WEC was founded in 1913 by Charles Studd (CT), the cricketer turned missionary. Studd was one of the Cambridge Band also called Cambridge Seven—seven members of Cambridge University who offered themselves for service under the China Inland Mission as a result of a visit by the American evangelist D.L. Moody to the campus in 1884. Studd spent several years in China and a time in India before going on in his fifties to establish and lead the "Heart of Africa" Mission (HAM). Although broken in health, Studd said, "If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." The "Heart of Africa" mission, changed its name to Worldwide Evangelisation Crusade. Later, recognising some misunderstandings with using the word "crusade", the mission was renamed as Worldwide Evangelisation for Christ (WEC International). The Heart of Africa Mission/WEC International was started as part of what missiologists call "The Second Wave—Interdenominational missions to the continental heartlands (1865–1910) (the First Wave being denominational missions to the continental coastlands (1792–1865)