Page 149 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

The Gospel and New Beginnings

and Africa. As for their approach to the people of these countries,
Beaver says:

Moravian missionaries were told not to apply their own standards
to other peoples, rather, to be alert to the recognition of the God-
given distinctive traits, characteristics, and strong points of those
people. Furthermore, the missionaries were to regard themselves
as assistants to the Holy Spirit. (246)

Moravian missionaries were often bi-vocational, that is, they were
skilled tradesmen—lay-people—with a simple gospel story to share with
the people to whom they had been sent. Within twenty years they had
done more missionary work than other Protestants had done in the
previous two centuries.

Moravian George Schmidt arrived in South Africa in 1737. His goal
was to evangelize the Khoikhoi or Hottentots as they were called by
Europeans. He settled in an area east of Cape Town called Genedendal.
Although Schmidt tried to learn the local language, he found the click
sounds too difficult. Some of the Khoikhoi learned his language and a
few converted to Christianity.

In keeping with Moravian missionary methods, Schmidt sought to
help the Khoikhoi with the planting of vegetables and fruit trees. He
also wanted to baptize the converts in a local river. So he wrote to Von
Zinzendorf to request ordination. By the time the request was granted
by post, Schmidt was rejected by the Dutch Reformed Church and told
that he was not qualified to baptize converts.

His preaching about grace for all people was considered heretical.
In turn, Schmidt rebuked the Dutch Reformed Church for not trying
to do missionary work among the Khoisan. By 1743, Schmidt was
discouraged enough to leave for Amsterdam in an attempt to sort out
problems, but he never returned. It would be almost 50 years before
additional Moravian missionaries would arrive.

When Moravian missionaries reopened the mission at Genedendal
in the latter part of the eighteenth century, they found converts who
had been converted under Schmidt’s ministry still serving Jesus

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