The Haystack Prayer Meeting - 5 Minutes in Church History with Stephen Nichols

Summary4 min read

Episode Overview

Podcast: 5 Minutes in Church History with Stephen Nichols
Episode Title: The Haystack Prayer Meeting
Air Date: February 25, 2026
Host: Stephen Nichols (Ligonier Ministries)

This episode spotlights the legendary Haystack Prayer Meeting, tracing its pivotal role in launching the American foreign missions movement. Nichols explores the setting, the influential students involved, and the transformative outcomes that grew from five young men praying under a haystack in 1806. Drawing connections to the Second Great Awakening and subsequent generations of missionaries, Nichols distills a story that shaped the church’s global mission.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Setting and Historical Background

Location: Williams College, near Williamstown, Massachusetts, founded in 1793 ([00:10]).
Event: In the summer of 1806, five college students gathered for prayer and discussion on missions, forced to take shelter by a sudden storm under a haystack ([00:14]).
Era Context: Occurred during the early days of the Second Great Awakening, a widespread revival movement with strong roots in American colleges like Williams, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard, Middlebury, Union College, and Princeton ([00:27]).

The Five Students

Names: Samuel Mills, James Richards, Francis Robbins, Harvey Loomis, Byron Green ([00:36]).
Leadership: Samuel Mills emerged as the leader, a committed advocate for foreign missions ([00:41]).

Creation of the Society of the Brethren

Founding: The five students formed "the Society of the Brethren" at Williams College with the clear goal “to affect in the persons of its members a mission to the heathen” ([00:46]).
Spread: The society quickly inspired similar missions groups at other colleges, catalyzing a student-led missions movement ([00:54]).

Founding the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions

Year: 1810
Role: Samuel Mills’s leadership instrumental in the formation of the board, which organized and sent out missionaries from the United States ([00:57]).

Samuel Mills’s Ongoing Mission Work

Domestic Missions: Mills traveled throughout the US, distributing Bibles, including in New Orleans, motivated by the lack of available Bibles in the region ([01:06]).
International Vision: In 1818, Mills sailed to West Africa to establish a mission. Tragically, he died at sea while returning home on June 16, 1818 ([01:16]).

Early American Missionaries Abroad

Notable Missionary: Adoniram Judson, one of the first missionaries ordained and sent by the board in 1812 ([01:23]).
- Challenges: Forced out of India by the British East India Company, ultimately settled in Burma.
- Legacy: Founded churches, schools, and translated the Bible into Burmese (finished in 1834); imprisoned on espionage charges, demonstrating perseverance ([01:27]).

Enduring Legacy and Growth of the Movement

Societies Expand: By 1856, out of 70 U.S. colleges, 49 had their own missionary advancement societies ([01:35]).
Missionary Force: By the 1850s, over 2,000 American missionaries had been sent abroad, establishing churches, schools, hospitals, and translating biblical material ([01:42]).
Key Quote & Motif: “We can do this if we will.” — Samuel Mills ([01:50]).

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

On the Monument’s Inscription:
“On this site, in the shelter of a haystack during a summer storm in 1806, five Williams College students dedicated their lives to the spread of the church around the globe. Out of their decision grew the American Foreign Mission movement. And on the monument itself is inscribed these words, the field is the world.”
— Stephen Nichols, reading the plaque ([00:07])
On Motivation and Resolve:
“We can do this if we will.”
— Samuel Mills, recounted by Stephen Nichols ([01:50])
On the Movement’s Breadth:
“That is a whole generation of missionaries establishing the critical foundations for the mission movement. Churches, schools, hospitals, agriculture, business, Bible translation, theological and biblical literature translation.”
— Stephen Nichols ([01:44])

Timestamps for Key Segments

00:07 – Introduction and reading of the Haystack Monument plaque
00:14 – Description of the 1806 Haystack Prayer Meeting and its historical context
00:27 – Connection to the Second Great Awakening and revival on college campuses
00:36 – Naming of the five college students
00:41 – Samuel Mills’ biography and leadership
00:46 – Formation of the Society of the Brethren
00:57 – Establishment of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
01:06 – Mills’s Bible distribution efforts in New Orleans
01:16 – Mills’s death at sea following mission work in Africa
01:23 – Judson’s missionary journey and challenges in Burma
01:35 – Growth of missionary societies across colleges
01:42 – Expansion of missionary work and foundational legacy
01:50 – Samuel Mills’s iconic declaration: “We can do this if we will.”

Conclusion

Nichols concludes by emphasizing the enduring impact of five faithful students and their prayerful vision, encapsulated in Samuel Mills’s words: “We can do this if we will.” The legacy of the Haystack Prayer Meeting, he notes, is a continuing inspiration for missionary zeal and foundational to the spread of Christianity from America in the 19th century and beyond.

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[00:08]
A
Welcome back to another episode of Five Minutes in Church History. Near the Haystack Monument, there is a bronze plaque with these words. On this site, in the shelter of a haystack during a summer storm in 1806, five Williams College students dedicated their lives to the spread of the church around the globe. Out of their decision grew the American Foreign Mission movement. And on the monument itself is inscribed these words, the field is the world. All right, there is definitely a good story here, so let's dive in. So we know this is on the campus of Williams College. Williams College is near Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1793, so it's relatively young. And we know when it occurred. We know that it occurred during a summer storm in 1806. It was a Saturday afternoon, and these five students were standing there discussing missions when all of a sudden a storm came upon them and they took shelter in the haystack. This was also during the early days of the Second Great Awakening. And that movement began on college campuses, campuses like Williams, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard, Middlebury, Union College, and Princeton. Now, who were these five students? And, you know, we love the number five. Here at Five Minutes in Church History, we have Samuel Mills, James Richards, Francis Robbins, Harvey Loomis, and Byron Green. Samuel Mills emerged as one of the leaders of this group. He was born in 1783. He graduated from Williams College in 18, and he graduated from Andover Seminary in 1812. One of the things he did that was very crucial at Williams before he graduated was he and the other four formed a religious society they called the Society of the Brethren. Its purpose was, quote, to affect in the persons of its members a mission to the heathen. This society quickly spread to other colleges, and that led to other colleges having similar societies of wanting to send out missionaries. And so in 1810, with Samuel Mills in the leadership, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was formed. Mills would go on to work in various parts of the United States over the next seven years. He was in New Orleans. While he was there, he could not buy a Bible. He was greatly disturbed by this. And so that led him to distribute significant numbers of Bibles to New Orleans, both in French and in English, and across the United States. He sailed to West Africa in March of 1818 to find a site for a mission project. He found one and boarded a ship to return home. But he died at Sea on June 16 in 1818. Meanwhile, back in 1812, the mission board ordained and sent out some other missionaries. Among them was Adoniram Judson. Shortly after they arrived, the British East India Company forced them out, and they went to Burma and established a mission station there. He planted churches, built schools, translated the Bible into Burmese, completing the long work in 1834. At one time, he was charged with being a spy and was put in prison. And all of this started in a haystack. Here's a fun fact. By 1856, there were 70 colleges in the United States, and 49 of them had a Society for the Advancement of foreign missionaries. February 19, 1812. That's the date these first American missionaries were sent out. And by the 1850s, there were over 2,000 missionaries sent out from. From America. That is a whole generation of missionaries establishing the critical foundations for the mission movement. Churches, schools, hospitals, agriculture, business, Bible translation, theological and biblical literature translation. When they were in that prayer meeting in the haystack, Samuel Mills repeatedly said, we can do this if we will. There it is. Five college students. That's the haystack prayer meeting. And I'm Steve Nichols, and thanks for listening to Five Minutes in Church History.