Non-American Nazarene Missions

I was excited as I began reading the December 1950 issue of The Other Sheep, to notice - for the first time in this publication – a mention of a non-North American missionary. One of the missionaries to Guatemala wrote about a recent preachers’ retreat, at which the guest speaker was another missionary from Greece. I found it quite interesting to read about this man and see how non-North American missionaries were perceived by their American peers.

Rev. S. D. Athans had apparently been in the ministry for forty years prior to this retreat, and had spent much of this time among Spanish-speaking people. He had even previously been to the area twenty-seven tears prior. Throughout the article, his ability to speak Spanish and the way he chose to translate both his message and the songs they sang were highly praised. He had been asked to speak, at least in part, due to his knowledge of the language, as they did not wish to use a translator; however, by the time these meetings were done, the article’s author found Rev. Athans’ use of Spanish to be greater than any “poetic charm.”

As the article went on, I learned that this man was an excellent preacher, whose sermons were “meaty” and noticeably of the Spirit. He was also reported to have excelled at choosing songs, which were called an inspiration. One of his times of teaching was even on the use of sacred music. However, the thing that really struck the author was the man’s personality. He was said to be excellent with children, even gathering a group of children at the airport and teaching them a song and John 3:16 while waiting for his plane home.

Though the article was not long, I was very glad to see a beginning of non-North American missionaries being mentioned in this publication. I have previously mentioned on this blog that some of the earlier missionaries had expressed doubt that other peoples could govern themselves spiritually. While I realize that this man was European, the recognition of missionaries from any other location seems to me as though that lack of trust in other people’s abilities may have been starting to dissipate.