Heroes of the Faith: William Bagby

Welcome to the Preaching the Cross Radio Podcast, featuring the radio ministry of Pastor James W.

Knox of the Bible Baptist Church of Delant, Florida.

Our prayer is that these half-hour Bible study programs bring the lost to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and enable the saved to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Savior.

Now here's your host, Pastor James W.

Knox.

All right now, thank you for that kind word of introduction.

Thanks to each and every one of you for tuning in today.

I'm Brother James, and I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

And I welcome you once again to the preaching of the cross radio broadcast.

You know, Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures.

He was buried, and the third day Jesus rose again, according to the Scriptures.

Those great truths are found on the pages of the Holy Bible.

Nearly everyone listening to my local uh broadcast, our local program here in Deland, Florida, where our home base is, has a Bible.

If you don't have one, you can go down to the department store and pick one up for less than ten dollars.

Matter of fact, there's some stores here in town you get a whole Bible for a dollar.

And uh if you want to hear the gospel message, you can get up on a Sunday morning or Sunday night or Wednesday night or a Thursday night, or if the special meeting's going on, you can go any day of the week and hear the Word of God preached from the pages of the Holy Bible.

If you can't get out of your home, you can do what you're doing right now, you can turn on a radio program and hear someone preaching the gospel over the airwaves.

But my friends, in many lands around this world, men and women don't have that blessed privilege.

And down through the course of time, there have been very, very few nations and countries and places in those countries where the gospel was, uh I started to say, readily available, many of these countries where the gospel was not available at all.

And so the great heroes of the faith, the men and women who left the comforts of home, the men and women who left uh family and uh and upbringing, the men and women who left a church fellowship, if you will, and an opportunity to sing God's praises with like-minded believers, these men and women who traveled the world over, seeking to make the Lord Jesus Christ known where he had not previously been known, seeking to declare the good news of Jesus Christ, these men and women really and truly are heroes, if not in man's history books, certainly in the history books of God.

On the program today I want to talk to you about one of these individuals, a gentleman by the name of William Bagby.

And I'll be honest with you, I'll be honest with you in all the years that I've been saved, and all the uh the books on church history and so forth that I've ever read, I had not come across the name of William Bagby until just yesterday.

But I want you to hear his story.

I want you to know something about this man.

You'll meet him in heaven if you're saved and born again, and you may get to shake his hand.

It'd be nice if you know a little something about him before you got home to glory.

In the veins of William Bagby flowed the blood of pioneers.

His family could trace their ancestry back to the time of the Danish invasion of Britain.

This long history was marked with many colorful and romantic events.

In time, the Bagby settled in Virginia, and later James Bagby, who was the father of the famous Brazilian missionary William, moved to Louisville, Kentucky.

There James Bagby married Mary Wilson, whose father was pastor of the First Baptist Church of that city.

Through the long years of the Bagby ancestry, the inscription on their coat of arms read, Virtue lies in strength and courage, and not in birth.

That's quite a motto for a family to live by, to aspire to.

In Coriel County, a sparsely settled section of West Central Texas, on November 5, 1855, a fifth child was born to the Magbys.

Months earlier, Mary had dedicated this forthcoming child to the service of God.

And her prayer was that the baby should grow up to carry the gospel to the unconverted.

Mothers think of that.

Young ladies think of that.

You say, preacher, it'd sure be hard for me to see my children go off to the mission field.

It would sure be difficult for me to see my beloved son or my beloved daughter make their way to a faraway country.

Well, suppose that before they were even born, you had begun to pray and sanctify your heart, your affections, your mind, and your child to the Lord's work for the carrying of the gospel.

I'm not saying that would make it easy, but I am saying that would certainly, that would certainly enable you to make such a great sacrifice and give the Lord such a great gift with great peace and comfort and confidence.

Well, this prayer was answered in a marvelous manner, for William Bagby was to be used of the Lord in opening Brazil to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When William was eight, the family moved to the village of Waco, where the lad enrolled in the primary department of Waco University.

Three years later, in the first Baptist Church of Waco, William accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.

He did not evolve into Christianity.

He did not inherit his mother and father's Christianity, but he personally received the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior.

Believing Jesus died for his sins, was buried, and the third day rose again, William repented of those transgressions and iniquities which would have sent his young soul to hell and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.

During the next several years, young William struggled for an education at the university.

At the same time, God was preparing a helpmate for William and in a most unusual manner.

In her seventeenth year, while Anne Luther was a student at the Lexington Baptist College in Missouri, God confronted her with the feeling that after graduation she should bear the gospel of Christ to some foreign country.

Amazing how God works his plans and his purposes, is it not?

Amazing how God brings together all the different factors that go to the great work that he has uh in view for his people.

Well, during the next several years, young William struggled for an education at the university.

At the same time, uh her father, the the young lady uh Anne Luther, her father, Dr.

Luther, became president of Baylor College in Texas, and Anne was his first assistant.

You know, so many of these schools, these colleges in our country were at one time uh Baptist or Presbyterian or uh Episcopalian or some but but they were whatever the denomination, these colleges and universities were established to train men to carry the gospel to the lost.

We've come a long way from those foundations, have we not?

Meanwhile, William, as I said, studying at Waco University, felt his heart strangely drawn toward the work of Christ, not only in the homeland, but in the foreign field.

The Magby home was never without a guest, it seemed, usually a traveling preacher or an evangelist, and the front parlor often served as a meeting house where the neighbors would be invited for a service.

Living in such a wholesome Christian atmosphere, William soon found himself being borne along in the tides of this spiritual enthusiasm.

William was inspired by the tutelage of his mother and the influence of his only sister Ermine, who had long cherished the ambition of becoming a missionary on the foreign field.

William continued his education, and while studying theology under B.

H.

Carroll, he often remarked with amused pretense, Yes, Dr.

Carroll, I and I founded the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

He was the faculty, and I was the student body.

One teacher, one student.

But it certainly grew from there.

Well, immediately following graduation from the seminary, he became a farmer through necessity.

During this time he was uh beginning to preach.

The end of that year saw him teaching in a small Texas town.

At his last school charge, he was finally ordained at the hands of three godly men J.

M.

Carroll, brother of his former teacher, Rufus Burleson, under whose ministry he had been led to Jesus Christ, and R.

C.

Buckner.

Strange things were in the offing for William in 1878.

While he was attending the first Sunday School Convention of Texas held at Calvert, he met and promptly fell in love with the vivacious Anne Luther.

Anne was admirably fitted to become the wife of the would-be preacher William.

She had been fired with an intense desire to evangelize some foreign field.

Her heart had been centered on Burma because her own mother had been named Anne Judson in honor of the heroine of Burma.

Two years later, on October 21st, 1880, Anne and William were married by Anne's father in Baylor College Hall.

William's first work was pastoring a small Baptist church in Grimes County.

At once he and Anne offered themselves for foreign service.

God marked for them the special sphere of their labors.

General A.T.

Hawthorne, who was foreign mission agent for the Texas Baptists, delivered an address to an audience where Anne and William were present.

He spoke about the great unevelized continent of South America.

As the general pled the cause of South America, Anne and William's hearts were warmed.

They felt that God would have them devote their lives to Brazil.

Shortly, William and Anne offered themselves for Brazilian service.

This was a labor to be highly honored of the Lord.

In 1880, five days before her appointment as a missionary to Brazil, Anne wrote, I always feared, up to three summers ago, that I should love somebody who had no intention of becoming a foreign missionary, and that I should be compelled to leave my native land with a broken heart.

But my heavenly father had better things in store for me.

On January 12, 1881, they boarded a cargo ship, the Yamodan, which was bound for Rio de Janeiro.

On arriving in the city, they had a letter of introduction to a Christian dentist, but much to their consternation, they found that he was on a visit to America.

At first they were disturbed, but a divine providence soon became apparent.

Shortly thereafter, the young missionaries received a letter from a Christian woman who had heard they were coming to that country.

In the letter, she offered them her home as their headquarters.

This introduced them to the small Baptist colony of Santa Barbara.

To the young people, the letter had been sent from heaven.

During their visit of three weeks at Santa Barbara, God sanctioned their work, gave them a native assistant, Antonio de Albuquerque, who had been a Catholic priest.

On hearing the gospel, the true saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, he was converted, and now he pledged his support to the missionaries in this strange land.

William and Anne waited upon the Lord for a year, wanting to be certain that the hand of the Almighty was directing every movement.

And consequently, the following year, together with their Brazilian assistant, they began an intensive language study at the Presbyterian School of Campanas.

Here their first child, Ermine, was born on July 25, 1882.

This was the first of nine children the Lord was to give the Bagbys, most of whom were devotees their lives, as their parents before them, to missionary work either in Brazil or neighboring South American nations.

On October 15, 1882, God furnished assistance to the Bagbys in the form of Mr.

and Mrs.

Z.

C.

Taylor, consecrated young Americans who heeded the call of the Lord to Brazil.

Consequently, they moved to the city of Bahá, which was a stronghold of Roman Catholicism.

And though the city had only two hundred thousand inhabitants, which is large enough for that day and time, it boasted a Catholic church for every day of the year.

Think of it, three hundred and sixty-five thousand Roman Catholic churches in that city.

Immediately, William organized the first Baptist Church of the city, consisting of five members, four of whom were the American missionaries, and the one Brazilian convert.

Among the Brazilians, the church was spoken of as the Biblias because of their direct adherence to the Bible.

At once Albuquerque began preaching in his native tongue.

As an ex-priest, he was able to speak heart to heart with the people, and God greatly anointed him as he proclaimed the word of life.

The first convert was a confirmed gambler and drinker.

His life became so altered on the incoming of Christ that he was a marvel to all who had previously known him.

The work was small, and the problems were many, but William and his assistants steadfastly proclaimed the gospel.

Their pulpit had once served in a Roman Catholic Church, but William remodeled it and changed it for evangelical use.

He notes that he thus saved forty dollars.

This pulpit stood on a platform made of the boxes in which Bibles had been shipped to Brazil by the British and Foreign Bible Society, and was faced by ten eight-foot benches.

There were twelve chairs purchased for thirty dollars and three bookcases to hold Bibles.

In this way, this humble way, the candle moth invasion of Brazil, as they called it, began.

Who called it that?

The Roman Catholic Church.

Well, Dr.

Bagby, as he was uh came to be known, said, quote, The city lay in darkness, and wickedness was around us.

Not a soul was conscious of our movement or existence as a church.

Yet we trust that a work was begun by which the power of Satan will be shaken.

At the end of two years of strenuous labor, the membership of the church had increased from five to twenty.

While William was praying, the Lord impressed him with a sense that it was the divine will that they embark upon a new adventure, that they leave Bahá in the hands of the capable tailors, and the objective of this venture was Rio de Janeiro.

Shortly, the mission board in Richmond, Virginia, under which the Bagbys were laboring, gave their consent, and the young couple, with a Christian servant, moved on to the capital.

On august twenty fourth, eighteen eighty four, William and Anne organized the first Baptist Church of Rio, with a membership of four.

Bagby said, My congregations are still small and doubtless will be for some time.

There is much indifference on all sides.

I do not know of a single Brazilian who is interested in the salvation of his soul.

Yet we have great hopes for the future of the capital.

The work is still in the day of small things, but we are trusting that the Lord will manifest his power within a few months.

A helper is my great need, and I hope my plea is not in vain.

William's first church was the home of an English lady who had been converted in the church in London, England, where Charles Haddon Spurgeon was the pastor.

And she came and joined the Bagbeys with a letter from Spurgeon himself.

The small church, meeting in this private home, was to flourish until it should become one of the largest churches in Brazil.

For seventeen years of missionary service, the Bagbees labored in Rio, and they saw a slow but substantial growth of their work, not only in this city, but in neighboring states.

New missionaries from the homeland joined them as the Lord sent them out.

William, feeling the constant necessity of a native assistant, asked God to furnish him one.

And shortly thereafter, a Brazilian by the name of Mesquita, M-E-S-Q-U-I-T-A, joined the newly organized church.

Mesquita was to do for the work in Rio what Albuquerque had done in Bahia.

He was to be the first link in the chain that was to reach the native Brazilians.

By the end of 1885, the congregation numbered eighteen.

The following year saw the arrival of three more missionaries, and thus made it possible for other preaching stations to be opened in various sections of the city.

Without warning, Bagby was stricken with yellow fever, a malady from which few victims ever escape.

But the hand of the Lord was gently laid upon him in healing power, and on recovery he felt a deeper sense of responsibility than ever before, for he knew that he had been providently spared for a special work.

He and Anne returned on furlough to the homeland where they recuperated.

They spent their time in deputation work and God gave them strength.

This enabled them to lay the burden of Brazil upon the church in the United States.

On returning to Brazil, they discovered that a new liberal political movement was flourishing in the empire.

While the emperor was away on May 13, 1888, the Imperial Princess signed a bill which had been passed by Congress, whereby all slaves of Brazil were set free.

Under General Damon Fonseca, a liberal statesman and soldier, the Empire was suddenly overthrown, and Brazil became, in name anyway, a republic.

When William and Anne found these movements in the offing, they recognized that this would make it possible for them to preach the gospel freely in this their adopted country.

One of the first acts of the new president was to pass a bill through Congress separating church and state.

Of course, this weakened the power of the Roman Catholic Church, which is always sought to establish itself as the state church, making others, if not illegal, certainly working at a handicap.

During this time, Senator Aristes Lobo, a member of the Republican cabinet and the favored leader of the people, visited the humble Baptist parsonage.

At length he discussed with William the Constitution of the United States and asked many questions concerning the reforms which were afterwards put into effect in Brazil.

With the Declaration of Religious Freedom, William knew it was time to launch into an unprecedented evangelistic campaign.

He repeatedly called upon the homeland to send more workers.

He organized various missions and began new stations where these added workers took charge.

On March twenty-third, eighteen ninety-one, he opened his work in Campos, which was to become one of the most successful stations in Brazil.

He wrote to the Richmond Board, and I quote, Brazil is certainly prepared as never before to receive the good news of salvation.

Everywhere it seems that the way is open to the messengers of the cross, and many invitations come to us from persons in distant places, pleading that we visit them and preach to them the gospel of Christ.

Among these calls, one came from Sao Paulo, which was the intellectual center of Brazil.

And in 1901, William and Anne moved to that city.

This was not far from their missionary service in Santa Barbara.

Meanwhile, William felt the need of organizing the far flung Baptist groups, which he had established in Brazil, and as a consequence he formed the Brazilian Baptist Association.

This made it possible for the group to direct their efforts more unitedly toward the common end.

The main topic of discussion was local self-support and cooperation among the groups.

Funds also were raised for support of traveling missionaries.

Soon the Lord enabled William to band together the three small papers that were then existing among the missions and form the Baptist Journal.

Out of this came a united program for the various groups which uh William had started, and shortly thereafter the workers planned to open a college and seminary, and when possible to publish their own Sunday school literature.

One of the outstanding achievements of the Magbees in Sao Paulo were Was the organization of the girls' school, which was formed in their home soon after they entered the city.

Do not be surprised, Anne had written to the board during their second year in Brazil, to hear of the organization of a domestic school here in Brazil.

She'd made a small beginning along this line in Rio, but it was not until they had reached Sao Paulo that the dream became a reality.

In nineteen oh one, without support from the board, without equipment or teachers, without even a building, Anne took this step.

At this time she said, I prayed that when this school ceases to become a soul winning agency, God will close it.

Soon the demand was strong for a boarding department and the house was rented.

During the years the school prospered, but it was not until 1920 that the Foreign Mission Board gave it a permanent home and began its support.

From the Anne Bagby Center in Sao Paulo, as the denomination named it, there have gone out many thousands of young women, Christian young women, who have established Christian homes in their communities, or who are serving as faithful missionaries in their native land.

The call of other South American nations became strong among the Brazilian churches.

In time, Bagby received a request from Chile to send us a missionary.

The Bagbys were personally chosen to represent the Brazilians in this new field.

After a year's work in Chile, spent in organizing the forces and laying the groundwork, Bagby returned with an inspirational report which resulted in the wholesale missionary program being launched in Chile.

Early in his life's work, Bagby displayed an indispensable gift to inspire others to undertake tasks which he saw must be accomplished for the Lord.

In time, this made it possible for him to inspire Brazilian Christians to undertake the work of evangelizing their own country.

On his various furloughs as he presented the call of Brazil, he was likewise able to foster recruits for the Brazilian adventure.

The hand of God continued upon the work of William and Anne Bagby throughout their lives.

Of the nine children born to them during the years of their missionary service, four sons died before they completed their personal preparation, but all were preparing for missionary work in Brazil.

But the five of their living children each followed their parents in missionary service.

Ermine became a Baptist missionary pioneer in Argentina.

Taylor, one of the most forceful evangelists in Brazil.

Alice, a pioneer missionary to the state of Rio Grande de Sul.

Helen became Mrs.

W.

B.

Harrison and served in three Brazilian stations.

Albert took charge of evangelistic work in one of the provinces.

God also gave the Bagbees two grandchildren who went on to serve as missionaries in Brazil.

Step by step, William and Anne Bagby blazed adventurous trails of missions in their adopted land.

In 1939, the Bagbees were in Porto Alegre, not as active as they once had been, but in March of that year their youngest son Albert had been set apart for the ministry by the laying on of the hands of the church leaders.

A day later, daughter Helen had felt her father's hand of benediction laid upon her head as he asked God to bless her marriage to missionary W.

B.

Harrison.

On August 5 of that year, the eighty four year old Christian soldier bid goodbye to his missionary family and went home to receive his commander's commendation.

William had suffered from a brief attack of bronchial pneumonia, and when the heavenly summons came he answered with calm content written on every feature of his face.

Three years later, Anne, while flying with her daughter to northern Brazil, slumped in her seat as the airplane streaked high above the jungle below.

Daughter Helen looked at the slumped over form and knew that death was near.

Anne Bagby never regained consciousness this side of heaven, but joined her husband William in that land beyond the skies.

Thus a career of service came to a close, but the streams of influence started by William and Anne Bagby will continue so long as time exists.

One man, one woman, then another couple, four missionaries, and one native Brazilian.

And my friend from those five dedicated lives grew a church, churches, newspapers, schools, missionaries, mission stations, open doors into other South American countries.

My friend, one person can still make a great difference in this old world if their life is given fully and completely to the Lord Jesus Christ.

William Bagby, his wife Anne, until just yesterday I'd never heard their names.

I'm glad I was able to learn a little a little something about them before I see them receive their great rewards at the judgment seat of Christ.

Thanks for tuning in today.

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Until next time and throughout eternity, may Jesus Christ be praised.