Continental society
Encyclopedia
The Continental Society for the Diffusion of Religious Knowledge over the Continent of Europe (or simply Continental Society) was an evangelical Christian missionary society founded in London in 1819 for the propagation of the evangelical faith on the continent of Europe and existing as a separate entity until 1840 (see below).
The Continental Society was formed at the initiative of such men as Robert Haldane
(in Geneva) and Henry Drummond .
Famous workers for the missionary society included Ami Bost, Henri Pyt, a French Swiss pastor who worked in France and others, many of whom worked in France, spreading the evangelical faith.
In 1823 German Christian Johann Gerhard Oncken
was sent by the Continental Society to Hamburg. In due course Oncken founded the first Baptist
church on German soil, which would become the centre of the Baptist movement in Germany and Europe.
Despite the Society's stated aim of supporting existing churches on the Continent and avoiding controversy over secondary issues, it is widely held that its decline was due to controversy over premillennial
views and the promotion of separatist views of church polity at the expense of gospel preaching.
The fortunes of the Society peaked in the mid-1820s, but from 1830 onward declined. Adding to existing difficulties one of its key workers, Ami Bost, died suddenly in 1835. Maybe as early as 1836 the Society's name was changed to European Missionary Society. By 1840 the society was insolvent and forced to submit to a merger with the Anglican Central Committee
to form the Foreign Aid Society
, whose work continued until just before the First World War.
The Continental Society was formed at the initiative of such men as Robert Haldane
Robert Haldane
-Biography:Haldane was born in London, the son of James Haldane 2nd of Airthrey House, and his wife Katherine Duncan. His younger brother James Alexander Haldane was also a clergyman...
(in Geneva) and Henry Drummond .
Famous workers for the missionary society included Ami Bost, Henri Pyt, a French Swiss pastor who worked in France and others, many of whom worked in France, spreading the evangelical faith.
In 1823 German Christian Johann Gerhard Oncken
Johann Gerhard Oncken
Johann Gerhard Oncken was a pioneer German Baptist preacher, variously referred to as the "Father of Continental Baptists", the "Father of German Baptists" and the "Apostle of European Baptists". Oncken, Gottfried Wilhelm Lehmann , and Julius Wilhelm Köbner were known as the Baptist cloverleaf ....
was sent by the Continental Society to Hamburg. In due course Oncken founded the first Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
church on German soil, which would become the centre of the Baptist movement in Germany and Europe.
Despite the Society's stated aim of supporting existing churches on the Continent and avoiding controversy over secondary issues, it is widely held that its decline was due to controversy over premillennial
Premillennialism
Premillennialism in Christian end-times theology is the belief that Jesus will literally and physically be on the earth for his millennial reign, at his second coming. The doctrine is called premillennialism because it holds that Jesus’ physical return to earth will occur prior to the inauguration...
views and the promotion of separatist views of church polity at the expense of gospel preaching.
The fortunes of the Society peaked in the mid-1820s, but from 1830 onward declined. Adding to existing difficulties one of its key workers, Ami Bost, died suddenly in 1835. Maybe as early as 1836 the Society's name was changed to European Missionary Society. By 1840 the society was insolvent and forced to submit to a merger with the Anglican Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
to form the Foreign Aid Society
Foreign Aid Society
The Foreign Aid Society for the Diffusion of the Gospel on the Continent was formed in 1840 by the amalgamation of the Anglican Central Committee and the Continental society...
, whose work continued until just before the First World War.