Luther Rice, Pioneer in Missions and Education

Luther Rice (1783-1836), following his conversion in 1802, for the rest of his life had a passionate burden for the lost and dying world. When his health failed during an attempt to serve as a missionary in India, he returned to the United States and made it his life's business to stir up others for the cause of missions. Luther Rice never returned to India, but that did not in any way prevent him from becoming a powerful instrument in the hand of God to promote the cause of world evangelization. Among Rice's many accomplishments were, to help organize the General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States for Foreign Missions. In 1821, he founded Columbian College, in Washington D.C. For all his remaining years, he sacrificed much for these causes that were so dear to his heart. Above all else, Luther Rice was a godly man who sensed the reality of his own sin and the grace of God. He was a man of conviction and prayer, full of power and devotion.