Papists. He used to announce the Good News for about three hours a day. He also translated a large portion of the

New Testament.

On March 2, 1826, Reverend Gordon visited Nashik, a city located eighty kilometers away from Bombay, as part of his usual pastoral duties. However, when he arrived there, he decided to help fight the cholera epidemic that was decimating the population.

He stayed to distribute the medicines he had brought with him. Unfortunately, he caught the mortal infection during his efforts.

Gordon Hall died on March 20, 1826 on his way home. In his deathbed, accompanied by two young Christians, he affirmed that he would soon join Jesus Christ and urged a group of natives to repent of their sins.

Then, he prayed for his family, the world missionaries and apostates, and repeated three times “Glory to God.” In this way, he went up to heaven in the peak of his evangelical work.