In the 1830s, two American Baptist missionaries set out to minister in a part of Indonesia known as Batak, on the island of Sumatra. The Batak people were known for being savage cannibals. The two American missionaries studied the people and language before beginning their preaching ministry to the Batak people.
In 1834, shortly after sending the reports from their study of the Bataks back home, the missionaries were brutally cannibalized.
Although the missionaries died, God did not let their dream die. That very same year a man named Ludwig Nommensen was born.
Over the course of many years, God worked powerfully through the ministry of Ludwig Nommensen to reach the Batak people with the gospel of Jesus Christ and establish churches under the name Batak Protestant Christian Community.
Here are some results of Nommensen’s ministry:
Was the work of the American missionaries in vain? No, and as 1 Corinthians 15:58 says:
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
The American missionaries’ work played an important role in reaching over a half million people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God used the data they mined from the Batak people for His glory to be a launching point for Ludwig Nommensen in his ministry.
To pay tribute for the labors of the two American missionaries, there is now a large monument on their graves to recognize their help in preparing the way for the Gospel in this part of Indonesia. This also serves as a reminder that God does not let our work for Him go to waste.
Praise the Lord for His faithfulness!
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