William Thomas Berger

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William Thomas Berger Missionary Director and Rice Starch Manufacturer Born 1815 England Died 1899 Cannes, France

William Thomas Berger (1815 – 1899), was a Christian starch manufacturer in London and owner of Samuel Berger & Co., a patent rice starch manufacturer, who became the first home (England) director of the China Inland Mission with James Hudson Taylor in 1865. At this time the headquarters of the mission agency was located at Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead, England. As the Home Director he was responsible for editing the Occasional Paper of the China Inland Mission and carrying on the work of sending more missionaries to follow Hudson Taylor to China.

At the time of the Yangzhou riot that brought unwelcome notoriety to the mission activity in China, Berger had to defend Taylor and his group from the attacks of the British press. Often, he had to assume this role with little or no knowledge of the current events in China due to the delay in communication with the missionaries overseas.

The Bergers resigned due to failing health and also due to his personal convictions which were similar to Andrew Jukes (in conflict with the traditional Christian principles of the China Inland Mission) regarding the eternal punishment of non-Christians. He remained a faithful supporter of the mission and a friend of Hudson Taylor until his death.

Trivia note: Berger sold the estate at East Grinstead long before it came to be owned by the unrelated Scientology group.

Part of a series on Protestant missions to China
Robert Morrison
Background Christianity Protestantism Chinese history Missions timeline Christianity in China Nestorian China missions Catholic China missions Jesuit China missions Protestant China missions
People Karl Gützlaff J. Hudson Taylor Lammermuir Party Lottie Moon Timothy Richard Jonathan Goforth Cambridge Seven Eric Liddell Gladys Aylward (more missionaries)
Missionary agencies China Inland Mission London Missionary Society American Board Church Missionary Society US Presbyterian Mission (more agencies)
Impact Chinese Bible Medical missions in China Manchurian revival Chinese Colleges Chinese Hymnody Chinese Roman Type Cantonese Roman Type Anti-Footbinding Anti-Opium
Pivotal events Taiping Rebellion Opium Wars Unequal Treaties Yangzhou riot Tianjin Massacre Boxer Crisis Xinhai Revolution Chinese Civil War WW II People's Republic
Chinese Protestants Liang Fa Keuh Agong Xi Shengmo Sun Yat-sen Feng Yuxiang John Sung Wang Mingdao Allen Yuan Samuel Lamb
Christianity in China Portal
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Contents 1 See also 2 References 3 Notes 3.1 Further reading 3.2 External links

[edit] See also

• List of China Inland Mission missionaries in China
• Christianity in China
• Benjamin Broomhall

[edit] References

• Broomhall, Alfred (1984). Hudson Taylor and China's Open Century: Survivors' Pact. London: Hodder and Stoughton. 
• Broomhall, Marshall (1915). The Jubilee Story of the China Inland Mission. London: Morgan and Scott. 
• Guinness, Mary Geraldine (1893). The Story of the China Inland Mission vol II. London: Morgan and Scott. 
• Pollock, John (1964). Hudson Taylor and Maria Pioneers in China. 
• Steer, Roger (1990). Hudson Taylor: A Man In Christ. London: Hodder and Stoughton. 
• Taylor, Dr. and Mrs. Howard (1918). Hudson Taylor and the China Inland Mission; The Growth of a Work of God. London: Morgan and Scott. 

[edit] Notes

[edit] Further reading

• Historical Bibliography of the China Inland Mission

[edit] External links

• Christian Biography Resources
• Overseas Missionary Fellowship
• Hudson Taylor in Early Years-The Growth of a Soul - Volume 1 by Dr. and Mrs Howard Taylor
• http://www.missionaryetexts.org/
• http://www.omf.org.uk/content.asp?id=47811