Answering the Call

It all began with a little booklet containing a very long title: “Tract, Showing That the Seventh Day Should Be Observed as the Sabbath, Instead of the First Day; ‘According to the Commandment,’ ” by T. M. Preble, published in 1845.

No one knows exactly how the 12-page tract ended up in the home of Edward and Sarah Andrews in Paris, Maine, but somehow 15-year-old Marian Stowell found it and began reading. The Stowells had sold their farm in anticipation of Christ’s second coming and were taken in by the Andrews family following the Great Disappointment of October 22, 1844.

Impressed by what she read, Marian shared Preble’s tract with her older brother, Oswald, who was also convinced by the truth. Together the two siblings kept the next Sabbath the best they knew how. The following Monday, Marian offered the tract to 17-year-old John Andrews.

After reading, John asked Marian if her parents had read the tract. “ ‘No,’ Marian replied, ‘but I have. Are you willing to keep the true Sabbath, John?’ The next weekend both families, youth and parents together, kept the Sabbath, holding a service in one of the rooms of their house.”1

A Remarkable Life

It was the beginning of a remarkable life of service for John Nevins Andrews. Diving deeply into the topic of the seventh-day Sabbath, Andrews would eventually write what became the seminal work on this foundational Bible teaching: History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week—Its Old Testament Origins, and Observance at the Time of Christ, in the Early Christian Church, and in the Middle Ages. The book, first published in 1859, is still being sold on Amazon today.

Known for his earnestness, honesty, and piety from a young age, J. N. Andrews was always willing to accept the call to selflessly serve God and His church. His keen mind, ready pen, and leadership qualities led him to give valuable guidance in the formation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Whether serving as an unpaid itinerant evangelist in northern New England, or as editor of the Review and Herald, or as a member of the committees that voted the name “Seventh-day Adventist” in 1860 and organized the General Conference in 1863, or serving as the third General Conference president (1867-1869), Andrews wholeheartedly dedicated himself to God’s mission.

Willing to Serve

That’s why it was not a surprise when, at a General Conference Session on August 14, 1874, delegates voted to “instruct the Executive Committee to send Elder J. N. Andrews to Switzerland as soon as practicable.”2

Believers in Switzerland had been pleading for a missionary from the United States to come and help establish the Adventist work in their country, and Andrews answered the call—along with his children, Mary, 12, and Charles, 16.

On September 15 the Andrews family was on board the Cunard liner Atlas, heading to Liverpool, England, then on to Switzerland. Sadly, the little family was without their wife and mother, as Angeline Andrews had passed away in March 1872.

Dedicated to the Work

Immediately upon arrival Andrews plunged into his work, helping to organize Sabbath believers and placing an ad in the newspaper inviting all who wished to come and join them. But perhaps the biggest burden on Andrews’ heart was to publish a French version of Signs of the Times (Les Signes des Temps).  To do this properly, he and his children were determined to learn the French language well. They made a covenant to speak only French at home, or German as an exception. English was reserved only for emergencies or for specially allotted times.

The work done by the little family was phenomenal. John Andrews composed original articles in French or translated articles accurately from the Review and the Signs. Charles set the type, and Mary, who learned to speak French like a native, helped read the proofs. Les Signes rose from a circulation of 500 to as many as 5,000. The magazine was going to addresses in 50 of the 62 districts of France, across Switzerland, and to numerous other European countries of the time, including Sweden, Austria, Hungary, Prussia, Saxony, Alsace, Belgium, Holland, England, Wales, Scotland, Italy, and Spain. Reaching beyond central Europe, Les Signes evenfound its way into homes in Russia, India, Egypt, and North and South America!3

Faithful Unto Death

Truly this family answered God’s call to mission and served Him faithfully, some even unto death (see Rev. 2:10). Mary Andrews contracted consumption (tuberculosis) and died in 1878, at the age of 17. Her father, John, refused to leave the bedside of his dying daughter, and caught the disease. He died on October 21, 1883, at the age of 54. Following the death of his father, Charles returned to the United States and later married Marie Ann Dietschy, whom he had met in Switzerland. He took a job at the Review and Herald publishing house, which he held until his death on July 14, 1927.

A Fine Example

The Andrews family set a fine example of what it means to answer God’s call. Some today are still asked to leave home and loved ones and travel to a foreign land, where they learn a new language to reach the people there. And some, even today, give their lives as they serve in mission. Many serve as medical missionaries, teachers, and other frontline workers. Others are called to go across the street and share God’s love and good news with their neighbors. Many spread God’s Word through literature, whether it be the printed page, the Internet, social media, or other means. All are called to join God’s mission.

Inspiration tells us, “The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers. 

“The salvation of sinners requires earnest, personal labor. We are to bear to them the word of life, not to wait for them to come to us. Oh, that I could speak words to men and women that would arouse them to diligent action!” wrote Ellen White. “The moments now granted to us are few. We are standing upon the very borders of the eternal world. We have no time to lose. Every moment is golden and altogether too precious to be devoted merely to self-serving. Who will seek God earnestly and from Him draw strength and grace to be His faithful workers in the missionary field?”4

Will you answer God’s call, saying, “I Will Go,” and be a missionary for Him today during Global Total Member Involvement as we lift up Christ, His righteousness, His three angels’ messages, His sanctuary message, His health message, and His soon coming?

1 C. Mervyn Maxwell, Tell It to The World: The Story of Seventh-day Adventists (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1977), p. 167.

2 General Conference Session minutes, August 15, 1874, 7:30 p.m., p. 84, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/GCSessionBulletins/GCB1863-88.pdf.

3 Maxwell, pp. 172, 173.

4 Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 9, p. 117. (Italics supplied.)