At pierson biography

There seems to be some subtle quality in the rare American atmosphere, that we do not find in these eastern climes, which gives to our cousins across the Atlantic the alertness, push, and vivacity which so generally characterize them. In these respects Dr. Arthur T. Pierson, whose portrait we here give, is typical of his race. Slender in figure, he shows as much vitality and vim as would suffice for any three ordinary sons of steady-going "John Bull." What position this "go-aheadism" might have gained for him in the departments either of commerce or of politics we cannot attempt to guess: what it has done for him in the good providence of God, is to give him a leading place among the evangelical pulpit luminaries of today, in a land where almost every man considers himself fit to rule the Senate or to fill the Presidential Chair.

Whether or not Dr. Pierson is a born preacher, he was certainly born to preach. He has been doing little or nothing else since he was twenty years of age: he is now over fifty. A native of New York City, he gained his first experiences of Christian work in destitute parts of that capital. There he learned the secret of self-possession in extempore speech—a secret which many a member of our British House of Commons, and many a paper-bound preacher, would give something to acquire to the same degree. Of his early religious impressions we know nothing; but it is on record that he was admitted to the fellowship of the Presbyterian Church at the age of fifteen.

After passing through college and theological seminary, he was "licensed" to preach, by the New York Presbytery, at twenty-three, and some months afterwards was installed as pastor of a church in Binghamton, New York. This, curiously enough, was a Congregational Church; but the custom of pastoral interchange between one denomination and another appears to be a thing as common in America as it is rare in Great Britain. Three years later he returned to the

Mission theorist and promoter

Pierson catalyzed the late nineteenth-century American evangelical missionary movement. With a growing reputation as Bible scholar and orator, he became pastor in 1869 of the prestigious Fort Street Presbyterian in Detroit. In 1876, after the church burned down, Pierson held services in the local opera house and a revival resulted. Feeling he had been called to a gospel-oriented rather than a socially prominent ministry, he became pastor in 1883 of Bethany (Presbyterian) Church in Philadelphia, a church which engaged in missions among the urban poor. While he was its pastor, Pierson ran a missionary training school and developed a national reputation as a promoter of missions. In 1885, at a Bible conference sponsored by revivalist Dwight L. Moody, Pierson called on Protestant churches to launch a worldwide missionary campaign. In 1886 he authored The Crisis of Missions, the major missions promotional book of the era.

He also spoke on missions to a group of YMCA collegians at an 1886 summer conference convened by Moody at Northfield, Massachusetts. As a result, 100 young men volunteered to be foreign missionaries, and the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions (SVM) was born.

Pierson’s belief that world evangelization would usher in Christ’s return was the key to his passion for mission. He authored the watchword of the SVM, “the evangelization of the world in this generation.” He promoted missions through hundreds of books, articles, speeches, and the The Missionary Review of the World which he edited (1888-1911), the most important nondenominational mission journal of its day. After attending the London Centenary Conference in 1888, he began to spend time in England as missions advocate and interim pastor at Charles H. Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle. He acted as elder statesman to the emerging “faith mission” movement, influencing among

Evangelical pastor and author

Arthur Tappan Pierson (March 6, 1837 – June 3, 1911) was an American Presbyterian pastor, Christian leader, missionary and writer who preached over 13,000 sermons, wrote over fifty books, and gave Bible lectures as part of a transatlantic preaching ministry that made him famous in Scotland, England, and Korea. He was a consulting editor for the original "Scofield Reference Bible" (1909) for his friend, C. I. Scofield and was also a friend of D. L. Moody, George Müller (whose biography 'George Muller of Bristol' he wrote), Adoniram Judson Gordon, and C. H. Spurgeon, whom he succeeded in the pulpit of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, from 1891 to 1893. Throughout his career, Pierson filled several pulpit positions around the world as an urban pastor who cared passionately for the poor.

Pierson was also a pioneer advocate of faith missions who was determined to see the world evangelized in his generation. Prior to 1870, there had been only about 2000 missionaries from the United States in full-time service, roughly ten percent of whom had engaged in work among Native Americans. A great movement of foreign missions began in the 1880s and accelerated into the 20th century, in some measure due to the work of Pierson. He acted as the elder statesman of the student missionary movement and was the leading evangelical advocate of foreign missions in the late 19th century. After retiring, he visited Korea in 1910. His visiting established the Pierson Memorial Union Bible Institute (today Pyeongtaek University) in 1912. Delavan Leonard Pierson was his first son. He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.

Career

Pierson was the ninth chil

Arthur Tappan Pierson (March 6, 1837 – June 3, 1911) was an American Presbyterian pastor, early fundamentalist leader, and writer who preached over 13,000 sermons, wrote over fifty books, and gave Bible lectures as part of a transatlantic preaching ministry that made him famous in Scotland and England. He was a consulting editor for the original "Scofield Reference Bible" (1909) for his friend, C. I. Scofield and was also a friend of D. L. Moody, George Müller (whose biography 'George Muller of Bristol' he wrote), Adoniram Judson Gordon, and C. H. Spurgeon, whom he succeeded in the pulpit of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, from 1891 to 1893. Throughout his career, Pierson filled several pulpit positions around the world as an urban pastor who cared passionately for the poor.

Pierson was also a pioneer advocate of faith missions who was determined to see the world evangelized in his generation. Prior to 1870, there had been only about 2000 missionaries from the United States in full-time service, roughly ten percent of whom had engaged in work among Native Americans. A great movement of foreign missions began in the 1880s and accelerated into the 20th century, in some measure due to the work of Pierson. He acted as the elder statesman of the student missionary movement and was the leading evangelical advocate of foreign missions in the late 19th century.