When author Jasmine Holmes was growing up, she had two Christian heroes: Corrie ten Boom, Dutch author of The Hiding Place who helped many Jews hide from the Nazis, and Mary Slessor, Scottish missionary to Nigeria. In her introduction, Holmes writes, “Their strong and fearless faith shaped my own from an early age, and I relished every new piece of information about the two of them.”
Over the past few years, Holmes researched and discovered the stories of many Black Christians throughout history. She notes, “Representation matters in the Christian faith not because we want to make much of our differences but because we want to make much of a Savior who created each and every person for his glory. The more we see people from every tribe, tongue, and nation represented in the astounding story God is telling through his creation, the more we are able to visualize a bit of what heaven will be like.”
Holmes’s Black heroes of faith include musicians, missionaries, teachers, fugitives from slavery, preachers, journalists, and more. Her goal in sharing these stories with middle-grade readers is to help them envision the diversity of God’s kingdom and to learn about Black people whose lives could then possibly inspire their own faith and offer worthy role models.
Recommended as an excellent resource for church and school libraries, and for families to use during devotional times.
(Harvest Kids)
About the Author
Sonya VanderVeen Feddema is a freelance writer and a member of Covenant CRC in St. Catharines, Ontario.