Book Review #3: Rebecca’s Revival

The first African slaves landed in North America at Jamestown in 1619. None were Christians. When the Civil War began in 1861 the vast majority of African-American slaves were Christians. How did that happen? How and why did people enslaved by white Christians embrace the Christian Faith? 100 years after the Civil War it would be the Black Church, led by Martin Luther King Jr. that would bravely stand against the oppression of racism, and become the center of the Civil Rights Movement. Jon Sensback tells the story of the rise of Christianity in the African slave community of the Virgin Islands that was to spread to America. It’s a marvelous story with a freed slave its center. The book: Rebecca’s Revival, Creating Black Christianity in the Atlantic World. http://www.amazon.com/Rebeccas-Revival-Creating-Christianity-Atlantic/dp/0674022572/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355846912&sr=1-1&keywords=rebecca%27s+revival+creating+black+christianity+in+the+atlantic+world

The back cover of Sensback’s book claims, “Rebecca’s Revival is the remarkable story of a Caribbean woman… a slave turned evangelist… who helped inspire the rise of black Christianity in the Atlantic world.” That isn’t hyperbole; it is indeed a remarkable story that’s fascinating as well as inspiring. The freed slave Rebecca became a believer at a young age. At 18, in 1736, she met a German missionary sent to St. Thomas by the Moravian Church. Rebecca would eventually marry that missionary and become one of the greatest evangelists the Church has ever known. It’s a story filled with unexpected twists and turns, euphoric successes, and heart-breaking losses. It’s a story of God working through a black woman who displayed amazing faith and courage. Rebecca went on to serve the Lord on 3 continents, North America, Europe, and Africa. She became a spiritual mentor to whites as well as blacks.

Of course, there were many reasons that African slaves converted to Christianity, but Sensback offers this as one of the primary reasons: “…the sense that Jesus was their friend; his word refuted the brutal degradation they endured daily… Christian worship furnished a refuge for the oppressed.” (Pg.91) Rebecca and the Moravian missionaries carried a message of hope to most oppressed people in the 18^th century world.

Looking for a good read over Christmas? Rebecca’s Revival is a worthy consideration.