Phyllis E. Taylor Oral History Interviews
Scope and Contents
Oral history interviews with Phyllis Evelyn Taylor in which she discusses her childhood and conversion to Christianity; education at Wheaton College; her experiences as a Christian and Missionary Alliance teacher and evangelist among the Bantu people in the Belgian Congo from 1952-1966; her work in Taiwan from 1968 as an independent missionary; and teaching English as a means of evangelism. Other topics discussed include attending Nyack Missionary Training Institute; memories of the 1950 revival at Wheaton College; the difficulty of language study; reflections on the CMA’s history in the Congo; animism among the Bantu people; relationship with Roman Catholic missionaries; independence movement in the Belgian Congo in 1960 and the evacuation of Western missionaries; relocating mission work to Taiwan; Taiwanese attitudes toward mainland China; Taylor’s book The Master and its influence in evangelism; the role of singleness in missionary life; and comparison of Christ, Buddha, and Sun Yat-sen. The time period covered by the interviews is 1924 to 1992.
Phyllis Taylor was interviewed by Paul Ericksen in August 1992 at the Billy Graham Center Archives at Wheaton College.
Dates
- Created: 1992
Creator
- Taylor, Phyllis E. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on the use of this collection
Biographical Information
Full Name: Phyllis Evelyn Taylor
Birth: April 23, 1924, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States
Family:
Parents: Lloyd B. and Minnie Simmons Taylor
Siblings: 3 brothers. Phyllis was the third of four children
Marital Status: Single
Conversion: September 9, 1935
Education:
1941 - Graduated high school
1941-1944 - Graduated Nyack Missionary Training Institute, New York
1944-1945 - High Point College, North Carolina
1946-1947 - Graduated Wheaton College, Illinois, BS in Education
1949-1950 - Graduated Wheaton College, Illinois, MA in Christian Education
Career:
1945-1946 - Nine months of leading children's meetings for the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA) near Milaca, Minnesota
1946 - Worked as a secretary at the Oak Ridge atomic facility in Tennessee
1947-1948 - Taught elementary school in Villa Park, Illinois
1948-1949 - Taught elementary school in Nyack, New York
1950 - Received appointment as missionary of the CMA
1951-1952 - Attended French language school for missionaries in Belgium
1952-1966 - Served in the Belgian Congo at Maduda, Kikonzi, Lukula, Boma, Vungu. After a brief time teaching missionary children, she taught in and directed African schools, led Bible and Christian education conferences, and led evangelistic meetings in villages. Most of her time was spent with the Bantu people.
1954-1955 - Furlough in the United States
1960-1962 - Prolonged furlough in the United States because of the civil war in the Congo
1966-1967 - Taught in the Christian Education Department at Canadian Bible College in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
1967 - Resigned from CMA
1967-1968 - Taught at elementary school in Pleasantville, New Jersey, to raise funds for her mission work in Taiwan
1968-1970 - Taught at Christ's College in Tanshui, Taiwan. Taught English grammar and composition, psychology, set up and taught several Christian Education courses, planned and directed a Christian Education Conference for the churches in the area, planned and directed a missionary program with five students and traveled around the Island giving the program in various churches during summer vacation
1970-1972 - Taught elementary school in Atlantic City, New Jersey to raise funds for herself and mission work in Taiwan.
1972-1980 - Taught at Taipei American School in Taiwan as part of her self-supporting missionary activities, such as newspaper evangelism, and teaching Sunday School and serving on the council of the United States Navy Support Chapel. She also did prison ministry among foreign inmates and led Bible studies for women and medical students. In addition, she taught English classes for the staffs of the Hilton Hotel, the American Express Bank, the American Shipping Line, Johnson's Wax.
1982 - Self-published The Master, an explanation of the plan of salvation, which has since been translated into Chinese, African, and Indian languages. These have usually been distributed free to Christian workers in several countries. Ms. Taylor also over the years prepared many evangelistic audio tapes, video tapes and booklets
2001 - Trained teachers in India for two months
December 2001 - Retired and returned to the United States to live in Kissimmee, Florida
Extent
5 Audio Tapes
213 Minutes
Language of Materials
English
Accruals and Additions
The materials in this collection were given to the Archives of the Billy Graham Center by Phyllis E. Taylor in August 1992. Accession: 92-101
January 14, 2003
Robert Shuster
- Animism -- Congo (Democratic Republic)
- Bantu-speaking peoples.
- Belgium -- Colonies -- Africa.
- Buddhism -- Relations -- Christianity.
- Buddhism.
- Catholic Church -- Relations -- Protestant churches.
- Christian and Missionary Alliance.
- Christian education -- Taiwan.
- Christian literature -- Publishing -- Taiwan.
- Christmas.
- Church and state -- Congo (Democratic Republic)
- Congo (Democratic Republic) -- History -- Civil War, 1960-1965.
- Conversion -- Personal narratives. -- Christianity.
- Dyrness, Enock.
- English language -- Foreign speakers.
- Evangelistic work -- Congo (Democratic Republic)
- Evangelistic work -- Taiwan.
- General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists.
- Graham, James R. (James Robert), 1898-1982.
- Jidu shu yuan (T`an-shui chen, Taiwan)
- Missionaries -- Appointment, call, and election.
- Missions -- Congo (Democratic Republic).
- Missions -- Educational work.
- Missions -- Rural work -- Congo (Democratic Republic).
- Part-time missionaries.
- Pentecostalism.
- Sun, Yat-sen, 1866-1925.
- Taipei American School (Taiwan)
- Taiwan International Church.
- United States -- Foreign relations -- Taiwan.
- Wheaton College (Ill.)
- Women missionaries.
Creator
- Taylor, Phyllis E. (Person)
- Title
- Collection 460 Oral History Interviews with Phyllis E. Taylor
- Author
- Bob Shuster
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Roman Script
Repository Details
Part of the Evangelism & Missions Archives Repository