I am a retired teacher who wrote 7 photocopiable books for Teachers and one book for children Union Jack Colouring Book.
The 7books covered Geography, History (Medieval/ Tudor/ Stuart), Travel and Transport, Myself and Events (this included diaries), Race Against Time Stories (SATS based), Church Dates for Children plus Nature and Seasons (including Sport). These 7 books have been mainly broken into a number of segments.
Challenging the Physical Elements, my Geography book, is complete.
I am a retired teacher who wrote 7 photocopiable books for Teachers and one book for children Union Jack Colouring Book.
The 7books covered Geography, History (Medieval/ Tudor/ Stuart), Travel and Transport, Myself and Events (this included diaries), Race Against Time Stories (SATS based), Church Dates for Children plus Nature and Seasons (including Sport). These 7 books have been mainly broken into a number of segments.
Challenging the Physical Elements, my Geography book, is complete.
Dr. Hyung -Ja Lee is the chairperson of Torch Trinity Graduate University in South Korea.
She was brought up by Christian parents and when she was only 6 she had an unusual experience. She saw a shining light that felt she was in a world of fantasy. It showered upon her face and filled her sight. The sunbeam was absolutely beautiful - she never forgot the experience.
During her senior high schooldays her relationship with the Lord grew.
In her second year at college whilst studying oriental painting she stepped in front of a bus and suffered serious injuries. It took 6 months to recover but surre from tiredness. Whilst at college she met Soon-Young Choi and married him following graduation. After 4 years of marriage first her mother, then her mother-in-law died and she became depressed.
With her husband’s business also suffering they turned to prayer. They prayed together from 4am in the morning for hours. Their worries disappeared. If her husband had a problem he would ask her to pray into the problem -her prayers were answered and his business flourished.
In 1977 an indescribable force overpowered Hyung-Ja. A voice was heard . Light the torch! This was a call to a new direction of ministry. The Korean Center for World Missions was formed.
Where were they to meet? In a pre-dawn prayer time Hyung-Ja was shown a vision of a building. Through prayer she asked how big it should be. It grew to 63 floors! Ony 20 storey buildings were allowed on Yeoido Island. President Park said, ‘No’.
The president was assassinated. The building law was changed. Permission was granted. Three and a half years later it was built- 60 floors above ground, 3 beneath the building -63 in total -the 63 building, shaped like a pair of hands, it is a symbol of spiritual triumph. ( now such a tall building is not allowed in Seoul)
63 building was originally named Torch Trinity Graduate School of Theology. It is now Torch Trinity Graduate University’s academic building.
Dr. Hyung-Ja Lee is their inspirational chairperson . She believes Torch Trinity can reach the 12,000 unreached people groups that make up the 2 billion of the Earth’s population.
Sources used
Ambassadors for Christ - Editor J.D. Woodbridge contribution by David Kim
wikipedia Torch Trinity Graduate University
Saint Lawrence (or Laurence) is one of the most venerated Roman martyrs. He was born in Spain and went to work for the future Pope Sixtus11 in Rome. He was ordained as a deacon to work in the cathedral. He was appointed first deacon among the 7 deacons. (deacons are responsible for looking after the poor - the indigent)
He was the archdeacon of Rome a position of great trust which included the care of the treasury and riches of the church.
August 258 the Roman emperor Valerian sent out an edict that all bishops, priests and deacons should be killed. On August 8th Pope Sixtus 11 was executed.
The prefect of Rome asked Saint Lawrence to hand over the riches of the church. Saint Lawrence asked for and was granted three days to collect the riches. Instead of collecting the riches he distributed the riches/alms amongst the indigent, crippled, blind and suffering. One account suggests that he told the prefect * The church is truly rich, far richer than the emperor.* For his defiance, Lawrence the last of the 7 deacons - the ranking church official, was martyred.
In those days to be martyred you were normally beheaded. ** Legend ** has it the prefect was so angry with Saint Lawrence that he had a great gridiron prepared with hot coals underneath and Saint Lawrence was burnt alive . In pain the dying saint declared *I am roasted enough on this side; turn me over and eat
Saint Lawrence became famous. He is the patron saint for cooks, chefs and comedians. King Philip 11 of Spain had his great palace built in the shape of a grid iron.
There are over 200 churches dedicated to Saint Lawrence. There has been a Saint Lawrence church in Reading, Berkshire since 1196.
Sources used wikipedia, youronlinechoices
* The Church’s Year* by Charles Alexander
Dieumeme was given this name by mistake! His father thought it meant ’ Gift of God ’ the correct translation is ’ God himself '.
Dieumeme is proof that it is possible, through faith, to climb to the top of the mountain. He is now the president of the Caribbean Evangelical Theological Association (CETA). He is the Professor of Theological Ethics;Vernon Ground Chair of Pastoral Ministry and Social Ethics at Denver( Conservative Baptist) Seminary.
He was born into an illiterate Christian Haiti family. He wanted to learn how to read. His sister made a starling offer she would sell her rooster to make it possible for him to go to school.
Aged 13 he placed his faith in Christ during a vacation Bible School. He entered an Unevangelized Fields Mission for 5 years. This was one year short for sitting the Baccalaureate 1 exams. So 4 of them self tutored themselves in their fifth year. Dieumeme , with 2 others, passed the exam 1 and he passed exam 2.
His older brother had gone into the ministry. Seeing how poorly it paid he decided to study law. He completed 3 out of the 4 year course. Whilst there he worked at the Christian Radio Lumiere. He impressed Dr. Harold Merchant who offered to sponsor him going to the USA to study the Bible at Detroit Bible College. He agreed to go.
In Detroit he fell in love with theology and then Gloria Charleston.Shortly after graduation in 1979 he married Gloria.
They moved to Deerfield. They began to work with the Haitian community and in !982 they launched the Haitian Evangelical Baptist Church. (please read the rest of column 2 and columns 3 and 4 of the notes from * Ambassadors for Christ *.
The Caribbean eventually got their dean. Being fluent in English, French, Creole and Spanish he was ideally prepared for a Caribbean -wide education role.
The sale of the rooster by his sister turned out to be one of the soundest investments ever made.
Sources used *Ambassadors for Christ * - contribution from Harry Genet
Denver Seminary CETA
Saint Christopher is a Christian martyr saint of the third century.
Christopher in Greek means ’ child bearer.
Christopher is often shown carrying a child on his shoulder. The legend is that Saint Christopher offered to carry a small child across a river. As they moved into the water the child became increasingly heavy. On reaching the other side he learns that he had just carried upon his back the world and Him who created it.
It is uncertain which of two Roman emperors were responsible for his death by beheading. Two emperors have very similar names Decius (reigned 249-251 ) and Maximinux 11 Dacian (reigned 308-313)
As a result of his famous legend of carrying the boy Jesus Saint Christopher is the patron saint of travellers. Many people as a result wear a Saint Christopher pendant image around their neck.
Please note that Saint Christopher’s name was dropped from the Roman Catholic Church’s calendar in 1969 so his feast day is nolonger obligatory.
Sources wikipedia and The encyclopedia of Saints by Howard Loxton.
Saint Lambert was born in Maastricht, now Holland, in the seventh century.
His parents are thought to have been Apre, lord of Liege, and his wife Herisplende. He was educated by Landoald the archpriest of the city.
He is described by early biographers as a prudent young man of pleasing looks, courteous and well-behaved in his speech and manners, well built, strong, a good fighter, clear headed, affectionate, pure and humble and fond of reading.
He was a protege of his uncle Theodard, the bishop of Maastricht. When Theodard was murdered in c.669 the councilors of Childeric made Saint Lambert the next bishop. He remained bishop until he was martyred in c705 except for the 7 years in exile when he had been driven from his see for supporting King Childeric who Ebroin had murdered in 675.
Saint Lambert lost his life during the political turmoil that developed when various families fought for dominance with the Merovingian dynasty giving way to the Carolingians. Saint Lambert, with others, was surrounded. He refused to defend himself and was killed.
Date of martyrdom sometime c 705-709.
He is considered a martyr for his defence of marriage fidelity. He denounced Pepin’s liaison with his mistress Alpaida, who was the mother of Charles Martel.
The present day Cathedral of Our Lady and Saint Lambert in Liege was built in his honour. Saint Lambert’s tomb is located in the Cathedral. Saint Lambert is the patron saint of city of Liege.
Sources used Wikipedia * The Church’s Year* by Charles Alexander
Samuel was born in Michigan on April 12th 1867, the thirteenth of fifteen children. His parents were Adriaan and Catherina Boon Zwemer. His father was Reform Church pastor. Both father and son attended Hope College, Holland Michigan. 5 other brothers also became pastors.
After his college days he attended a seminary in New Brunswich, New Jersey. Samuel and his friend James Cantine had the idea of doing missionary work in Arabia.
The mission Board gave them a negative response but they still proceeded with the idea. Samuel was ordained on May 29th 1890.
He saw Arabia for the first time in January 1891. He was a missionary at Busrah, Bahrein and other locations in Arabia from 1891-1905. He was a member of the Arabian Mission from 1890-1913. He was the founder of the American Mission hospital in Bahrain. He rode camels across the hot deserts of Arabia to bring the Gospel to the Muslims.
He founded the * Moslem World*, published quarterly, in 1911. He not only edited it for 35 years but also covered much of the funding out of his own pocket. He saw the printed page as * the leaves for the healing of the nations.
He moved to Egypt for 16 years 1913-1929.
From 1929 -1937, he was professor of missions and professor of religion at Princeton Theological College Seminary.
1937, now aged 70, he retired from active work but carried on writing. He lived to the age of 84 and died in New York City.
His legacy is that through the work of the Student Volunteer Movement, which he was strongly connected to*, 14,000 young men went out to the mission field.* . There is also the enormous volume of work he wrote.
Sources wikipedia
* Ambassadors for Christ* contribution from James Dretke
Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions
Saint Remigius was the bishop Reims for 70 years.
There are three main stories about Saint Remigius.
The first is that when the people of Reims were looking for the next bishop that the a ray of light from a window fell on him. He was aged 21/2 at the time.
The second is that Saint Reminguis, with Queen Clotible tried to persuade King Clovis to become a Christian. He said he would change his faith if he won his next battle. He won the battle and on Christmas Day 496, he and 3,000 franks were baptized. King Clovis then helped Saint Remigius to convert many heathen and Arians or heretic Christians.
The third story is about vials. The baptism of Moribund pagan was delayed because there was no oil of the Catechumens or sacred Chrism available. Saint Remigius took empty vials and prayed -miraculous they were filled. Years later when the sepulcher was opened in the reign of Charles the Bald two vials were found!
Sources wikipedia
The Church’s Year by Charles Alexander
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
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux was one of the most influential churchmen of his time.
He was a man who by personality and goodness of character, rather than by his position, influenced kings.
Both his parents died whilst he was still young.His father Tecelin was killed on a crusade. His mother Aleth died in 1107. He claimed his mother’s death led him towards his ’ long path to complete conversion '.
Saint Bernard decided he wanted to become a monk. He entered the Citeaux monastery with 30 other youths of noble rank. The monks of Citeaux and its daughter monasteries were called Cistercians.
In 1115 Saint Stephen Harding appointed him abbot of Clairvaux . Aided by 11 others it became a celebrated abbey. The monastic rule he perfected at Clairvaux became the model for 163 monasteries of the Cistercian reform. He became the most conspicuous figure in the history of the 12th century. He founded numerous abbeys.
For 10 years Saint Bernard had a penchant for penitential practices and as a result was plagued by poor health -anemia, migraine, gastritis hypertension and a poor sense of taste.
He was most active between 1130 and 1145. He was the confidant for 5 popes.
He was mediator and councilor for several civil and ecclesiastical councils and theological debate during 7 years of papal disunity.
Saint Bernard was given the task to promote the Second Crusade (1147-9). It ended unfortunately in failure.
Saint Bernard was loved and respected by everyone.
He died on the 20th August 1174.
Sources used Britannica, Catholic 0nline and *The Church’s Year * by Charles Alexander
Saint Bartholomew was one of the original disciples that Jesus choose. He lived in the First century AD. He was with Jesus throughout his ministry and at Pentecost (Acts ch 2v13). What happened afterwards no one is certain.
There is a story that 100 years after his death there was found, in India, a copy of the Gospel of Matthew, which had been handed down by people made Christian
by Saint Bartholomew. (India, in those days was a word used for many countries)
It is said he was martyred at Albanopolis in Armenia.
In Art he is commonly depicted with a beard and curly hair.
Legends suggest when he was martyred he was skinned alive and then beheaded. (See pictures of paintings)
St. Barts hospital, founded by Rahere following his pilgrimage to Rome, in London is named after him.
Scholars are unsure whether he is called Nathaniel in Saint John’s gospel because John does not mention Bartholomew among the disciples he mentions by name.
In the Synoptic gospels - Matthew, Mark and Luke - he is mentioned by name when the 12 disciples are listed… Matthew ch10 v1-4, Mark ch 3 v13-19 Luke ch 6 v12-16.
Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip,**** Bartholomew***, Thomas, Matthew, James -son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the zealot and Judas Iscariot.
John, in his Gospel, does not list the 12. In chapter 1 we read of Jesus choosing some of his disciples -Peter and Andrew - and Philip and Nathaniel. Nathaniel’s name is mentioned 4 times in chapter 1 v45-49. Many scholars think Bartholomew and Nathaniel are the same person.
The paintings I have included on the Saint Nathaniel sheet has a mixture of Bartholomew and Nathaniel!
Sources used The Church’s Year by Charles Alexander, wyclipedia, Britannica
Saint Giles, also known as Saint Giles the Hermit, lived in the 7th century.
There are many legends about him but there are very few facts.
It is thought he was borne in Athens, Greece and was originally called Aegidus.
He sailed to France where he stayed in the Provence and Septimania.
The Legenda Aurea links him with Arles where he withdrew into a forest, near Nimes, where he spent many years in solitude as a hermit. He befriended a deer which was being chased by the kings hunters. The hunters shot their arrows at the deer and one of the arrows injured Saint Giles. Many of the paintings of Saint Giles shows him holding a deer with an arrow in his and.
Saint Giles as a result became the patron saint of the physically disabled, lepers, cripples and beggars.
The king, according to legend, was Wamba. He built a monastery for Saint Giles who placed it under Benedictine rule. Saint Giles became the abbot and lived there for nearly 50 years. The town of St Gilles grew up round the monastery.
Information about the town of St. Gilles and the St. Giles fair in Oxford.
Sources
wikipedia
The Church’s Year Charles Alexander
Encyclopedia of saints by Howard Loxton
St. Gilles in the Languedoc
Victor Landro’s life changed dramatically in 1956.
Before 1956 he had been handed a Bible, but he could not read! Victor through a set of remarkable circumstances met Eliecer Benavides, a recent graduate from Bible college. Between learning to read the Bible and listening to Elicer’s explanation he committed his life to Christ.
Victor had been a farmer who owned a tavern come house of prostitution.
He employed 3 prostitutes and lived with 3 women and his 5 children.
He led his whole family to Christ. He married the mother of his 5 children. The tavern became a general store. He established a thriving small church on his farm. He then persuaded his brothers to buy out his portion of the farm.
With this money he moved to Corozalito. From Corozalito he took the message to many villages and farms throughout the region. Within a few years dozens of churches or small congregations sprung up in the forest and rural areas. He did this for 15 successful years.
He decided to move his family into the Catio territory. Here he had to master the Indian dialect and build up a relationship with this new group. His witness to this group was just as fervent as with his Spanish friends. He was only able to so seeds.
!5 years of success were followed by 15+ years of frustration.
30+ years of faithfulness. Victor said he will spend the rest of his life among these Indians.
Chapter 5 from True stories of God at work in Columbia where Victor follows up his dream in an unbelievable true story. (See chapter)
Victor has been faithful to the trust placed in his humble hands.
The 3 articles I have included are either written by, or contributed to, by David Morris Howard.
Ambassadors for Christ David wrote the chapter about Victor
Sample chapter David adds a comment
Victor’s Tale David wrote the article
Between 1982-1992 he was the International Director of World Evangelical Fellowship.
Saint Cyprian of Carthage was a bishop of Carthage in the third century. He was brought up in a rich, heathen family and became a lawyer. Apparently he enjoyed arguing with Christian converts. Middle aged (35) he was converted and became a Christian ( See Early life to read his thoughts about his conversion and baptism) .
In 249, three years after his conversion, he became bishop of Carthage having first served as a deacon and priest.
When Christian persecution by the Emperor Decius in 250 broke out he left the city. Some thought him a coward but he quoted Scripture to them. On his return he quickly built up a Christian community. He treated with justice and mercy those who had been frightened by the threats of the persecutors and had given up their faith. ( See * Bishop during the Decian persecution and Contested election as bishop )*.
In 256 a new persecution of Christians broke out under Emperor Valerian. Pope Sixtus 11 was executed in Rome. Saint Cyprian was brought before the Roman proconsul Aspasius Paternus . He refused to sacrifice to the pagan deities and firmly professed Christ. In 257 he was banished to Korba. A year later he was recalled and house bound. On September 13th, 258 he was imprisoned by the new proconsul, Galerius Maximus. On the 14th he was beheaded by the sword.
He had become a notable Christian writer and many of his Latin works still exist. Saint Cyprian’s works were edited in volumes 3 and 4 of the* Patrologia Latina.(See Writings ) His skillful rhetoric led to him being considered the
pre-eminent Latin writer of Western Christianity of his day.
In my research I found two accounts about his martyrdom. Both contain the trial and conversation between Saint Cyprian and the governor Galerius Maximus. I have included both - it is incredible how much has survived approximately over nearly 1800 years ago.
His martyrdom at Carthage established his reputation and proved his sanctity in the eyes of the church.
There is another Cyprian - Cyprian of Antioch who was reputedly a magician before his conversion.
Sources used Wikipedia
The Church’s Year by Charles Alexander
Britannica Online Encyclopedia
Crossroads Initiative
Theodore (Ted) Wilhelm Engstrom was the head of Youth for Christ and World Vision International. He was an evangelical leader, author of 50 books and known for instructing churches, ministries and other non-profit organizations how to apply business ideas and achieve financial aid. He was one of the founding architects of the Evangelical council for Financial Accountability.
Lela Gilbert in Ambassadors of Christ (A of C) looks at his first eighty years- he lived to the age of 90. His parents faith set a profound example for him as a youngster. It was as a freshman at college, on April 1st 1935, he had a ‘dramatic’ conversion which he never forgot. It launched his own dynamic and unique ministry.
He started his own printing business. He married Dorothy in 1940 and moved to Michigan where he was eventually promoted to general manager of Zondervan Publishing House.
In 1947, while employed by Zondervan, he became the local director of Youth for Christ International. Ted directed the 10 day crusade; Billy Graham - then a little known evangelist- conducted the crusade. This was the beginning of a life long friendship.
In 1948, whilst attending a World Congress of Evangelism, he had a second encounter with Jesus. This resulted In 1951 with him focusing his immense communications ability on a different front- evangelism. He resigned from Zondervan and became executive director of Youth for Christ International.
In this role he visited more than 60 nations and preached at rallies in most of the world’s major cities.
In 1963, a chance meeting with World Vision founder Bob Pierce, convinced him to join the then struggling World Vision. Ted eventually, sometimes reluctantly, sorted out the management and financial problems. As executive vice president (19 years) and later president (1982-7 ) he turned a small Christian agency into one of the World’s largest. ( Budget for 2007 was $2.6 billion).
During his life time he received many honours. World Vision President Dean R. Hirch said *His ability to integrate the Gospel with every day life was absolutely inspiring. Dr. Ted made work and faith walk together. *
The evangelical community today has lost one of the most influential leaders of the past 50 years. Richard E. Stearns president of World Vision
Ted most certainly did not squander his own lifetime. *He gathered and collected his best gifts over the years and has generously shared them with the world.
Lela Gilbert
Included information about Youth for Christ International (YFCI)
and World Vision International
Sources used Ambassadors for Christ
wikipedia
Christianity for Today
Christian News Wire
Saint Theodore was Archbishop of Canterbury from 668-690. He came from the same city as Saint Paul but nearly 600 years later.He became famous late in life because very little is known about him until he became Archbishop of Canterbury. He was 66 when he accepted the appointment from Pope Saint Vitalian.
He probably spent many years living in the monastery of Anastasius in Rome
He was learned in Latin and Greek, in literature and philosophy.
Saint Theodore was not the first choice for archbishop. A person called Wighard was chosen first but he died soon after reaching Rome. Adrian, also spelt Hadrian, the African Abbot of a monastery near Naples, was the second choice.
He turned it down and recommended Saint Theodore who was a friend of Pope Vitalian. The Pope stipulated that Adrian should accompany Saint Theodore since he had twice already made the journey to Gaul and knew the road and the mode of travelling. Saint Theodore reached England at the end of May 669.
In his 22 years in charge he set about organizing the English church. When he arrived the Church of England was hardly organized at all. He started a tour round England and found bishoprics empty and made new ones. He let it be seen that the Archbishop of Canterbury was in charge of the whole church. he set up schools at Canterbury. Canterbury became known as a place of learning.
In 672 or 3 he held the first general synod of the English Church at Hertford to end certain Celtic practices and to divide dioceses. It marked another step forward in the efficient organization of the church. Here he suggested the policy of subdividing the big bishoprics based on the land occupied by different tribes and people, not on kingdoms. The division issue was postponed but the synod imposed the date of the Roman Easter, established obedience for clerics and monks, stopped bishops from interfering in other diocese and reaffirmed the church teaching on marriage and divorce
Saint Theodore’s * Penitential* a collection on rulings created by his followers, influenced the church in both England and Europe. His greatest achievement was to adapt the Roman ideal of a centralized church in English conditions.
Saint Theodore was 88 when he died. He was archbishop for 22 years, the 7th Archbishop of Canterbury and the first to rule the whole English Church.
His establishment of a centralized church under the archbishopric of Canterbury, in close alliance with secular rulers, has been maintained by his successors.
Saint Theodore was a gentle and affectionate man but is remembered chiefly because he was a good organizer and manager of men.
Included information about Adrian/ Hadrian.
Sources Wikipedia
Britannica on Line Encyclopedia
Archdiocese of Thyateira & Great Britain
* The Church’s Year* by Charles Alexander
Peter Cartwright, Jr. better known as simply Peter Cartwright was an American Methodist revivalist minister of the nineteenth century. He was also a twice elected legislator for Illinois.
The Cartwright family in 1793 settled in Logan County, Tennessee. As a youngster he helped his family survive the severe conditions of frontier life. He relaxed by horse racing, card playing and dancing.
Aged 16 he went forward at ecumenical revival held at a Presbyterian church. He prayed for mercy. (Read his conversion story in his own words from his Autobiography The Backwoods Preacher.) - ‘thy sins are all forgiven thee .’)
He immediately joined the Methodist church and began speaking in local services. 1802 ,aged 19, he was granted an exhorters license and hit the road as an itinerant preacher - salary $80 a year. (Read - The itinerant preacher)
In 1808 he married Frances Gaines - a strong and independent woman. They had a warm and hospitable home. They had 9 children, only one did not reach reach adulthood.
In 1823 decided to move: in 1824 they moved and stayed in Illinois for the rest of their lives.
.
In 1824 he became involved in politics. In 1832 his opposition was Abraham Lincoln and he won. 1861-5 saw Lincoln as president.
( Read politics and education)
He served as a presiding elder for over 50 years and saw the numbers in the Methodist church soar from 72,784 to 1,756, 000 members. Fantastic growth.
He was referred to affectionately as ’ Uncle Pete ’ in his later years but he remained faithful to his calling of preaching the Gospel whenever the need arose.
Sources used
Wikipedia
Ambassadors for Christ contribution from Doug Sweeney
Britannica Online Encyclopedia
Ira Sankey was a solid respectable civil , with a local reputation for musical talent, when a friend encouraged him to liven up an opening day convention being run by the evangellst Dwight L. Moody at Indianapolis in June 1870. A well intentioned singer was singing a hymn not in the most enlighten way. Ira got up and began to sing. He sang the first verse - There is a fountain - and the congregation were so transfixed they did not join in the chorus.
At the end of the service and Dwight came over to him and said, I have been looking for you for eight years. This came as a shock to Ira. 6 months later he became an itinerant evangelist.
Before this happened Ira had served in the American Civil War. He had often helped the unit chaplain and led his fellow soldiers in singing hymns. After the war he joined the Internal Revenue service and worked with the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA
A partnership was formed which would last nearly 40 years. Within 3 years they were internationally famous.* Sankey would sing the gospel and Moody preached it.* Sankey’s untrained sweet baritone voice was a major ingredient in their success.
They came to the U.K. in 1973 to start an evangelistic tour. They left in the summer of 1875. Unknown when they arrived they quickly became the centre of religious revival. Through use of publicity and hard toil of a grinding schedule the two became a national sensation. A tour of the major USA cities followed. Huge audiences filled the auditoriums.
The notes I have read say that MILLIONS flocked to hear Moody’s simple but moving sermons and Sankey’s stirring gospel songs. They had the power between them to move both skeptics and admirers alike.
Ira wrote a great number of hymnals; the sales totaled over 50 million copies. Much of his wealth was given to Methodist and Moody projects. i
Where ever they went, on both side of the Atlantic, huge audiences filled each auditorium to hear the most famous preacher of their age and his equally famous music partner.
The combination of Preacher and Singer/song writer proved to be a great evangelical success.
I have included 3 brief histories.
Ambassadors for Christ contribution from Margaret Bendroth.
Wikipedia
Joyce Meyer is an American Charismatic Christian author and speaker.
She was ‘born again’ when she was only nine years of age.
In 1976, whilst driving to work reported that she heard call her name. Later that day, after a beauty appointment ’ full of liquid love ’ , she was ’ drunk with the Spirit of God ’ that evening whilst at a at a loyal bowling alley.
She is president of Joyce Meyer Ministries.
She can be seen regularly seen and heard on television and u-tube.
Joyce is an outstanding Christian preacher and has written over 25 books.
If you want more information go to her web sites.
Karl Friedrich Augustus Gutzlaff ( anglicized Charles Gutzlaff) was a German Lutheran Missionary to the Far East. He was one of the first Protestant missionaries in Bangkok, Thailand and Korea. He was the first Lutheran missionary in China.
In 1820 a seventeen old Karl wrote an emotional poem of homage to King Frederick William 111 . Karl and a friend threw a welcoming poem into the emperor’s carriage.The king was so impressed he decreed Karl should receive a scholarship to continues his education. Karl stopped being an apprentice to a girdlemaker/saddler in Stettin and accepted the scholarship. The career of one of the most important Protestant missionaries was launched.
His conversion happened in 1821. One night he had a profound sense of sin which threw into mental anguish. He cried out for God’s forgiveness. It came to him dramatically transforming his life. From this time he was determined to serve God as a foreign missionary. The Netherlands Missionary Society accepted him as a candidate in 1823… He studied in Rotterdam . These studies included elementary medical studies. Continued study and years of of successful practice earned him the title of Dr. Gutzlaff. He also found he had an extraordinary ability to learn languages
He was one of the first protestant missionaries to wear Chinese clothing - see picture.
He was a brilliant linguist and translator. In th 1830’s he acted as interpreter on the ships with an assurance it would allow him to gather more converts. In 1833 he founded the* Chinese Magazine*.He worked, in co-operation with three others, from 1840 on a Chinese translation of the Bible. The translation was completed in 1847. H e founded a school for ’ native missionaries '- Chinese Union- nearly 50 Chinese were trained during the first 4 years.
He left a mixed legacy. He had trusted his native Bible distributors to hand out his material. They wrote/told great stories of conversions and New Testaments sold, In the late 1840’s he reported enthusiastically 2,781 converts and thousands of testaments distributed making traditional missionaries look bad to find out it was a lie .He learned whilst some of his native missionaries were genuine converts others were opium addicts !!! They were selling the books back to the printers who in turn sold them back to Karl!. Some even used it as a cover for opium sales. He eventually learned this at a cost to his reputation and health.
He died on 9th of August 1851 in Hong Kong where he was also buried.
His legacy is the Chinese Evangelization Society which lived on. It sent Hudson Taylor, who founded the China Inland Mission, to say Gutzlaff the grandfather of the China Inland Mission.
Sources used
Ambassadors for Christ
Wikipedia
1801-1900 Church History Timeline
BDCC
The legacy of karl F.A, Gutziaff Jessie g. Lutz (page 1 of 3)
Saint Jerome was born about 342 in Dalmatia, now Yugoslavia. His parents were Christians and sent Jerome, aged 12, to finish his education in Rome
He is famous for translating the BIble into Latin. The Old Testament is in Hebrew; the New testament in Greek .
When he grew up he decided to travel. With friends he travelled through Greece to Asia Minor. At Antioch two of his friends died and Jerome became very ill. He had a vision that led him to leave behind his secular studies and devote himself to God. On his recovery he decided he decided hie future was to study theology or read about things written about God.
On the outskirts In Antioch there were many hermits, living by themselves and spending time in prayer and study i. He joined them and set about mastering the Hebrew language under the guidance of a converted Jew.
In 378/9 he returned to Antioch. Jerome agreed to be ordained by Bishop Paulinus on condition he could continue hermit life style. He then went to Constantinople to study under Gregory Nazianzen.
Pope Damasus 1 asked him to go to Rome. He set him the daunting task of revising and adding to the translation of the Bible into Latin, the common language of those times… The translations were a massive task which took years to complete.
The Latin Bible or Vulgate has a great deal of Jerome’s translations.
Pope Damasus 1 died in 384. Jerome left Rome for good in August 385.
In the summer of 388 he went to Palestine where he spent the rest of his working life in a cave near Bethlehem surrounded by a few friends. He acted as their priestly guide and teacher whilst he led a life of incessantly active on literacy production. Those 32 years years of his career belong to the most important of his works -including his version of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew text, his scriptural comments and his catalogue of Christian authors.
Saint Jerome’s life was given to learning languages ( Latin, Hebrew and Greek) and writing so that people could read the Bible in their own language knowing translations had been very carefully made using original sources…
Included information about the Vulgate and the Septuagint.
Sources used Wikipedia
Britannica online Encyclopedia
THe Church’s Year by Charles Alexander