Selling the Mission: The North American YMCA in China 1890-1949

Abstract

The archival material relating to the history of the North American Young Men’s Christian Association’s (YMCA) activities in China, housed at the Kautz Family YMCA Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, spans over a hundred years of involvement in the region. The greater part documents the entry of American YMCA secretaries into the field in 1890 through to the creation of the People’s Republic in 1949. The YMCA’s role in the history of missionary work is curious. The YMCA was not organized as a missionary enterprise, though it worked intimately with missionaries. Over time the YMCA’s scope and work in China evolved. This paper seeks to trace an outline of that evolution - in particular the evangelical outreach in the missionary field - as evidenced by the material contained within the Kautz Family YMCA Archives.