Revival and Missionary Work
In this same period the Lord raised up the Wesley brothers, John (1703-1791) and Charles (1707-1788), in Britain. John Wesley was also very much influenced by the Moravian Brethren.
Portrait of John Wesley | Source
Brother Nee says in What Are We?,
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, a great revival broke out in England. In 1729 the two Wesley brothers were raised up by God. They were called the Methodists. Through them, God brought in a great tide of revival. This was the beginning of the Methodist Church. The Wesley brothers were the prime figures of the eighteenth century. (Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 11, p. 849)
In his early years, John Wesley had been ordained a priest in the Church of England, but despite attempting to do many good works, he was still not saved. He first came in contact with the Moravian Brethren on his missionary journey to the American colonies and met with them in England after he returned from the colonies. He was touched by their living, and they shared with him about justification by faith. In 1738, as he was walking home after a meeting with the Moravian Brethren in London, he was saved. Three days before, his brother Charles had also been saved. From this point onward, the two brothers and their friend, George Whitefield, preached the gospel throughout all of England. They preached in the open air (which was against the practice of the Church of England) and brought many to salvation. They also recovered the matter of a holy living, of sanctification, and many people had a genuine turn and change in their behavior. Charles Wesley was also a prolific hymn writer. About their impact, Brother Lee says,
This was the time of the French Revolution. Those revolutionary ideas were gaining ground in England, and there was fear that the government itself might be overthrown. It was through the preaching of John Wesley and George Whitefield, those powerful open-air evangelists, that the gospel prevailed over the revolutionary tendencies and England was spared. British society was changed as a result of their work. (The World Situation and God’s Move, p. 15)
England was transformed by this revival, and it also brought in a strong desire among the British to preach the gospel around the world. The expansion of the British Empire in this period went along simultaneously with the raising up of many missionaries in Britain who went all over the earth to spread the gospel.
Missionaries in China | Source
The first missionary society, the London Missionary Society, was formed in 1795, and they sent the first missionary, Robert Morrison, to China in 1807.
Painting of Robert Morrison, Chen Layoi, and Li Shigong at work | Source
Other missionary societies—the Church Missionary Society, the Methodist Missionary Society, and many others, including Hudson Taylor’s China Inland Mission—were formed during this period.
Portrait of Hudson Taylor | Source