Who Said That...

Jonathan Goforth was born on February 10, 1859, near Thorndale, Ontario. The seventh of eleven children, he grew up working diligently on his father’s farms. At the age of 18, Jonathan responded to a presentation of the Gospel, and he immediately began to invest in the church. Teaching a Sunday School class, distributing Gospel tracts, and leading family devotions at home helped deepen his faith and develop his gifts.

Early on, Jonathan was drawn to politics, but after reading The Memoirs of Robert Murray M’Cheyne, he decided to devote his life to evangelism. He took up Latin and Greek classes and prepared to enter Knox College in Toronto. At this time, Jonathan was also deeply moved by the presentation of a missionary.

Jonathan married Rosalind Bell-Smith in 1887 and they sailed to China in 1888 with a call to work as a pioneer in the Honan province. Their work was difficult and they lost five of eleven children to sickness. But they experienced remarkable answers to prayer, including healing on many occasions, help with language studies, and protection from danger. The Boxer Rebellion of 1900 occurred in the midst of their ministry in Changte, and they had to flee from their home and make the dangerous journey to the coast.

They endured many threats along the way, and more than once they heard crowds chanting “Kill! Kill!” Once they endured a vicious attack in which Jonathan was nearly killed, but God provided a refuge for them. They eventually made it to Shanghai, and then back to Canada.

On returning to China, Jonathan began bringing the Gospel to a new field. He felt led by God to take up a touring life—with the family. They would stay about a month in one location, carry on intense evangelism, and then move to another village to repeat the pattern. Rosalind disapproved because of the threat it would bring to the children’s health, but she later agreed to it and trusted God to care for them as they labored on behalf of his kingdom.

In this season, the Goforths rented whatever housing they could find in each village, often a one-room Chinese dwelling. In this setting, with the family about him, Jonathan continued his daily routine of study and prayer before going out for long days of evangelism. When space allowed, they curtained off a corner of the room for his “study.” If there was not space for this accommodation, Jonathan set his books on a windowsill, stood with his back to the room, and studied in this position. At the time of his death, Jonathan had read through the Bible seventy-three times.

God used Jonathan’s investment in these disciplines to lay a firm foundation for the next phase of his ministry. Longing for a fresh spark of the Holy Spirit’s work, Jonathan was impressed when he read of Charles Finney’s revival crusades. Jonathan began to study the Bible’s references to the person and work of the Holy Spirit, and soon he experienced a breakthrough in his ministry. He traveled in Korea, Manchuria, and China to lead revival meetings and present the Gospel to thousands.

In the final decades of their lives, Jonathan and Rosalind continued to invest themselves in ministry. They returned to China again and again, working as much as their health allowed. He and Rosalind were opening another new field, where they helped establish more than forty churches.

At times when they were ill or faced recovery from surgery, the Goforths wrote about their experiences in China. Even after going blind in 1933, Jonathan continued to preach at evangelistic meetings with the help of a Chinese companion. Jonathan and Rosalind returned to Canada in 1934 and maintained a full speaking schedule until Jonathan passed away in his sleep on October 8, 1936. Rosalind continued to write and share the beautiful stories of what they had seen God do. She died on May 31, 1942.