William Burns

William Chalmers Burns ( 1815 - 1868 ) was a Scottish
Evangelist and Missionary who originated from Kilsyth , North Lanarkshire . He was the coordinator of the Overseas missions for the English Presbyterian Church .

Burns was brought up from a rich and well-to-do household. The third son of
a local church minister, he became a well known evangelist through his participation in two periodic Anglo-American Religious Revivals .

Burns was permitted to enter China because he coincidentally worked there exactly the same time as Dr. Karl Gützlaff and the late James Hudson Taylor , who had broken with missionary tradition by wearing Chinese Clothing while evangelizing in the region.

At the age of seventeen, Burns' Faith was strengthened and subsequently, Burns commenced Theological training. During a Revival Meeting , he encountered an experience in which it became apparent that God had particularly appointed him into His service.

By 1839 , at the age of 24, Burns had obtained the license to preach.

While still in his homeland of Scotland , he experienced, together with the preacher Robert Murray M'Cheyne , genuine Revival Meeting s. It was one of the tools from which the great spiritual revivals in Kilsyth resulted.

In 1843 , Burns sided with Thomas Chalmers in the disruption within the Church Of Scotland . He visited Canada and preached for the Free Church cause in many communities.

In 1847 , Burns went to the Chinese Empire via Hong Kong . During this long ship journey, he spent a lot of time studying the Chinese Language . He began his missionary service in Hong Kong and went on to preach in such locations as Shantou , Xiamen and Beijing .

In 1855 Burns met Hudson Taylor and the two worked together for quite some time. Both had the courage to advance into the Chinese interior. Willam Burns regarded Hudson Taylor as one of his religious mentors, whom had molded/shaped him for the missionary work. During his twenty years of preaching the gospel in China, Burns also spent a short period in prison.

In 1868 , Burns died after a short illness in Niú Zhuāng (牛莊), near Beijing .