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David H. Adeney Papers.

 Collection
Identifier: CN 393

Brief Description

Adeney’s correspondence, writings (articles, books), lecture and presentation manuscripts, subject files (especially files on various China-related topics) he compiled from many sources, notebooks and loose notes, a photo album, photographs and slides, and two oral history interviews. Together these span his career as a missionary in China and Southeast Asia, staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in the United States, leader with International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, faculty at the New College in Berkeley, California, director of the Discipleship Training Centre in Singapore, and author. More than a wealth of information on his own life and ministry, Adeney’s papers also record the missionary enterprise in China, the Chinese church since 1949, Chinese Christians in the U.S., Asian evangelical Christian leaders, and evangelism and ministry among university students in Southeast Asia. Also included is information on agencies and persons with whom Adeney’s interest in China intersected, whether in ministry, data gathering, or travel.

Dates

  • Created: 1911-1994

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research, but there are some file-access restrictions still under review.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers wishing to quote from the oral history interviews for publication, written, digital, on online, should consult the transcripts, which identify emendations Adeney made and authorized to be used instead of the exact wording he used in the recorded interview.

Biographical Information

David Adeney (1911-1994) was a missionary in China, educator in Singapore and the United States, author, and advocate for ministry to the Chinese in the People’s Republic of China and throughout the world, especially the United States.

Full Name: David Howard Adeney

Birth: 1911 November 3 in Bedford, England

Death: 1994 May 11 in 11 in Berkeley, CA

Family:

Parents: John Howard and Florence Mary (Wood) Adeney. Adeney’s father worked as a missionary to Jews in Romania until Adeney was three, when the family returned to England. His father then served as a chaplain to German prisoners during World War I.

Siblings: Bernard, Harold, Ronald

Marital Status: Married Ruth Temple, who was a fellow CIM worker from America also stationed in Henan Province, 1938 March 31.

Children: Five children (Rosemary Joy, b. 1939; John Arthur, b. 1942; Michael David, b. 1945; Bernard Temple, ca. 1948), and one child who died in China when three days old.

Conversion: At the age of seven or eight through the ministry of Hudson Pope, an evangelist working among children.

Education

1932: High school at Monkton Combe, a Christian school

1933: BA from Queens’ College, Cambridge University, history

1935: MA from Queens’ College, Cambridge University, theology

Career:

1934-1941: Joined China Inland Mission after being almost rejected for medical reasons. Traveling by ship in late-1934, he was studying at CIM's men's Chinese language program in Anqing by the end of the year. He served as a missionary in China at several stations in Henan Province. While in Henan, he was stationed at Siangcheng with Henry Guinness. Adeney and his wife together opened a station at Fangcheng. With increased Japanese activity in the area, the Adeneys left China in 1941.

1941-1943?: Joined Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship in the US and was initially appointed Missions Secretary. He was subsequently made staff worker for the East Coast. Based in Boston, he worked with the IVCF groups at Harvard and Yale.

1944?-1946: Relocated to London, where David worked on the mission's home staff.

1946-1950: Returned to China with CIM (Ruth followed a year later) when he pioneered work in Nanking and then Shanghai, affiliated with the newly established Chinese Inter-Varsity Fellowship in their work among university students.

1950-1956: Rejoined the staff of Inter-Varsity in the US, residing in Geneva, Illinois. His assignment included responsibility for the 1954 Urbana missionary convention.

1956-1968: Joined International Fellowship of Evangelical Students' (IFES) as Associate General Secretary for the Far East, based in Hong Kong.

1968-1976: Readmitted to Overseas Missionary Fellowship (formerly China Inland Mission) to establish, direct as dean, and teach at the Discipleship Training Centre (DTC) in Singapore, a training and study program for students.

1976-1977: Taught as a visiting professor at the China Graduate School of Theology in Hong Kong.

1976-1992: Taught as a professor of Christian Mission and served as chaplain at the New College Berkeley.

1977-1985: Returned to the United States to develop and coordinate the OMF-US China Program.

1979-1987: President and vice-president of IFES (unsure about the sequencing)

1981: Awarded honorary Doctor of Divinity degree, Wheaton College Graduate School.

1985-1994: Minister-at-large for Overseas Missionary Fellowship and keynote speaker for the mission’s China Awareness Seminars.

Other Significant Information:

Between leaving Monkton Combe at age eighteen and entering Cambridge, Adeney went to London in 1929 to join the Missionary Training Colony, which emphasized discipleship and evangelism. When Adeney began his university studies, he also joined the Cambridge Intercollegiate Christian Union, which was affiliated with England's Inter-Varsity Fellowship (IVF). While in college, he was secretary for local activities and missionary secretary, and later missionary secretary for IVF throughout England.

Following the reopening of China to Western visitors in the mid-1970s, David and Ruth made several trips to China, leading several groups of medical professionals for interaction with Chinese counterparts.

Was the subject of Carolyn Armitage’s biography, Reaching for the Goal: The Life Story of David Adeney Ordinary Man, Extraordinary Mission, published by OMF, 1993.

Published Works. Authored many articles and books, including the following, which were transferred to Wheaton College Buswell Library collection:

Adeney, David H. Action Groups (English and Chinese versions of later edition of Cell Groups). Hong Kong: Christian Communications Ltd., n.d.

_____. Before Missionary Service. London: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1967.

_____. Cell Groups. Singapore: Eurasia Press, 1970.

_____. China: Christian Students Face the Revolution. London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1973.

_____. China: Christian Students Face the Revolution. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973.

_____. and David Howard. China: The Church’s Long March. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1985 (also Singapore: OMF Publishers).

_____. Christian Students in a Communist Society. Chicago: Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, 1951.

_____. The Church in China today and Lessons we can learn from it. Hong Kong: Christian Communications, Ltd., 1978.

_____. Kristne Blandt Kommunister. København, Denmark: Credo Forlag, 1983.

_____. Kirstne Studenter I Revlusjonens Kina. Oslo, Norway: Credo Forlag Luther Forlag, 1974.

_____. “A Light to the Nations.” Vision and Continuity, edited by Koichi Ohtawa. Middlesex, England: International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, 1989, pp.7-10.

_____. Los estudiantes cristiano y la Revolución. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Ediciones Certeza, 1974.

_____. Men of Vision. Hong Kong: Living Books for All, 1978.

_____. Reality. Hong Kong: International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, 1967

_____. The Unchanging Commission. London: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1955.

Extent

6 Audio Tapes (299 minutes)

25 document cases (12.5 linear feet)

1 Photograph Album

76 Photographs

356 Slides

Language of Materials

English

Chinese

Arrangement and Description

The primary themes reflected in Adeney’s papers and oral histories are China (its politics, culture, social fabric, and church), Chinese students, and missionary and other Christian activity (both by Chinese citizens and expatriates) in the country among its population and with the Chinese diaspora, primarily in the US. In one sense, all of Adeney’s papers relate to China, whether his missionary work there in the 1930s and ‘40s, his ongoing connection with Chinese students that began with his involvement working with China’s InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and then in the US with Inter-Varsity, working with International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, working in Singapore at the Discipleship Training Centre, returning to China after the country was reopened to Western visitors in the 1970s, or monitoring the status of the church and students in China over his career. As a result, no matter where the researcher enters the collection, they will, with few exceptions, find documents about some aspect of China, the Chinese church, Chinese students, and more. The people and agencies represented in the Papers are a web of contacts, resource, and influence for ministry in China and among Chinese.

Correspondence, Lectures/Presentations/Sermons, and Resource/Subject Files make up the largest sections of Adeney’s paper documents. Other than folder titles, there was minimal or no arrangement to the files as they were received, and some materials were received unfoldered. Many of the file’s titles, their contents, or formats suggested an arrangement for the collection that has therefore been created by the archivist. Unless otherwise noted in the series descriptions, the arrangement scheme for the collection was imposed by the archivist during processing in the absence of a discernable original order. It appears that much of his subject files were gathered to inform his writing and presentations on China, the Chinese church, and efforts by those outside China to present the gospel and cultivate Christian discipleship in a culturally sensitive way. A number of documents in the Papers, especially in the III: Resource/Subject Files series, are marked in some way to indicate “confidential” or “not for general circulation.” Most of these are accessible to researchers, but their characterization indicates the sensitivity of their contents, especially during the time period from the 1980s to the early-‘90s.

During his ministry, Adeney saw significant changes in relations between China and the outside world, particularly in regard to the Chinese church, and the development of ministries and their outreach to Chinese and other international students. These included: 1) China Inland Mission’s era in China to its dispersal throughout Southeast Asia; 2) Communist China’s withholding access to American and Western guests after 1949 to establishing diplomatic relations with the US in 1972; and 3) early development of the American, Chinese InterVarsity, and International Fellowship of Evangelical Students movements to the maturing of the American InterVarsity and IFES.

Also included are audio recordings from two oral history interviews where Adeney described Adeney described his father's missionary work in Romania before World War I, his childhood, conversion, spiritual growth, education, involvement in IVF in Great Britain, preparation for missionary work and his missionary career with China Inland Mission in rural areas of Henan Province, China (1934-1941) and with university students in Nanking (1946-1948) and Shanghai (1949-1950). Adeney also describes his assignments as an IVCF staff worker in the US and Great Britain, as the Associate General Secretary for International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) in East Asia, as Director of the Discipleship Training Centre in Singapore, and his return visits to China.

The shipments of Adeney’s papers also included many photographs — many, including those of unidentified persons, were sampled rather than keeping them in their entirety. Several hundred of Adeney’s slides, mostly color, record events and individuals primarily in Hong Kong, China, Philippines, Singapore, Japan, or Malaysia.

Arrangement by Subseries: I. Biographical Items

II. Correspondence

• A. Persons

• B. Organizations

III. Resource/Subject files

IV. Course Lectures, Presentations, and Sermons

V. Events and Conferences

VI. China Tours

VII. Writing

• A. Articles

• B. Books

• C. Other projects

VIII. Notebooks and Loose Notes

IX. Calendars

Date Range: 1911-1994

Volume: 12.5 linear feet

Boxes: 1-25

Notes: Adeney generated and accumulated extensive resources with intersection on China, the Chinese church, witness in the country by the national church and expatriate guests and people in ministry, Chinese students, and missions more generally. Around these subjects, the collection series, most substantially Correspondence with Persons and Organizations, Lectures and Presentations, and Resource/Subject Files, include Adeney’s writings (articles, correspondence, and lecture notes), topical files of materials he accumulated as resources, and files corresponding to organizations he worked or interacted with that had special interest in or ministry to China and Chinese people and students. While most of these in the collection are in English, a significant portion of the correspondence and some publications are in Chinese.

Adeney’s papers came to the Archives significantly disordered – folders were unlabeled, similar documents were found in multiple folders, or documents were unfoldered. The archivist made every effort to capture the series structure suggested by Adeney’s folder titles to make the contents most accessible to the researcher. (In some cases, the folder titles were misleading or nonexistent, or the folder label had come off, so the title did not accurately describe the contents. The archivist in these cases sought to accurately reflect the contents.) The collection also consists of many one-off documents, reports, etc., that have little continuity with the same organization or person.

The bulk of the papers reflect the era (1979-1993) of Adeney’s ministry after China opened its doors to Western guests. A very small proportion of the papers document Adeney’s earlier experiences: 1) his missionary service in China with China Inland Mission (1935-1941); 2) his involvement in China’s Inter-Varsity Fellowship; 3) being the Missions Secretary for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in the U.S. (1941-1943); his role in the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (1956-1968, 1979-1987); and 5) much of his role at the Discipleship Training Centre in Singapore (1968-1976). However, between Adeney’s oral history interviews and his written and published recollections, these aspects are nonetheless covered. There was no account from the donor explaining what became of these missing bodies of documents – perhaps his papers while a missionary in China were left behind when he departed the country in 1941; and his files while working for InterVarsity in the US, IFES, and Discipleship Training Centre in Singapore might have been retained by those organizations rather than taken by Adeney. There was no accompanying information from the donor explaining these gaps. Nor is it clear whether Carolyn Armitage relied on Adeney’s this collection’s papers in writing her biography of Adeney, had access to others, or depended on Adeney’s recollections.

Subseries I: Biographical Items

Arrangement: Alphabetical by folder title

Date Range: 1911-1993

Volume: 0.2 linear feet

Boxes: 1-1

Notes: This small series includes personal and Adeney family-related items, including passports, visas, identity papers, driver’s license, birth, baptismal, marriage, officers training corps, and ordination certificates; a brief 1985 biographical sketch, college diploma from Queen’s College of Cambridge University, investment reports, tax filings, wills, and their personal prayer letters. In addition to prayer letters (1976-1993) in Folder 1-13, also see Adeney’s prayer letters from China in Folder 1-18 and from InterVarsity’s Bear Trap Ranch in Colorado in Folder 1-19. Folder 1-7 includes both the funeral service bulletin for the Adeneys’ daughter Rosemary Joy Chandler in 1989, and a biographical accounting upon his death of Adeney’s brother John Howard Adeney, who worked with Church Mission to Jews in Jerusalem, Bucharest, and in Great Britain.

Subseries II.A: Correspondence with Persons

Arrangement: Subdivided as follows, alphabetical: Adeney family (1934-1961, bulk 1934-1936); Chinese friends (1979-1986); From Tentmakers (1983-1988); Miscellaneous and Unfoldered (1976-1993)

Date range: 1934-1993

Volume: 1.2 linear foot

Boxes 1-3

Types of documents: Letters and replies, attached reports

Correspondents: Adeney, Adeney family members, various Chinese contacts, agency or mission representatives

Geographic coverage: China, Hong Kong, Singapore, United States

Notes: These files consist primarily of correspondence, although some correspondence can be found in the other series throughout the collection. Some letters that were unfoldered when received were interfiled by the archivist into folders of similar correspondence as seemed appropriate; others were foldered with the title “unfoldered.” Among the correspondence are files of personal letters to (and a few from) Adeney’s family, Chinese Christians Adeney knew previously or met on later trips to China, exchanges for upcoming engagements, with professionals working as “tentmakers” in a mission context, about writing projects, and letters he intended to reply to. A batch of unfoldered correspondence—it is unclear whether Adeney intended for this to be filed—seems to overlap with various other parts of the collection (to China, from China, to answer, unfoldered), which the archivist did not attempt to account for or reduce. Much of the correspondence is with Chinese Christians and other contacts in China and North America, much in English and some in Chinese—see Folders 2-10 through 2-16 with titles such as “Christian friends in China,” “Helping Chinese Christians in the U.S.” Interactions with Chinese Christians range from discussing church (especially house churches) situations and other ministry in China, spiritual issues and problems, education, theological training in the West, networking with physicians and other medical specialists to practice in China, and Adeney’s visits to China. Also included are appeals for recommendation or assistance to do advanced education in the United States.

Exceptional items: Adeney’s handwritten letters (Folders 1-16, 17) to his mother are from 1935-1936 when he was stationed for language school at Huaining, Anhui Province, Hiancheng (possibly today’s Hancheng) and Shekichen, Henan Province, with CIM. Later letters to his brother Bernard (and wife Millicent) from 1959-1961 were written from Hong Kong and several locations in the US. (Other letters from Adeney’s brothers can be found in other correspondence files, as no effort was made to relocate these into the family correspondence folders. Folder 3-6 includes a January 1986 letter from Adeney’s brother Harold with an attached photograph of Harold, wife Isobel, and their children. Correspondence from Jim Nyquist of InterVarsity Press is also found in Folder 3-3 and other correspondence folders. Folder 3-3 includes the Adeneys’ August 31, 1986, periodic report on their activities. Included in Folder 2-10 is “A Short History of My Life” written by a Chinese Christian, telling of his upbringing in a Buddhist family, conversion in 1941 at a Wang Ming-Dao meeting, education, involvement in China’s Inter-Varsity Fellowship, and experiences and persecution in China’s tumultuous years after 1949. Adeney’s file on “tentmakers” (Folder 3-2) consists of prayer letters from persons working professionally in China while also being involved in ministry. Although only a small file is titled for Martha Chan (Folder 1 20), her name surfaces periodically throughout Adeney’s correspondence as an “Administrative Secretary,” apparently on loan from Christian Services to China. Folder 3-4 includes a 1983 letter from the archivist inviting Adeney to donate his papers to the Archives. A single document in Folder 3-11 possibly relates to Adeney’s son Bernard, who appears in the form letter was associated with the Christian World Liberation Front in Berkeley in the 1970s.

Subseries II.B: Correspondence with Organizations

Arrangement: Alphabetical by agency

Date Range: 1968-1993

Volume: 1.7 linear feet

Boxes: 3-7

Types of documents: Correspondence, reports, book proposals, course materials, message manuscripts, pamphlets, brochures, prayer letters, organizational schematics, by-laws, handbooks, media presentation outlines and scripts

Correspondents: Adeney and representatives of the organizations including the China Graduate School of Theology (CGST) in Hong Kong, Chinese World Mission Centre (Danny Yu), Christian Communications Limited, Discipleship Training Centre (DTC) in Singapore, English Language Institute of China (ELIC), Evangelical China Office (Alan Gates, formerly Evangelical China Committee, sponsored by EFMA and IFMA), Evangelical Newsletter, Fellowship of Evangelical Students (FES in Singapore), Friends of China Foundation, Institute of Chinese Studies, International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF USA), Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, New College Berkeley, OMF (formerly China Inland Mission and Overseas Missionary Fellowship) and its China Program and Pray for China Fellowship (Peter Anderson, Dan Bacon, Ben Draper, Tony Lambert, Alex Smith, James H. Taylor III), World Vision, and others. The most abundant of these are the files connected to OMF.

Notes: The subseries consists of correspondence with representatives of various organizations, most listed above, all intersecting in some way with Adeney’s focused interest on China and the Chinese. For some of these agencies, Adeney served as a board member.

Exceptional items:

The small file for the Adeney Trust Fund (Folder 3-7) provides little information about the fund, its history or scope, only containing documentation on several applications and subsequent grants. Adeney’s folder title included the handwritten note, “PRC students,” at least suggesting the scope of the fund’s focus.

Adeney had a brief association with the China Graduate School of Theology in Hong Kong in 1976-1977 as a visiting professor; (also see audio tapes of his and others’ lectures in the course, “Preparing the Church for Life in a Hostile Society.”) Folder 3-8 includes his “inaugural ceremony” address on the significance of Christian character, and the script for a slide presentation about CGST.

See Folder 1-22 for correspondence of Jonathan Chao of the Chinese Church Research Centre (CCRC), as well as Folders 7-7,8,9 in the III: Resources/Subject Files series; Folder 9-2 includes “Occasional Papers” published by the CCRC, most of them written by Chao.

The file for Discipleship Training Centre (DTC) in Singapore (Folder 4-1) includes the script for “A Vision Come Alive” audio-visual slide and cassette presentation (see audio tape T29); there was no set of companion slides for the presentation included in the material given to the Archives.

The English Language Institute/China (ELIC) file (Folder 4-2) includes correspondence with a similar agency, Language Institute for Evangelism, Inc., later renamed Asian Access.

Folder 4-5 includes “Which Way Renewal? Critical Assessments on the Ecumenical Institute of Chicago,” and the “Christian Profile 1979” by Bobby Sng (General Secretary for Singapore’s IFES movement Fellowship of Evangelical Students or FES) with survey results from churches in Singapore. Folder 17-12 consists of materials from IFES’s 1982 European General Secretaries Conference, while Folder 18-6 includes the text of Adeney’s presentation on “Reaching Chinese Students in China and Abroad” at the 1991 IFES World Assembly in Wheaton.

The files for Friends of China (FOC) (Folders 4-6,7,8,9) record the establishment, operation, and communication of this independent charitable foundation/organization that functioned by “placing and supporting Christians from other countries in secular positions and activities where they are welcome,” in effect, tentmakers, with a heavy emphasis on English teachers. The Overseas Missionary Fellowship had close affinity to and interest in FOC, and while the organization was a separate legal entity, it was not entirely independent from OMF. Included is administrative correspondence with leaders and participants. The two executive directors for the period covered in Adeney’s files were Peter Anderson and Ben Draper. Folder 4-7 is especially significant because it gathers the founding documents and considerations from the time of incorporating the foundation in Hong Kong in 1987. The files help illuminate and articulate the separate but not fully independent existence of FOC from Overseas Missionary Fellowship. Folder 4-9 consists almost entirely of prayer letters from individuals working in China through FOC and/or ELIC.

Folder 4-10 contains interaction between Adeney and Fuller Theological Seminary faculty, administrators, and students, but especially fellow CIM missionary Arthur Glasser. Also included among these are a 9/20/84 exchange with Donald McGavran about the house church movement in China, the Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), and the World Council of Churches’ and National Council of Churches’ alignment with the TSPM position.

Adeney’s IFES files (Folders 4-12,13,14,15,16) document little of his activity as Asia Regional Director in Hong Kong until 1968, but rather reflect his role in the organization as IFES president beginning in 1979, including correspondence, financial and other reports, and his own messages at events like the 1984 IFES General Committee Conference, his “Light to the Nations” address at the 1987 Urbana Student Missionary Convention, and his message on reaching Chinese students at the 1991 IFES World Assembly in Wheaton. See also several letters to or from Koichi Ohtawa (IFES East Asia Regional Secretary) in Folders Folder 2-8 and 6-11.

Adeney’s sole Lausanne file related to the 1989 Lausanne II Congress in Manila (Folder 4-18) includes “A Christian Declaration on the Beijing Massacre,” which occurred the previous month, and handwritten notes, possibly Adeney’s remarks on “Perspective of Western Christian Response.”

Folder 4-20 consists of a single letter (no reply) from Operation Mobilisation founder George Verwer following the 1974 Lausanne Congress.

Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF) files (Folders 4-21 through 7-1) make up the bulk of the Organizations subseries; while OMF had ministries through Asia, these files are especially focused as expected the mission’s efforts to renew Christian witness in China, and on Adeney’s role leading the Discipleship Training Centre and his volunteer coordination of OMF’s China Program and its Pray for China Fellowship. Regarding the China Program, the most common correspondents were Dan Bacon, Tony Lambert (see especially Folders 5-6,7,8), Lesley Francis, and Peter Pattison, with understandable intersections with the Friends of China operation and the Prayer for China Fellowship, which Adeney also coordinated. Folder 4-21 includes two of Dan Bacon’s 1991 monthly work reports (confidential?) while he was OMF’s USA Director. Folder 5-3 includes a questionnaire, responses, and the “Christian Ministry to PRC Graduates and Students in North America” report based on the responses. Folder 5-5 includes the mission’s statements on the charismatic movement and finance. Tony Lambert’s correspondence files (Folders 5 6,7,8) in his oversight role of OMF’s China Program include reports written by him and resources gathered by him related to the situation for Christians in China, house churches and the Three Self Patriotic Movement, and developments initiated by the Chinese government that affect the church and Christian witness, and notes from 1985-1986 lectures at Wuhan Theological Seminary; also see Folders 9-18 and 10-1,2 for similar reports and resources. Several files (Folders 5-9,10,11) relate to planning for interaction and tours that Adeney coordinated to cultivate witness to and professional relationships between Western practitioners and doctors and medical staff in Chinese hospitals (also see Folders 19 2,3,4,5); the Christian Medical Society was a key contributor to identifying individuals to be part of these tours, and the file includes vitae of the participants for the tour of Zhengzhou. Folder 6-1, although titled “Newsletter Ideas” seems primarily related to tentmaker opportunities in countries where OMF worked. See Folder 6-3 for many of the Pray for China Fellowship bulletins. Folder 6-5 includes the 1968 and 1976 versions of OMF’s Principles & Practice and Handbook. The study guide Adeney developed, “Christian Witness in China Past and Present: A Series of Studies for Personal and Group Use,” is found in Folder 6-7; a separate draft study guide is in Folder 6-10. Correspondence in the two Alex Smith (OMF’s Northwest Director for the area that included San Francisco where the Adeneys were located) files (Folders 6-8,9) were often copied to Adeney, who was in some cases referenced in the letter. Adeney also had a file of his communication with and documents from James H. Taylor III, OMF’s Consulting Director Chinese Ministries and CIM founder Hudson Taylor’s great grandson.

Among the files (Folders 6-13 and 7-1) for “assorted” organizations (A-C, mainly parachurch agencies, churches, schools, etc.) are Ambassadors for Christ, Association of Christian Ministries to Internationals (ACMI), Bible Study Fellowship, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Chinese Bible Church of Maryland, Christian Life Publications (Robert Walker), and Jim Wilson of Community Christian Ministries about his book, Principles of War. More than a gap, the D-Z files were not included in the donated material, with no explanation provided about this by the donor.

Subseries III: Resource/Subject Files

Arrangement: Alphabetical

Date Range: 1948-1994

Volume: 3.1 linear feet

Boxes: 7-13

Types of documents: Articles, newsletters, clippings, manuscripts of papers or presentations on a subject (usually China-related), and occasional correspondence

Notes: The topical files gathered by Adeney, a voracious accumulator of resources, center primarily on China, its church, Communism, government policy, etc., but also on Christian theology and doctrine (Folders 9-12, 12-20, 13-1), missions (Folders 12-2,3), theological education (Folder 13-4), and discipleship, making it the most substantive series of the collection. Nonetheless, this series is a bit of a hodgepodge of files accumulated according to a topic or the name of an individual or organization (usually in relation to a topic); a file on “Communism” or “Chinese Church” does not mean that all documents on that topic are accumulated in that folder alone. Many of these folders were titled as Adeney had them—meaning there are some identical folder titles that were not filed together—and are filed together in the collection. In addition to the many folders, the series includes a substantial number of originally-unfoldered documents that have been filed together as “Miscellaneous” unless there was another obvious location to interfile them.

Manuscripts by various Chinese and Western writers appear in Folders 10-4 through 12-16; also see Feng Xizhang’s “Absolute Truth and Absolute Love” in Folder 9-13. These are arranged alphabetically, intermixed with some by title and others by author. Among these are Cheung Yeusung’s Refiner’s Fire (Folder 10-5), J. Graham Miller’s course notes and resources for his Doctrine and Romans courses at the Discipleship Training Centre (Folder 10 8), Christianity in Asia (Folder 11-1), Chua Wee Hian’s “The Challenge of Asia’s Youth” (Folder 11-2), Raymond Fung’s “The Development of China from 1949-1983” (Folder 11-5), Alan Gates’ “China Missions: How Much Have We Learned?” (Folder 11-6), Arthur Glasser’s “Timeless Lessons from the Western Missionary Penetration of China (Folder 11-7), Tony Lambert’s “China on the Brink: A Survey of Economic, Political and Social Trends in 1993” (Folder 11-9), Samuel Ling’s “Chinese Christian Youth and the Future of the Mission of the Chinese Church” (Folder 11-10), Y.A. Liu’s “Making Friends with Mainland Chinese Scholars and Students” (Folder 11-11), O. Guy Oliver Jr.’s “Christian Missions” (Folder 11-13), Bong Ro’s “Train Asians in Asia: A New Mission Strategy” (Folder 11-14), Kenneth Roundhill’s “As Now – So Then: A Do-It-Yourself Manual on Training and Development for Service Abroad” (Folder 11-15), Peter S.H. Tang’s “Whither Contemporary Chinese Philosophy: Confucianism, Communism or Christianity?” (Folder 11-18), James H. Taylor III’s “The Situation in China Today: An assessment of China’s political, economic and social changes in the spring of 1981” (Folder 11-19), Stephen C.H. Wang’s “These Thirty Years: 1949-1979” (Folder 11-21), Wing Ning Pang’s “The Chinese and the Chinese Church in America” (Folder 11-22), John Wu’s “Questions Concerning the Faith” (Folder 11-23), and “The People & Church in China: A Guide to Prayer” (Folder 11-24), and “The Communist Philosophy of Life,” Paul Szato’s “The Chinese Communist Mind,” and Peter Kuzmic’s “Christian—Marxist Dialogue” (Folder 12-1).

Also among these is a student course paper sent to Adeney by a colleague, Christopher Kidwell’s “The China Witness” in Folder 11-8). Folder 11-16 includes an article manuscript Adeney was reviewing for possible publication in His Magazine about Pete Scazzero’s short-term missions experience working with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of the Philippines. Folder 11-20 consists of Esther Wang’s testimony of her experience as a Chinese Christian, “Amazing Grace.”

Adeney included various newsletters (Folders 12-4 to 12-16, 13-2, and 13-5) in his papers, covering different aspects of Chinese government, society and culture, the Chinese church, and ministry to Chinese people.

Exceptional items:Exceptional items: Denis Lane’s “Asia and South Pacific Congress on Evangelism: An Assessment” for this event hosted by Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. is in Folder 7 4.

The file for Bien Yun-Bo (Folder 7-6), a Chinese Christian friend from the late 1940s, reflects the friendship he and Adeney shared stretching back to Adeney’s time in Nanking in 1947 and renewed with the opening to Westerners in the mid-1970s. Also included is a copy of Bien’s 1980 letter to Paul Contento saying, “It is about thirty years since I received your last letter from Chungking in which you told me you were ready to leave China then.”

Folders 7-7,8,9 consist of Jonathan Chao’s materials for the Fuller Theological Seminary course he taught, “History of Christianity in Socialist China, 1949-1984;” also included are the products of his “Church in China Interview Project,” many that he conducted, translated, or edited, as part of the Chinese Church Research Center at the China Graduate School of Theology; and several of his papers or presentations on missions, church and state in China, the Chinese church’s primary responsibility, “Three Self’s View of Evangelism,” religion and education in Communist China, and future evangelization of China. Folder 7-10 labeled “Samuel Chao” appears entirely related to Jonathan Chao, including a fundraising appeal, the “Resolutions of the Expanded Executive Committee Meeting of the Guangzhou City Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement…,” and a prospectus for an “Internship Program in China Studies and Ministries” at the Chinese Church Research Centre in Hong Kong.

Folder 8-1 consists of the large volume of papers and speaking notes from the New England China Seminar on “Chinese Intellectuals and the CCP: The Search for a New Relationship” at Harvard University in 1984.

Folder 8-9 consists of various “Chinese testimonies,” some in English, others in Chinese; more testimonies are found in Folder 9-5.

The documents in Folder 8-12 are focused on Bishop K.H. Ding (also identified as K. H. Ting or Ting Kuang-hsun or Ding Guangxun, who was an Anglican bishop in the 1940s and ‘50s, served as chairman of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), and was president of the China Christian Council.

Folders 9-7,8 include issues of Research Paper published by Christian Communications Limited, as well as accumulated news reported about churches in China.

Documents in Folders 9-15,16 relate to Hong Kong, both for its strategic proximity to China, but also in anticipation of its sovereignty being returned by the British to the Chinese in 1997.

Folder 10-1 includes Tony Lambert’s report “Visit to S.W. China – March 1988 (Part III).”

Folder 10-2 contains Lambert’s memos relating to issues and potential controversy surrounding Billy and Ruth Graham’s 1988 visit to China, including Graham’s remarks in Hong Kong at the end of his China visit and Lambert’s assessment of Graham’s visit.

Folder 10-3 is dedicated to the “Witness Lee, et al., Plaintiffs v. Neil T. Duddy, et al., Defendants” libel suit brought by Witness Lee’s Local Church against the Spiritual Counterfeits Project; the file includes a subpoena for a deposition of Adeney, manuscripts, news items, and letters from opponents and proponents of the Local Church.

Folder 12-17 contains documents related to primarily PRC students in the U.S.

Folder 12-19 has a 1968 report, “Dr. Limbek of the Lutheran Church and Comments on the Current Roman Catholic Situation.”

Folder 13-3 consists of documents related to “tentmakers” or those who work as professionals in another country while providing ministry as a volunteer, a significant method to strategically insert Christian witness and training into China where missionaries are not permitted.

Folders 13-6,7,8 contain documents about (not by) three significant figures in the Chinese church, Wang Ming-Dao, Watchman Nee, and Witness Lee. The Witness Lee folder includes the Spiritual Counterfeits Project book, The God-Men, for which Adeney wrote the foreword, about Lee’s Local Church, and which was the subject of the lawsuit filed against SCP that is documented in Folder 10-3.

Subseries IV: Course Lectures, Presentations, and Sermons

Arrangement: Alphabetical by subject

Date Range: 1912-1993

Volume: 1.9 linear feet Boxes: 13-17

Types of documents: Lecture notes, manuscripts of messages, reading lists and bibliographies, course resource materials, papers submitted by students, syllabi, audio-visual presentation scripts, lecture transparencies, occasional correspondence, and more

Notes: Adeney was a regular lecturer in the educational institutions he was a part of, and he was frequently called upon as a speaker at conferences for student groups, churches, and organizations. The lines between this series’ categories are blurry, with lectures and presentations sometimes being combined when the folder title is tied to a subject. Adeney’s course notes that relate to China and missiology predominate in this series. Some files appear to relate to an entire course, while others are more for a single lecture or presentation. Because the contents may overlap with those in the III: Resource/Subject Files or V: Events and Conferences series, there may be duplication of some documents, which the archivist did not attempt to eliminate. In some cases, a folder with background material for a particular course or presentation may have been filed in the III: Resource/Subject Files series. It appears that Adeney used his presentations or writings across various events and platform, so manuscripts that appear in one folder or even series may also appear elsewhere, either as a resource for his writing or speaking, tied to another event, or to draw on for another project. Many of Adeney’s lecture and presentation files also included plastic transparencies for overhead projection; a sampling of these were kept, mostly as photocopies due to the fragile nature of the originals, such as Folder 14-2 and other various course files. Also see Series VIII: Notebooks and Loose Notes, which includes many of Adeney’s handwritten notes of his own or others’ messages as Bible expositions, on topics including biblical characters, the Christian life and discipleship, and especially the church and conditions in China.

Adeney’s lecture files consist primarily of those courses he taught at the Discipleship Training Centre in Singapore and the New College for Advanced Christian Studies in Berkeley, California (see especially Folder 16-13), with a small sampling of others at Asian Missionary Training Institute, Chinese Graduate School of Theology, Wheaton College, a church congregation in Seattle, and elsewhere. Where identified, the place where the lecture was given is included in the folder title.

Among the topics covered are Action (or Cell) Groups, Acts (and assorted other biblical books), Apologetics, Asian Church History, China’s Prayer Needs and Pioneer Work, China’s Spiritual Challenge, Chinese Church History, Christian Ethics, Christian Mission in China, Christianity and Communism, Christianity in a Hostile Society (or Witness in a Hostile Society), Church After the Cultural Revolution, Church and Persecution, Church Growth in Modern China (offered as a Wheaton College Grad School course in 1988), Church History, Church in China, Church-State in China, Comparative Religions, Discipleship, Evangelism in Asia, Expository Preaching, Grounds for a New Thrust in World Mission (Ralph Winter), Islam and Muslims, Leadership, Missions (and related topics including evangelism and strategy; also Folder 16-14 for a Perspectives: World Mission course), Prayer, Principles of Bible Study, Principles of Christian Community, Professional Opportunities in China, Spiritual Development and Character, Student Ministry, and Theological Issues.

Exceptional items: The China Awareness Seminars—Adeney coordinated these to educate the Christian public to the opportunities and challenges facing the church in China—are documented in Folders 14 4,5,6; also see Folder 18-3. Folder 14-3 consists of planning documents and scripts for audio-visual presentations on China.

Subseries V: Events and Conferences

Arrangement: Chronological

Date Range: 1978-1986

Volume: 1.0 linear feet

Boxes: 17-19

Types of documents: Correspondence, program materials, manuscripts, reports, handwritten notes

Correspondents: Adeney, representatives of organizations, churches, and schools at which he participated in a conference or other event.

Notes: This subseries reflects some of the conferences, consultations, meetings, and other events Adeney attended, whether as a featured speaker or participant. Events are identified by a folder title tied to a conference or other event, rather than the topic of the message. China-related consultations are the most prevalent in the series (Folders 17-8,9,15,16 and 18-5). Among the organizations reflected in the series are Wheaton College, Operation Mobilisation, IFES, OMF, and World Evangelical Fellowship. Among the manuscripts are those for messages Adeney gave or were presented by others. Folders 18 11,12,13,14 and 19-1 are mostly letters accumulated for many of Adeney’s speaking engagements at churches, schools, and other events.

Exceptional items: The nondescript “Guidelines” manuscript in Folder 11-3 is actually framed as helpful information for participants in Christian tour groups to practice during their visit to China; also see audio tape T28, a ca. 1980 presentation with similar suggestions for etiquette in cross-cultural interactions. Folder 17-10 contains the program booklet for the 1981 12th West Coast Chinese Christian Student Winter Conference. Folder 17-11 documents a visit to the Henan Medical Association at which Adeney gave an address. The documents in Folder 17-14 spread beyond a single meeting to cover various events for “Chinese Students in America.” Folder 18-1 relates Billy and Ruth Graham’s visit to China with correspondence from Chinese and Western Christians expressing their concerns about visiting and commenting on Three-Self Movement churches and house churches while in China; also included is correspondence about OMF’s assistance to the Graham’s in planning their trip. The outline for Adeney’s Urbana Student Missionary Convention presentation is found in Folder 18-9.

Subseries VI: China Tours

Arrangement: Chronological

Date Range: 1979-1987

Volume: 0.1 linear feet

Boxes: 19-19

Types of documents: Correspondence, reports, itineraries, lists of participants

Correspondents: Adeney, tour participants, representatives of Overseas Medical Ministries, Christian Medical Association, contacts in China coordinating the tours

Notes: This series reflects a series of tours Adeney led, with a special emphasis on accompanying Western health professionals to visit medical facilities or educational institutions, provide professional training, and develop relationships with Chinese counterparts.

Exceptional items: The nondescript “Guidelines” manuscript in Folder 11-3 is framed as helpful information for participants in Christian tour groups to practice during their visit to China; also see audio tape T28, a ca. 1980 presentation with similar suggestions for etiquette in cross-cultural interactions. Folder 19-5 includes assorted documents with the same intent to orient and tour participants for their visits to China.

Subseries VII: Writing

Arrangement: Subdivided by A) Articles, B) Books, and C) Other projects

Date Range: 1966-1992

Volume: 1.1 linear feet

Boxes: 19-21

Types of documents: Article and book manuscripts, correspondence, reviews, booklet

Correspondents: Adeney, Carolyn Armitage, representatives of publishers

Notes: In addition to being a collector or resources, mainly about China, Adeney was also an author of articles and books. His files included many folders labeled “Adeney’s articles,” with no apparent distinction in the titles or the folder contents. These have been arranged alphabetically by the archivist groups by title., except where they were already grouped by a topic reflected in the folder title. Most of these were authored by Adeney, although there may be some interspersed throughout that were written by other individuals. Folder 19-8 gathers together manuscripts in which Adeney reports on his “Journeys into China.” Files related to Adeney’s books are minimal, but most are for his last, China: The Church’s Long March. Most of these files as received contained various manuscript versions of the book chapters, of which most corresponded with the final product and were therefore not retained. There is nothing in the Papers for his other major China book, China: Christian Students Face the Revolution (1973). Also included are book reviews, and correspondence related to his biography authored by Carolyn Armitage in Folder 20-10; also see Folder 21-7 for letters Armitage drew on for the book. The small Other subseries includes his “Current Writing” file (Folder 21-9), pages 8-17 of a corrected script for a play about China, and Folder 21-11 with a World Vision broadcast proposal and the apparently unrelated Chinese Church Research Center’s “Seminary in the Air: A Theological Training Program for House Church Leaders in China.”

Subseries VIII: Notebooks and Loose Notes

Arrangement: Chronologically

Date Range: 1954-1994

Volume: 1.9 linear feet

Boxes: 21-25

Types of documents: Forty-nine notebooks (not a uniform set but of varying sizes) containing handwritten (and a few typed) notes, plus a few loose notes.

Notes: Adeney generated many handwritten notes on all sizes of paper that appear throughout his papers, most in small notebooks, but others loose. Some of these were notes for his own presentations, while others are apparently on presentations he listened to. No attempt was made by the archivist to ensure that these were all accurately segregated. Adeney’s papers include forty-nine notebooks or notepads (sixty-one notebooks in the original accessions were reduced by the archivist based on redundancy of the content), as well as a few loose notes that were sprinkled throughout the received accessions—many of these loose notes are gathered in Folders 25-1,2, but are similar in nature and thematic scope as those in the notebooks. Adeney rarely dated the note or identified the location of a presentation; based on limited internal evidence, the notebooks (1954-1994) span most of Adeney’s career and later years in the US, with many notebooks simply undatable without more extensive reading. Individual messages were often but not always titled. It appears Adeney also have used these notebooks to create a first draft for an article, letter, report, or lecture note, or to record his notes from a presentation he heard; there are also entries for conversations or meetings with other people. The sermon notes are messages given by Adeney but may overlap with those occasions documented in the two other series, Course Lectures and Presentations and Events and Conferences.

Almost all have notes on the church and conditions in China. biblical themes and characters, Christian life and discipleship themes for students, advocacy for missions, various aspects of ministry among university students (especially in Asia), and topics related to culture, politics, religions, national and church histories. Many of the notes for articles or lectures/presentations have similar or identical titles—these were maybe for successive versions rather than being the same message given multiple times in different contexts. Some of the notebooks also had loose notes stuffed into them. Thirteen of these notebooks were considered by the archivist to be sufficiently redundant or less significant and were therefore not added to the collection and discarded.

Adeney’s notes reflect his eagerness to learn, process his thinking, and motivate students and lay Christians to join in the missionary effort, especially in China or with Chinese students in the US and elsewhere. While the researcher may get some picture of Adeney’s preparation and presentation process, because there is no apparent ordering of the notebooks or the notes within them, the disorder obscures any changes, growth, or in most cases a local context. Some pages identify an event by the organizing agency or group, but without a date or location this makes it difficult to specify the context for the remarks.

Exceptional Items:

Folder 21-12. Bound blue duplicate pen carbon book (with Post-It on 1st page) Untitled. (Post-It with outlining contents) 1954-1955, 1970, mostly undated. Includes "Important letter to John & Carol [son and daughter-in-law] ... includes principles of missionary work and discussion of home churches," "Witnessing to Communists Today and Tomorrow," "Rise of Communism in China," "Much material similar to China: Christian Students Face the Revolution...much re Wang Ming-Dao."

Folder 21-12. Light brown plastic ring binder. Untitled 1958, mostly undated. Includes notes on IFES student ministry, Chua Wee Hian's "Student Protest and Power," from Bob Pierce's on "Situation in Russia" and other IFES country reports, "Graduate Fellowship Taipei," and on meetings in Philippines.

Folder 21-12. Black plastic ring binder. Untitled. 1960-1961, mostly undated. Includes notes titled "Principles of Cooperation," "IFES Work in the Far East," and for IVF conferences and a CIM meeting.

Folder 21-13. Black plastic ring binder. Untitled.1961-1985, mostly undated. Includes notes on IFES student ministry in Asia.

Folder 21-13. Bound blue duplicate pen carbon book (with post-it note on 1st page). Untitled (Post-It with outline of contents) 1962, mostly undated. Includes "letters from 1962," "Talk with vice captain of W. Indian cricket team re India," “Letter to "Christian Association, HK University," "The Creator of a New History," "Report on Korea ... Important on Conference." Some pages are only the very light carbon version of the original note.

Folder 21-13. Bound brown duplicate pen carbon book Untitled. (Post-It with outline of contents) 1964-1965, mostly undated. Includes "John Stott in Kong and Manila," “Letter to Websters Taiwan," "Taiwan Conference," "Letter to Gwen Wong," "Letter to Clara Wang," "Letter to Stacey Woods," "Letter re Taiwan," "Report on Pakistan," "Report on India- Africa Journey," "Missions Conf Germany," "Visit to Scandinavia." Some pages with original writing, others with very light carbon version.

Folder 22-1. Dark green plastic ring binder. Untitled. 1965-1966, mostly undated. Includes note with Billy Graham's name at the top, "Talk to Members of University Staff," "Questions from Hindu Students," and "The Most Important Question--Anhwei University."

Folder 22-1. Bound small Dunster Duplicate Book, brown and red. "Account of Travels to India and Taiwan." Also, post-it with more details about contents. 1966. Includes "Journey in NE India," "Origin of work in Taiwan," "Letter from Congress on Evangelism in Berlin," "Summary of Asia IFES Work," "Asian Coordinating Committee," and "Letter from Hospital -- lung collapse." All pages are the much lighter carbon, second versions, and therefore more difficult to read.

Folder 22-1. Black plastic ring binder. Untitled. 1968-1971, mostly undated. Includes notes for C. Stacey Woods on "Place of Apologetics in the IFES" and apparent IFES country updates, and Woods' "Character and Nature of our Evangelical Student Movement."

Folder 22-2. Brown plastic side ring bound. Untitled. Ca. 1960s, mostly undated. Includes "Testimonies KGK [Japan]," "Philosophy of a Christian Fellowship," "Current Theological Trends," "Evangelistic Messages," "The Psychology of Christian Experience," and "Witless Witness."

Folder 22-3. Reddish hardcover bound. "Ethics, Missions." 1970, mostly undated. Course notes.

Folder 22-3. Blue-green side spiral bound. "Ephesians." 1972, most undated. Course notes; also includes notes titled "Letter to DTC" and "Bruce Nicholls 1 Cor 16:13,14."

Folder 22-4. Yellow top spiral bound. "Hong Kong China course." 1973, mostly undated. Includes notes for a California IVCF conference, "Racial Relationships," IFES updates, and Cedar Campus SDT [maybe Student Discipleship Training?] lectures.

Folder 22-4. Lime green side spiral bound. Untitled. 1973, mostly undated. Includes notes on motivating and preparing students and churches to engage in missions, draft letters to "fellow-workers" and "Walt and Ginny," and "Student Country Reports."

Folder 22-4. Blue-blue side spiral bound. Untitled. 1976, mostly undated. Includes notes on Indonesia.

Folder 22-5. Black plastic ring binder. Untitled. 1977-1989, mostly undated. Includes "Evangelistic - 1 - Students," and notes for a Jonathan Chao message, messages on IFES student ministry, Samuel Escobar's "The Gospel and Culture," and the 1983 "Arrest of House Church Leaders."

Folder 22-5. Tan side spiral bound. Untitled. 1978-1979, mostly undated. Includes notes for House Church of Berkeley, planning the 1979 China Consultation, a Florida IVCF conference, InterVarsity's Bear Trap Camp in Colorado, "Notes on the Kingdom for [?] Jim Wallis," on vocation and calling, letter to supporters, on student work in Africa, on Watchman Nee, and "Suggestions for OMF China Program."

Folder 22-5. Light brown ring binder. Untitled. 1978-1980, mostly undated. Includes note titled "IFES Worldwide," and notes with an inscription for "New College," "Harvey Conn," and "Carl Henry."

Folder 23-1. Tan side spiral bound. "China Consultation." 1979. Includes draft letter to friends, notes for his presentation and on other presentations and "Organisation Notes," and on presentations by Wally Yew, Ralph Covell, Denis Lane, Arthur Glasser, Jonathan Chao, Ken Lo, David Wang, Rick Chen, Stephen Hsu, Wes Duewel, Andrew Wang, Ted Hsueh, and Leonard Tuggy, and "Christian Concern for Boat People."

Folder 23-1. Orange U of I side spiral bound. "No. 2" (Inside front cover includes handwritten table of contents) 1979-1981, mostly undated. Includes notes titled "YWAM [Youth with a Mission] Teaching Schedule" and "New College [Berkeley] Discipleship."

Folder 23-1. Maroon plastic ring binder. Untitled. 1979-1982, mostly undated. Includes notes titled "China Seminar" and "Experience at DTC."

Folder 23-2. Black plastic ring binder. Untitled. 1979-1986, mostly undated. Includes notes titled "Evangelistic," "ISI Seminar," "Lessons Learned from DTC," "Missions of Chinese in the Far East," "Models for Evangelism in China," and Jack Voekel's "Colombia Student Work."

Folder 23-2. Black leather ring binder. Untitled. 1979-1987, mostly undated. Includes many notes on messages to “PRC students at Berkeley and in Los Angeles," "Chinese Awareness Seminar," "Work with PRC Students," and Chua Wee Hian's "Chinese Christian Church and World Mission."

Folder 23-2. Brown Liberty side spiral bound Untitled. Ca. 1970s, mostly undated. Includes loose report for Bible Camp by Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia, a letter to "friends," and references to IVCF in Philippines and Indonesia, OMF.

Folder 23-3. Blue grey Atholl top spiral bound. Untitled. Ca. 1970s, mostly undated. Includes report on student work in Ceylon, a letter to the "DTC family," a letter to unidentified supporters with report on India, notes on student work in Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Philippines, and on global trends of student unrest and revolution, urbanization, and ecumenism.

Folder 23-3. Dark brown faux leather plastic. Untitled. 1970s-1980, mostly undated. Includes notes titled "Summary of Talks," and "Student Turmoil in Asia."

Folder 23-3. Red accordion autograph book. Title in Chinese on back cover. 1980. Includes entries entirely in Chinese except for final three pages at the front, with three photos, including one with two Chinese men and unidentified woman who is most likely CIM colleague Dr. Pauline G. Hamilton.

Folder 23-4. Orange side spiral bound. Untitled. Ca. 1980, mostly undated. Includes notes titled "OMF China Program" and a message attributed to Bill Bright.

Folder 23-4. Brown, small bound notebook. Untitled. 1982. Adeney’s notes from one of his visits to China, including names and places; includes many notes in Chinese.

Folder 23-4. Dark brown plastic ring binder. Untitled. 1982-1986, mostly undated. Includes notes titled "DTC Graduates" and "OMF Centennial Prayer Conference Outline."

Folder 23-4. Orange Mead top spiral bound. Untitled. 1983. Notes for a China Awareness Seminar and on • Folder Chinese individuals.

Folder 23-5. Air Mail top bound note pad Untitled. 1985-1986, mostly undated. Includes notes on Chua Wee Hian's "Spiritual Leadership" and "Report on Pray for China Fellowship USA."

Folder 23-5. Dark brown plastic ring binder. Untitled. Ca. 1986-1988. Includes notes for IFES-related, Jonathan Chao, OMF Centennial, and various services (ordination, child dedication, communion).

Folder 23-5. Teal side spiral bound. "World Congress on Literature." 1987-1989, mostly undated. Includes notes for/from the congress, which is unidentifiable, on his personal "Filing System" for a multi-drawer storage unit, "Japan KGK," "IFES in China," draft of his "Presidential Address -- A Light to the Nations" for IFES meeting, draft letter to Carolyn Armitage who wrote Adeney's biography, "Wheaton College - Teaching," and "Rosemary Joy Chandler," [Adeney's daughter] perhaps a eulogy for her 1989 funeral.

Folder 24-1. Light blue side spiral bound. "Lausanne II and Chinese Church After Tiananmen Square" 1989. Notes from the Congress and various speakers including Leighton Ford, John Stott, Luis Bush, Pete Hammond, Tom Houston, J.I. Packer, Stephen Tong, Os Guinness, Timothy Lau, Fred Cheung, Prof. Ling, and Fernando Ajith, Colin Chapman, Martin Alphonse, Raymond Feng, Philemon Choi, Floyd McClung, Thomas Wang, David Penman, Andrew Xiao, and Adeney's draft report on the congress.

Folder 24-1. Black zippered ring binder. "1" (with outline of topics on first page) Ca. 1989-1990. Includes lecture notes titled "Discipleship," "Thessalonians," "Peter," and "Resurrection -- Christian Ethics." Loose pages in back, loose photograph in front, loose calendar pages in front.

Folder 24-1. Light blue ring binder. Untitled. 1989-1992, mostly undated. Includes note titled "Ten Return to China, May 1990."

Folder 24-2. Red side spiral bound. Untitled. 1989-1993, mostly undated. Includes draft of letter to Donald McGavran, draft testimonies, "Report on China Consultation" at the US Center for World Mission in Pasadena, and "Student Ministry - Biographical."

Folder 24-2. Top bound without cover Untitled. Ca. 1993, mostly undated. Includes "China Scholars - Stanford," "Some Future Possibilities from human viewpoint" as he considered his own medical treatment for his lung cancer, follow-up care and relocation options.

Folder 24-3. Bound blue duplicate pen carbon book (with Post-It on 1st page). Untitled. (Post-It on first page outlining contents) Undated. Includes "First chapter of a book I was writing re our time in Honan [with China Inland Mission / much re Japanese invasion...," "Journey by air to China in 1951," "Pakistan Report [IFES], Much re David Penman...," and "The Brain Drain in Pakistan."

Folder 24-4. Black zippered ring binder. "3" (with outline of topics on first page) Undated. Includes lecture notes titled "Call of God," "On the Edge of Tomorrow," "Cell Groups," and "Acts."

Folder 24-4. Black zippered ring binder. "2" (with outline of topics on first page) Undated. Includes lecture notes titled "Philippians," "Ephesians," "The Holy Spirit," and "Biographies" of biblical figures. Loose pages in front and back, loose photograph in front.

Folder 24-4. Black plastic ring binder. Untitled. (Contents outlined in major sections on first page) Undated. Includes notes titled "IVF Principles and Practices," "IFES Principles," "Indigenous Group Witness," "Dangers Confronting Christian Graduates," "The Christian Graduate--Asian Countries," "Missionary Challenges in S.E. Asia," "Christian Students in a Changing World," and "Spiritual Conflict in Asian Universities."

Folder 24-5. Black plastic ring binder. Untitled. Undated. Includes notes with names of IFES figures, possibly attributing comments to them.

Folder 24-5. Light brown plastic ring binder. Untitled. Undated. Includes notes on IFES-related movements and ministry in Asian countries and on Christian students, graduates, teachers, and revival.

Folder 24-5. Light brown plastic ring binder. Untitled. Undated. Includes notes IFES student ministry in Asian and other countries, and on Chua Wee Hian's "Student Protest and Power." Also includes several typed pages on priorities and his own and other Urbana messages.

Folder 24-6. Ochre plastic ring binder. Untitled. Undated. Includes notes titled "IFES Work in the Far East," and "Asia's Spiritual Crisis."

Folder 24-6. Brown "student" side spiral bound. "Asian Religions." Undated. Course notes, extensively on Buddhism, some on Hinduism, more on Islam.

Folder 24-6. Tan bound Exercise Book "Homiletics." Undated. Includes lecture notes on preaching such as "Methods" and "Service and Proclamation."

Folder 25-1. Loose notes, 1988-1994. Assorted notes including “OMF Centennial” and many other topics related to China, ministry among university students, Christian life and discipleship, biblical characters, and Christian theology. Many of the notes are titled, but few are dated; many of the pages have standard punched holes, suggesting they came from one of the notebooks.

Folder 25-2. Loose notes: China Seminar; n.d.

Subseries IX: Calendars

Arrangement: Chronological

Date Range: 1972-1984

Volume: 0.3 linear feet (2 folders)

Boxes: 25-25

Notes: The calendars represent a very intermittent record (1972-1974, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1984) of Adeney’s activities, spanning a relatively small part of his seven-decade-long career. They do, however, show his movements and meetings during this key timeframe when he was an instrumental figure in OMF’s setting up the Discipleship Training Centre in Singapore, and teaching at both the China Graduate School of Theology in Hong Kong and New College Berkeley as professor of Christian Mission. The 1976 edition (Folder 25-4) covers Adeney’s final year at DTC in Singapore and retirement from OMF, apparently in late-June, before beginning his brief stint teaching at the China Graduate School of Theology in Hong Kong later in the year. The volume includes notes from meetings, activities, and prayer requests. The final entry is “Bangkok” on July 2 with the balance of the calendar blank. At the very end in a “notes” section, Adeney recorded his notes for meetings and a DTC staff retreat and thoughts about “Basic Structure of DTC … Individual Freedoms and Responsibility.”

Provenance

The material in this collection was received by the Archives from David or Ruth Adeney in 1988, 1994, 1995, and 1997.

Accession: 88-66, 88-127

November 3, 1993

Paul Ericksen, processing archivist

Chris Easley



Accession: 94-96, 95-116, 97-61

December 2, 2022

Paul Ericksen, processing archivist

Grace Gardziella

Nathan Palladino

Magnolia Smoak

Title
David H. Adeney Papers (Collection 393)
Author
Paul Ericksen, processing archivist
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Roman Script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Evangelism & Missions Archives Repository

Contact:
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