by Greg Wagoner — Tanzania

Alexander Mackay, “God’s Engineer” as he has been called, was the first Christian missionary on record to live in the region of my calling, Mwanza, Tanzania. Though most of his mission work was spent in Uganda, I have been intrigued to find out more about this man. The more I learn about him, the more I am reminded that we must continue what was started many years ago by this determined man.

THE QUOTED LEADER – Mackay prepares for his life’s calling.

Mackay was born in Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, October 13, 1849. Mackay was a young man of keen spiritual interests. He also possessed a fondness for engineering. Sometimes he would be asked by older men to “preach them a sermon” to which he would respond, “Give me a trowel so I can work and preach at the same time.”

His father was a preacher in the Free Church of Scotland. Many times while his father was doing itinerate preaching across Britain, MacKay’s mother would recount missionary stories to him of men such as Carey, Martyn, Moffat, and Livingstone. It was during these times that God stirred his heart with a desire to labor in a distant land among the heathen.

With a great passion to live and minister on the “Dark Continent,” Mackay began to learn the Malagasy language, with thoughts of working on the island of Madagascar. When that opportunity diminished, he then thought about a possibility of working among liberated slaves in Mombasa, Kenya. That, too, fell through. Though the doors seemed to be closed, Mackay was never deterred.

On May 4, 1874, he wrote the following words in his diary:

“This day last year Livingstone died—a Scotsman and a Christian, loving God and his neighbor in the heart of Africa. Go and do thou likewise!”

John the Baptist was his most admired Bible character. As a “wilderness voice,” John prepared the way of the LORD, bridging the gap between the Old and New Testaments. Mackay desired to cry out in the wilderness lands of East Africa, preparing the people to receive the LORD Jesus, thus bridging the gap of eternal death into the glorious truth of eternal life!

It was on January 26, 1876, that a great and effectual door was opened unto him. In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, Mr. H. M. Stanley urged Christian missionaries to Uganda per the request of King Mtesa, the cruel Ugandan monarch. This was all the prodding that was needed for this fiery Scotsman to launch himself into his life’s calling.

In just three months, a group of eight missionaries was assembled for the sole purpose of propagating the Gospel among the heathen in Uganda. On April 25, 1876, during the commissioning service of his missionary team, Mackay closed the service with these pointed words…

“There is one thing which my brethren have not said, and which I want to say. I want to remind the committee that within six months they will probably hear that some one of us is dead. Yes, is it at all likely that eight Englishmen should start for Central Africa and all be alive six months later? One of us at least, it may be I, will surely fall before that. When the news comes, do not be cast down, but send someone else immediately to take the vacant place.”

All too prophetic would those words prove to be!

THE QUALIFYING LABOR – Mackay prepares the people to call upon the LORD.

On May 30, 1876, Mackay anchored near Zanzibar Island with his seven mates. It was the rainy season and a treacherous time for eight Englishmen to be on the continent. The team chose to stay on the boat until the rains subsided. They were told by the mission not to begin trekking across the mainland until June 1877. During that first year, five of his fellow missionaries had died, leaving only three of the team to press on toward Lake Victoria and Uganda.

En route to the lake, Mackay wanted to secure a permanent way of passage from the coast all the way to Lake Victoria. Over the course of this year, Mackay and his group, aided by African labor, constructed the road. This man wanted to make a way for those who would come behind him. By the time the road was completed and Lake Victoria in sight, Mackay was the lone missionary of the eight who remained alive.

When Mackay arrived on the southern shore of Victoria, he promptly built a boat and sailed due north across the lake to Entebbe, Uganda. In November 1878, he reached the capital city. For the next nine years he would teach and preach, persuading the king and those of his kingdom to repent and believe the Gospel.

Mackay’s relationship with King Mtesa was an intriguing one, to say the least. In the early days of Mackay’s ministry, King Mtesa seemed to have a great fondness to hear the missionary’s words. He would beseech the white missionary to pray for him and read to him the words of God. Alexander Mackay gave no warrant to the king’s evil slave trading; on the contrary, the missionary rebuked Mtesa for his willingness to sell his people into the hands of those who would confine them to cruel slave labor. Standing toe to toe with the Arab slave traders and the Catholic priests who sought to persuade the king with gifts, Mackay unflinchingly stayed his course and presented the Word of God daily in the courts of the king.

At times, the king showed movements toward Christ, but his greed and lust seemed to overcome him when “almost persuaded.” As time progressed, it became evident that King Mtesa was much more interested in the work Alexandar Mackay, a skilled craftsman, could do for him rather than the Christian teachings the missionary promoted. Also, King Mtesa’s behavior moved to more vile matters than that of slave trade and orgies when he began to offer human sacrifices, wallowing in the blood of the ones he had slain. Until his death in October 1884, King Mtesa offered little assistance to the white missionary who struggled along, exhorting those who had believed to stand fast in the faith. It was during these years that persecution became commonplace among those who named the name of Christ in Uganda.

After Mtesa’s death, King Mwanga rose to the throne. It was during Mwanga’s reign that persecution became even more common and more severe. The first Christian martyrs of Uganda suffered death under the orders of Mwanga. In 1885, we find this sobering entry in Mackay’s personal diary:

"Our first martyrs have won the martyrs' crown. On January 30th three Christian lads were burned alive, after being terribly mutilated, for their acceptance of and adherence to the faith of Jesus Christ. They were snatched from our very presence, accused of no crime but that they were learning from us, and first tortured, then roasted alive. Both Ashe and I suffered a deal of violence, but that was soon over, and was nothing to the anxiety of mind which we suffered on account of the cruel death of the dear lads and the threats of determined persecution against the whole of the native Christians, the threats of robbery and expulsion of ourselves, and, later on, a rebellion of the chiefs, whose aim was to make a complete end of us."

Needless to say, the ministry of preaching and teaching believers grew more difficult. On July 21, 1887, Alexander Mackay said good–bye to King Mwanga and Uganda. Once again, he sailed across the vast Lake Victoria. This time the boat took him south to Mwanza, Tanzania. Though he had intentions of returning to Uganda, that opportunity never came for Mackay. He spent one and a half more years on the continent of Africa, spending much of his time in translation work and writing. Then, on February 4, 1890, Alexander Mackay, a voice in a dark land, died, just one week after becoming infected with malaria.

This man labored fourteen years against incalculable odds. He never returned to his native land of Scotland. He set foot on the continent of Africa and never did he retreat; it was not in him to quit.

THE QUANTUM LEAP – A way has been prepared for BIMI in Tanzania.

A little over one hundred years had passed. Missionary efforts continued in East Africa as various groups thrust out into the darkness to seek a people for the cause of Christ. In 1998, BIMI missionaries took up residence in the Republic of Tanzania. The LORD has blessed their efforts over the past eight years. A great number of souls have been saved with baptisms following. Thirteen Independent Baptist Churches have been started. Nationals are being trained through the ministry of Lake Victoria Baptist College. These advances remind us of the words of the LORD Jesus when He said:

“And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, one soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours” John 4:36–38.

Because of men such as Alexander Mackay, the way is easier for us today. The obstacles of days gone by have been removed. We will never see many of the troubles faced by Mackay’s missionary band. Friend, today is one of great opportunity… let us therefore launch out into the fields and lift up the fallen. It is now on us to… “Seek and to save that which is lost.” Let not “quit” be in us!

“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” John 4:35.

THE QUESTION LINGERING – Who will prepare himself to fill a vacant place?

Throughout the vast region of Tanzania, there are still many vacant places. Whether it be on one of the islands of Islamic stronghold, such as Zanzibar or Pemba, or along the coast line of the Indian Ocean, there are presently many vacant places that must be filled. On the shores of Lake Victoria or Lake Tanganyika vacant places exist, needing someone to stand in the gap. Along the outskirts of the vast savannahs of the Serengeti Plains or the barren central areas, someone has to fill the vacant places.

The present and future for the Baptist International Mission of Tanzania is one of great prospects. The LORD is adding to the missionary force as men and women are committing their lives to this needy nation. Currently, there are five families serving in Tanzania with BIMI; but with so many vacant places in this land, there is a need for other voices to cry out, preparing the people to receive the LORD!

Men like Alexander Mackay are here for a while and then they go to their place prepared in Glory. When they go… we must occupy the places which they have left vacant.