November 2003

Mission Heroes

Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf

Quote: “I have but one passion—it is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ. ...”

While his name is certainly a mouthful, the work of this 18th century German nobleman is what fills the records of pioneering Protestant missions. Born in 1700, his mother prayed for him: “The Father of mercy govern the heart of this child that he may walk blamelessly in the path of virtue. May he allow no evil to have control over him, and may his path be fortified in His Word.” His father died soon after he was born, and his mother remarried, so he was sent to live with his grandmother. This devout and Godly woman belonged to the Peitist movement* and took Zinzendorf’s spiritual development very seriously. From the earliest age he was taught to delight in prayer and love for Jesus, who died for him. Between ages 10 and 16, Zinzendorf attend the Halle School which was run by a leader of the Peitist Movement. At age ten he confessed to his aunt that he had given his life to his Savior.

After Halle, Zinzendorf attended the University of Wittenburg. His family required him to attend this traditional Lutheran school, located in the same town where, 200 years before, Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door. Though Zinzendorf desired to study theology, a position in the church was not an appropriate post for someone of his rank, even according to his devout grandmother. He spent three years preparing for a worldly diplomatic career, but he maintained his personal disciplines of prayer, Bible study and fasting, blending the traditions of Lutheranism with his Peitist devotions.

Zinzendorf, as a noble young man about to begin is professional career, spent 1719 and 1720 making the traditional “Grand Tour” of Europe, gaining introductions to important people in the European aristocracy. He also used the time to meet with powerful men of the church, taking pleasure in sharing his personal faith and hearing their own perspectives. Everywhere he rejoiced to find leaders of genuine faith, among Lutheran, Calvinist and Catholic alike. He felt a great calling to unify all true believers in their love of Christ. At this same time, he had a personal revelation while viewing a Domenico Feti painting entitled “Ecce Home,” which depicted Jesus on the Cross with the inscription: “All this I did for thee; what doest thou for Me?" He felt Jesus addressing him directly, and determined to live his life in devotion to Christ, using his rank and position as he could.

In 1722, he married Countess Erdmuth Dorothea Von Reuss and finally settled into a post in the King of Saxony’s court. Still, he actively invited people into his home for Bible study and discussion, and sought out ways to aid persecuted believers. Later that year, the opportunity arrived when a man named Christian David approached him to ask if a small group of Moravian Protestants could seek asylum on his land. He gladly accepted, and before he knew it, the settlement of Hernnhut, “The Lord’s Watch,” was growing with exiles from all over the region. Zinzendorf had appointed his close friend, John Andrew Rothe, as pastor of the village church, and together they set out to care for the little band of outcasts. He created the “Brotherly Agreement,” a simple but unique code of civil rules and Biblical behavior to which all residents had to agree. United Brethren, Calvinists, Catholics, Pietists, Anabaptists and other groups sought refuge at Hernnhut and, with so many groups also came discord. The community was divided and contentious, causing Zinzendorf to struggle to keep the local religious and secular authorities from dispersing them.

The worst came in 1726, when a charismatic man named Krüger arrived at the settlement. As a gifted and persuasive speaker, he had soon convinced the group of his own personal doctrines, including the branding of Rothe and Zinzendorf as the “False Prophet” and the “Beast.” Within the year, Krüger suffered a breakdown and was sent to an asylum, but the damage was done. Zinzendorf, characteristically, did not defend himself or confront his attackers, but he eventually realized the gravity of the situation. In 1727, his grandmother died, clearing the way for him to change his career. He resigned his post at court, obtained ordination, and returned to live full-time at Hernnhut. He called the group together, exhorting them to love God and each other, and to leave their disagreements behind. He succeeded, and soon they all gathered in the village church to celebrate Communion with Rothe. There the entire congregation experienced a miraculous revelation—all present felt the touch of the Holy Spirit at one time. The day is still remembered as the “Moravian Pentecost.” They left the church with a renewed spirit of unity and purpose, with a focus on reaching the world with Christ’s love and salvation. They also established an intercessory prayer group, which kept members of the community praying around-the-clock for over 100 years without interruption.

The opportunity for the Hernnhut community to fulfill their purpose in the world came a few years later. In 1731, Count Zinzendorf attended the coronation of King Christian VI of Denmark, where he met two Christians from Greenland and a converted slave from the West Indies. The latter he invited back to Hernnhut to tell them of the need for missionaries. Having always had a passion to reach others with the Gospel, especially the despised or neglected, Zinzendorf was enthusiastic to send some of his followers to this new field. The first two workers were commissioned and sent from Hernnhut in 1732.
The Brethren rallied to this new work, and soon Moravian missionaries were serving in Suriname, Greenland, South Africa, and the colonies of Pennsylvania and Georgia. In fact, it was while traveling to Georgia that a group of Moravian missionaries met and witnessed to John and Charles Wesley, great evangelists of the 18th century who went on to found the Methodist church. Zinzendorf worked hard to personally train and prepare all of the Moravians who went out from Hernnhut. They were taught to seek out honest work, to live as equals among the people and share the simple message of salvation through Christ’s death and resurrection.

Zinzendorf longed to go himself, and in 1736, he received an unexpected opportunity to do so—the King, at the prompting of the Count’s many enemies, banished Zinzendorf from Saxony and his own estate. He went abroad, visiting many missionaries and Brethren communities throughout Europe and the Americas. He encouraged the workers and intervened on their behalf as his position allowed him—he met with leaders of the Iroquois Nations and Benjamin Franklin, and helped to establish the town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Christmas Eve, 1741. He was even able to offer his personal testimony to the King of Denmark. He did all he could to establish new openings for workers and to facilitate unity between believers, as had always been his passion.

Zinzendorf spent the difficult years between 1749 and 1755 in England, working with the Brethren there. He had long supported the Moravian settlements with his personal funds and in 1750 he very nearly went bankrupt. In 1752, his only son died of tuberculosis. At last, in 1755, the King of Saxony rescinded his banishment, and Zinzendorf returned to Hernnhut. Sadly, his wife died the next year. Though he did not regret his following of Christ’s call, he did feel a great deal of remorse for how he had neglected her through all of his travels. However, after a full year of mourning, the Count took as his second wife Anna Nitchmann, a leader of the single women. Mysticism fascinated her, and together the two fell into a time of morbid fascination with the bodily death of Christ that caused a widespread neglect of the Brethren’s evangelistic focus. The Count soon repented and shook off the macabre obsession, and led the group back to a healthy, wholesome spiritual state. However, this deviance had caused the Wesleys and several other associates to break with the group.

The Count continued to work continuously until his death in 1760. Ironically, thought Zinzendorf struggled hard for unity within the Church, he ultimately created a new denomination, the Unity of the Brethren. Through them he set an example for dedication to world missions that helped change the way Protestant Christians throughout the West viewed their responsibility to the “go and make disciples of all nations.” Several hundred of the hymns he wrote remain as a testament to his faith and devotion.

* Pietism developed in response to the rigid dogmatic atmosphere of the orthodox Lutheran church and emphasized a sincere love for the risen Christ, demonstrated in personal devotion, study, and evangelism. Love for others, moral living, and frequent fellowship with other believers also defined the movement. The primary leaders of this movement were Phillipp Jakob Spener, Zinzendorf's godfather, and August Hermann Franke who headed the Halle Academy when Zinzendorf attended school.

For sources to this article and more information about Count Zinzendorf, please see:

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/winkworth/
hyndwink.zinzendf.html
http://www.zinzendorf.com/countz.htm
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Nicolaus-Ludwig-Zinzendorf
http://www.countzinzendorf.org
http://www.weeks-g.dircon.co.uk/quotes_by_author_xyz.htm

Tucker, Ruth A. From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions. The Zondervan Corporation. Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1983.