American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
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Proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World Ministries.
The founding of the ABCFM is associated with the Second Great Awakening. Congregationalist in origin, the American Board supported missions by Presbyterian (1812-1870), Dutch-Reformed (1826-1857) and other denominational members.
Jeremiah Evarts served as its treasurer from 1812-1820 and as its Secretary from 1821 until his death in 1831
It sent its first group of five missionaries in 1812. It became the leading missionary society in the United States.
Many of the historical records of the ABCFM are held at Harvard University.
ABCFM Sponsored Missionaries
Marcus Whitman (September 4,1802–November 29,1847)
Rev. Dr. Sidney Lewis Gulick (April 10, 1860-December 20, 1945)
See Also
External links
- Yale Library note (http://www.library.yale.edu/div/colleges/glossary.html)
- Ricci Institute page on the ABCFM in China (http://ricci.rt.usfca.edu/institution/view.aspx?institutionID=163)
- Bilkent University ABCFM project (http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/~rizay/abcfm.htm)