A series by Wim Kamphorst

From Every Nation

Christians from Asia, Africa, the Americas and Oceania who carried the gospel in their own countries. Facts first, with the sources.

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.Revelation 7:9

From their own countries

Who carried it

When people think of the great names of the Christian faith, they often think of Europe and America. Of Luther and Wesley, of Spurgeon and Moody, of missionaries who left for India or Africa with a suitcase and a Bible. Many well-known collections of Christian biographies are mainly about Westerners too. Even the books about missionaries usually tell the story of people who went from the West to the rest of the world.

But the gospel did not stop with the missionaries. It was taken up by people who were born there. A Sikh in the north of India put on a saffron robe and walked into the mountains. A learned woman from a Brahmin family brought starving girls home in bullock carts. A Javanese teacher placed his chair next to that of the missionary, at the same height. A Liberian walked barefoot along the coast, and tens of thousands of people asked to be baptized.

This book is about them.

The card index

Who you will meet

Each story stands on its own. Start with someone you know, or with someone you have never heard of.

Volume 1 · Eight Christians from Asia and Africa, from Kiai Sadrach to Janani Luwum

Volume 1Nr. 1
Kiai Sadrach
ca. 1835-1924 · Karangjasa, Java
The Javanese man who sat down beside the missionary.
Read the story
Volume 1Nr. 2
Pandita Ramabai
1858-1922 · Kedgaon, India
The scholar who came back with oxcarts.
Read the story
Volume 1Nr. 3
William Wadé Harris
ca. 1860-1929 · Ivory Coast and Gold Coast
The barefoot prophet.
Read the story
Volume 1Nr. 4
Josephine Bakhita
ca. 1869-1947 · Darfur and Schio
The slave who chose her Master.
Read the story
Volume 1Nr. 5
Gil Sun-ju
1869-1935 · Pyongyang, Korea
The man who prayed before daybreak.
Read the story
Volume 1Nr. 6
Sundar Singh
1889-1929? · Punjab and the Himalayas
The sadhu in the yellow robe.
Read the story
Volume 1Nr. 7
John Sung
1901-1944 · China and Southeast Asia
The doctor who threw his diplomas into the sea.
Read the story
Volume 1Nr. 8
Janani Luwum
1922-1977 · Uganda
The shepherd who stood firm.
Read the story

Volume 2 · Eight Christians from Africa, Asia and Latin America, from Samuel Ajayi Crowther to Luis Palau

Volume 2Nr. 9
Samuel Ajayi Crowther
ca. 1807-1891 · Nigeria
The boy from the slave ship who became a bishop.
Read the story
Volume 2Nr. 10
Toyohiko Kagawa
1888-1960 · Kobe, Japan
The student who moved into the slums on Christmas Eve.
Read the story
Volume 2Nr. 11
Ju Ki-cheol
1897-1944 · Pyongyang, Korea
The pastor who would not bow.
Read the story
Volume 2Nr. 12
Watchman Nee
1903-1972 · Shanghai, China
The night watchman of Shanghai.
Read the story
Volume 2Nr. 13
Bakht Singh
1903-2000 · Hyderabad, India
The Sikh who tore up the Bible.
Read the story
Volume 2Nr. 14
Festo Kivengere
1919-1988 · Kigezi, Uganda
The bishop who loved Idi Amin.
Read the story
Volume 2Nr. 15
Óscar Romero
1917-1980 · San Salvador, El Salvador
The bishop who spoke the names on Sunday.
Read the story
Volume 2Nr. 16
Luis Palau
1934-2021 · Argentina
The bank clerk who preached to Latin America.
Read the story

Volume 3 · Eight Christians from four continents, from Samson Occom to Hassan Dehqani-Tafti

Volume 3Nr. 17
Samson Occom
1723-1792 · Mohegan, Connecticut
The Mohegan who never stopped seeking his own people.
Read the story
Volume 3Nr. 18
Joeli Bulu
ca. 1810-1877 · Tonga and Fiji
The man who wanted to live among the stars.
Read the story
Volume 3Nr. 19
David Unaipon
1872-1967 · Raukkan, South Australia
The inventor who said “look at me”.
Read the story
Volume 3Nr. 20
Isidore Bakanja
ca. 1885-1909 · Busira, Congo
The young man who would not take off his scapular.
Read the story
Volume 3Nr. 21
Francisco Olazábal
1886-1937 · Mexico and Texas
The Aztec who started his own church.
Read the story
Volume 3Nr. 22
Wang Mingdao
1900-1991 · Beijing, China
The iron son who fell and rose again.
Read the story
Volume 3Nr. 23
Son Yang-won
1902-1950 · Yeosu, Korea
The father who gave his sons' killer a home.
Read the story
Volume 3Nr. 24
Hassan Dehqani-Tafti
1920-2008 · Isfahan, Iran
The bishop who prayed for his son’s murderers.
Read the story

On the map

From New England to Fiji

All of them people of their own countries. Click a place for the story.

Kiai SadrachKarangjasa, Java: a Javanese Christian community from about 1870
Pandita RamabaiKedgaon, India: Mukti, a home for widows and girls
William Wadé HarrisIvory Coast and Gold Coast: the walk along the coast, 1913 to 1915
Josephine BakhitaDarfur and Schio: abducted in Darfur, a sister in Schio in Italy
Gil Sun-juPyongyang, Korea: the Jangdaehyeon church and early morning prayer
Sundar SinghPunjab and the Himalayas: a wandering sadhu in the mountains
John SungChina and Southeast Asia: evangelist from Peking to Surabaya
Janani LuwumUganda: archbishop from 1974
Samuel Ajayi CrowtherNigeria: Abeokuta and the Niger
Toyohiko KagawaKobe, Japan: the Shinkawa slum
Ju Ki-cheolPyongyang, Korea: the Sanjunghyun church
Watchman NeeShanghai, China: the local churches
Bakht SinghHyderabad, India: Indian churches without Western leadership
Festo KivengereKigezi, Uganda: bishop of Kigezi
Óscar RomeroSan Salvador, El Salvador: archbishop from 1977
Luis PalauArgentina: from Buenos Aires to the world
Samson OccomMohegan, Connecticut: born near New London, later Brothertown
Joeli BuluTonga and Fiji: to Fiji in 1838
David UnaiponRaukkan, South Australia: born at Point McLeay (Raukkan)
Isidore BakanjaBusira, Congo: a servant on a rubber plantation
Francisco OlazábalMexico and Texas: evangelist among Spanish speakers
Wang MingdaoBeijing, China: the Christian Tabernacle from 1937
Son Yang-wonYeosu, Korea: pastor to the lepers at Aeyangwon
Hassan Dehqani-TaftiIsfahan, Iran: bishop in Iran from 1961

Timeline

From 1723 to 2021

One moment from each life, in the order of time.

1772
Samson Occom (1723-1792)
The sermon at the execution of Moses Paul. A Mohegan who kept seeking his own people.
1838
Joeli Bulu (ca. 1810-1877)
To Fiji with Tongan teachers. A Tongan who wanted to live among the stars.
1864
Samuel Ajayi Crowther (ca. 1807-1891)
Consecrated the first African Anglican bishop. A boy from the slave ship who became a bishop.
1870
Kiai Sadrach (ca. 1835-1924)
Begins a Christian community in Karangjasa. A Javanese teacher on a chair of equal height.
1889
Josephine Bakhita (ca. 1869-1947)
Declared free in Venice. A slave who received her freedom in Venice.
1904
Sundar Singh (1889-1929?)
The vision in his father’s house. A sadhu who walked into the mountains and did not come back.
1905
Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922)
Revival at Mukti. A woman with bullock carts in the famine years.
1907
Gil Sun-ju (1869-1935)
The Pyongyang revival. An elder who prayed before it was light.
1909
Toyohiko Kagawa (1888-1960)
Moves into Shinkawa on Christmas Eve. A student who moved into the slums on Christmas Eve.
1909
David Unaipon (1872-1967)
Patent for his shearing handpiece. An inventor who said: look at me.
1909
Isidore Bakanja (ca. 1885-1909)
Flogged for his scapular. A young man on a plantation who would not take off his scapular.
1913
William Wadé Harris (ca. 1860-1929)
Begins his walk along the coast of West Africa. A prophet with bare feet.
1923
Francisco Olazábal (1886-1937)
The Concilio Latino Americano founded. An Aztec who started his own church.
1929
Bakht Singh (1903-2000)
Conversion in Canada. A Sikh who tore up the Bible.
1939
John Sung (1901-1944)
Preaches in the Dutch East Indies. A doctor who threw his diplomas into the sea.
1939
Ju Ki-cheol (1897-1944)
The sermon on five prayers. A pastor who would not bow.
1947
Luis Palau (1934-2021)
Conversion at a summer camp (1946 or 1947). A bank clerk who spoke to a continent.
1948
Son Yang-won (1902-1950)
Adopts the killer of his sons. A father who gave the killer of his sons a home.
1952
Watchman Nee (1903-1972)
Arrested, twenty years in prison. The night watchman of Shanghai.
1955
Wang Mingdao (1900-1991)
Arrested, then more than twenty years in prison. An iron son who fell and stood up again.
1977
Janani Luwum (1922-1977)
Killed under Idi Amin. An archbishop who stood his ground.
1977
Festo Kivengere (1919-1988)
Flees after the death of Janani Luwum. A bishop who loved his enemy.
1980
Óscar Romero (1917-1980)
Killed during Mass. An archbishop who read out the names on Sunday.
1980
Hassan Dehqani-Tafti (1920-2008)
The murder of his son Bahram. A bishop who prayed for the murderers of his son.