Haystack Prayer Meeting

The Haystack Prayer Meeting, held in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in August 1806, is viewed by many scholars as the seminal event for the development of American Protestant missions in the subsequent decades and century.

During the 19th century, it sent missionaries to China, Hawaii, and other nations in southeast Asia, establishing hospitals and schools at its mission stations.

[1] In the summer of 1806, Williams College students Samuel Mills, James Richards, Francis LeBaron Robbins, Harvey Loomis, and Byram Green met in a grove of trees near the Hoosic River, in what was then known as Sloan's Meadow.

"The brevity of the shower, the strangeness of the place of refuge, and the peculiarity of their topic of prayer and conference all took hold of their imaginations and their memories.

It educated a total of 100 students, drawn from the Hawaiian islands, India and Southeast Asia, and Native American tribes.

Descriptions of native customs, history, economic activities, and geographical features were included, along with accounts of the influence of the Gospel on these far-off lands.

In the years before radio, movies, TV, or rapid communications, such missionary reports became primary sources for many Americans of information about foreign lands.

It continues to be involved in mission around the world, in partnership with the Division of Overseas Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).