George Müller (September 27, 1805 – March 10, 1898), a Christian evangelist and coordinator of orphanges in Bristol, England, cared for a total of over 100,000 orphans in his life. He was well-known for his constant faith in God and for providing an education to the children under his care, to the point where he was accused of raising the poor above their natural station in life.

Youth

Müller was born in Kroppenstaedt , a village near Halberstadt in the kingdom of Prussia. His early life was not marked by Christian righteousness – on the contrary, he was a thief, a liar and a gambler. While his mother was dying, he, at 14 years of age, was playing cards with friends and drinking, and two years later, he was imprisoned for fraud.

Müller's father hoped to provide him with a religious education that would allow him to take a lucrative position as clergy in the state church. He studied divinity in the University of Halle, and there met a fellow student who invited him to a Christian house meeting. There he was welcomed, and he began regularly reading the Bible and discussing Christianity with the others who attended the meetings. He soon left his drinking and lying, and began hoping to become a missionary. He began preaching regularly in nearby churches and continued meeting with the growing group of evangelical believers in his university.

Early work

In 1828, Müller offered to work with Jews in England through the London Missionary Society , but upon arriving in 1829, he fell ill, and did not think that he would survive. When he recovered, however, he dedicated himself to doing the will of God. He soon left the London Missionary Society, convinced that God would provide for his needs as he did Christian work. He became the pastor of Ebenezer Chapel in Devonshire and soon after, married Mary Groves. During his time as the pastor of the church, he refused a regular salary, believing that the practice could lead to church members giving out of duty, not desire. He also eliminated the renting of church pews, arguing that it gave unfair prestige to the rich.

Müller moved to Bristol in 1832 to begin working at Bethesda chapel. He continued preaching there until his death, even while devoted to his other ministries. In 1834, he founded the Scripture Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad, with the goal of aiding Christian schools and missionaries, and distributing the Bible. Not receiving government support and only accepting unsolicited gifts, this organization received and disbursed £1.5 million by the time of Müller's death, primarily using the money for supporting the orphanages and distributing nearly two million bibles and religious texts. The money was also used to support other missionaries around the world, such as Hudson Taylor.

Orphanages

The work of Müller and his wife with orphans begin in 1836 with the preparation of their own home in Bristol for the accommodation of thirty girls. Soon after, three more houses were furnished, growing the total of children cared for to 130. In 1845, as growth continued, Müller decided that a separate building designed to house 300 children was necessary, and in 1849, at Ashley Down , just outside of Bristol, that home opened. By 1870, more than 2,000 children were being accommodated in five homes.

Through all this, Müller never made requests for financial support, nor did he go into debt, even though the five homes cost a total of over £100,000 to build. Many times, he received unsolicited food donations only hours before they were needed to feed the children, further strengthening his faith in God. Ever morning after breakfast there was a time of Bible reading and prayer, and every child was given a Bible upon leaving the orphanage. The children were dressed well and educated - Müller even employed a school inspector to maintain high standards. In fact, many claimed that nearby factories and mines were unable to obtain enough workers because of his efforts in securing apprenticeships, professional training, and domestic service positions for the children old enough to leave the orphanage.

Evangelism

In 1875, at the age of 70 and after the death of his first wife in 1870 and his remarriage to Musannah Sanger in 1872, Müller began a 17 year period of missionary travel. In that time, he preached in the United States, India, Australia, Japan, China, and nearly forty other countries. He traveled a total of over 200,000 miles, an incredible achievement for pre-aviation times. His language abilities allowed him to preach in English, French, and German, and his sermons were translated into over a dozen other languages. In 1892 he returned to England, where he died in 1898.

External links

The George Müller Foundation

References

Christian Biography Resources