History knows William Carey as the father of the modern missions movement. He was a man who was accomplished as a Pastor, Theologian and Linguist. During his lifetime, he founded the first modern church plant, wrote the first treatise on the work of missions, translated the bible into over 100 Indian dialects (most of which are still being used today) and taught Sanskrit at Calcutta University. God has caused the effects of his life to be felt up to our present day and, I'm sure, for many more generations to come! Yet, he was a man who toiled in the profession of a Cobbler for the first part of his life and even during his first years in India. God must have used that time to fuel his passion for ministry and zeal to be freed up to pursue ministry endeavors with all his time.
The story is told that one Sunday, some disgruntled members of his congregation at Lal Bazaar Baptist Chapel hung their sandals in his pulpit before he arrived for the morning worship service. In Indian society, this is one of the worst insults you can direct at someone. Carey, when he climbed into his pulpit to begin the service saw the sandals and tooke them from the pulpit. As he looked at the sandals, he began to tell the congregation how he was only a simple Cobbler who desired to please the Lord with his life and the ministry entrusted to him.
William Carey's Pulpit at Carey Baptist Church in Kolkata
