Jim Elliot: One Great Purpose

Christian Heroes: Then & Now #9

by Janet Benge, Geoff Benge

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose"

Jim and Pete turned to see the Auca men, their deadly spears raised, running toward Nate, Ed, and Roger. Jim stood in the river, his hand on his pistol. Should he defend himself? He already knew the answer. Each man had promised the others that he would not save himself by killing those they had sought out in Jesus' name.

Jim Elliot and his co-workers surrendered their lives in Ecuador's jungle, trusting that their sacrifice would not be in vain. Decades later, this dramatic event has challenged countless Christians to live with one great to bring the gospel to those who have never heard (1927-1956).

Genres: Biography, Christian, Nonfiction, History, Christianity, Faith, Childrens

183 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 1999

About the author

Janet and Geoff Benge are a husband and wife writing team with twenty years of writing experience. They are best known for the books in the two series Christian Heroes: Then & Now series and Heroes of History. Janet is a former elementary school teacher. Geoff holds a degree in history. Together they have a passion to make history come alive for a new generation. Originally from New Zealand, the Benges make their home in the Orlando, Florida, area.

Reviews

[Daniel Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ultimate risk in 1956 to venture into the interior of Ecuador to meet natives who have never met white people. Married with children, I don’t know if I could have done it. His faith was exceptional.

[Troy McGahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim Elliott is a hero of mine. I have read different books about him and even about his wife Elisabeth Elliott. Most books just talk about what happened on palm beach at the hands of the Auca Indians. This book talks about the time he left the United States up until his death. I also recommend the movie, "The End of the Spear". I highly recommend this book

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jim Elliot grew up in Oregon and then got moved to go do missionary work in Ecuador. He later married Elizabeth Elliot and they worked with several other couples in the jungle. After many years working in the jungle him and four other male missionaries decided to go into preach the gospel to a tribe that was not known for being friendly to outsiders, they thought they were building up a relationship by droppings tools and gifts to the tribe via plane and were learning the language. They began Operation Auca to get to know and go in and hopefully preach the gospel. One day they were all speared to death by the tribe. No one knew exactly what happened. It apparently made the news in 1956, particularly LIFE magazine, in the States. Then two of the five that were killed, their wives were moved to go in and preach the gospel to that tribe sometime later. A fascinating account. Will look forward to reading Elizabeth Elliott's account.

[Maria Gable · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading books by these authors when I was a teenager, but I find the amount of information in the books not enough for my liking these days. I still highly recommend reading it if you cannot get your hands on any other Jim Elliot information.

[Desiray Schultz hayner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out-loud read with my girls. We enjoyed the story and felt inspired. Thankful for men and women who put their lives on the line to spread the gospel message. Also a beautiful reminder that God can work beauty into the darkness and evil of this world!

[Cory Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series, such a great introduction to missionaries and their stories.

[Travis Cellucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story and book that does a great job summarizing the whole Auca mission. The ending was shocking and devastating but overall a fun read that makes you think.

[Jes McGrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

[Phoebe Joylene · Rating 1 out of 5]

...so are we all going to ignore the fact that they called the Wao a racial slur throughout the entire book? Am I the only one who thinks that's really messed up? Certainly that choice warranted more than a casual line at the back of the book.

But seriously, as someone who has actually spent time with the Kichwa and the Waorani, this book felt like a slap in the face. There's such a gross and condescending tone throughout and some misrepresentations that were absolutely appalling. I'm sorry, but you don't need to call them stone age or primitive. And really? You're calling the Kichwa lazy? These are genuinely some of the most hardworking people I've ever met. Why? Because they're trying to survive in the flipping Amazon! Do you have any idea how hard that is? Do you have any idea how much effort it takes just to eat? Perhaps the disagreement about work expectations comes more from a cultural misunderstanding than from the Kichwa being "lazy."

Overall, I was thoroughly unimpressed. I was under the impression that as Christians, we were supposed to love our neighbor because we are all children of God but if there's some verse out there that grants an exemption for people talking about those they consider less advanced, I'd love to see it.

[Ta'Neisha Kemp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim's story is truly amazing! I am also grateful for the work of his wife and her accounts of his life. We enjoy this series as a family read aloud and are always strengthened by the testimonies. There is also a cartoon movie and several documentaries featuring this story. I suggest watching one or two after reading.

[Jill Hathaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cried my way through it. Amazing and incredible faith and courage.

[Marcela Lema · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim Elliot, un joven inspirado por Dios, respondió a su llamado misionero en Quito para trabajar con los quechuas, a quienes apoyó en educación, salud y especialmente en la enseñanza bíblica. Sin embargo, su verdadero propósito era alcanzar a los aucas (hoy conocidos como waorani), una tribu hostil marcada por la venganza y los asesinatos.

Mientras evangelizaban integralmente a los quechuas, Jim y su equipo desarrollaron una estrategia para acercarse a los aucas, intercambiando regalos para mostrar sus intenciones pacíficas. Tras lograr un primer contacto cara a cara, el 8 de enero de 1956 los cinco misioneros, incluido Elliot, fueron asesinados a lanzazos. Sus cuerpos fueron hallados días después en un río cercano.

Lo que parecía una derrota fue el inicio de una obra transformadora: la esposa de Jim, Betty Elliot, junto con Rachel Saint —hermana de uno de los misioneros caídos— decidieron vivir entre los waorani. Gracias a su testimonio, los waorani conocieron el Evangelio y abandonaron sus prácticas violentas. Incluso años después, el hijo de uno de los misioneros convivió con la tribu.

Esta historia recuerda que, así como la muerte de Jesucristo trajo salvación, la entrega de estos misioneros abrió las puertas de la fe y la reconciliación para un pueblo antes encadenado al odio y la venganza, transformando sus vidas y generaciones venideras.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have commented before that in this series of books, there is a lot of reality of what missionaries are like--they are not perfect and have feet of clay, so to speak. However, in this one, Jim E. is portrayed in the usual impressive, almost perfect way. The whole story of his relationship with Betty is left out but that is good as the series is for teens.

What is the detail that I really liked was hearing about the secret "Auca Project." Such idealism and a lot of ignoring reality. Near the end, an Auca who had left the tribe told them, "Don't trust them." Apparently the 5 guys agreed they'd never shoot an Auca even if he was pointing a spear at them. Well, you know the rest of the story. Sad but in the long run, lots of "redemptive' things happened. Was it worth the cost of those 5 lives? I don't know but it was God's plan, I guess. I am reading a book on evil and suffering....so thinking about all this.

[Amy Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of those five men who gave their lives to reach a primitive jungle tribe with the Gospel will touch everyone's hearts who hear it. My kids were begging me to finish the book this afternoon, so we finished one week early. I am also touched by Rachel Saint's and Betty Elliot's sacrifices to go move into the jungle and give the Gospel to the very people who speared their loved ones, especially Rachel, who devoted her entire life to that tribe. But I will say, after having read several Benge books, that there's something underwhelming about their writing style. They are good overall, and I have been moved to tears at times, and they try to make it come alive and be exciting, but somehow, I find their books not as moving as I feel they should be or could be.

[Esmerald City · Rating 5 out of 5]

La vida de Jim Elliot es la vida de varias personas hoy en día, tal vez no están haciendo una misión en Ecuador pero siempre se corre el mismo peligro, el enemigo quiere desanimarnos haciéndonos pensar que nuestras vidas no valen la pena, pero no crea esas mentiras, mire todas las vidas que Jim y sus 4 amigos (Ed, Nate, Pete y Roger) cambiaron, ¡casi toda una sociedad de indígenas!
Como dice el libro, sus vidas animan a cientos de cristianos y me animan a mi.
Me encanto este libro por que aparte de que me hizo llorar en una parte, los escritores saben como captar las cosas.
Fue genial vivir esta experiencia con Jim, sus amigos y sus esposas.

[Della Tingle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book I have read in the Christian Heroes: Then & Now series by Janet and Geoff Benge. My favorite was on Betty Greene. Betty’s story and this one about Jim Elliot has a lot of parallels, including pilot Nate Saint and his wife Marj and Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF). So I really enjoyed being able to make connections between both books. God bless the missionaries, past, present, and future.

“Jim Elliot’s life was and is a vivid reminder to Christians of all walks of life to live every day with one great purpose in mind: share the gospel message with those who have not yet heard it” (183).

[Mary T · Rating 5 out of 5]

2 years ago, when the Covid pandemic first started, I read the George Mueller book in this series to my boys. It took us awhile to get through (I usually read it during snack time), so I had avoided the series for awhile. This year, I wanted to read through 3 of the biographies, and we started with Jim Elliot. Now my sons are 10 and 7, and we read through it much quicker. In fact, we blazed through about 6 chapters today because we wanted to finish it. I knew the ending, but didn't know many of the details. The boys were surprised by the ending, and it has prompted some good discussions. What a life! And I'm so glad the Auca/Waorani story didn't end with the end of Jim's life.

[Sarahelisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a children's biography of Jim Elliot starting with his departure for Ecuador. It deals with the difficulty of having months of work washed away by rain and with the attempts to contact the Auca tribe.
The martyrdom is described although not particularly vividly. My only hesitation about the book is that this might come as rather a shock for any child who wasn't particularly expecting this to happen. Anyone who knows the story will have realised that there is a clue in the first chapter but I can see a child missing this.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book from the Christian Heroes series that I have read. I’m glad I read the book and learned a lot about Jim Elliot’s life in Ecuador. The writing was fairly simple, so it was an easy read. I think it would be a great read-aloud book for children who are slightly older and could handle the intensity of the story/outcome.

The story was thought provoking and led to interesting conversation regarding the importance of missions to unreached peoples (even if it’s uncomfortable and risky) weighed with the call of a man to use wisdom to provide and protect for his own family.

[Heather Gmiterek · Rating 4 out of 5]

We enjoyed this book. We sing about Jim and Elizabeth Elliot in our history timeline song and we had talked about them briefly. They knew that they were martyrs but their death was still quite shocking for them. The idea that you can do all the right things, walk in God’s plan, have a calling and anointing on your life and not have everything work out well for you was a lot of really big conversations.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed listening to this book about Jim Elliot’s life. We listened to the audiobook for a read-aloud with school. My oldest was very intrigued by all they did to make contact with the Auca people. It was a little hard for him to understand why they were killed while trying to share Christ with these people. Thankfully explaining in the epilogue what happened later was helpful. Makes me realize how little we share Christ at a cost.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fine biography fo the five missionaries who were killed in Ecuador, however I think I might be better off reading the work by Elisabeth Elliot widow of Jim, which I will do at some point.
It is a good introduction to the story though, and still challenges one faith to live for the kingdom, for what is truly important.

[Aaron Cash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another encouraging story of God's undying desire for his children to be reached with the gospel despite challenges such as language and distance from civilization or anything else
If nothing kept Jesus coming down to show us the way what do you think our requirement is if we desire to follow him to the fullest extent

[Brittany Futrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my boys - ages 12,9,8, and 6. They enjoyed it and would ask for me to keep reading. The only thing I wish had been included was sharing a bit more about how relationships continued with the Aucas after the death of the missionaries. Beautiful inspiring story about young men driven to share the Gospel.

[Ashley Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read with my 8 year old and had to binge the last 4 chapters. So good and inspiring. Their determination to reach places of the earth that are forgotten/unknown, to show bravery, prayer and forgiveness and to inspire people around the world! To see God shine through darkness. My kid was so inspired. ,

[Lyra Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting story. The second half was much more interesting and exciting than the first half. I was surprised by the ending, but It had a good message. Sometimes, the way this book was written was a little jarring - it's a biographical book but read like a straight-up narrative. There were also a few little things I took issue with when it came to the attitude of other cultures presented in the book.

Read my full review here: https://lyrat16.wixsite.com/read-it-a...

[David Rough · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!
I love this entire series of Christian heroes. This particular biography of Jim Elliot is so well done. The authors do such an incredible job of capturing the boyhood, the young adulthood and the mature missionary life of this dedicated follower of Christ. It is a short and concise work that is easy to read and inspiring to the soul.

[Evan Staffieri · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was slow in the beginning, but towards the end it picked up! There is a movie I recommend watching on this also, which gives a good visual of these mens mission and journey in the Amazon to reach the Auca Indians.

[Patricia Holder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book to help children learn more about Jim Elliot

Story was written well and held the attention of my 5, 7, and 9 year old children. It created great discussion opportunities.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was truly inspiring! The great drive and Desire these men had to share the gospel with those who have not heard, along with the courage to go minister to the Auca people was inspiring! I enjoyed read this book and would recommend it!