Goforth of China

Almost from the moment of his conversion at eighteen years of age, Jonathan Goforth was an evangelist. In addition to tireless itinerant preaching, constant evangelism in slums, and even brothels; one summer during his years at Knox College, he visited nine hundred sixty Toronto families. It was said of Jonathan Goforth that, "When he found his own soul needed Jesus Christ, it became a passion with him to take Jesus Christ to every soul." This passion-which led him to devote his life to the cause of spreading the Gospel in China-resonated with a twenty-year-old artist who, after surreptitiously examining Goforth's heavily annotated Bible, said to herself, "This is the man I would like to marry!"

Jonathan and Rosalind Goforth were Presbyterian missionaries in China from 1888 to 1935. They were pioneers in many ways, including "family ministry," where they included their children in their travels and evangelistic work. The family endured harrowing trials and narrowly escaped death during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion. Then in the early 1900's, Dr. Goforth sought the "greater works than these" that Jesus promises in John 14:12. Goforth became a student of revivals, both contemporary and historical, and for the rest of his missionary career he worked as a revivalist, witnessing the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of thousands.

Prolific author Rosalind Goforth provides tender and unvarnished glimpses into the life of her beloved husband, who was just as godly a man in private as he was in public. From the introduction, "Dr. and Mrs. Goforth were given of God to each other. It was a marriage of rare beauty, fellowship, and unity in faith and work. They were a rich blessing to all who entered their home in China, in Manchuria, or in Canada, and they brought a rich blessing into every home they entered. When Mrs. Goforth's hearing was impaired, Dr. Goforth was ears for her; and she, in his blindness, was eyes for him. But no physical weaknesses or limitations ever stopped their enthusiastic labors in winning souls for their Lord. May He bless this life-story to the raising up of many to walk in their footsteps, till the Lord come."