London Missionary Society
Quick Summary
The London Missionary Society (LMS) was founded in 1795 as a nondenominational organization focused on spreading Christianity in non-European regions. While supported primarily by Congregationalists, it sent missionaries to various parts of the world, including the South Pacific, Africa, China, India, and Southeast Asia. A notable figure associated with the LMS was the explorer-missionary David Livingstone, who explored Central Africa and exposed the slave trade. The LMS was instrumental in missionary activities in the Pacific Islands, sending parties to Tahiti and other islands, and later to Samoa. In 1966, it merged with the Commonwealth Missionary Society to form the Council for World Mission.12
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
- Council for World Mission
…Commonwealth Missionary Society and the London Missionary Society. The Commonwealth Missionary Society (originally the Colonial Missionary Society) was organized in 1836 to promote Congregationalism in the English-speaking colonies. The London Missionary Society was founded in 1795 as a nondenominational organization dedicated to spreading the Christian faith in the non-European world.…
Read More…Commonwealth Missionary Society and the London Missionary Society. The Commonwealth Missionary Society (originally the Colonial Missionary Society) was organized in 1836 to promote Congregationalism in the English-speaking colonies. The London Missionary Society was founded in 1795 as a nondenominational organization dedicated to spreading the Christian faith in the non-European world.…
Read More 
ChristianityEarly Protestant missions…in the formation of the London Missionary Society (1795). The Scottish Missionary Society (1796) and the Netherlands Missionary Society (1797) soon appeared. Anglican evangelicals organized the Church Missionary Society (1799), and many others followed. Like the SPCK and SPG, they were founded not by churches but as autonomous societies supported…
Read More…in the formation of the London Missionary Society (1795). The Scottish Missionary Society (1796) and the Netherlands Missionary Society (1797) soon appeared. Anglican evangelicals organized the Church Missionary Society (1799), and many others followed. Like the SPCK and SPG, they were founded not by churches but as autonomous societies supported…
Read More
Pacific IslandsMissionary activityIn 1797 the London Missionary Society (LMS) sent a party to Tahiti. After some vicissitudes the missionaries converted a prominent chief, Pomare II, who controlled the area of Matavai Bay, where European ships had called since Wallis’s landing. The LMS failed in its first attempts in Tonga and…
Read MoreIn 1797 the London Missionary Society (LMS) sent a party to Tahiti. After some vicissitudes the missionaries converted a prominent chief, Pomare II, who controlled the area of Matavai Bay, where European ships had called since Wallis’s landing. The LMS failed in its first attempts in Tonga and…
Read More
Cook IslandsHistory of the Cook Islands…and Tahitian missionaries of the London Missionary Society began arriving in 1821 and were the first foreigners to settle. A number of important ariki (chiefs) were converted to Christianity early on. The missionaries established a theological college on Rarotonga and exerted a strong influence on the form of government that…
Read More…and Tahitian missionaries of the London Missionary Society began arriving in 1821 and were the first foreigners to settle. A number of important ariki (chiefs) were converted to Christianity early on. The missionaries established a theological college on Rarotonga and exerted a strong influence on the form of government that…
Read More