The Three ABWE Presidents

Lucy Peabody (1861 -1949)

Mrs. Lucy Peabody served as a missionary among Telugu-speakers in India. Her first husband, Norman Waterbury, died in 1886 while they were in India leaving her with two small children. She returned to the USA where she became a teacher, writer, editor and gifted public speaker. She rose to considerable prominence in the Northern Baptist Convention and served as secretary of the Women's American Baptist Foreign Mission Society for 18 years.

In 1904 she married a successful businessman, Henry Wayland Peabody. For the rest of her life she lived in Beverly, MA using her talents and financial means to help many worthy causes.

From ABWE's standpoint, her most notable achievement was her courageous fight against the inroads of liberal theology within the ranks of the Northern Baptist Convention. She believed the Bible with all her heart and stood valiantly for the fundamentals of the faith. She refused to be party to the inclusive policy which was officially adopted by the Northern Baptist Convention. That policy was designed to make room on the same mission field for missionaries adhering to various shades of belief. Specifically, she took up the battle against the operation of this inclusive policy in the Philippine Islands where her son-in-law and daughter, Dr. Raphael and Norma Thomas worked as missionaries. When the Foreign Board of the Convention imposed restrictions upon Dr. Thomas' evangelistic activities in favor of purely medical work in the hospital at Iloilo and gave other evidence of favoring fellow-missionaries' more liberal programs, Mrs. Peabody took the issue to the floor of the Northern Baptist Convention and led a plea for a return to biblical faith and practice, and for a thorough study of the actual situation in the Philippines.

Failing to accomplish this objective, and with an indomitable spirit, Mrs. Peabody took her historic walk and resigned from every office within the Convention. She then gave her full support to the courageous little group of missionaries in the Philippines who resigned over these same issues. In August of 1927, on the porch of the summer cottage of Marguerite Doane at Watch Hill, RI, Mrs. Peabody helped launch an adventure of faith in the Philippines and form a new independent Baptist mission agency (incorporated under the name Association of Baptists for Evangelism in the Orient.) Mrs. Peabody was elected as the first president of the mission and served in that capacity for seven years.

Dr. Harold T. Commons

Harold T. Commons came from an ecumenical background. His father started as a Quaker preacher in New England; became a Congregational minister and eventually espoused a Unitarian theology. Consequently, the boy never heard the gospel of Christ during his formative years. In 1923 he entered Williams College in Williamstown, MA. During his sophomore year, Harold spent Easter vacation with an uncle who was an earnest Christian and knew his Bible well. He showed young Harold passages dealing with salvation and the need for personal faith in Jesus Christ. Harold immediately accepted Christ as his personal Savior.

Returning to Williams College, Harold became active in the Student Volunteer Movement with the desire to become a missionary in Africa. At that same time he met Miss Corinth Tracy who eventually became his wife. In order to acquire more theological training he entered Princeton Theological Seminary in 1927. During his second year the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy in the Presbyterian denomination came to a head and several noted conservative professors were either dropped or resigned from the faculty. Harold decided he could not conscientiously return for his final year. The faculty who left Princeton started Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia where Harold Commons spent his final year and was a member of the first graduating class.

By the time he graduated, his perspective on ministry had shifted. He was still vitally concerned with foreign missions, but realized that the cause of missions was irrevocably tied to the churches. The make-up of the missionary force is a cross-section of the churches in the homelands. He decided he could best serve evangelical Christianity on the mission field by doing what he could to stem the tide of liberalism in the churches at home. The Commons had become Baptists while in seminary and joined Spruce Street Baptist Church in Philadelphia. They were baptized and Harold Commons was ordained there. In July 1930, he became pastor of the First Baptist Church in Atlantic City, NJ.

Dr. Commons' relationship to ABWE began in 1931 through his friendship with David Otis Fuller, an ABWE board member. Dr. Commons attended several board meetings by special invitation, and since the regular secretary was rarely able to attend the meetings Mrs. Peabody asked Dr. Commons if he could attend regularly and take minutes. She explained that there was no room for him on the board at the time because the roster was full. The Executive Committee agreed that someone who was with them in interest and spirit could attend the meetings and serve as secretary. From that time on, Dr. Commons became an active participant in the mission. He handled much of the official correspondence between headquarters and the missionaries.

In 1933, Dr. Commons moved to Johnson City, NY as pastor of the First Baptist Church and president of the Baptist Bible Seminary located there. His relationship with ABWE continued and he was elected as a board member and vice president in October of 1934. At the April 1935 board meeting, Mrs. Peabody resigned and Dr. Commons was elected president.

Dr. Harold Commons guided ABWE through many difficult years, including the Great Depression and World War II. God blessed his able leadership for 35 years. When he assumed the office of president, ABWE had 40 missionaries working only in the Philippines. By 1971, when he retired, over 300 ABWE missionaries served in 11 countries.

Dr. Wendell Kempton

Since 1971 Dr. Wendell Walker Kempton has served as president of the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, Inc. ABWE has nearly 1,000 missionaries involved in ministries in North America and more than 35 countries around the world.

Wendell Kempton was saved as a baseball player preparing for the major leagues. He followed the advice of his spiritual mentor and attended Moody Bible Institute. He received further training at Baptist Bible Seminary and Dallas Theological Seminary and taught at Baptist Bible College in Clarks Summit, PA.

In addition to earning Th.B. and Th.M. degrees, Wendell Kempton did graduate work at Syracuse University and received an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Grand Rapids Baptist College and Seminary. He was chosen as Baptist Bible College's Alumnus of the Year in 1974 and was nominated as Outstanding Young Man of America in 1967.

When Dr. Kempton came to ABWE in 1971 from Baptist Bible Seminary, he brought 10 years of experience as Director of Public Relations and other faculty positions. His responsibilities at ABWE center around the overall administration, fund-raising for missionary projects, traveling and speaking in every continent. He represents the mission at local churches, colleges and seminaries throughout North America challenging people to dedicate their lives to God for missionary service. As time permits he speaks to various professional sport teams including three Super Bowls and a World Series.

The 26 years of his leadership have been a period of tremendous growth in the number of missionaries serving with ABWE, and expansion into numerous countries of the world. New avenues of ministry and opportunity have been pursued. Under Dr. Kempton's leadership ABWE made its major move from the greater Philadelphia area to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1993.

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