Adoniram Judson’s legacy

When Judson began his mission in Burma, he set a goal of translating the Bible and founding a church of 100 members before his death. When he died, he left the bible, 100 churches, and over 8,000 believers. In large part due to his influence, Myanmar has the third largest number of Baptists worldwide, behind the United States and India. The majority of adherents are Karen and Kachin. Each July, Baptist churches in Myanmar celebrate “Judson Day,” commemorating his arrival as a missionary. Inside the campus of Yangon University is Judson Church, named in his honor, and in 1920 Judson College, named in his honor, merged into Rangoon College, which has since been renamed Yangon University.

Judson compiled the first ever Burmese-English dictionary. The English-Burmese half was interrupted by his death and completed by missionary E. A. Steven. Every dictionary and grammar written in Burma in the last two centuries has been based on ones originally created by Judson. Judson “became a symbol of the preeminence of Bible translation for” Protestant missionaries. In the 1950s, Burma’s Buddhist prime minister U Nu told the Burma Christian Council “Oh no, a new translation is not necessary. Judson’s captures the language and idiom of Burmese perfectly and is very clear and understandable.” His translation remains the most popular version in Myanmar.

His change of persuasion to the validity of believer’s baptism, and subsequent need of support, led to the founding of the first national Baptist organization in the United States and subsequently to all American Baptist associations, including the Southern Baptists that were the first to break off from the national organization. The printing of his wife Ann’s letters about their mission inspired many Americans to become or support Christian missionaries. There are at least 36 Baptist churches in the United States named after him, Judson University in Illinois is named after him and Judson College in Alabama is named after his wife Ann.

At his alma mater, Brown University, there is a house named after him, which is owned by Christian Union.

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