 THE YOUNG and the TIRELESS
Teenage
Anna Nitschmann Leads Her People into Greater
Commitment to Christ
by Dr. A. K. Curtis
THEY GATHERED TOGETHER
for the drawing of lots. The time had come to
select a leader, a "chief eldress" for
the women in the bustling community of Moravians
at Herrnhut (in what was East Germany). Four
names were put on slips of paper. One was Anna
Nitschmann. Only 14 years old, she had already
demonstrated leadership among the single women.
The girl must have tried
hard to appear calm as the choice was announced.
It was Anna. Was it a suppressed smile or a look
of fright that crossed her face as her name was
read? She probably noticed some scowls of
consternation. The drawing of lots was supposed
to discern the leading of God. But she was so
young--in this case had there been a mistake?
God's choice
Count Zinzendorf, the leader of this new Moravian
movement, strongly advised Anna to refuse the
appointment. But the young peasant girl
respectfully reminded the nobleman that she was
accepting the appointment as from the Lord. Just
as the surprising choice of the shepherd-boy
David proved decisive for Israel, so the choice
of young Anna would be for the Moravians.
The Moravians are one of
the most interesting groups in the history of
Christianity. Spiritual heirs of the Bohemian
martyr John Hus, they suffered religious
persecution for generations until a remnant found
refuge on the estate of Zinzendorf in 1722. Here,
in the town they called Herrnhut, a growing,
thriving community developed. While still in
Moravia, Anna Nitschmann's father and older
brother had been jailed for their christian
faith. They managed to escape to Herrnhut, where
they became actively involved in the Moravian
community. That was 1725.
Spiritual
awakening
By 1727 dissensions had sprung up within the
community. Various feuds and grudges were
disrupting this happy place. The concerned
leaders prayed earnestly about these developing
problems and, after a communion service on August
13, 1727, an unusual spiritual awakening swept
across the people there.
The whole community
sensed that they needed to turn from their
pettiness and pursue God's calling. Those with
bad attitudes repented, relationships were
restored, and an around the clock 24-hour-a-day
prayer meeting was begun, with teams taking one
hour at a time. (This prayer meeting would go on
for over 100 years!)
One of those deeply
affected was Anna Nitschmann, then just twelve.
She dedicated her life to the Lord's service, and
immediately began organizing the young women of
the community into a kind of club for worship and
ministry. It was this activity
that caught the eye of community leaders and made
them nominate her for the chief eldress position.
"Single
Sisters"
Six weeks after this election, Anna led 18 of the
"single sisters" to devote themselves
so thoroughly to Christ that even marriage would
take second place. This commitment was a major
one, signaling a serious desire to serve the
Lord. This "single sisters" group would
grow over the following decades, providing a
stream of courageous missionaries. Later, Anna
became part of the “Pilgrim congregation,”
a group of spiritual storm troopers ready to go
anywhere to spread the name of Christ. Her
missions travels took her to numerous countries,
even to America, where she helped in the founding
of Bethlehem and Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and
ministered effectively among various Indian
groups.
To the early Moravians
Anna was known as the selige Juengerin,
the blessed woman disciple. She had by example
demolished the doubts about what a young person
could do, and what a woman could do, in the
service of Christ.
Rebel teen
Anna had a bit of a rebellion shortly after her
family escaped to Herrnhut. She seemed to lose
interest in religious things. The community was
going through severe turmoil at the time, so that
didn't help much. When someone in the community
would press for her conversion, she would snap,
"First get converted yourself, and then talk
to me." It was the awakening of August 13,
1727, that turned her around.
Her hymns
In an era when women were not looked to as hymn
writers, Anna wrote more than 30 hymns that were
published in the Moravians’ German hymnal.
Called to a
count
Anna twice refused
offers for marriage. But one year after Count
Zinzendorf's wife died, he asked Anna to marry
him and she agreed. She was a commoner and he a
noble, but within the Herrnhut community, all
were equals, and Anna, now 41, had proven her
Christian commitment time and time again.
(Remember that this is the same Count who urged
the young Anna to refuse church leadership.) They
were married in June, 1757.
Mission
explosion
By the time of Anna Nitschmann's (and Count
Zinzendorf's) death in 1760, the Moravians had
sent out 226 missionaries and baptized more than
3000 converts. That was only 38 years since the
founding of the Herrnhut community and only 28
years since they sent their first missionaries.
This article is used
by permission of the author. It first appeared in
"Glimpses" from the Christian History
Institute.
|
