Missionary Stories

Lilias Trotter 1853-1928 “Satan knows well the power of concentration.” Do we? Do we dare to focus on Christ with such genuine intensity that His glory is our only motive and consideration for every choice we make? In October 1876, John Ruskin, a famous English painter and severe art critic, consented to evaluate a young woman’s artwork. Astonished by her exceptional portrayal of artistic elements and principles, Ruskin immediately offered to train the [...]

Isaac McCoy 1784 -1846 By Rex Cobb Isaac McCoy was born in Fayette, Pennsylvania, in June 1784. He was the son of a Baptist preacher who, as incredible as it sounds, did not believe in evangelizing. Isaac and his father argued over this, but Isaac was not afraid to stand for the truth. He became a missionary to the Native Americans. Before moving west to the wilderness of Indiana and Illinois, Isaac pastored [...]

There was no headstone for Charlotte Rowe until her name was uncovered among the missionaries appointed by American Baptist International Ministries during research as it prepared for its 200th anniversary. Charlotte White Rowe was the first woman missionary to be officially appointed from the United States by any denomination or agency. Charlotte was born in 1782. Her early life was marked by sadness. She was orphaned at age twelve and widowed at twenty-two. She moved [...]

John Geddie1815 - 1872 “The love of Christ banished the terrors of the law.” Those were the words of John Geddie concerning his salvation at age nineteen in 1834. He tirelessly preached this same message of Christ’s love as a missionary in the New Hebrides islands for twenty-four years. John was an avid reader; his favorite subject being stories of mission efforts and the desperate need of the Gospel in unevangelized areas. After [...]

Allen Gardiner paced up and down the street, ashamed to go into the bookshop and ask for a Bible. He had thrown aside his religious upbringing at the young age of fourteen for the rowdy life of a sailor, but now he needed answers. The letter that arrived, telling of his godly mother’s prayer for him before her death, struck his heart with a desire to read the Book that he knew held life’s answers. [...]

Rex Ray 1885-1958 “I looked my guard over. He wore two belts of cartridges, a dirk knife and carried a rifle with a bayonet . . . I prayed, ‘Lord, you can handle him better than I can. You just put the fear of God in him and make him leave me here alone.’ Then I began staring at the guard as though I might eat him if he got too close. He [...]

Helen Stam, born in 1934 toJohn and Betty Stam The anticipated knock at the door came suddenly. The rumors were true. The Communists had arrived to arrest them. John and Betty Stam had met each other in a prayer meeting for China. Their friendship grew into love, but their applications for mission work put them in different corners of the country. Believing God’s work should come before human affection, they committed the matter [...]

Charlotte “Lottie” Moon 1840-1912 “I would I had a thousand lives that I might give them to...China." —Lottie Moon Lottie looked all around her to see that the people whom she loved so dearly were starving to death. She didn’t have much to give them, but what she did have, she gave. But now Lottie’s health was failing; her weight was down to fifty pounds. Fellow laborers felt it was time for her [...]

Lavern and Evelyn Rodgers A bomb wrestled through the air, while the loud cracks of the blast set homes ablaze. The people of war-torn Japan sat in the darkness of an uncertain eternity. Soon after, former Navy man Lavern Rodgers and his wife, Evelyn, arrived with the good news of the Gospel. In 1945, Lavern Rodgers first heard his Macedonian call through the exhortation of General Douglas MacArthur who, quoting Matthew 5:44a: [...]

Bob and Liz Patton It was September 1986 and the Pattons’ plans were drastically changed when Dr. Patton opted to move to the city rather than join forces with the liberal group in control of medical practice in the interior of the country. It had been just two weeks since the couple had moved to Suriname’s capital, Paramaribo, when civil war broke out in the interior. Had the couple stayed in the [...]

The Richard Johnson Memorial sits on the site of Australia’s first church. Far across the oceans, he stepped onto the shores of New South Wales. He didn’t know what lay ahead, but he had traveled the grueling eight-month voyage with a burden on his heart for the souls of the unwanted and unloved. At the young age of thirty-three, Richard Johnson had responded to John Newton’s plea and God’s call to be [...]

Rochunga Pudaite 1927-2015 “My grandfather was a headhunter. But by God’s grace, today I am a heart-hunter.” -Rochunga Pudaite Determined to see more of the village won for Christ, little Ro set out and began witnessing to the renowned ‘wild’ people of the Teisieng village in Manipur, India. With a heart full of prayer and fierce determination, Ro went to the first home. The man wanted nothing to do with the ‘dead [...]

David Brainerd Missionary to the American Indians 1718-1747 With a cry of pain, the horse lurched forward causing her master to topple to the ground. David Brainerd stood, brushed himself off, and looked to see what had happened. The mare lay in agony on the ground, her leg snapped in two. David was beyond despair as he knew the inevitable must take place. With two Native Indians and a fellow missionary looking [...]

Andrew Foster 1925-1987  “The time: Sunday morning. The place: Ibadan, Nigeria. Dozens of youths and young adults arrive at the Christian Center. They come by bus, taxi, bicycle and foot from different parts of this city of two million residents. Dressed modernly, they “chat” heartily among themselves ... “Anyabonouwe starts the Bible class with hymn singing. Oladipo leads in prayer. Adebayo conducts the sword-drill. Young people take turns singing solos, duets, trios, and [...]

by Hanna Schrock The Mosquito Coast of Honduras is along the coast of the Caribbean Sea . Doña Mariana kept track of each new baby born in her town so that she could guide the priest to their homes when he came to baptize. She thought this would secure them entrance into heaven. Once, when she sent for the priest, he sent a message back that he could not come because the last [...]

George Hunter (1861-1946) “Nothing was to enter into his life unpenetrated by its central enthusiasm—Preaching the Gospel of Christ.” Such was George Hunter. He knew his God and nothing anyone could say or do shook his testimony or moved him from his one statement: “I am here solely to preach Christ crucified.” Known as the “Lonely Warrior,” George Hunter lost many of those dear to him, including his mother, the woman he loved, [...]

Mike & Becky Patterson Mike Patterson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1948. He felt his calling into the ministry in 1964 and his call to the mission field of Mexico in 1974. Brother Mike and his wife, Becky, have been serving together as missionaries in Mexico for forty-four years. (That doesn’t count the thirteen years that Becky spent growing up in Mexico and Costa Rica as the daughter of missionary Dr. [...]

The Karen tribe was the lowest class in Burma. Called the “wild men of the jungle,” they were oppressed and despised but were not without hope. They had a cultural legend that a messenger from across the sea would bring them the lost book written by the Creator-God. George Dana Boardman was born in Livermore, Maine, in February 1801, and was the son of a Baptist pastor. Sarah Hall was born in November 1803, and [...]

Jacob DeShazer 1945 On April 18, 1942, Corp. Jacob DeShazer of Col. Doolittle’s raiders was the B-25 bombardier on the last plane to leave the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. They were on a bombing mission to avenge the attack on Pearl Harbor. The plan was to hinder the advance of the Japanese army and show them that blind faith in the emperor-god Hirohito and his guarantee of success was unfounded. Jacob grew up [...]

“And shall I now draw back? Shall I withhold anything  from Jesus?”      —Eliza Grew Jones, March 24, 1830 February 17, 1831: The brig Bucephalus unloaded its cargo on the banks at Moulmein, Burma. Among the disembarking passengers was newlywed couple John and Eliza Taylor Jones. In a land just beginning to experience Western influence, the Jones were part of a great influx of foreigners: merchants, diplomats, and teachers. The Jones, however, were not seeking to [...]