Let the Nations Be Glad

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Having been raised by a pastor who was deeply dedicated to evangelistic outreach, I have tremendous respect for those who have sacrificed to take the gospel message to those who have not yet heard that Christ died to save sinners. I remember the stories of great missionary heroes that my parents told us during family devotions, at dinnertime, and at bedtime. In fact, quite often our bedtime stories revolved around some of these great stories.

One of my favorite stories was the story of Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Roger Youderian, Pete Fleming, and Ed McCully—the missionaries who were determined to take the gospel message to the Auca Indians (now known as the "Waodani") of Ecuador. This native Ecuadorian tribe was history's most violent people group prior to hearing and responding to the good news of Jesus Christ. But it took the death of these men and the continued love shown by their surviving families to get the gospel message to these people in such great need.

The story is amazing. The movie, End of the Spear, and the documentary, Beyond the Gates of Splendor, about this missionary team are intense and convicting. Both are available on DVD. I hope this will encourage you to purchase both of these DVDs. You won't regret it.

The videos below were produced by Steven Curtis Chapman using footage from the documentary. Some of this footage is actual footage taken by the missionaries themselves in 1955.

In these videos it mentions that the Aucas were on the verge of extinction, but doesn't tie in the fact that the driving force behind these misionaries' intense desire to reach this people group was the fact that in John's vision of the heavenly kingdom he saw this: "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9). These missionaries were concerned about the apparent danger of this people group becoming extinct without having heard the gospel message. So they realized they had to take the message immediately. What an amazing group of dedicated Christians.