In 1886, Hudson Taylor visited the work of the CIM and of Xi Shengmo in South Shanxi. Xi was clearly a man raised up by God for leadership among the Chinese, so Taylor held an ordination ceremony for him as pastor. CIM missionary Stanley Smith continued to work with Xi as his assistant; soon he asked Hoste to join him. Together, they visited the many places where groups of new believers had sprung up from Xi’s ministry. The next year, Smith moved to another city, leaving Hoste alone to work with Xi, who was facing the greatest crisis of his life. Several trusted co-
In 1929, at the height of the Great Depression, he and his fellow CIM directors boldly called for two hundred more workers, to join missionaries freed from pastoral responsibilities to carry the Good News to the thousands of stillunevangelized cities of China, as well as to the vast regions of Xinjiang and Tibet.
workers had turned against him, splitting the church and almost ruining the work of the opium refuges. At this time, Hoste knew that he must earn the trust of his Chinese colleague. He was convinced that for the Chinese church to grow, it must become entirely indigenous, with Chinese leaders. He committed himself to helping Xi realize his full potential. As an Englishman, he realized that he was the beneficiary of centuries of Christian teaching, and he knew that his duty was to impart biblical truth to Xi, even as he must learn from his colleague how the Chinese think and handle interpersonal relationships. Both Xi and Hoste knew that they must rely on God alone to change the hearts of men, so they spent much time MISSIONARY MOVEMENT 32 WORLDWIDE America • Europe • Oceanía • África • Asia