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...
Bishop with a Passion for Mission United Methodist Bishop James K. Mathews had a lifelong passion for mission and evangelism across his long life of 97 years. The son-in-law of noted evangelist E. Stanley Jones, Mathews traveled the world as a Methodist missionary. He made more than 60 trips to India, 28 to Africa, 16...
Mission Bishop Promoted Indigenous Leaders Ralph E. Dodge was an outspoken advocate for racial justice in Africa and the last white bishop of the United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) during that country’s colonial era. Dodge’s 1956 election as a Methodist bishop for central and southern Africa marked the only time that an American Methodist...
Early center of Methodism in Zimbabwe The town of Mutare was originally founded in 1891 but when a proposed railway line from Beira could not be constructed through the site it was decided to move the settlement to a different location situated on the railway line. When Cecil Rhodes was asked what he intended to...
Bishop of Zimbabwe and National Leader Bishop Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa, Methodist bishop and nationalist leader, was prime minister of the coalition government called Zimbabwe Rhodesia, which failed in its attempt to create a biracial government to end the civil war in formerly white-controlled Rhodesia. In 1947, Muzorewa was appointed a lay preacher for five tiny...
Pioneering medical missionary in Zimbabwe Samuel Gurney was a pioneer Methodist medical missionary in Zimbabwe. He was born at Long Branch, New Jersey. After receiving his education for ministry at the New York Missionary Training School and Drew Theological Seminary, he was ordained in 1891 in the New York East Conference of the Methodist Episcopal...
![Springer, Helen Emily [Chapman] Rasmussen (1868-1946)](https://methodistmission200.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Springer-289x300.jpg "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...
