John William Decker

Nationality

U.S.A.

Date of Birth

1890

Date of Death

1982

Political
Preference

Christian

John William Decker was an American theologian and Baptist minister who worked as a missionary in China 1921–1935. After returning to the U.S., he worked as the secretary for China, Japan and the Philippines at the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society from 1934–1942. He became the international secretary of the IMC at the New York office in 1943.

Decker, as New York secretary of the IMC, had written an article in the October 1944 edition of the International Review of Missions, describing what the post-war programme of the IMC could be. In the post-war world, the IMC began to pay more attention to freedom of religion, as this issue was considered critical when reorganising the work of the missionary councils. It also became clear to the leadership of the IMC that religious liberty issues could no longer be solely handled by the IMC, and thus effective ecumenical allies had to be sought. The IMC’s focus on religious freedom was also a result of intensified collaboration between the IMC and the WCC, which strongly emerged as a new “ecumenical alliance” within the modern ecumenical movement. John Decker, as Head of the IMC in New York, opened many opportunities for the IMC and WCC for stronger alliances and stayed in close contact with Visser ‘t Hooft.