I was asked recently “in your studies of John Calvin’s life and ministry, “Calvin’s enormous heart for world evangelism and missions.”
I think most of us are aware of John Calvin the Bible teacher and theologian; and we know of the radical positive changes he brought to the city of Geneva where he pastored for so long; but very few seem to be aware that his Geneva Church was a great sending center, with hundreds of students being sent out to take the Gospel and plant Churches in foreign lands.
Calvin trained men to go out from Geneva to many parts of the world. Many of them went, knowing they faced certain death for doing so. Indeed, many who went out died as martyrs for the Gospel. Yet despite this, the work of God prospered exponentially.
Dr. Stephen Lawson, in his book “Pillars of Grace” writes, “Calvin dispatched French-speaking pastors, whom he had trained for the gospel ministry, from Geneva to other French-speaking provinces in Europe. Most went to France, where the Reformed movement grew to encompass about one-tenth of the population. Eventually, thirteen hundred Geneva-trained missionaries went to France. By 1560, more than a hundred underground churches had been planted in France by men sent out from Geneva. By 1562, the number of churches had multiplied to as many as 2,150, with more than 3 million members. The membership of some of the churches numbered in the thousands. This growth produced a Huguenot church that almost overcame the Catholic Counter-Reformation in France. Further, Geneva-trained missionaries planted churches in Italy, Hungary, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, England, Scotland, and the Rhineland—even Brazil.”
From the preface John Calvin wrote for Pierre Robert Olivétan’s French translation of the New Testament (1534)