Giants in Our Midst: Henrietta Mears

Meanwhile, Henrietta Mears, she of the infinitely goofy hats, was American to the bone, and an evangelical Protestant who made her mark on a whole generation in a way that most of us would find laughable: as a Sunday School teacher. Mears never once saw her ministry as modest but as a way to impact the whole world for Christ.

Henrietta was the Director of Religious Education at a Presbyterian Church in Hollywood, California for 35 years. She had a passionate conviction that through her Sunday School, which provided Christian education for all ages, she was to challenge parishioners to follow Christ and to prepare for a unique personal vocation. Over 400 young adults entered full-time Christian ministry under her influence and many hundreds of others entered business, the arts, and education as dedicated secular apostles. Among those whose lives were redirected through Henrietta’s ministry were the founders of several global movements such as Young Life, Campus Crusade, and the young Billy Graham.

Henrietta would sometimes ask other teachers what they thought the purpose of their Sunday School program was. Almost inevitably someone would say “ to lead boys and gifts to Christ”. “No!” Henrietta would respond emphatically, “That, of course, is part of it, but if you stop there, you will never be successful. Every man and women, every boy and girl “must feel that there is a task for them to do, that there is a place marked X for every person in God’s Kingdom. Here is my X, no one can stand in this place but me. I must help others to find their places.” (Dream Big: The Henrietta Mears Story, p. 191).

You can find a detailed biography of Mears and a description of her impact here.