In 1986 my wife and I left with another Canadian couple to the newly opened field of Guinea, West Africa. A particular focus of The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) was placed on Guinea from 1985-1995. The country had been closed to new missionaries from 1967-1985 and had just re-opened when a new government came into power. During this decade, about fifty new workers were sent from the USA, Canada, and the Netherlands to kickstart the work in Guinea. As young, newly trained and appointed missionary candidates, we were excited to be part of this new initiative. We were certain we would be catalysts to see the Gospel penetrate this virtually unreached country. Less than half of one percent were evangelical followers of Jesus. Little did we realize, we would be standing on the shoulders of giants who had gone before us.
Alliance work in West Africa began in 1890 and started in Freetown, Sierra Leone. At that time, the vision was to cross Sierra Leone to Guinea, find the headwaters of the Niger River, and missionaries would then use the river as a highway into the vast interior regions of West Africa. They would proclaim the gospel message to the millions who never had an opportunity to hear about Jesus. There were no roads, railways, or other means of transportation into this region at that time. The plan was to establish mission stations every fifty miles along the river from Freetown to Timbuktu as gospel lighthouses to take the message to the ninety million people who had not yet had access to this life-giving message.
One of the early recruits in this initial thrust into West Africa was Robert Sherman Roseberry. He was born on November 22, 1883, in Skelp, Pennsylvania, to a family with Quaker and Presbyterian heritage. At age fourteen, he responded to the gospel message from evangelistic meetings in the community. Later, at holiness revival meetings, he came to understand what it meant to be filled with the Spirit. This gave him a passion for knowing and following Christ. He had been planning a career as a schoolteacher and was attending Normal School for training. At a summer camp meeting, he had such a longing for a fuller experience with Christ, he went out into the forest and cried out to God with raised hands saying, “Lord give me Your power, and I will go to the ends of the earth.” He later said he “… went out from that holy place with great quietness of soul.” (Herber, 30) Roseberry applied to the Missionary Training Institute in Nyack, New York, where the regular weekly emphasis on the needs of the least-reached places in the world was presented. Roseberry received a passion and burden for French West Africa and the Niger vision. He wanted to be part of the group taking the message to the interior of West Africa.
Roseberry left New York for Freetown, Sierra Leone, in October 1909. He was partnered with another single missionary, David Muir, who had already been on the field for some time. They were assigned to open two new mission stations in Sierra Leone along the route toward the headwaters of the Niger River. They lived in very primitive conditions, building their own grass-roofed hut in the first village. Unfortunately, not long after their arrival, Muir suddenly got an extremely high fever, and three days later, he died of the dreaded “blackwater fever,” a type of malaria. Young Roseberry buried his colleague; he was the only Christian in the whole area. However, he continued his service among the Kuronko people for the rest of his first four-year term. The mission had been working in Sierra Leone for twenty years but had no established national church, and over thirty missionaries had lost their lives.
Despite the challenges and danger of working in West Africa, after one year back in the USA for furlough, Roseberry returned for his second term to Sierra Leone. He got to know a single young woman missionary named Edith Plattenberg from the neighbouring station, and they were married in Sierra Leone in 1914. Later in the term, Roseberry was chosen as the field leader, a post he held whenever he was not on home assignment.
Throughout their forty-four years in West Africa, Robert and Edith Roseberry functioned as a team in ministry. She was an integral part of the work. Her medical skills brought healing to many sick and hurting Africans and missionary colleagues. She was known by everyone as Madame and often travelled with her husband on his trips to the various stations. When she could not travel with him, she dealt with any situations coming up while he was away. Her daughter states, “She was the mother of the mission for many years” (Herber, 85). At their retirement, missionaries said to Roseberry, “We appreciated your ministry, but you are what you are because of Madame” (Herber, 84).
People of Prayer
The primary work in which Robert and Edith engaged was a ministry of prayer. This was undoubtedly the source of power behind their long service. Intercessory prayer was a way of life for them. Their daughter tells how her parents woke well before dawn and spent the first hours of the day in prayer and meditation. Under Roseberry’s leadership, from 4-5pm each day, all missionaries in French West Africa stopped what they were doing and set aside this hour for prayer for one another, their national colleagues, and the ministry and advance of the work. As a result, these faithful workers saw God break through in powerful ways, impossible health situations were healed, rain came to parched lands, demons were cast out, and sorcerers came to faith in Christ.
A Man of Vision and Passion
Roseberry was driven by a passion for those who had not yet had an opportunity to know the message of Christ. His heart broke, and with tears, he prayed that the millions in French West Africa might have an opportunity to hear about and know the Lord Jesus. The Roseberrys were the first resident missionaries in Guinea. They helped establish the first mission station at Baro near the Niger River in January 1919. This passion was expressed in his constant efforts to see mission stations established all along the Niger River as lighthouses for the Gospel. These strategic centres focused on evangelism, trained new believers, and gathered new believers together in churches.
Shortly after arriving in Guinea, Roseberry and his colleague bought three old boats from government surplus. They made one good working boat from them and travelled from Baro to Bamako, preaching in over one hundred villages. After the trip, Roseberry stated, “We reached about five thousand souls with the gospel on the trip and extended our mission… we are only beginning to realize the magnitude of this open door and boundless opportunity we have” (Herber, 54).
Roseberry realized, to firmly establish the church, national leadership would be necessary. He encouraged the development of Bible schools in each region. Shortly after WWII, Bible schools were established at Ntorosso in Mali, Bobo- Dioulasso in Burkina Faso, Bouake in Côte d’Ivoire, and Telekoro in Guinea. A women’s training school was started at Baro in Guinea. These schools often had to teach students to read and write before training them in Bible, theology, and church polity. Graduates from the Bible schools were the passionate, godly, and trained pastoral leaders for the growing church.
When Roseberry sensed the winds of independence blowing through the region, he encouraged the mission to take steps to position itself well for the division of French West Africa into separate countries. Thus, in 1949, about ten years before the independence of most of these countries, Roseberry encouraged the mission to divide into three fields, each with its own field structure. These fields were Mali/ Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Guinea. This strategic move positioned the mission well to move through the upheaval caused by the movement to independence by these countries.
Roseberry’s visionary and passionate leadership led to strong churches in four different countries in what was French West Africa.
An Innovator
Roseberry was what one might call an early adopter of new and innovative technologies in mission. He travelled incessantly and by any means available. He walked, had porters, travelled by bicycle, motorcycle, train, riverboat, car, and airplane so he could cover the vast territory of French West Africa. In 1923, Roseberry was one of the first missionaries to bring a Model T car to the field so people could get where they needed to go.
Roseberry also encouraged his workers to learn local languages, develop literacy programs, and translate Scripture. As a result, the mission adopted a strategy of short-term Bible schools and discipleship training. Additionally, under his leadership, the C&MA operated a printing press to produce materials in the multiple languages in which the mission worked.
On the occasion of Roseberry’s retirement, a 1953 article in the French West Africa Quarterly states, “Mr. Roseberry knew African missionary labors in their most primitive form. On the other hand, he has been one of Africa’s most progressive persons in campaigning for improvement, advancement, and completion of the remaining task” (175-6).
A Pastor of Missionaries
One of Roseberry’s strengths was his support and encouragement of his mission team. This was one of the main reasons for his continual travel schedule. He would visit each worker at their station, encourage them, pray for them, and learn the challenges they were facing.
He bore the burden of loss of his team members. Parents who lost children because of inadequate health care, colleagues who died from tropical diseases, and the burden of isolation placed on his workers weighed heavily on Robert’s heart. He bore their burdens with them, and they knew that he and Madame were there for them.
Each year there was a spiritual/strategy retreat for all mission personnel. These times were great opportunities for those who worked in isolated conditions to be retooled and refuelled for their next year of ministry. Roseberry saw the need for workers to get away from the heat and taxing conditions of their everyday lives. So he initiated the purchase of a vacation property in the cooler mountains of central Guinea. Families would build a cabin on this property and spend a month each year vacationing at Dalaba. Many are the stories of refreshment and blessing this place was to workers. Herber says it this way, “A whole month of such change along with fun, fellowship and spiritual blessings at Dalaba sent these workers back refreshed and renewed...Roseberry knew that renewal in spirit and body was necessary if they were to be able to face the debilitating climate and constant spiritual warfare back in their districts“ (Herber, 60). Dalaba was even one of our favourite places to go as a family when we served in Guinea!
Roseberry loved children, and they knew it. When he was visiting a missionary family, at some point, Robert would have the kids gathered around him, and he would be telling them stories from his life and travels. Kids loved his visits.
Another need Roseberry addressed was finding a good way for workers to educate their kids. At first, parents tried to teach their kids at home, but after a certain age, this was too difficult, so many of the children would return to the USA for high school. This was difficult for the missionary family, and parents soon started to ask for an option in the region. The mission purchased a property in Mamou and established a school for missionary kids. Roseberry would visit the school twice a year and considered this “one of the most important ministries of my life” (Herber, 94).
A Friend of Nationals
A key aspect of Roseberry’s leadership was his ability to interact with and gain the respect of nationals. His book entitled “The Soul of West Africa” highlights the stories of several national believers whom Roseberry knew and encouraged in their lives and ministries. One gains a sense of Robert’s respect and love for these African men and women.
Roseberry realized, to make an impact, he and his workers would need to learn the local languages and customs and engage the locals in ministry right from the start. So Roseberry would have learned French, Kuronko, Maninka, and probably some greetings and words in several dialects.
He was respected as a man of his word and a man of prayer. Roseberry provided the same kind of care and respect to nationals as he did to his missionary colleagues. Whenever he went to a new community, he would stop to greet the chief of the village or region. Out of respect for nationals, he sought to follow protocol wherever he went.
A Partner
As a Protestant, Roseberry and the mission needed to gain the trust of the French colonial authorities to have permission to work in French West Africa. Through his years in dealing with these authorities, Roseberry established relationships with a couple of evangelical French pastors and workers who helped him navigate the French bureaucracy. The French had no categories for a Protestant Mission. The C&MA was the first to be granted permission to work in the interior in French West Africa. He gained such a level of trust with authorities, by 1952, he was honoured by the French government as “Knight of the Legion of Honor.” Colonial authorities looked to him and the C&MA for guidance in making decisions about who should be allowed to work in the region.
Roseberry also saw the Body of Christ as bigger than the C&MA. He realized the whole Body would need to be engaged in reaching the over ninety million people of French West Africa. In the early days, he helped broker an agreement with the Evangelical Missionary Church to take over the C&MA work in Sierra Leone so the C&MA could concentrate on French West Africa. After WWII, Roseberry helped organize the “Federation of Missions” to help coordinate efforts throughout the region.
In the spirit of partnership and engaging others to help advance the work, Roseberry initiated a partnership with the Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society in 1947 to take over the C&MA work in Senoufou country. He also encouraged the Evangelical Baptist Mission to engage in the C&MA initiated work in Timbuctu and Gao in Mali. In western Mali, the United World Mission took over work from the C&MA. These strategic partnerships increased mission effectiveness and allowed the C&MA to concentrate its efforts according to their resources. It is rare for a leader to have such openness to sharing vision and resources with other organizations, but this proved to be advantageous for the advancement of the Kingdom.
A Man
At times, R.S. Roseberry doubted himself and his calling. He felt in over his head, incapable and unworthy. In seasons like this, he would remember his original calling and said, “having the Spirit of God in control of our lives was of utmost importance” (Herber, 77). He found his assurance in the One who called him.
The Final Years
The Roseberrys retired from the mission in 1953. In reflecting on their years in West Africa, they cite a turning point in the impact of the mission effort around 1931. That year, the mission team was decimated during a yellow fever outbreak. A baby was left without parents, small children without a mother, husbands without their wives. The Roseberrys believed these losses precipitated a fresh commitment to prayer for the region and brought a significant harvest during the 1930s.
When they left the field in 1953, there were:
- 33 mission stations in what became four different countries,
- several short-term preparatory schools teaching literacy and the Bible,
- clinics and dispensaries on several stations,
- 360 outstations workers would regularly visit,
- 6,000 baptized members gathered in 509 churches,
- an army of 150 trained African workers.
Quite a legacy for their lifetime of service! Edith and Robert would be the first to give God glory and give credit to their colleagues who worked so tirelessly.
Robert returned one final time to West Africa for the field conferences in 1956. During this visit, he had the privilege of ordaining two of Guinea’s first pastors. In addition, Robert was often called upon to speak at conferences and mission events. He always gladly accepted these opportunities and challenged people to engage more fully in Christ and His mission.
He and Edith lived at Beulah Beach in Ohio, then moved to the Alliance Home in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Edith passed away in 1964, and later, Robert married Anne German. They moved in 1968 to Deland, Florida. Robert Sherman Roseberry passed away at age ninety in July 1976.
Melodie and I went to Guinea thinking we would accomplish great things for the Kingdom. Little did we realize the sacrifice, prayer, and persistence of those giants like Robert and Edith Roseberry who preceded us. Without their faithful efforts, their strong confidence in God and His promises, and dogged determination, our efforts would be nothing. These giants had set the pace, broken strongholds, established the church, and faithfully served their Master. We stood on the shoulders of giants.
This is an excerpt from the book, On Mission Volume 3. Download your free copy today.