On the Road to Siangyang

On the Road to Siangyang tells the story of a Swedish immigrant church in America undertaking, soon after its organization, a mission to central China that would last nearly sixty years, from 1890 to 1949, when Christian missionaries had to leave the Chinese Mainland upon the establishment of the People's Republic. Covenant missionary work was carried on along broad lines: preaching and evangelism; medical and benevolence work; and education for boys, girls, and adults. Missionaries labored amid turbulent years: through the Boxer Rebellion (1900), the fall of the Manchu dynasty (1911), ongoing civil war, and more than a decade of Japanese occupation (1931-1949). Three Covenant missionaries were kidnapped by the communists and held for ransom, and another three were murdered on the road from Siangyang to Kingchow. But the mission work has borne fruit, and a final chapter reports the Christian work being carried on today throughout Hubei Province. ""Those interested in China missions will find this book an eye-opener. I learned much about the many missionaries that I had known as a small boy, and received a deep understanding of the abiding faith in Jesus Christ they had in order to endure their many hardships and disappointments. The final chapter about Chinese churches after 30 years of communist suppression proves how the seeds planted by those dedicated people fully flowered."" --J. Edward Anderson, son of China Missionaries Oscar and Ruth Anderson ""Jack Lundbom presents a fresh and engaging narrative of the evangelistic, benevolent, and educational work in central China begun by Swedish Americans in 1890, and extending through six decades of generational change. Seeds that were sown by dedicated and sacrificial Mission Friends to build indigenous congregations and leaders are today bearing fruit, recounted in the author's personal experiences."" --Philip J. Anderson, Professor Emeritus of Church History, North Park Theological Seminary Jack R. Lundbom is a member of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, and in 2016 will be an Albright Fellow at the Albright Institute in Jerusalem. His most recent books are Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (2015) and Jeremiah (Cascade Books, 2015).