An outstanding new biography has just been released entitled By Life or By Death: The Life and Legacy of John and Betty Stam. The Stams were a young American missionary couple martyred by Communist rebels in China in December 1934. Their example continues to inspire and encourage Christians today.
This commendable biography is authored by Andrew Montonera, the great-grandson of Cornelius Stam, younger brother to missionary John Stam. The volume is published by Moody Publishers, just in time for the runup to the ninetieth anniversary of the Stams’ martyrdom this December 8.
Montonera presents the essential features of John and Betty’s lives and ministries in an engaging fashion. He relates: their Christian upbringing and conversions; their call to missionary service and budding romantic relationship while at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago; their brief missionary service and marriage in China; their unexpected martyrdom and the remarkable preservation of their newborn daughter; the significant ongoing impact of their abbreviated lives from the time of their deaths to the present day.
The author researched his biography thoroughly, drawing primarily from a breadth of original sources as well as from the two earliest biographies written on the Stams in the years immediately following their deaths. This work contains a considerable amount of new material not included in earlier biographies about the Stams. That new material was drawn from a volume of Betty’s poems published after her death, the memoirs of John’s brother Cornelius, the archives of Wheaton College and Princeton Theological Seminary, and other sources.
Another attractive feature of Montonera’s book is a fine collection of photographs of John and Betty, their daughter Helen, and other family members, friends and associates. I had not previously seen a number of those photos, though I have spent considerable time in the past searching online for pictures of the Stams.
The book’s final chapter, entitled ‘Legacy,’ includes testimonials of several well-known Christians whose lives were significantly impacted by the examples of John and Betty. Other beneficial aspects of this volume include: its carefully documented endnotes; a map of John and Betty’s locations in China; an appendix of John and Betty’s family members with their dates of birth and death; a thorough index of people, places and other matters referenced in the book.
Readers will also find the work to be of easily manageable length. The main body of the book, not including the helpful addendum materials at the end, is just 137 pages.
If you’ve never read a book about the Stams, this would be a great place to start. Even if you have read other books about them, I think you’ll appreciate and enjoy (as I did) this one with its new narrative materials and pictures.
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You may also enjoy reading my own biography John and Betty Stam, Missionary Martyrs (Christian Focus Publications). It contains a number of details and features of the Stams’ lives and ministries which are not included in Mr. Montonera’s excellent biography. I have also written several blogs on the Stams, which are posted on my writing website www.vancechristie.com. To access those blogs, just type “John and Betty Stam” in the website’s search box.
Copyright 2024 by Vance E. Christie
