Johannes Theodore Van Der Kemp was one of the first protestant missionaries sent to Africa and perhaps one of the most controversial. This book tells the unbelievable true story of one of the most extraordinary missionaries to ever live and one of the most groundbreaking trials in South African history.
Once a soldier, an adulterer, and a man who openly raised a child out of wedlock, Van Der Kemp spent much of his early life as an outspoken atheist. He was, without a doubt, one of the most unlikely candidates for missionary work in the 19th Century. By the time he applied to be a missionary in 1798, he was already 52 years old, far older than any missionary the London Missionary Society had ever sent to the field.
However, the true problematic nature of his life didn’t start until after he arrived as a missionary in Africa, where he broke all the rules. Against every order from the missionary society, he pioneered his way deep into the African bush and began doing what no other missionary had done before—he lived among the African tribes and became a member of their community in order to reach them for Christ. In doing so, he became the inspiration for missionaries like Karl Gutzlaff, Hudson Taylor, and David Livingstone, and his missionary work forever transformed the trajectory of slavery in Africa.
Dr. Van Dr Kemp labored for many years in Africa, bringing entire tribes to Christ. His influence is still felt across the continent today.
During his time there, Dr. Van Der Kemp saw the cruel treatment of Africans by the colonists who claimed to be Christians. He was horrified and demanded justice. He insisted that those responsible, even if they were white, should be tried for their crimes. At his request, the first-ever trials against white colonists were held in Africa.
Many of Dr. Van Der Kemp’s fellow European ministers were outraged by his attempts to hold whites accountable for their crimes against Africans. They branded him a traitor to his race. The clergy hated him, but their opposition was not enough to stop him from pushing forward.
Several documents, letters, journals, and books from this period in the early 1800s were used in piecing together the lives of Dr. Johannes Van Der Kemp and the brave pioneers in his life who helped transform the early landscape of South Africa and bring about the trial of a white colonist who killed her African slave.
This book is a tribute to the complicated people God calls. May it speak to the hearts of those who have failed miserably in life and give hope. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” — Genesis 50:20
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