Year: October 1894
Jonathan Goforth-45 years old
Jonathan Goforth's Journal
The other missionaries from my group went with me to Chang-san's village. I wanted to visit with his father, the man who beat him and threatened to kill him. We left Chang-san back at my home for his protection.
After spending most of the day in his village and waiting for Mr. Chang to respond to my message, I decided to go to his home. When I arrived, he was gone.
The others in his community said he heard a foreigner was coming to speak with him. He ran away and was in hiding.
Well, there was no way he would return while I was still there. Still, the others from the small community were curious. I took the opportunity to sit down with them and tell them about the living God who loves them. They listened to all I had to say and asked questions. When I finished, I went back to the others.
We traveled back to our homes together at the end of the day.
Some days later, a messenger sent word saying the villagers told Chang-san's father what I had preached. He became curious about the living God. The one who would love him. He calmed down and said he wanted his son to come back home. I didn't know if he could be trusted or no, so I asked Mr. Ho to go with the boy to protect him.
When the boy went back to his father's home, his father saw him. Mr. Chang picked up an iron tool and lunged, ready to attack his son. Mr. Ho leaped in front of the boy and grabbed the iron tool like a warrior. He held it tight in his grip, refusing to let go. He told Mr. Change he would not release the weapon until a promise was given not to harm the boy.
Mr. Chang at long last agreed and put the weapon down. A promise was very sacred to these people. Mr. Ho knew he could trust Mr. Chang to keep his words.
Missionaries took turns going back to Chang-san's village. They preached and answered the people's questions. In time, many of the people put their trust in God. Real changes happened in their lives and others saw. More villagers joined those who believed, but not Mr. Chang.
Soon, Mr. Chang was the only one in his village who had not believed in God. He saw how his neighbors changed. How they became kind and giving. How they worshiped God.
Mr. Chang finally changed his mind and put his trust in a God who truly loved him. One he could talk to. One who listened. One who loved him. He received a copy of God's word in his own language. Mr. Chang read from the Scriptures every day. What a change his faith in God made in his life.
He changed so much that the little children in the village stopped calling him Fury. They weren't afraid to talk to him. He became like a grandfather to them.
This is not the end of Chang-san's story.
Jonathan has many stories to share. Come back each Monday to find out what happened next.
Resources Used for This Series
Being, Janet, and Geoff Benge. Jonathan Goforth: An Open Door in China. Seattle. WA: YWAM Pub., 2001.Print
Doyle, G. Wright. Builders of the Chinese Church: Pioneer Protestant Missionaries and Chinese Church Leaders. Eugene Oregon: Pickwick Pub, 2015. Print.
Goforth, Jonathan, and Rosaline Goforth, Miracle Lives of China, London" Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1931, Print.
Goforth, Jonathan. "By My Spirit" Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1942. Print
Goforth, Rosalind. Climbing; Memories of a Missionary's Wife. Chicago: Moody Pub, n.d. Print
Goforth, Rosalind, How I Know God Answers Prayers; The Personal Testimony of One Life-time, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1921. Print
Goforth, Rosalind. Jonathan Goforth. Minneapolis, MN: Bethan House, 1986. Print
Goforth, Rosalind, How God Answers Prayer: The Mighty Miracles of God from the Mission Field of Jonathan Goforth. USA: Revival, 2016. Print Original copyright not stated.
Jackson, Dave, and Neta Jackson. Mask of the Wolf Boy: Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1999. Print.
McCleary, Walter. An Hour with Jonathan Goforth: A Biography. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1938. Print.
Meloche, Renee Taft., and Bryan Pollard. Jonathan Goforth: Never Give up. Seattle, WA: YWAM, 2004. Print.
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