Category: <span>Kivu Annual Conference</span>

Springer, Bishop John McKendree (1873–1963)
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Springer, Bishop John McKendree (1873–1963)

Founder of Methodism in the Congo Although Methodist missionaries ventured into the Belgian Congo before John Springer, notably Bishop William Taylor with the Methodist Episcopal Church in the late 1800s, Springer’s enterprising evangelistic explorations in the early 20th century are credited with the founding of the present-day United Methodist Church in the Democratic Republic of...

Springer, Helen Emily [Chapman] Rasmussen (1868-1946)
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Springer, Helen Emily [Chapman] Rasmussen (1868-1946)

Missionary explorer and founder of American Methodist education for girls in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) After hearing Bishop William Taylor, Helen Chapman volunteered to go to Africa as a self-supporting missionary. In 1891 she sailed for the Congo (Zaire). She married a Danish missionary, William Rasmussen, whom she met during the voyage. After six months, their...

Taylor, William (1821-1902)
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Taylor, William (1821-1902)

Methodist Episcopal missionary bishop, mission theorist, and holiness advocate Born to Stuart and Martha (Hickman) Taylor in Rockbridge County, Virginia, Taylor was converted in 1841 at a Methodist Episcopal camp meeting. Appointed a Methodist missionary to California (1849), he ministered without salary to Native Americans and Chinese immigrants, and to the sick and the poor....