Hudson Taylor's Breakthrough - Opening Inland China

Agony on Brighton Beach

In 1865, Hudson Taylor faced what seemed impossible. China's vast interior, with millions of souls, was closed to foreigners. Missionaries had worked only in coastal treaty ports for decades.

Taylor's burden grew unbearable. Walking on Brighton beach in England, he reached his breaking point. "I was in agony of soul," he later wrote. The weight of China's unreached millions pressed upon him.

The Breakthrough

Then came the breakthrough - not in circumstances, but in faith. He surrendered completely: "Lord, I give myself to You for this work. If You will break open inland China, I will go."

Within days, donations came unsolicited. By year's end, the China Inland Mission was formed.

God's Work, God's Way

Taylor's radical approach - wearing Chinese dress, learning the language, going where no missionary dared - broke through barriers centuries old.

When he died in 1905, CIM had 825 missionaries working in every province of China. The "closed" interior had been opened through one man's breakthrough of faith.

"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply." - Hudson Taylor