| BMS World Mission | |
| Abbreviation: | BMS |
| Formation: | 1792 |
| Headquarters: | Didcot, Great Britain |
| Type: | Missionary Society |
| Leader Title: | General Director |
| Leader Name: | Kang San-Tan |
BMS World Mission, officially Baptist Missionary Society, is a Christian missionary society founded by Baptists from England in 1792. The headquarters is in Didcot, England.
The BMS was formed in 1792 as the Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Amongst the Heathen at a meeting in Kettering, England, where twelve Particular Baptist ministers signed an agreement.[1] [2] They were; Thomas Blundel, Joshua Burton, John Eayres, Andrew Fuller, Abraham Greenwood, William Heighton, Reynold Hogg, Samuel Pearce, John Ryland, Edward Sherman, John Sutcliff, Joseph Timms.[3] William Staughton, present at the meeting, did not sign since he was not a minister.[4] The first missionaries, William Carey and John Thomas, were sent to Bengal, India in 1793.[5] [6] They were followed by many co-workers, firstly to India, and subsequently to other countries in Asia, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and South America. BMS opened missions in China in 1860. It began operating in China's Shanxi province in 1877, despite local hostility toward “foreign devils.” In the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 all its missionaries there were killed, along with all 120 converts .[7] Timothy Richard is one of the most well-known Baptist missionaries to China.
Francis Augustus Cox wrote a history of the Baptist Missionary Society from its formation until 1842.[6] Brian Stanley was commissioned to write a history of the society for its bicentenary (1992).[8]
It is also known as BMS World Mission since 2000.[9]
BMS works in many ways around the world, including church planting, development, disaster relief, education, health, and media and advocacy. Mission personnel can go long-term, mid-term, short-term or as part of a team.