What did missionaries believed that british would do to African societies and benefit them?

Most missionaries were under the impression that Africans (as well as people in Asia, the Middle East, and undeveloped countries) were uncivilized pagans in need of someone to save them. Missionaries felt that if they could bring the Word of God to these people, as well as modernize their villages and educate them, they would be able to civilize them. This calls into question the ideas of Social Darwinism and Imperialism.