10 Quotes from Christians Who Dedicated Their Lives to Spreading the Gospel

10 Quotes from Christians Who Dedicated Their Lives to Spreading the Gospel

The Great Commission is central to the Church Age. It is the last thing Jesus talked to his followers about before ascending back to heaven. Through the ages, believers have taken Jesus' charge to preach the Word to the ends of the earth very seriously. Whether they were missionaries at home or abroad, these particular 10 Christians are inspiring examples of people who knew what was most important in this life. They had experienced the forgiveness and love of Christ and were compelled to share this Good News with others. Hopefully their words will inspire you, whether you are called to be a missionary in your hometown or called to go to the far reaches of the globe.

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  • 1. Nate Saint, missionary to Ecuador

    1. Nate Saint, missionary to Ecuador

    "People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives ... and when the bubble has burst, they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted."

    Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

  • 2. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army

    2. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army

    "'Not called!' did you say?
    'Not heard the call,' I think you should say.
    Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not to come there. Then look Christ in the face — whose mercy you have professed to obey — and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world."

    Photo courtesy: Flickr.com

  • 3. Katie J. Davis, young woman missionary to Uganda

    3. Katie J. Davis, young woman missionary to Uganda

    “People from my first home say I'm brave. They tell me I'm strong. They pat me on the back and say, 'Way to go. Good job.' But the truth is, I am not really very brave; I am not really very strong; and I am not doing anything spectacular. I am simply doing what God has called me to do as a person who follows Him. He said to feed His sheep and He said to care for 'the least of these,' so that's what I'm doing, with the help of a lot people who make it possible and in the company of those who make my life worth living."

    Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

  • 4. Rev. Billy Graham, famous preacher and evangelist

    4. Rev. Billy Graham, famous preacher and evangelist

    "The message I preach hasn't changed. Circumstances have changed. Problems have changed, but deep inside man has not changed, and the gospel hasn't changed."

    Photo courtesy: Getty Images

  • 5. Gladys Aylward, missionary to China

    5. Gladys Aylward, missionary to China

    “Life is pitiful, death so familiar, suffering and pain so common, yet I would not be
    anywhere else. Do not wish me out of this or in any way seek to get me out, for I will not be got out while this trial is on. These are my people, God has given them to me, and I will live or die for Him and His glory.”

    Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

  • 6. Francis Xavier, missionary to India, the Philippines, and Japan

    6. Francis Xavier, missionary to India, the Philippines, and Japan

    “Here I am, Lord, send me; send me to the ends of the earth; send me to the rough, the savage pagans of the wilderness; send me from all that is called comfort in earth, or earthly comfort: send me to death itself, if it be but in Thy service and to promote Thy kingdom.”

    Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

  • 7. William Cameron Townsend, founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators

    7. William Cameron Townsend, founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators

    "The greatest missionary is the Bible in the mother tongue. It needs no furlough and is never considered a foreigner." 

    Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

  • 8. David Brainerd, missionary to Native Americans

    8. David Brainerd, missionary to Native Americans

    "Here am I, send me; send me to the ends of the earth; send me to the rough, the savage lost of the wilderness; send me from all that is called comfort on earth; send me even to death itself, if it be but in your service, and to promote your kingdom."

    Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

  • 9. Samuel Zwemer, missionary to Arabia and the Muslim community

    9. Samuel Zwemer, missionary to Arabia and the Muslim community

    "The printed page is a missionary that can go anywhere and do so at minimum cost. It enters closed lands and reaches all strata of society. It does not grow weary. It needs no furlough. It lives longer than any missionary. It never gets ill. It penetrates through the mind to the heart and conscience. It has and is producing results everywhere. It has often lain dormant yet retained its life and bloomed years later."

    Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

  • A street in India, Pastor beaten in India for refusing to help pay for tribal rituals

    10. Amy Carmichael, missionary to India

    “To me there is no more tragic sight than the average missionary. …We have given so much, yet not the one thing that counts; we aspire so high, and fall so low; we suffer so much, but so seldom with Christ; we have done so much and so little will remain; we have known Christ in part, and have so effectively barricaded our hearts against His mighty love, which surely He must yearn to give His disciples above all people.” 

    Photo courtesy: Charl Folscher/Unsplash