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Agricultural Missions in India: The Gospel and the Plow Introduction The Gospel and the Plow. New York: Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America New York, 1938, p. 135. Click for enlargement. Mahatma Gandhi said, "There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread." His concept of sarvodaya, the need to address the welfare of all, drove his work for social reform. Samuel Higginbottom, the man credited with founding Presbyterian agricultural mission work in India in the early 1900s, echoed GandhiÌs convictions in his book, The Gospel and the Plow: "Jesus fed the multitude, physically. It was their need that appealed to Him....The next day He preached His sermon and emphasized that He is the Bread of Life....Before He preached the sermon He fed the crowd. Would not the church be wise to copy her Lord?" Since the nineteenth century, agricultural missions have been, and continue to be, one way Presbyterians demonstrate GodÌs love for the peoples of the earth. By bringing improved farming techniques to people of other cultures, Presbyterians meet physical needs along with spiritual needs. India is one of the countries where a variety of agricultural missions, programs, and schools changed peopleÌs lives for the better. Spinning at Cawnpore, India, ca. 1927. Mission school worked to improve local crafts as well as agriculture. (RG 223-3-1). Click to enlarge. The torrential rains do not stop the farmer from his work. His "eerla," a shelter made from leaves, protects him. Vengurla, India, 1954. (RG 223-4-36). Click to enlarge.   The Allahabad Agricultural Institute, the Sangli Movable School, the India Village Service, and the Rural Community School at Moga are examples of several Presbyterian mission sponsored programs in India. <<previous | Heritage Sunday 2003 | next>> >> Introduction >> Allahabad Agricultural Institute >> Sangli Movable School >> India Village Service >> Rural Community School at Moga

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