Recently I had the opportunity to be the missions speaker during a week of summer Bible camp at Camp Assurance, near Belden, Nebraska, in the northeastern corner of the State. It was an enjoyable and profitable week of ministry which saw the Lord work in young people’s hearts in special ways.

A pair of morning and evening Bible speakers effectively and practically challenged the campers from God’s Word to committedly follow Christ Jesus as their Savior and Lord, and to faithfully share a winsome witness about Him with their friends and acquaintances. My mission presentations emphasized those same themes and illustrated them through the example of David Livingstone, the eminent nineteenth century missionary and explorer in southern Africa.

My presentations considered: (1) Livingstone’s challenging boyhood; (2) his Christian conversion and call to missionary service as a young adult; (3) his sixteen years of formal missionary service in southern Africa, during which he continuously sought to carry the truth of God’s Word and the Gospel (good news) of salvation to tribes which had never before heard them; (4) his additional sixteen years of exploration and service in Africa, helping to bring Christianity and legitimate trade to the Africans, resulting in the end of the slave trade across southern Africa in the years immediately following his death.

As I was ministering to 5th-8th graders, I tried to keep the mission presentations interesting for them, which did not seem hard to do by sharing a mere sampling of the many dangers and difficulties which Livingstone encountered throughout his years of service. I also sought to point out lessons to be learned from David’s example relating to personal salvation, being a Christian witness, and faithfully serving the Lord despite difficulties and discouragements. I closed with the reminder that we don’t always get to see all the good God accomplishes through our service of Him, but then added my belief that the Lord will reveal all that to us in Heaven for our joy and His glory.

My prayer for the mission talks throughout the week was (and continues to be) not only that the above lessons were effectively communicated to the young people. But also that God would use the missions emphasis to play a part in at least one camper or counselor (perhaps more!) being led to serve Jesus as a vocational missionary in a part of the world where God’s Word and the Christian Gospel are not as readily accessible as they are in this country.

The closing Friday evening campfire that week was extra special, as the campers shared the spiritual commitments they had made to the Lord. Several of them indicated they had received Christ as their Savior during the week. A number of others stated that God had laid on their hearts to faithfully share the Gospel with their friends after they returned home. Some of the young people were in tears, and they seemed tenderhearted in supporting each other in their spiritual commitments.

Camp Assurance is a smaller-size camp with a very big heart and an outsized ministry influence. It offers a range of age-graded camps throughout the summer which can accommodate 60-70 students per week and are serviced by 30-40 willing, well-trained, and self-sacrificing directors, counselors and other support staff. In addition to summer camps, Camp Assurance sponsors Vacation Bible Schools during the summer and Kids Bible Clubs in various communities throughout the year.

For much more information about the camp, just visit its website at www.camp-assurance.com. See especially the “About Us” tab for the primary purposes and unique aspects of the camp. Based on my two occasions to minister at Camp Assurance (in 2023 and 2026), I can readily affirm that I’ve witnessed firsthand those objectives and unique characteristics being carried out well through the camp’s ministries.

By the way, I have no special affiliation or connection with Camp Assurance other than the opportunity I’ve had to minister there on a couple of different occasions. I’m offering this endorsement of the camp not for any benefit of my own, but merely to affirm a highly deserving ministry.

I’m a big believer in the tremendous value of summer Bible camp ministries. Praise the Lord for the many Bible camps – large and small – which are faithfully, effectively ministering God’s Word and the Gospel to young people. May God greatly bless them all to His glory and for the immeasurable spiritual good of countless people.

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I’ve been privileged to write two biographies on the life and ministry of David Livingstone. David Livingstone: Missionary, Explorer, Abolitionist is a comprehensive, adult-level account of his consequential life and accomplishments. David Livingstone: Africa’s Greatest Explorer is a youth biography, intended especially for the enjoyment and benefit of upper elementary and middle school students. (Teens and adults can enjoy and profit from the latter as well.)

Copyright 2026 by Vance E. Christie

An all-too-common response on the part of not a few Christians when they encounter marked trials and suffering is to doubt God’s goodness and His love for them. Even normally strong believers can experience such doubts when faced with strong adversity.

Where do those doubts come from? How can they be effectively dealt with? An incident from the ministry of Dwight Moody, an eminent evangelist on both sides of the Atlantic during the late 1800s, provides some helpful perspectives on these issues.

While holding evangelistic meetings in Dundee, Scotland, in 1874, Moody was taken to visit a bedridden cripple. When fifteen years old, this individual had fallen and broken his back. Since then he had lain on his bed for about forty years and could not be moved without considerable pain. Hardly a day had passed in all those years without acute suffering.

But day after day God’s grace had been granted to the invalid. To Moody and others it seemed that his bedroom was as near to heaven as one could get on earth. When Moody met the man and beheld his sweet, trusting spirit, he thought he must be beyond the reach of the Tempter. Still he asked him, “Doesn’t Satan ever tempt you to doubt God, and to think that He is a hard Master?”

“Oh yes,” he affirmed, “he does try to tempt me. I lie here and see my old schoolmates driving along in their carriages, and Satan says: ‘If God is so good, why does He keep you here all these years? You might have been a rich man, riding in your own carriage.’ Then I see a man, who was young when I was, walk by in perfect health, and Satan whispers: ‘If God loved you, couldn’t He have kept you from breaking your back?’”

“What do you do when Satan tempts you?” the evangelist queried.

“Ah, I just take him to Calvary and show him Christ. And I point out those wounds in His hands and feet and side, and say, ‘Doesn’t He love me?’ And the fact is, he got such a scare there eighteen hundred years ago that he cannot stand it. He leaves me every time.”

“That bedridden saint had not much trouble with doubts,” Moody often afterward testified of the man. “He was too full of the grace of God.”

When faced with our own hard trials and resulting doubts, let’s focus much on the cross of Christ. Doing so fixedly will greatly help us in maintaining a strong, sweet spirit of trust in God and appreciation for our Savior in His ultimate act of love in our behalf.

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This and a number of other beneficial examples of Christians dealing with adversity in God-trusting, Christ-honoring fashion can be found in my book Timeless Stories: God’s Incredible Work in the Lives of Inspiring Christians (Christian Focus Publications). If you’ve appreciated and benefited from this blog, thanks for sharing it with others. Copyright 2026 by Vance E. Christie

One thing that has always impressed me about great men and women of faith is: their reflex response to various types of adversity or need is to trust that God is going to care and provide for them. From long exercise of their faith in God’s character and the promises of His Word, they automatically anticipate that His help and provision will definitely come to them.

Throughout his five decades of service as a Christian missionary in China, Hudson Taylor exhibited a reflexive faith response when faced with all variety of challenges, including pressing material needs, overwhelming ministry pressures, imminent dangers, the need for ever-increasing numbers of missionaries, and more. To follow are two examples of his automatically manifesting such faith in the Lord.

During the latter months of 1859, at age twenty-seven, Taylor needed to assume the leadership of the missionary hospital and dispensary in Ningpo, China.  It was a huge task, with care being given daily to fifty or more inpatients, about half of whom were recovering opium addicts.  In addition, a large number of outpatients—more than six hundred by year’s end—came to the dispensary for treatment.

The expenses to keep the medical ministry operating were enormous, and he constantly needed to look in faith to God to provide the need.  One morning, after he had been overseeing the work for a few weeks, the hospital’s cook anxiously informed him, “The very last bag of rice has been opened and is disappearing rapidly.”

“Then the Lord’s time for helping us must be close at hand,” the missionary responded reassuringly.

Before the bag of rice was consumed, Taylor received a letter and a check for fifty British pounds (equaling 250 American dollars, worth twenty or thirty times that amount today) from a faithful supporter back in England. Part of the letter read: “The enclosed check is for any immediate needs which you might have. Would you be so kind as to write fully, after praying over the matter, if there are ways in which you can profitably use more?”

Great was the rejoicing of the missionary and his little band of faithful Christian workers when he relayed this news to them.  They were not bashful about sharing the joyous news with the hospital’s unconverted patients as a testimony of the power and love of the one true God.

Many years later, in the summer of 1886, Hudson Taylor was accompanied by fellow missionary Montagu Beauchamp in making an extended ministry itineration on mules.  During the journey they faced not a little hardship and deprivation.  One morning Beauchamp overheard Taylor singing, “We thank thee, Lord, for this our food.” 

The younger missionary could not help but ask, “Where on earth is the food?”

“It can’t be far away,” Taylor responded cheerfully.  “Our Father knows we are hungry and will send our breakfast soon.”  He then added with a smile, “But you will have to wait and say your grace when it comes, while I shall be ready to begin at once!”

As providence would have it, just a couple of minutes later they met a man selling ready-cooked rice and were able to purchase their breakfast.

What are the difficulties and needs we are facing currently? By reminding ourselves of the character and promises of God, let’s seek to exercise strong, steadfast faith that He can and will help us with those matters. With the Lord’s enablement, may we over time come to have an automatic faith response in Him.

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These and dozens of other examples of Taylor’s remarkable reflexive faith in God can be found in two of my books: Hudson Taylor: Gospel Pioneer to China (P&R Publishing); Timeless Stories: God’s Incredible Work in the Lives of Inspiring Christians (Christian Focus Publications). If you’ve appreciated and benefited from this blog, thanks for sharing it with others.

Copyright 2026 by Vance E. Christie

Here’s a contrasting set of prayer examples which remind us that the blessing and benefit to be derived from prayer often depends on the spirit with which we carry it out. If we approach prayer as a privilege to be relished rather than as a duty to be discharged, we’re far more likely to have greater enjoyment and profit in it.

About the main characters in these contrasting examples: Amy Carmichael grew up in Ireland, then served as a Christian missionary in India for fifty-six years. Her fruitful ministries to over 2,500 orphans were marked by great faith and compassion. Betsie and Corrie ten Boom were sisters from Haarlem, Holland, who were imprisoned in a German concentration camp for sheltering Jews from the Nazis during World War 2. While Betsie died there, for three decades after the war Corrie carried the message of God’s love and forgiveness to more than sixty countries around the world.

Once as a young girl, Amy Carmichael attended a Wednesday evening prayer meeting where the speaker’s theme was “Our Departure from This World.”  To amuse herself, Amy paged through the hymnal and counted up all the various things song writers said Christians would do at the precise moment of their earthly departure.  She could not imagine how a dying person could possibly manage all those things at once.

Coming across William Walford’s familiar hymn, Sweet Hour of Prayer, she read the last verse:

Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer,
May I thy consolations share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home, and take my flight:
This robe of flesh I’ll drop, and rise
To seize the everlasting prize;
And shout, while passing thro’ the air,
Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!

Amy was especially encouraged at the prospect of shouting while passing through the air, “Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”  She thought the words must surely apply to that very prayer meeting, which was apparently running rather long to her youthful way of thinking!

Very much by way of contrast, long before dawn one frigid winter morning, Betsie and Corrie ten Boom walked toward the square where roll call was to be held in Ravensbruck, the concentration camp where they were prisoners.  The cruel head of their barracks had heartlessly ordered everyone out into the bitter cold a full hour earlier than necessary.

Corrie and Betsie went to the square by a different route than their fellow prisoners.  The bright early morning stars were their only light.  They could faintly see the outlines of the barracks, the gas chamber, the crematorium, and the guard towers.

As they walked hand in hand they prayed, savoring the Lord’s and each other’s company.  First Betsie prayed, followed by Corrie.  Then they were both quiet and sensed God’s reassuring presence with them.

Suddenly Betsie broke the silence by exclaiming: “Isn’t this a bit of heaven! And, Lord, this is a small foretaste.  One day we will see You face-to-face. But thank You that even now You are giving us the joy of walking and talking with You.”

For us, may prayer not seem like a duty to be discharged while carefully keeping one eye on the slowly moving clock. May it instead prove to be a welcome privilege, to relish fellowship with our heavenly Father while simultaneously seeking His gracious blessings in the midst of life’s ongoing challenges.

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These and numerous other beneficial examples relating to prayer and additional key aspects of the Christian life can be found in my book Timeless Stories: God’s Incredible Work in the Lives of Inspiring Christians. If you’ve appreciated and benefited from this blog, thanks for sharing it with others.

Copyright 2026 by Vance E. Christie

Throughout Luis Palau’s long, fruitful career as an eminent worldwide evangelist, he saw many instances of people’s lives being dramatically transformed by Christ and the Christian Gospel of salvation.  Here’s one of those amazing true stories.

Late in 1970 Luis Palau and his team were making advance preparations for a large evangelistic campaign to be held in Lima, the capital of Peru, the following year. At that time Peru was not a safe, stable country. A military dictatorship had seized control of the nation, and communist rebels were trying to overthrow the government. Many rebels were carrying out guerilla warfare. Bloodshed was common in parts of the country.

Luis was invited to preach at some pre-crusade rallies in Lima in December 1970. At one of those meetings, a communist revolutionary named Rosario came with the intention of attacking him or perhaps ending his life!

Rosario was born out of wedlock in the slums outside Lima. She grew up full of anger at the lack of food and water as well as the poverty she saw all around her.

Although she did not finish her formal education, she became an avid reader. By age thirteen she was reading the works of Marx and Linen. By the time she was eighteen she had become a militant communist.

She hated the upper classes and anyone else whom she thought stood in the way of communist ideals being set up in society. More than once on her missions, she had violently attacked or even killed her perceived opponents. She also hated anything having to do with God or Christianity.

Rosario happened to hear one of Luis’s Spanish radio programs and learned that he would be speaking live at a theater in Lima that evening. Though she knew nothing else about him, she was immediately filled with rage and hatred toward him.

That night Rosario sat in the auditorium, listening to Luis’s message on ‘The Five Hells of Human Existence’ – murder, robbery, deceit, hypocritical homes, and hatred. Each sin he mentioned pricked her conscience. When he gave an invitation at the close of the sermon, she came forward with scores of other people. But murder rather than becoming a Christian was on her mind.

A little old lady, a Peruvian Christian, had come forward as well, to counsel anyone who might desire guidance in making a spiritual decision. Approaching Rosario, the older woman asked, ‘Madam, may I help you receive Christ?’ Rosario struck the well-intentioned counselor, then panicked at the commotion she had caused and fled from the theater.

Later that night, as Rosario tossed and turned in bed, God’s Spirit kept pressing two verses from Luis’s message on her mind. The first, Jeremiah 17:5, states: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord.’ The contrasting verse, Jeremiah 17:7, says: ‘Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.’

Very early the next morning, Rosario fell on her knees and trusted in Christ Jesus to save her from her many sins. She stood back up a fully forgiven, completely changed child of God.

Previously Rosario tried to help the poor by forcing radical communist ideology on society, even through the use of violence. After her Christian conversion, she did even more to aid the poor, but now out of Christian compassion. Through her efforts, running water and electric lights were provided for the poor neighborhood where she had grown up.

She also met with factory bosses and admonished them to treat their employees fairly. ‘I warn them,’ she stated, ‘that Christ is over them’ (Colossians 4:1). She addressed high school classes and debated political issues, using her own experiences to show that only Christ can meet people’s deepest needs. Scores of young people came to believe in Jesus as a result of her ministry.

Luis did not learn about Rosario’s Christian conversion and subsequent service until he read her testimony in a German news service report, a full ten years after the initial Lima crusade of 1971. A few more years passed before he finally met her during another Lima campaign.

Luis correctly points out: ‘Marxist revolutions in Latin America and elsewhere have never transformed lives for the better. As Rosario’s story illustrates, the only revolution that works occurs every time someone becomes a new creation in Christ. He alone changes lives for good here and now – and for all eternity.’

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Many more examples of people’s lives being dramatically transformed through saving faith in Jesus Christ are included in my new youth biography, Luis Palau: Calling the World to Christ. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at www.vancechristie.com if you would like to learn more about coming to know Jesus as one’s Savior and Lord.  

Copyright 2025 by Vance E. Christie

As those of you who are familiar with my writing ministry can affirm, through the years I’ve done a fair amount of missionary biography reading and writing. But just this year I’ve become acquainted with an absolute treasure trove of missionary biography which I was entirely unaware of previously. Thanks for allowing me to introduce you to this valuable resource if, like me, you’ve not been aware of it till now.

The treasure trove I’m recommending is M. R. Conrad’s outstanding trio of book-length “missions devotionals” published by Church Works Media. His newest volume has just been published and is entitled Daring Decision: A 31-Day Journey with Those Who Followed God’s Leading. It explores the vital issue of how God calls and guides people to serve Him with their lives. It features the examples of individuals who carefully sought, then faithfully followed, God’s leading in serving Him, both at home and abroad.

Conrad’s first collection of missionary biography devotionals (published 2020) is entitled Daring Devotion: A 31-Day Journey with Those Who Lived God’s Promises. It introduces readers to the rich spiritual resource of missionary biography, and relates the testimonies of missionaries who claimed the promises of God in His Word in carrying out their ministries.

Conrad’s second work in this series is Daring Dependence: A 31-Day Journey with Those Who Found Their Strength in God (published 2022). It shares the examples of missionaries who manifested an all-out dependence on God and His enablement in order to carry out the Christian living and service He desired of them.

These books provide a veritable Who’s Who of prominent missionaries, mainly from the past three centuries, including Gladys Aylward, William Borden, David Brainerd, William Carey, Amy Carmichael, Oswald Chambers, Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, Jonathan and Rosalind Goforth, Adoniram Judson, Eric Liddell, David Livingstone, Henry Martyn, Robert Moffat, Lottie Moon, Robert Morrison, John Paton, Mary Slessor, John and Betty Stam, C. T. Studd, and Hudson Taylor. In addition, the volumes also introduce us to a number of somewhat less known but equally dedicated missionaries, such as Geoffrey Bull, William Burns, Alexander Duff, James Gilmour, Betty Green, Norris and Mary Groves, Arthur and Wilda Mathews, Peter Rumachik, Peter Torjesen, Lilias Trotter, and John Williams. Several other notable promoters of worldwide missions and evangelism are featured in the books, among them being Robert Murray M’Cheyne, Dwight Moody, George Muller, Charles Simeon, George Whitfield, and Nicolas von Zinzendorf.

Conrad’s books devote one chapter to each of these (and numerous other) individuals, all of whom are well worth getting to know. The author briefly relates some of the significant features of each person’s spiritual development and service, then brings out a primary lesson from his or her life. Each individual’s testimony is related in an interesting fashion that captures and holds the reader’s attention.

Conrad concludes each chapter by relating its main point of emphasis to our Christian living and service today. His spiritual perspectives and guidance are sound and substantive. His applications are challenging but also encouraging.

Every chapter includes a suggested Scripture reading, and often additional Bible references, which establish the primary lessons on a solid biblical foundation. A short set of “Personal Reflection” questions at the end of each chapter further assists readers in thinking through and applying the material under consideration.

These readings can be profitably used as a part of one’s personal or family devotions. The chapters are not long, only five or six pages each, so can be read in a relatively brief amount of time. But they should certainly not be rushed through, rather prayerfully pondered and personally applied.

These books are not only for those interested in missions and those contemplating vocational Christian service. All Christians who desire to serve the Lord well – right where they’re at presently and wherever He leads them in the future – will gain great encouragement and benefit from the works.

Conrad is well qualified to have written these volumes. The Lord used many of the biographies Conrad references to play a part in discipling him as a young man, as he considered God’s will for his life. He served in urban Asia for twelve years in church planting and leadership training. His leadership training ministries now include key areas in the Middle East and East Africa. His years of firsthand experience in personal missionary endeavor and his obvious commitment to helping expand Christ’s worldwide kingdom work enable him to write as a knowledgeable and passionate practitioner rather than merely as a theoretician.  

Conrad’s books also provide a wealth of bibliographical information. Each chapter and its endnotes contain a primary biography about the missionary being considered, and often a number of other bibliographical sources as well. In addition, at the end of each of his three books Conrad includes an “Essential Missionary Biography Checklist,” which in Daring Decision (his third book) has grown to a list of twenty “Must-Read Missionary Biographies” and thirty-eight “Worth-Reading Missionary Biographies.”

Which of Conrad’s three books should you start with?  Perhaps the primary theme of one of the volumes as briefly described above will appeal to you most at this time. Any and all his works will prove spiritually profitable. You can learn more about the author and his books at his website www.mrconrad.net.

Copyright 2025 by Vance E. Christie