Just a few Heroes that Made a difference!
At the age of only five in 1726 when his parents escaped Moravia because of religious persecution they joined a group of other Moravia Brethren who had found safety and refuge on the estate of Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf in Germany. As the community grew they sent out missionaries to take the Gospel to oppressed people all over the world. At the age of 15 he joined his parent, who had traveled to the colony of Georgia in the New World (America). The young man thrived on pioneer life. He aslo had a gift for learning languages and had the chance to return to be educated in Europe. He decided not to go saying his only desire was to be "truly converted to Christ and to serve Him in this country". In the 1700's was a time of unrest as the British and French battled for land and the loyalty of many Indian tribes, and later as the Americans fought the Revolutionary War. He was imprisoned twice by the British as they thought he must be a French spy. As the Indians became Christian they formed villages of "Moravian Indians". The Moravian missionaries and these Christian Indians were admired by both Indians and whites alike. Time after time again, the little bands of Moravian Indians were driven from place to place. They suffered terrible massacres, once at the hands of hostile Indians and once at the hands of angry white settlers. But the Moravian mission continued, succeeding where other mission failed because they preached only the Gospel of Jesus and did not represent the interest of any earthly country. Making a difference David Zeisberger, went home to be with the Lord in 1808 at the age of 87 and is buried in Goshen , Ohio. He showed his character of peace, for he would not take sides.
The fifteenth child born to a family in Epworth, England in 1703. This man made a difference that is still felt today. Ordained a minister riding a horse from village to village preaching high standards to people he assumed were already Christians. This man struggled with the fact that his strict religious disciplines did not make him sure of the salvation he desired. On May 24th, 1738 he attended a meeting in Aldersgate Street, where someone read Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans," describing the change that God works in the heart through faith in Chrtist. From that time on this man traveled all over England, Scotland, and Wales preaching a Gospel of faith and forming a group of faith worshipers who wrote hundreds of hymns and became known as the "singing religion". A new church as born. The words of this man, "The world is my parish" was John Westly founder of the Methodist Church.
William & Catherine Booth were born in England in 1829. As young people they became concerned with how alcohol did to families. In fact, they first met at a friends house where William quoted a poem about the dangers of alcohol. They were married in 1885. They had grown into a desire to reach out to poor people. To help show them God's love. They opened the East London Christian Mission in 1865. William traveled around the world and preached some 60,000 sermons. The founder of the Salvation Army. Making a difference.
Born into slavery in Maryland in 1837 her father managed to purchase her freedom as well as that of his wife and children. Praising God for deliverance, the family moved to Pennsylvania, a free state, where their home became a station on the Underground Railroad for runaway slaves. Thiw woman had a beautiful voice and often sang and spoke her message of salvation and "sanctification," or holiness, in both black and white churches, and at camp meetings. She faced many barriers because she was not only a "woman preacher," but a colored woman preacher. But her spirit was always gracious, not pushing in where she was not wanted. In everything, she tried to be obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit. In time, her evangelistic work took her to England, India, Africa, and back to the U.S. where she founded the Amanda Smith Orphans Home near Chicago Illinois. At the age of 78 she went home to ge with the Lord. Amanda Smith making a difference.
Born February 5th 1837, in Northfield, Massachusetts, this young man left home at the age of seventeen to work for his uncle in Boston as a shoe salesman. The YMCA appointed him as a missionary in 1867. Hearing these words by Rev. Henry Varley "The world has yet to see what God can do with one man wholly dedicated to Him.". Theses words changed this man to give his whole life to God. The man Dwight L. Moody.
Born in Breslau, Germany in 1906 to a well-known and educated family of a famous psychiatrist and neurologist in Berlin. At the age of 14 he shocked his family as he told them he wanted to be a theologian. The young man attended the University of Berlin and latter Union Theological Seminary in New York. As a pastor he worked with the poor and out-of-work in Barcelona, Spain. He also worshiped with a black Baptist church in Harlem, New York, as he finished his degree. Upon completion of his degree he had to go back home to Germany. He predicted that "Racism, will become one of the biggest future problems for the entire white church." Little did he realize how true his words would become, not only between blacks and whites in America, but between "Aryans and Jews in Germany. But the seeds of Justice had already been planted in his heart, so when Hitler set out to destroy all Jews, He refused to turn against them. On April 29th 1943 he was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to prision for his taking a STAND against Hitler. Even in prison he remained in the faith for two years in concentration camps. Even on the day of his execution he continued to preach to his fellow prisoners of Isaiah 53:5 "By His Stripes we are healed". It is told that on the day of his execution, the prison doctor saw him kneel down on the floor of his cell, praying. He was put to death, on April 9th, 1945, just one month before Germany surrendered. This heroes name was Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer. God's peace that we share with others also gives us strength in hard times. Making a difference.
Born May 12, 1820 to a very wealthy British family. She wrote in her diary at the age of sixteen, On Feb. 7 God spoke to me and called me to His service.: What service she didn't yet know. As she grew to womanhood, she realized she felt most fulfilled and content when she was caring for the sick in the poor cottages around Embley. She worked her entire life to change medical care in the army and health care for common people. She is said to be the founder of the modern nursing, not only in England but around the World. It was said of her, For God was the only master she would acknowledge, she was his representative that did his work. She used her own money to do what the British army was supposed to do. Making a difference, Florence Nightingale.
The Perkins Family from Mississippi gave birth to a son in 1930. His Mother died the Seven months later and his daddy took off. He was left to be cared for by his grandmother. Today this man is making a difference as he is known as a man who puts the Gospel to work. Voice of Calvary, ministering to the whole person. In California, his vision for transforming people and communities has taken shape in the Harambee Family Christian Center and the Christian Community Development Association, bringing blacks and whites together in partnership for the sake of the Gospel. Making a difference, taking a STAND.