the Future - Auckland Baptist Tabernacle

CELEBRATING A 100 YEARS OF OVERSEAS MISSION
1912—1936
There have been dozens of Tabernacle missionaries over the years, who’ve gone out to serve with many different
missionary societies.In fact a Tab member instigated the founding of the NZBMS a century ago. He was Rev Charles
Carter. You can see a plaque on the wall in the Tabernacle auditorium is to his memory. He was an amazing man.
He served a lifetime in Sri Lanka, then retired to New Zealand. He was one of several who founded the NZBMS in
1885 It was only two years later that the first BMS missionary Rosalie McGeorge went to East Bengal. A companion
was needed for her and an Australian Annie Newcomb offered and left after becoming a member of the Tab.
There’s a photograph in the Tab library of a Miss Nellie Kendon, who went to China (China Inland Mission, 1911; she
became Mrs Gibb). It says she was the first missionary and that is true because Annie Newcomb who went as a companion for a Baptist missionary lady. The Tabernacle was asked to adopt and support her. But Nellie was in fact the
first sent from the Tabernacle as a missionary.
Nellie went to the CIM school which was in Chefoo. It was there that she taught Stan Conway who later became Tab
Elder. As a five year old missionary’s kid, he attended the China Inland Mission’s Chefoo School in North China. She
was a gentle, gracious, little lady who married Rev George Gibb, the General Director of CIM (which today is known as
OMF International), in Shanghai. She was interned as a prisoner of war by the Japanese in the early 1940s. In 1946
she returned to live in Auckland with her sister Eva. She served on the Tab missions committee, in fact, she may even
have started it.
From then Tab members went all over the world. Harry Taylor to China (CIM, 1925), Miss Wighton to Africa, Miss A.
Pitt to the Pacific Islands (South Seas Evangelical Mission, 1926; she became Mrs Fisher), Eunice Ogilvie to India
(NZBMS, 1927). Hazel Fountain went to India (Zenana Bible and Medical Society, 1927; she became Mrs Perry).
Norah Conway, Rita Dobson (she became Mrs A. Rouse), and Mr and Mrs Cyril Patchett all went to China (CIM,
1928). Charlie Barton and Rona Smeeton both went to Africa (Sudan Interior Mission, 1928).
The legendary Myrtle Paulsen left in 1929 (Latin America Prayer Fellowship). She stayed at her post for just under 65
years, running a children’s orphanage in Mexico, finally coming home at the age of 90 in 1993. She received the
Queen’s Service Order in a subsequent Honours’ List for her outstanding work. Also in 1929, two workers left for an
island mission station off the Papua New Guinea coast: Bessie Mill and our first short-term worker, Henry Massam
(Kwato Extension Association).
Even then a worker with a specific skill would go for a short time, to fill a gap or to accomplish a project. Henry Massam went to Kwato soon after he graduated. One weekend, he heard of the urgent need for an accountant, met the
mission’s leader, and was appointed. Kwato was an industrial mission where Papua New Guineans were trained in
skills like boat-building. There were several trading ventures which supported the mission, and he kept the books for
these ventures. When he returned another Tabernacle accountant Jack Smeeton replaced him (in 1931).
In 1930 Molly Jenkins left for Solomon Islands (SSEM). There she married Stuart Mill. When they had to return they
settled in Sydney and set up the Gospel Recording Studio. From there, record players and gospel records went out in
their millions to many countries, repeating the gospel message in hundreds of tribal languages on simple hand-wound
gramophones. That same year, 1930, T. Thompson left for India (Ceylon and India General Mission). The next year,
1931, Ruth Grey went to India (Zenana Bible and Medical Mission), and Margery Bush joined the Baptist work in
what is now Bangladesh (NZBMS).
Also in 1931, Cliff Mitchell left for Ethiopia (SIM). Cliff was the brother of Professor E.M. Blaiklock’s wife, Kathleen.
He soon became involved in the translation of the Gospels into the Galla dialect. He was to become the Tabernacle’s
first missionary martyr. Before he went to Ethiopia Cliff Mitchell had known that bitter toil awaited him and that there
was little romance in the missionary call. “If I should die,” he told Professor Blaiklock, “do not let them talk of me.
Use my death to speak of Christ.”
1937 –1962
Almost all of the next group of missionaries left for China. They were involved in outreach and church planting before
the Japanese invasion in 1937, and some stayed until the Communist takeover in 1947. The tide began to flow in the
late twenties: two in 1927, five in 1928, four in 1929. This tide became a flood in the early 1930s, when 29 were sent
out in just five years!
Mr and Mrs Doug Neilson went to India (Ceylon and India General Mission, 1931). Howard Knight started 50 years
of active service, first in China from 1931 to 1951 (CIM), then after four years as a pastor he was appointed Home
Director of OMF in Australia until 1970. He then went on to serve with the Australian Evangelical Alliance and TEAR
Fund until 1980. Leaving New Zealand in the same group of missionaries as Howard Knight was Myrie Wood (CIM).
She later married Jack Beck in China, who was from the Ashburton Baptist Church. When they had to leave China in
1948, they returned and pastored several churches.
In 1932 Gertrude Wise left for India (NZBMS). Another group of four left for China with CIM. There was Bill Taylor
and his fiancée Kathleen Barry. (Their daughter became Dr Phyllis Taylor, well known for her work with The Leprosy
Mission.) The others were Joyce Ellingham, who married Ron Grubb in China, and Nancy Tucker, the fiancée of
Howard Knight. When these young ladies left they received such a large number of bouquets at the wharf and people
As a Baptist Church we have been committed to the work of our denomination as well. When we have not actually had a Tab
member with the NZBMS (now Tranzend), we have “adopted” and supported one. Annie Newcomb would have been the first
of those. For years we adopted Rob and Diane Jensen in Bangladesh, and more recently Pat Lightbourne, who later became a member of the Tabernacle. After many years of literacy work in Bangladesh, she transferred, in 2005, to a new, but
similar work in Afghanistan.
There have also been short term outreaches done. Some as individuals and others in teams. In 1986, after a year in preparation , the first team (of young adults) went to Singapore and Thailand. In the 90s there continued to be a stream of long shortterm workers who went out with various agencies to test God’s call on their lives. Some have since gone on to fulltime missionary service. As well, other short-term teams have gone overseas. There has also been a steady stream of young medical
students who have chosen to do their electives overseas.
At the Tabernacle there has always been an interest in overseas mission, but not to the neglect of “home” mission. Last century it was with the Maoris and particularly Polynesians (through the work of the Pilisis), but this century the emphasis has
swung to internationals that God has brought to our very doorstep, particularly the Chinese. The Global congregation was
established in 2001.
Only eternity will reveal the impact of all these lives, who have answered the challenge of the Great Commission. Their faithful
ministry, mostly in tough places, has advanced the Kingdom of God, and given the Tabernacle congregation the privilege of
an international focus which God continues to honour to this day in NZ and overseas.
In 1959 an older couple Mr and Mrs Albert and Janet Windsor went to Japan where Albert served as General Director
of his mission (CJPM) and they supervised the headquarters house. In the early 1960s Allan Knight, an accountant at
Farmers and leader of the Tabernacle young people, left for Japan (OMF). After a number of years in Aomori he married
Shirley), his administrative gifts were recognized and he was asked to move to Singapore to handle the international
finances of OMF at their headquarters, which he did for many years. Back home in 1979 he became registrar of the
Bible College of New Zealand. While still in Lebanon, Mrs Joyce Shearer, nee Craig, (Lebanon Evangelical Mission),
joined the Tabernacle, as did her husband Peter, later on.
1962—1987
1962 Ben Siaki from Niue Island left for the Philippines (Philippines Crusades), working as a powerful evangelist. He
had run away from Niue Island where his father was a pastor. Ben was converted in 1958 after being invited to church as
a result of street outreach. He met and married a lovely Filipino, Perla, who joined the Tabernacle when they were on
furlough. In1968 Ben’s his brother in law and sister, Eddie and Janet Pilisi, who he led to the Lord, began a work
among Pacific Islanders in Ponsonby (Pacific Gospel Mission) which they pastored for 35 years. After many years in
the Philippines with Overseas Crusades, Ben and Perla in1989 relocated to Southern Africa for their final decade of
service, in Swaziland, retiring in 2001.
Others who went out from the Tabernacle in the 1960s were Robin Little who went to Venezuela (WEC, then Christian
Literature Crusade), and who married fellow-Kiwi Elizabeth Harding who later joined the Tab. Together they specialized
in literature promotion. Later they linked up with Teen Missions based in Florida. After Robin’s untimely death in 1998,
Elizabeth went on to head up Teen Missions in NZ, based in Rotorua, but still travelling and training internationally; Terry
Williams went to India (Interserve) in 1975 and later Papua New Guinea (APCM); a nurse, Elaine Clarke served in
Central Thailand (OMF) at the Manorom Christian Hospital from 1966-83; Peter Horrell (who had been converted like
Ben Siaki, off the street) went to Colombia, Venezuela, then Spain (WEC). Tim and Janet Jollie went to Solomon Islands (SSEM); Margaret (and Leigh) Neighbour to Nigeria (SIM); and Averill Hoole to Japan (WEC).
For years the Plummer home in Newton had been an open home to new converts the family constantly brought home.
In 1971 the two sons, Doug and Peter both joined WEC. Doug went to Taiwan, and Peter, after assisting the Tabernacle pastor for two years, went to the British and American home bases of WEC. Later Doug (and Ruth) were invited by
the Jian Hua Foundation to work in Hong Kong, then later with the same group, but in the UK recruiting professionals to
serve in China. David Enright waited seven years for a visa, before finally leaving for Indonesia (WEC) in 1971. His
Australian wife June died during their first furlough. Some years later he remarried and together David and Dawn Enright worked in publishing in Indonesia. Janet Barker left for translation work with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Papua
New Guinea, also in 1971. She worked as a secretary and librarian at Ukurumpa. After her marriage to American Jerry
Robinson, they worked in literacy work, and saw the completion of the New Testament in the Rawa language .The Robinsons now live in America. This brings the number of Tab missionaries to 83.
The next period saw four groups of three going overseas. There were three doctors. Dr Ailsa Barker went to Indonesia
(OMF, 1972) where she married a national, Dr Hardi Wirawan. They combined medical work and Bible teaching, and
are still there in 2012. Dr Don and Margie Lloyd worked in Kenya (Christendoffel Blinden Mission) and then in Papua
New Guinea, in ophthalmic surgery. Dr Ruth Plummer joined her husband Doug Plummer in Taiwan (WEC). There
were three teachers for theological colleges. J.O. Sanders went to the Christian Leaders Training College in Papua
New Guinea. Rev Ian and Elizabeth Kemp returned to India in 1975 to teach at Yavatmal Theological Seminary
(BMMF/Interserve). There were three office workers. Ruth Richardson (1971) who became Mrs Rosser, and Mavis
Newton (1977) went to CLTC in Papua New Guinea, and Dawn McCarthy, now Dawn de Stigter, went to Bangladesh
with the NZBMS in 1975. There were three student workers. Richard Worth went to Manila (1979) and Robert and
Elizabeth Hawker to India (1980), all with Navigators.
There were also two couples with special gifts to stir missionary interest. Barry and Kay Austin went with YWAM in
1977 to UK, where they continue to this day in itinerant leadership training across the world; and Linton and Annabell
Conway served at OMF’s Chefoo School in Malaysia (1975-78). In 1981 Wendy Holmes went out with Wycliffe Bible
Translators, firstly in Papua New Guinea (where she married David Nicholls), then Vanuatu, and later in the headquarters in Melbourne. Wendy was Tab missionary Number 101! At that time of the church centennial in 1985 members
were challenged to pray for a new wave of missionaries.
1987— 2012
Tim Forester (Navigators) went to Ethiopia in 1988, and after marrying Annie (a doctor from UK) later moved to Tanzania. Troy Gentles, a gifted linguist, went with YWAM to serve the indigenous peoples of Taiwan in 1994. Later after
marrying fellow-Samoan Ruth, they transferred to serve in a restricted access country in Asia. Mitch (and his Thai wife
Ging) Atkins are reaching tertiary students with Campus Crusade in South Thailand since 1999. Alan and Averil Bennett (OMF) were in senior leadership and creative church planting after nearly 40 years in Thailand, and joined the Tab
team as Associate Members (retain dual membership, at Tawa Baptist) in 1994. Jeff Fountain, an “old boy” from the
Tab, who with his wife Romkje, headed up YWAM’s work in Europe (based in Holland) transferred to the Tab missions
team on 2002. Paul (and Anna) White (OM) have been serving in the Middle East as tentmakers, with a heart for the
Muslim world since 2003; Martyn Pritchard went as a physiotherapist to Afghanistan (Interserve) in 2002.
in late 2004, and Ben Poulton, after a time in Bangladesh, moved to a training role with the School of the Bible in USA
and Australia before moving to Nepal in 2011. In 2006 Simon and Alison North went to Japan. Late 2006 Viv (and
Ieda) Grigg after joining the Tab became part of the Missions Team as he continued his work to the Urban Poor. In 2010
they moved to the States where he now teaching a Masters course in Transformational Urban Leadership at Azusa
Pacific University.
to farewell them that bystanders asked whether they were film stars!
Also in 1933, two others left but not for China. Claudia Fraser went to serve the Aborigines in Australia (United Aborigines Mission; she became Mrs J.B. Koch), and Julia Hill went to India (Ceylon and India General Mission; she became Mrs E.H.V. Johnston). 1933 was the year when, after a lengthy illness, the Tab pastor Rev Joseph Kemp died.
His biography states that his vision for 100 missionaries to go from New Zealand to China during his lifetime was fulfilled, just. Missionaries 98, 99, and 100, were preparing to leave at the time of his death. (As a result of BTI.)
The next year, 1934, a veteran couple Mr and Mrs Durham Brown, left for Fiji. Two young men left on the same ship,
Alan Tucker to Egypt (Egypt General Mission) and later to Eritrea where he led the work until his enforced retirement in
1975, and Harold Smith to Brazil (Unevangelized Fields Mission). More about Harold Smith later. That same year
Gordon Conway and his fiancée May Williams left for China (CIM), along with Rodney Metcalfe and his fiancée
Kathleen Christie (CIM).
Probably the ministry of Joseph Kemp and his zeal for China and world mission generally had a great impact. Missionary speakers were welcomed at the Tabernacle. A second important influence was the establishment of the Bible
Training Institute to train missionaries and workers, located next to the Tabernacle in Queen Street. Joseph Kemp was
one of the prime movers in this venture. Third, the Christian Endeavour movement was strong at the Tabernacle.
Christian Endeavour was a great seedbed for the training of Christian workers and leaders. Missionary speakers frequently addressed the young people. Fourth, there were godly parents who prayed for their children, many of whom
went overseas, for instance the Smeetons, the Barrys, the Tuckers.
As a memorial to Joseph Kemp, the Christian public and the Bible Training Institute bought and equipped a caravan to
evangelize rural New Zealand. Jack and Mary Miller (nee Kemp) were the first caravangelists (1935). Joyce Hargreaves (Egypt General Mission) and Margery Coward (Unevangelized Fields Mission) left in 1935 to join their missionary fiancées, but Joyce became so ill en route that she was flown back to New Zealand where she later died.
Margery married Harold Smith in Brazil; by this time he had recurrent malaria. He died only a month after their wedding.
In the decade of the 1930s, war interrupted many plans. Civil War broke out in Spain, diverting Arthur Davidson to
Colombia (Worldwide Evangelization Crusade, 1936) where altitude problems caused his return. He became Australian
Home Base leader of WEC International.
The conflict in Ethiopia brought tragedy. In October 1935 Italy invaded Ethiopia, overrunning province after province.
The SIM (Sudan Interior Mission) missionaries decided to stay at their posts, but as the danger increased their director
Dr Lambie advised the evacuation of women and children to the capital Addis Ababa. Tabernacle missionary Cliff
Mitchell escorted a group from his mission station, including his own wife Myrtle and infant son, to Addis Ababa. He
then returned to continue his work with a young teammate Tommy Devers. Four months passed and nothing was
heard from them. Then a cable arrived from Allen Smith, a Red Cross worker who escaped across a border to safety:
“Failed to reach Italians. Mitchell and Devers reported murdered Kassi Desert May 9th.” This cable was confirmed by a second the same day, stating that their bodies had been seen by a reliable witness.
While the Tabernacle community gathered in a special memorial service to honour and remember Cliff Mitchell, word
was received of another life laid down for Christ. Harold Smith had died in Brazil, of malignant malaria.
These tragic deaths in 1936 failed to stop those who had heard God’s call. In 1937, Margery Civil left for Solomon
Islands (SSEM), where she married Norman McGregor. Doreen Andrews sailed for Egypt (Egypt General Mission). In
1939 she married Noel Hunt. When they could not later return to Egypt they remained and represented their mission in
New Zealand for many years.
Trevor Gibbs left for China in 1938 with his fiancée Margaret Evans (CIM) where they married. When they had to
return to New Zealand they entered the Baptist ministry. Phyllis Conway served the Maori people in Northland and
later in the Bay of Plenty (United Maori Mission, 1938). She was the second worker associated with the Tabernacle to
do so. (The first was the Baptist missionary Mr Fairbrother who had come to New Zealand through the support of C.H.
Spurgeon in London. With the backing of the Tabernacle and under the supervision of Tabernacle leaders, he had
gone to the Rotorua area serving for several years in medical aid and education there.) She married Norman Perry who
was later knighted for his service to the Maori people, so Phyllis became Lady Perry. Miss Thora Jenkins left New
Zealand in 1939 (SSEM), but had to return from the Solomon Islands after only ten months there. For many years she
then served the Crusader movement (now Scripture Union) in Australia and New Zealand.
By 1940 52 missionaries had gone out from the Tabernacle but during the years of the Second World War, few men
could go. 1940 Keith Dennis left for Papua New Guinea. The next woman missionary was Elisabeth Battley, who
spent 35 years in Colombia (WEC, 1942). Violet Walmsley went to Kashmir (Central Asian Mission, 1946) and
Kathlyn Holmes-Libbis went to India (British & Foreign Bible Society). She later served in Central Africa and in New
Zealand with the British and Foreign Bible Society. Then in December 1950 Lilian Bryan went to New Guinea (SSEM)
where she married Russell Bond. They moved across to West Irian and worked there until they returned home in 1963.
While on furlough Keith Dennis’ wife Lilian Dennis also joined the Tabernacle.
Silver-medalist nurse Shirley Matthews left for Solomon Islands (SSEM) in 1952. She was a gifted linguist, and was in
the process of translating the Bible into a tribal dialect when she died, the second Tab missionary to die while on active
service. In 1953 the Tabernacle had six missionaries on the field: Myrtle Paulsen in Mexico, Alan Tucker in Eritrea,
Elisabeth Battley in Colombia, Violet Walmsley in India, Lilian Bond and Miss Shirley Matthews in Papua New Guinea.
In that year Norah Conway, who had been in China, transferred to Malaysia (CIM/OMF), followed by David Beard in
1954 and his fiancée Margaret Frith in 1956. Then in 1954 Margaret Griffiths went to work in Dr Graham’s Home in
Kalimpong, India, joining the NZBMS in 1959. She was the Tabernacle’s 61st missionary.

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