Princeton and the Student Volunteer Movement

June 29, 2009 – 1:56 pm

While sitting in “Theological Systems in American Church History” class last week at DBTS, I was struck by the significant effect that these mainstream theological systems made on the missionary-sending culture of American churches.

Beginning with Puritan Theology and moving our way to modern Liberal Theology, Dr. Jerry Priest pointed out the theological, social, and political landscape that affected these systems of thought. Churches often forget that theological systems are not created in a vacuum and that they are not “islands to themselves.”

A church’s theological system affects all aspects of church life, including its missions philosophy and practice. A brief comment in Dr. Priest’s notes regarding the establishment of Princeton Seminary is particularly relevant to what we do here at Missions Mandate and SGI.

Under the heading “Purposes for Founding”, he quotes church historian David Calhoun:

In his sermon to the Princeton students [May 16, 1831] Ashbel Green [a founder of the Seminary] touched on all the major emphases of Princeton Seminary - dedication to the study of the Bible in the original languages, knowledge of Reformed theology and commitment to the Westminster Standards, the two-fold goal of “piety of the heart” and “solid learning,” the cultivation of a missionary spirit and wholehearted support of revivals.

These themes the students heard continually in classes and chapel, in formal presentations and informal conversations. These ideals made Princeton Seminary what it was (Calhoun, David. History of Princeton Seminary: Volume I. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth. 1996, I:187-88).

Under this main heading “Purposes for Founding,” Dr. Priest listed Princeton Seminary’s “Ministerial Purpose”:

To produce for the Presbyterian denomination a faithful supply of ministers and missionaries, with a balance of piety and learning. (Priest, Jerry. “Theological Systems in American Church History” syllabus. DBTS, unpublished. p.119)

Dr. Priest mentioned in the lecture that many of the early leaders of the Student Volunteer Movement (SVM) were students at Princeton College and Seminary. These students began their missions mobilization effort with the establishment of the Princeton Foreign Missionary Society (PFMS) in the late 1800s.

Timothy Wallstrom’s brief, but thorough, summary of the SVM mentions a portion of the PFMS constitution:

The object of this Society shall be the cultivation of a missionary spirit among the students of the College, the information of its members in all subjects of missionary interest, and especially the leading of men to consecrate themselves to foreign missions work…

Any student of the College who is a professing Christian may become a member by subscribing to the following covenant: We, the undersigned, declare ourselves willing and desirous, God permitting, to go to the unevangelized portions of the world.” (Wallstrom, Timothy C. The Creation of the Student Volunteer Movement to Evangelize the World. Pasadena: William Carey International University Press, 1980. p.35)

It is no coincidence that Princeton students were instrumental in the development of the SVM. Their passion for missions mobilization was born out of their rich theological orientation. The surge of missions activity did not develop on its own; it flowed from an understanding of the biblical missions mandate and a burden for the plight of the lost.

SGI (Student Global Impact) is the young adult mobilization department of Missions Mandate. It was established to reflect the tradition of the SVM, by “equipping and networking young adults who will be the catalyst for a revival of a movement once known as the Student Volunteer Movement.” (see complete description at SGI page)

Our desire, like the founders of the SVM, is to see students willing to abandon all things for the spread of the glory of their Lord Jesus. The God-ordained means of accomplishing this end is through the sacrificial sending of local churches, dependent prayer, and prepared, obedient servants.

May these elements flow from our churches’ theological system, as we strive for a God-centered, gospel-driven focus.