Heroic Christians of wars past uncovered
Since the United States entered the Iraq War three years ago, the lives of more than 2,575 U.S. soldiers have been tragically lost with approximately 19,000 casualties.
However, in 1863, when the population of the United States was only roughly 34 million people (about one-eighth of today’s population), the three-day battle of Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) claimed more than 51,000 casualties — including 10,000 casualties in one assault alone.
It’s no wonder that Gettysburg is a destination point for hundreds of thousands of people every year. But now this popular tourist attraction comes with a powerful Christian message about a group of gospel heroes that went to the battlefields to serve both the Northern and Southern soldiers.
Today, these long-forgotten Christian Civil War heroes are being rediscovered and promoted to the public through the efforts of Bethel Assembly of God (Littlestown, Pennsylvania) and church member John Wega.
Through in-depth research, the historic work of the United States Christian Commission (USCC) has been uncovered. This past April, Bethel AG — pastored by James Ruddy — and church member Wega, established a museum that honors these heroes of the battlefield, hospital and camps of the Civil War.
According to Wega, the museum’s director, 5,000 USCC volunteers, including the likes of Dwight L. Moody, distributed Bibles and gospel literature and assisted with nursing, chaplaincy, cooking, transportation and other duties during the Civil War.
“The 5,000 volunteers of this organization distributed more than $6 million [value in the 1860s] worth of goods to minister to the body and the souls of men, all in the name of Christ,” Wega says. “Over the last five years . . . through searching antique book collections, we have been able to uncover this credible, accurate, historical platform to share the story of Christian heroism and the gospel with our world today.”
“We also want to inspire Christians to support the brave military heroes of today, just as the USCC did during the Civil War,” Wega adds. “At the Gettysburg re-enactment this year, we offered letter writing to soldiers on Civil War USCC stationery - we have over 200 letters going to soldiers in Iraq.”
According to Wega, the museum has already had visitors from all across the country and many parts of the world. One family wrote and told him the museum was “the highlight” of their trip. Along with promoting the museum and its message to the public, Wega says they are also working to establish a membership base of prayer and financial partners to help share this heroic gospel story.
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