Tomorrow, January 8, is a day of remembrance I hope you will recognize and not soon forget.
January 8, 2020 marks the 64th anniversary of the deaths of five young men giving the gospel to an unreached people group in the jungles of Ecuador in South America. In their memories we call them, “The 5 Ecuadorian Martyrs.”
You might know the name Elisabeth Elliot. Her husband, Jim Elliot, was killed that day along with the other young husbands and fathers, Nate Saint, Peter Fleming, Ed McCully, and Roger Youderian - all between the ages of 27-32 and, collectively, fathers to eight children ages seven and younger, with one more not yet born.
Blogger Tim Challies writes about the influence of their lives and deaths in both the short-term and the long-term.
The impact of their deaths, at least until now, appears to have been greatest among American evangelicals and the US missions movement.
In the US
Just days after the men were killed on January 8, 1956, LIFE magazine sent photographer and reporter Cornell Capa to cover the story, which was then published within the month. (You can now read the entire article online in its original printed form; Capa quotes at length from the diaries of Nate Saint and Peter Fleming.)
And within just a year of their deaths, Elisabeth Elliot, the widow of Jim Elliot, published Through Gates of Splendor, a best seller which told the story of these men and their mission to reach the Auca Indians. Soon after she also published Shadow of the Almighty, which focused more particularly on her late husband and the broader scope of his life.
These publications, along with many others then and afterward, helped make the deaths of these men famous in America and around the world. Their story inspired a generation and is said to have resulted in hundreds more joining the mission field and millions more dollars being given toward the cause.
One indicator of the ongoing influence of their story is that, on the 50th anniversary of their deaths, another book was released (End of the Spear, written by Steve Saint, Nate Saint’s son) as well as a major motion picture by the same title.
Among the Aucas
Though the majority of their influence may be on their homeland, the ministry of the men who died has not failed to bear fruit among the Auca as well.
Around the same time End of the Spear was released, Christianity Today published an article retelling the missionaries’ story and updating us on what has happened among the Aucas since that time. After their husbands’ deaths, some of the widows stayed on to continue ministering to the tribe, seeing some of them come to faith.
According to the Billy Graham Center archives, at least two of the men who had participated in the murder became Christians; and in 1966 they traveled to Berlin to give their testimonies at the World Congress on Evangelism.
The sudden deaths of those faithful to Jesus Christ is as old as the events of the New Testament. The names Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Peter Fleming, Ed McCully, and Roger Youderian stand alongside the names Stephen, John the Baptist, James, and the unnamed “of whom the world was not worthy.”
There will be more until the Lord returns to take us home. We will mourn their loss and cringe at their suffering, but we will rejoice at their faithfulness to a faithful savior. And they will serve as models to us of an unflinching faithfulness to Christ in the face of our oppression, great or small. We will discover when the time comes that as our Lord granted grace to them, he will grant grace to us.
May God continue to use their brief ministries and long memory for his glory and for the good of people.
Other Resources from Challies
Scroll down on this page to see a timeline of events and publications related to efforts to reach the Auca.
Listen to 2 audio sermons by Jim Elliot.
Read Steve Saint’s 1996 article in Christianity Today, “Did They Have to Die?” in which he tells the fuller story of what happened the day his father was killed, including more information from the Auca side, and gives some personal reflections.
Listen to a talk by Steve Saint given at the 2005 Desiring God National Conference titled “Sovereignty, Suffering, and the Work of Missions.” This is a powerful talk that may well leave you in tears.
As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.
Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision