Ludwig Inger Nommensen (1834-1918) He is commemorated on 7th November

Ludwig is often referred to being the Apostle of the Batak. In 1862 Ludwig went as a missionary to the island of Sumatra which is part of Indonesia.

Efforts to win the natives had started with 3 missionaries back in 1820 but they were unsuccessful.

1834 there was a second attempt. The Bataks were cannibals and they eat the two missionaries. In 1834 Ludwig was born.

In 1846, aged 12, he had his legs crushed by a horse cart. It was feared he would never walk, but with prayer, three years later he was able to walk again.

In 1857 an interest in missionary work led him to enroll at the Rhenish Missionary Society seminary at Wuppertal- Barmen.

In 1865 he baptised his first converts.
In 1878 he translated the New Testament into Batak.
1878-1881 involved as interpreter in the First Toba War. His aim was to save lives and to avoid Dutch brutal punitive action against local villages. After the war the Batak people saw Ludwig as the person who could protect them against Dutch influence. ( For more detail read the 4 columns from Ambassadors for Christ.)

For 56 years he worked tireless in Sumatra. He helped the Barak church come into existence. He led it with great skill until his dying day.He trained indigenous native Baraks to be elders, pastors and teachers to be the backbone of the church work. The church was integrated into the community - this made Christinaization much easier.

Ludwig was probably one of the most successful missionaries to ever preach the gospel. His work was recognised and he received a knighthood - the Royal Dutch Order of Orange Nassau in 1893 and an officer of this order in 1911.

Included map of Sumatra

Sources Ambassadors for Christ - contribution from Werner Raupp
wikipedia History of Missiology Britannica