Baraca Philathea - Shoemaker Center for Church Renewal

Baraca Philathea/Marshall A. Hudson Endowment

The Baraca Philathea/Marshall A. Hudson Endowment was established in honor of Marshall A. Hudson. The endowment is dedicated in Hudson’s honor to support the continual development of strong Christian leaders through scholarship and programs sponsored by the Shoemaker Center for Church Renewal.

A Million for Christ: The Baraca Philathea Story

A Million for Christ: The Story of Baraca Philathea is the history of Baraca Philathea, an ecumenical movement designed to facilitate adult evangelism through Bible study which grew to a million strong during the early twentieth century. The book is based on the wealth of information found in Baraca Philathea’s archives, now housed at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and was written by Ann Elizabeth Olson. It was published in 2004 and was a project co-sponored by the Worldwide Baraca Philathea Union and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Read the first chapter of A Million for Christ entited “How It All Began.”

Gordon-Conwell Partnership

Marshall A. Hudson founded the World Wide Baraca Philathea Bible Union in 1896. The purpose of his organization was to develop greater knowledge and practical application of Scripture in young men and women.

Named in honor of the founder of Baraca Philathea, the purpose of the Marshall A. Hudson Summer Conference at Gordon-Conwell is to continue the advancement of the ideals established by Mr. Hudson.

Through the partnership of Baraca Philathea and Gordon-Conwell, two books have been published concerning Baraca Philathea.

Ann Elizabeth Olson wrote and published A Million for Christ: The Story of Baraca Philatheain 2004. The same year she also edited and published, Radical Godliness: The Devotional Writings of Henrietta Heron.

Baraca Philathea archives are now housed with the Shoemaker Center for Church Renewal at our Hamilton campus. To view a sampling of the archives or to access a written inventory of the archives, visit the Archives section.

Radical Godliness: Henrietta Heron

Read one of Henrietta Heron’s reflections entitled “What Jesus Means to Me” from the book Radical Godliness: The Devotional Writings of Henrietta Heron.

Radical Godliness: The Devotional Writings of Henrietta Heron is a collection of writings by Herietta Heron, President of the World Wide Baraca Philathea Union from 1928 to 1933 and then General Counselor.

This collection speaks on such issues as prayer, Christian living, character, and evangelism and was published in 2005. The project was co-sponsored by the World Wide Baraca Philathea Union and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and edited by Ann Elizabeth Olson.