A Retrospect: The Autobiography of J. Hudson Taylor

Since the life of Paul and era following Pentecost, few lives have left the legacy and impact among the unreached and unengaged as that of James Hudson Taylor. His unwavering devotion to exalting Jesus “built foundations where there were none” (Romans 15:20) such that millions of Chinese believers trace their lineage in the faith back to this young man from England.Born in 1832, James Hudson Taylor spent the first decade and a half of his life in what he would later term as blasphemy and unbelief until (crediting the prayers of his mother and the grace of his Maker) he met Jesus at the age of sixteen. The Man from Galilee quickly became Taylor’s preeminent obsession and preoccupation. By the age of seventeen, driven by a dream for Jesus to be magnified by every man, woman, and child He made, Hudson Taylor committed himself to a life amongst the largest unreached nation of his day: China.Taylor founded the China Inland Mission in 1865, which immediately employed groundbreaking targeted and strategic mobilization models which effectively drove the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus into a nation, provinces, and neighborhoods where the name of Jesus had, nearly two millennia after the Ascension, still not yet been heard or confessed. Taylor’s 'Retrospect' over a life so well lived is a glimpse into the heart and mind of a man of single vision and should be studied by every Gospel pioneer.(This edition was released as a companion piece to FAI STUDIOS' seventh feature film, 'The Frontier,' examining the remarkable life and legacy of Hudson Taylor and his impact on the FAI family. See the film for free at faistudios.org.)