William Cameron Townsend

William Cameron Townsend (1896-1982) was arguably the most exceptional North American Evangelical of the twentieth century. By any measure, he was both a remarkable and controversial figure. In the main, he made his mark as the principal force behind the founding of one of the most innovative and often misunderstood faith missions of the era, the dually structured Wycliffe Bible Translators and Summer Institute of Linguistics. At almost every turn Cameron Townsend flaunted evangelical mission conventions and defied the odds to triumph in the realization of his vision for a revolutionary missionary paradigm, one that combined Christian missions with Bible translation, the science of linguistics, aviation, modern marketing techniques, cooperation with national governments, and designs for international peace and goodwill. The sum of his life and work contributed in extraordinary ways to minority language development, increased literacy, and access to the Christian Scriptures for the world's indigenous peoples while also creating entirely new and novel ways for Evangelicals to engage the world in pursuit of Christian missions.