And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” —Mark 16:15-16

When the Christians came to North America, there were hundreds of different languages and dialects spoken by the Indians in this country. How did people communicate? Sign language was used often between the Indians. Christian missionaries took the time to learn the Indian dialects so they could share the gospel.

Missionaries invited the Indians into their houses to hear the story of Jesus. Sometimes missionaries would ride horseback, or, later, would drive a car three days on dirt roads with no bridges to reach Indian villages. Acts of friendship gave opportunities to visit in the hogan or tepee to share the gospel. Mission schools for boys and girls were started to teach the Bible along with reading, writing, and arithmetic. Reformed Presbyterian missionaries did this too.

Much prayer was offered for the Indians, whose religion was one of superstition, thinking that gods were in animals, trees, and all of natureThey didn’t know the living God, Creator of everything we see and are, learned through His Word, the Bible.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17, the Bible promises us that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature (Christian). Old things are passed away (old ideas, false gods, fears of death, etc.); behold, all things have become new.”

In Ephesians 2:8-10, the Holy Spirit teaches us what happened to make the change in us, and what we need to do next: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it (faith) is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (NIV).