John, not David, Brainerd
JOHN BRAINERD: MISSIONARY TO THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS 1747-1781
David Brainerd's life and legacy have become a special part of Christian history for Christians worldwide. The sacrificial giving of himself to take the gospel to the North American Indians, as recorded in his journals and Jonathan Edwards' Life of David Brainerd, has been used of God to stir missionary zeal and action among succeeding generations of believers, both in the U.S.A. and worldwide. But one quickly forgets that David Brainerd's entire ministry lasted only three years before his death at the age of twenty-nine. He is so well-remembered and rightly so, as his pioneering mission work became a catalyst for missions and gospel zeal in the future.
So one wonders how it is that so little is known and remembered about his brother, John, in light of the amazing fact that John replaced David as the appointed missionary and pastor among the Indians shortly before David's death at age 29, and would remain there for the next 34 years. So John’s ministry exceeded David's by over 30 years among the Indians, exhibiting the same kind of sacrifice, loneliness, commitment, and zeal that the older and more well-known Brainerd had shown. How can we not remember John Brainerd as well?
- Get acquainted with John Brainerd here
David Brainerd's life and legacy have become a special part of Christian history for Christians worldwide. The sacrificial giving of himself to take the gospel to the North American Indians, as recorded in his journals and Jonathan Edwards' Life of David Brainerd, has been used of God to stir missionary zeal and action among succeeding generations of believers, both in the U.S.A. and worldwide. But one quickly forgets that David Brainerd's entire ministry lasted only three years before his death at the age of twenty-nine. He is so well-remembered and rightly so, as his pioneering mission work became a catalyst for missions and gospel zeal in the future.
So one wonders how it is that so little is known and remembered about his brother, John, in light of the amazing fact that John replaced David as the appointed missionary and pastor among the Indians shortly before David's death at age 29, and would remain there for the next 34 years. So John’s ministry exceeded David's by over 30 years among the Indians, exhibiting the same kind of sacrifice, loneliness, commitment, and zeal that the older and more well-known Brainerd had shown. How can we not remember John Brainerd as well?
- Get acquainted with John Brainerd here
