Date of Birth: December 29, 1868
Zodiac Sign: Capricorn
Date of Death: June 9, 1947
Biography
Roland Allen was a renowned British missionary and clergyman, whose revolutionary ideas on mission work profoundly influenced Christian missionary practices in the 20th century. Born in Bristol, England, Allen was educated at St John’s College, Oxford, and ordained in 1893. He served briefly in the Church of England before moving to North China as a missionary for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. His experiences in China, coupled with his study of the early church, led him to advocate for indigenous church movements and self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating Christian communities. Allen’s seminal works, “Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours?” and “The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church,” challenged traditional missionary approaches and inspired many to rethink their strategies. He spent his later years writing and lecturing, continuing to influence missionary thought until his death.
5 Interesting Facts about Roland Allen
1. Roland Allen was born in Bristol, England, and educated at St John’s College, Oxford.
2. He served as a missionary in North China from 1895 to 1903.
3. Allen’s experiences in China led him to advocate for indigenous church movements.
4. His book, “Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours?” is considered a classic in missionary literature.
5. Allen’s ideas influenced the development of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement in China.
5 Most Interesting Quotes from Roland Allen
1. “The spontaneous expansion of the Church reduced to its simplest terms is a very simple thing.”
2. “Missionary work is not our work, but God’s work.”
3. “We must cease to think of missions as the work of individuals or of societies.”
4. “A church which is not self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating is not a true church.”
5. “The true missionary is not a man who crosses the sea, but a man who sees the cross.”
Highest Net Worth Achieved
Not applicable; Roland Allen was a clergyman and missionary whose life was devoted to religious work rather than personal wealth.
Children
Roland Allen had several children, but specific details about them are not widely documented in public records.
Relevant Links
2. [Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours?](https://archive.org/details/missionarymethod00alle
3. [The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church](https://archive.org/details/spontaneousexpan00alle
4. [The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography](https://www.oxforddnb.com/
5. [Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts](https://www.spck.org.uk/
