When God places a call on a person's heart, it may come through the thunder's roar or in the stillness of the night, but His voice is unmistakable.
William felt an increasing conviction that God was calling him to send Christian missionaries into a world desperate for hope. As he prayed while walking through the English countryside, the Lord reminded him of Isaiah 54.
“Enlarge your house; build an addition. Spread out your home, and spare no expense! Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth. For the Lord has called you back from your grief.” Isaiah 54:2,5-6
The Redeemer was not merely the God of England or Europe—He was “the God of the whole earth.” This truth stirred William Carey’s heart, igniting a passion to spread the Gospel globally. Inspired by the earlier missionary successes of Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians, Carey, during a meeting with a small group of Baptist pastors in Kettering, England, placed copies of the Moravian newsletter, Periodical Accounts, before them and boldly declared, “Look at what the Moravians have accomplished! Can’t we Baptists at least make an effort in service to the same Lord?”
However, whenever he brought up the topic with Christian leaders, the response was always the same. He was met with rebuke:“You are a miserable enthusiast,” he was rebuked. If God wanted the heathen to be saved, He would handle it Himself. There are already enough unsaved people right here among us."
Carey responded, “Surely God means what He says. Surely He means for us who know Him to carry the message of redemption to all men everywhere!”
Despite the church’s objections, William Carey felt compelled to put his missionary vision into writing. What began as his personal reflections eventually grew into a booklet titled An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens—which later became simply known as The Enquiry.
In it, Carey boldly declared, “If it be the duty of all men, when the gospel comes, to believe unto salvation, then it is the duty of those who are entrusted with the gospel to endeavor to make it known among all nations for the obedience of faith!”
Carey masterfully laid out his case for global missions in five powerful sections, creating an extraordinary call to action for reaching the lost. It was a groundbreaking proclamation of God's mandate for evangelism.
In Section One of The Enquiry, William Carey centered on Jesus' Great Commission: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them..." (Matthew 28:19, NIV). Carey argued that Jesus' command to evangelize was not limited to the early apostles—otherwise, the practice of baptizing believers should also be limited. "No!" Carey proclaimed. As long as most of the world remained in "heathen darkness," Christians had a duty to bring them the message of Christ's salvation.
In The Enquiry, Carey passionately argued that if the English had long experienced the blessing of God's saving grace, they could not withhold this salvation from those in distant lands who were dying without knowledge of it. He urged, "How could they withhold such a great salvation from those in foreign lands?"
Section Two
In this section, Carey retold the powerful movement of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts, where thousands were added to the church daily (Acts 2:47). He reminded his readers that it was the missionaries of the first and second centuries who had spread Christianity across England, Germany, Spain, France, Egypt, and Libya.
Section Three: A Survey of the Present State of the World
Here, Carey provided a comprehensive account of the populations, religious beliefs, and locations of the people across the known world—based on his eight years of study. British scholars were astonished at the level of detail, as nothing like it had ever been written before.
Most significantly, Carey emphasized that many nations had “no written language and consequently no Bible” and were bound by “the most childish customs and traditions.” His heart burned with the desire to provide written Scriptures to those without them, especially given his gift for languages. Even the most skeptical opponents of foreign missions were moved by Carey’s fervent appeal.
Sections Four and Five
These sections were practical applications, detailing how missionaries could be transported to foreign lands, survive in those environments, and secure financial support. Carey boldly challenged his fellow Christians:
"I question whether we are justified in staying here, while so many are perishing without means of grace in other lands!"
In describing the work of a missionary, Carey was essentially describing himself:
“The missionary must take every opportunity of doing them [the lost] good, laboring and traveling night and day. They must instruct, exhort, and rebuke with all patience and an anxious desire for them, and above all, they must pray constantly for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the people they serve.”
Conclusion
Carey ended The Enquiry with a powerful challenge:
"Surely it is worthwhile to lay ourselves out with all our might, in promoting the cause and kingdom of Christ!"
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