Monday, August 25

To the Uttermost

The modern missionary movement was launched on this day in 1732, when several men from Count Zinzindorf’s Herrnhut community agreed to serve as missionaries in the far flung fields of Greenland and the Caribbean. Christian David, a Moravian carpenter volunteered to go to Greenland while David Nitschmann and Hans Dober volunteered to serve in St. Thomas.

3 comments:

Bonnie said...

Wow. That is very interesting.
My niece lives in St. Thomas.
Have to pass this along to her.


Bonnie

Lawrence Underwood said...

Were Nitschmann and Dober the two men who sold themselves into slavery?

gileskirk said...

Lawrence: Accounts vary about whether they were actually successful in their attempt to sell themselves into servitude. But, they certainly tried to do so in an effort to subvert the institution. In any event, they were eventually freed and went on to serve many more years in ministry.