Shortcut to Language Preparation? Radical Evangelicals, Missions, and the Gift of Tongues

Abstract

In the last decades of the nineteenth century, radical evangelicals on the fringe of the Protestant missions movement longed for the restoration of apostolic power in “signs and wonders” (Acts 5:12) to expedite gospel proclamation before the imminent return of Christ. The slow pace of conversions overseas and the unprecedented opportunities for evangelism had created what was widely referred to as the crisis of missions.1 This essay traces how radical mission enthusiasts proposed that according to Jesus’ promise in Mark 16:17—“And these signs will accompany those who believe . . . they will speak in new tongues”—God might confer intelligible human languages on missionaries.2 I shall also examine the frustrations over failure to acquire language proficiency, the appeal of the “gift of tongues” (glossolalia), criticisms of such expectations, and the legacy of this interest.