The Reward Unseen: The untold story of William Haas, pioneering missionary to central Africa and founder of Baptist Mid-Missions

by Nancy Freund

The untold story of William Haas, pioneering missionary to central Africa and founder of Baptist Mid-Missions.

In the early 1900s, a question loomed large: who would take the gospel to central Africa, one of the world’s last regions untouched by missions. Few people dared to explore this rugged frontier, let alone bring the gospel. Central Africa’s untamed wildlife and virulent diseases brought the very real potential of death to outsiders.

Soft-spoken, gentle-spirited, and fragile in health, William was a very unlikely candidate to pioneer a mission work in this difficult place. But God loves to use those willing to trust Him with their lives. William found that he could rest his future in God’s hands and that—even when there is a cost to service—the reward far outweighs the cost.

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263 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 18, 2024

Reviews

[Deb Brammer · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the early 1900's God gave William Haas a strong burden to take the gospel to central Africa, one of the world's last regions untouched by missions. When no mission board would help him go to this rugged frontier with untamed wildlife and life-threatening diseases, William and his wife, Genevieve, chose to go independently. They arrived in Africa in 1912 with their son, Billy, who was 19 months old. This family, who didn't have strong health to begin with, struggled mightily with various diseases. They braved obstacles of many kinds, but continued to spread the gospel. When Billy turned school age, the Haases decided the only reasonable option for his education was to leave Genevieve and Billy behind in America while William returned to Africa. This family, along with some other early missionaries, sacrificed greatly to evangelize the central part of Africa.

I love the last chapter of this book. "In his own time," the author, Nancy Freund says, "some thought William a fool to sacrifice his health and his family life as well as a fruitful US ministry to pioneer uncharted territory for Christ." Today, few would be willing to make that kind of sacrifice. But the author goes on to show the results of the ministry he started. Because no mission board would accept William for this central African field, William started a mission board now called Baptist Mid-Missions. About 240 missionaries from BMM have carried the gospel to Central African Republic. Countless African evangelists, teachers and pastors took the gospel deeper into their land. The Bible translation William started was completed 50 years later. The hymns William translated are still in use today. Bible institutes have sprung up across the country and now all of them are led by nationals. CAR has hundreds of Baptist churches and most of them can trace their roots to William. Beyond central Africa, BMM's missionaries have taken the gospel all around the world. I am blessed to be one of those missionaries.

This book was a colossal effort by Nancy Freund. So many years have passed since William's death in 1924 and Nancy had to piece together his life from written accounts more than 60 years old. Nancy did a good job of picturing the world William traveled through and the sacrifices he made. I recommend this book for the portrayal of what missionaries had to endure in the early days and how they paved the way to missions today.

[Donald Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an outstanding biography! The subtitles says it all as to what the book is about. But it doesn't tell it all. This is Nancy Freund's first book, she did an outstanding job.

I do love missionary biographies, but some are better written than others. This one, in my opinion tells the story of a pioneering missionary elegantly. While the author, connected with Baptist Mid-Missions as she is, is very positive about Haas' contribution to missions and to BMM itself, I wouldn't call this a hagiography. There were decisions Haas made that in retrospect might be considered unwise. Perhaps he could have served longer (he died at 51) if he had made wiser decisions at points. Nancy Freund doesn't shy away from such questions, but she doesn't dwell on them either. She looks at the big picture and tells a beautiful story of God's grace in reaching out to the Central African Republic through a humble Baptist missionary. What a blessing to read.

I took this in as an audiobook (plan to work through the epub version also). The reader was very good also. All in all, a job well done. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

[Mark A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good, but at times seemed “elementary” like a young adult book. The questions seemed preachy and the lack of letters and other primary sources was apparent.

[Nancy Freund]

This is not my book. I know nothing about this missionary and have not written about him. There must be another author who shares my name.