Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens

William Carey's slim pamphlet emerged from the profound disconnect he observed between Christian profession and Christian practice in late eighteenth-century England. As a Baptist minister and cobbler in Northamptonshire, Carey witnessed churches content with domestic spiritual concerns while vast populations across the globe remained unreached with the Gospel. His "Enquiry" directly challenged the prevailing assumption that the Great Commission applied only to the original apostles, confronting a church culture that had largely abandoned any serious missionary vision.

The work builds its case through careful biblical exegesis and practical reasoning. Carey first establishes that Christ's command to "go into all the world" remains binding on contemporary Christians, dismantling theological objections that had long served to justify missionary inaction. He then surveys the religious state of the world, providing detailed geographical and demographic analysis of non-Christian populations across Asia, Africa, and the Americas. This statistical approach was groundbreaking, treating missionary work as a concrete enterprise requiring careful planning rather than mere wishful thinking. Carey argues that Christians possess both the spiritual obligation and practical means to undertake global evangelization, proposing the formation of missionary societies that could coordinate and sustain long-term efforts.

The "Enquiry" sparked the modern Protestant missionary movement, leading directly to the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792 and Carey's own departure for India the following year. His systematic approach to missions—combining theological conviction with practical planning—became the template for countless missionary enterprises throughout the nineteenth century. The work's influence extended far beyond Baptist circles, inspiring Anglican, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist missionary societies across Britain and America.

Who should read this: Those studying the history of Christian missions will find this foundational text essential, while contemporary readers grappling with global evangelization and cross-cultural ministry will appreciate Carey's integration of biblical conviction with practical strategy. This is not light devotional reading but a serious call to costly discipleship with global implications.