In memory of Michael Griffiths, former General Director of OMF International

Jan 17, 2022 by Jill

by Julia Cameron, Christian Today:

Michael Griffiths, who died on 10 January aged 93, was one of the 20^th century’s most dynamic and influential mission leaders. He was born in Cardiff in 1928.

After graduating from Cambridge in natural sciences, Mike trained for the Anglican ministry at Ridley Hall; however he wasn’t ordained as he found himself at variance with Anglican teaching on infant baptism.

Throughout his student years, there was always a pull towards world mission, and after two years as a Christian Union staffworker, he and his wife, Valerie, sailed for East Asia, joining the Overseas Missionary Fellowship (now OMF International). They would serve first in Japan.

Valerie, an Oxford graduate, brought the same passion to this calling as Mike, and, as one OMF colleague commented, it was impossible to think of Mike without Valerie. They were Mike-and-Valerie throughout their ministry.

Mike wrote easily and fluently, especially for students and young graduates. His 25 books included Cinderella with Amnesia (1975) which asked whether the church had lost her memory, and her biblical calling to mission. Give up your small ambitions (1970) and Tinker, Tailor, Missionary (1992) both urged graduates to think and pray about mission service. Lambs dancing with wolves (2001) examined the experience of entering a new culture. Griffiths was a thinker, a realist, and could be hard-hitting, but always with a scriptural basis and pastoral application.

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