Jarrod Stackelroth: Imagine being 16 years old with nothing but a worn pair of boots,
a Bible in your hand, and the conviction that God is calling you to preach.
No car, no microphone, no paycheck waiting.
Just muddy roads, long walks, and a burning message you
can't keep to yourself.
That's what the first Young Adventist missionaries did.
And their courage carried the gospel across countries and
eventually across continents.
After the great disappointment of 1844, most people assumed
the movement would die.
Many walked away from their faith, but a small group stayed and they
didn't just recover, they expanded.
They believed Jesus was still coming and that he had given them a message to share.
. There were no cars, no microphones, no smartphones, no hotels waiting
with clean sheets and free breakfast.
Just fields, mud, horse drawn wagons, . And the quiet conviction that
the world needed to hear the truth.
Let's start with John Norton.
Loughborough.
He was just 16 years old when he started preaching, not in cathedrals
or crowded auditoriums, but under trees, on porches and in open fields.
He often worked in exchange for a meal or a dry place to sleep.
He'd traveled through the American Midwest with worn shoes and a strong
voice preaching about the Sabbath, the sanctuary, and the soon return of Christ.
Loughborough wasn't in it for fame or comfort.
He once said, I would preach if I had to walk to the edge of my shoes every day.
Then there was John Nevins Andrews another young leader, known for his
deep study and his clear writing.
At just 20 years old, he helped shape Adventist theology on topics like the
Sabbath and the Heavenly Sanctuary.
He didn't just believe he researched.
He'd copy entire chapters of scripture by hand just to study them more closely.
But Andrews didn't stop at books.
In 1874, he became the first official overseas missionary for
the Adventist Church sailing with his two children to Switzerland.
They lived, simply slept on the floor, ate what they could afford, and printed
truth in a second language because the gospel didn't belong to one country.
When asked what he needed for the trip, Andrews reportedly said,
I am willing to go with nothing but my Bible, and he meant it.
These weren't isolated stories across the US and beyond.
Young Adventist missionaries traveled on horseback or foot holding camp
meetings, printing leaflets, knocking on doors, and opening small churches.
They studied by Lanin, light, slept in barns, baptized people in freezing rivers.
Sometimes they were mocked.
Ignored or went hungry, but they kept going because to them Jesus
was coming soon and no sacrifice was too big to make that known.
It's tempting to think that mission only happens when everything is in
place, when there's enough money, enough training, the right building, the
right timing, but those early Adventist missionaries had almost nothing.
And God used every step they took.
They didn't wait for the perfect conditions.
They just said yes and moved.
Today the world looks different, but the core truth remains.
God is still looking for people willing to walk the extra mile, still calling
young hearts to rise, still opening doors where his message can be heard.
You don't need to be an expert.
You don't need perfect boots or perfect words.
You just need the courage to keep going.
Episode six.
Teenage Trailblazers
Read by Jared Stack Roth.