Haystack Prayer Meeting
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The Haystack Prayer Meeting in August of 1806 is viewed by many scholars as the seminal event for the development of Protestant Missions in the subsequent decades and centuries.
On a hot summer day, a few Williams College students gathered in a field to discuss the spiritual welfare of the people of Asia. When a thunderstorm developed over the field, the students took refuge in the lee of a large haystack and continued their prayer meeting. Hence the name, Haystack Prayer Meeting.
Within four years of that gathering, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was established. In 1812 it sent forth its first missionaries.
In 1906, the ABCFM held a centennial commemoration. Several commemorations took place during 2006, including one at the site of the first prayer gathering. Groups considered to be spiritual heirs of the HPM include Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and Student Volunteer Movement-2 (SVM-2).
In 2005 IVCF established the haystack06.org website, which includes history, commemoration and motivation centering on the Haystack Prayer Meeting and the movement that developed from it.
