Welcome to five minutes in church history hosted by Dr Stephen Nichols, where we take a little break from the present to go exploring the past.

Travel back in time as we look at the people, events, and even the places that have shaped the story of Christianity.

This is our story, our family history. Let's get started.

No reserves, no retreats, no retreats, no regrets. This is the story of William Whiting Borden, known as

Borden of Yale. William Borden was born in 1887 in Chicago.

To the very wealthy Borden family, this is indeed the Borden Dairy Company and their

mascot, Elsie the Cow.

Well, when William was a young man, his mother became a Christian, and

she started taking William with her to church, and he too became a Christian. He was sent off

to a boarding school in Pennsylvania, the Hill School for his high school

education. And when he graduated at the age of 16, his parents gave him quite a gift.

They gave him a gift of a trip around the world. Now he was not on his own as a 16 year old. He also was with

Walter Erdman. Walter Erdman was a minister and a missionary and he took William to all sorts of places. They visited

numerous countries and along the way Borne's calling became very clear to him. He would be a missionary.

It was on that trip that he saw firsthand what they called in those days heathenism.

This would be entire people groups without a single gospel witness, and this left such an impression on this young 17 year old

that he knew he wanted to give his life to missions.

When he returned to the United States in 1905, he went to Yale.

And at Yale, of course, he excelled in academics.

He excelled in all sorts of athletics.

I think he was on the boxing team.

He was unyodding.

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