When Pastor Henry Coray moved to Sunnyvale in 1955, he was already an experienced missionary. He had served for six years as a missionary in Northern China, until the outbreak of World War II forced his departure. Returning to the United States, he settled in Southern California, where his evangelistic efforts continued without interruption.

In 1941, Pastor Coray became the founding pastor of First Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Long Beach (the church later changed its name to Faith Presbyterian Church). Over the fifteen years of Pastor Coray’s ministry, that congregation nurtured two more OPC congregations in nearby La Mirada and Garden Grove.

In the early 1950s, Pastor Coray’s missionary interest turned north towards the Bay Area. The term “Silicon Valley” was coined years later, but already the region was emerging as a hub for technical research and industry. Pastor Coray’s missionary interest in the area was noted in a 1959 profile in the Presbyterian Guardian magazine:

The need for a consistent Biblical witness in the University area of Palo Alto impelled him to volunteer for home missions service, and through many door to door calls he organized the church in Sunnyvale.

Here was Pastor Coray’s missionary mindset. He had the vision to see the need for a faithful Reformed church in this area. He also had the personal zeal to evangelize the local neighborhoods. In both of these respects, our church owes its founding to Pastor Coray’s missionary mentality.

Pastor Coray’s missionary spirit is captured in another Presbyterian Guardian article that he authored in 1946. The article starts with Paul’s comment in Acts 20:20 about teaching God’s Word “in public and from house to house.” Coray observed that some of Paul’s “most effective contacts with people were established in homes.” In this respect, Paul’s ministry could be imitated by any faithful Christian. “We cannot all be great theologians like Warfield, and we cannot all be great preachers like Spurgeon. But we can all drop a word in season to him who is weary.”

Pastor Coray had served in foreign missions, but he emphasized that evangelism must start locally. “We can all be fishers of men and use hooks, sinkers, bait, lines, and nets in our local streams.” We cannot all go to “dark Africa and needy India and populous China, to tell the perishing heathen the way of life.” However, we all “rub shoulders with people” who are perishing. He left his readers with a memorable line: “Not only charity but missionary zeal begins at home.”

Drawing on Paul’s example, Pastor Coray developed a direct approach to evangelism “from house to house.”

I compiled a list of six young couples. I requested particular prayer at our prayer meeting for each couple. They were people with whom I had been casually acquainted. I had no reason to believe that they were interested in Christianity or in our church. I called on them in the order listed and frankly stated that I would like to give them, over a period of time, what I believed to be a presentation of historic Christianity. In two instances there was no interest whatever. The other four have at least been willing to give me a hearing.

Pastor Coray found that these conversations helped him as a preacher. He came to a better understanding of people’s difficulties, problems, and doubts. He also found that those who accepted his offer appreciated his straightforward approach.

Without exception, I have been thanked warmly and, where there has been a response, invited to return. Furthermore, even sinners appreciate directness and honesty. When you place the matter before them first and then begin your discussions, they know why you are in their home.

We have much to learn from Pastor Coray’s example of evangelism. To start, we can adopt his practice of seeking the church’s prayers for those he planned to approach. This would be an excellent element to include in our prayer meetings.

We can also learn from his efforts to present the entire Christian message. The specific offer of the Gospel is only comprehensible if people have some understanding of the message about creation, the fall, redemption, and the final judgement. For exactly that reason, Pastor Coray sought, “over a period of time,” to provide “a presentation of historic Christianity.”

Seventy years later, we still need Pastor Coray’s missionary mindset. Culture and society have changed, so “house to house” ministry may need to look quite different than it did for him. However, we can still see the need for evangelistic prayer, and for a direct effort to present the whole Christian message to those who will receive us.

At present, it seems that Vacation Bible School and Teen Bible Camp may be our best opportunities to present the entire Christian message to children and their families in our community. Teaching kids Bible stories, songs, and verses is something many of us can do right here at home. As Pastor Coray said, that is exactly where missionary zeal must start.

Serve at VBS This Summer

We still need quite a few volunteers for this year's VBS, August 3-7.
If you're willing to serve, we'd love to have you. Browse open roles and sign up at www.firstopc.org/volunteer.