Watch this video to learn the real story of missionary John Allen Chau, who gave his life to reach the people of North Sentinel Island with the gospel.
John Allen Chau didn’t intend for any of us to know his name. Whether he lived or died, he intended to remain invisible to the world. But instead, in November of 2018, news broke of a 26-year-old American man who had been killed trying to make contact with a remote tribe on North Sentinel Island. Many reports—and even some Christians—said John had been foolish to contact this violent group. He was called a religious fanatic, a colonizer and worse. What most didn’t know was that John had prepared for almost a decade to reach the Sentinelese with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
In 2008, shortly after sensing God’s call on his life to serve as a missionary, John encountered information about the Sentinelese, an unreached people group on a tiny island in the Bay of Bengal between India and Southeast Asia. For the next nine years, every single decision he made was in preparation to go to North Sentinel and live with these people.
He took linguistics courses to help him communicate with the islanders, became a certified wilderness EMT to provide basic healthcare, and was vaccinated against all manner of diseases knowing the people would be vulnerable to imported Western illnesses. A former representative of the student missions office where John attended university said, “He was one of the most prepared men I’ve ever met.”
Five years ago today, John Chau penned his final note, which he left with the fishermen he’d paid to transport him near the shore of North Sentinel Island. Not much is known about the events of his death, but one thing is certain: He went to a people out of love for them and obedience to the Great Commission given by Jesus Christ.
Watch this video to learn more about the real story of John Chau, his preparation and his sacrifice.
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
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