Claude L. Pickens Jr
Claude L. Pickens Jr, Some have the vision for a place; some are burdened for a group of people; some are called to serve in a particular field. Their paths may seem different, but the goal is one—”preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15).
Claude Leon Pickens Jr. was one of the missionaries who rendered services to bring Muslims to Christ. His encounters with missionaries in his youth sparked mission interest within him. He finally committed to the missionary service after hearing the sermon of Samuel Zwemer at the Christian Calling Conference in Michigan in 1922.
A year later, he married Zwemer’s daughter Nellie Elizabeth, and together they left for China as missionaries of the Foreign and Domestic Missionary Society (FDMS).
Claude L. Pickens Jr ministry in China and Arabia
In China, they stopped at Nanjing for language study. They had to flee from there due to internal war and came to Shanghai. There Pickens joined the Society of Friends of the Moslems in China (FOM) and served as its secretary. On the other hand, Nellie, a trained nurse, ran a clinic for babies and assisted her husband in the ministry. Till 1937, Pickens ministered in river ports along the Yangzi River and as assistant pastor at St. Peter’s Church.
Pickens and few other missionaries did an itinerating ministry among Muslims in northwest China, northeast Tibet, and Inner Mongolia. During the Sino-Japanese war in China, he served among Muslims in Zamboanga, Philippine Islands, and returned to central China in 1939. During World War II, Pickens and his family were captured and imprisoned by the Japanese from 1941-1942.
After his release, he went back to America and worked for FDMS in New York. Then after the war, he came back and served in China till 1950. Later Pickens was involved in student ministry in America. He then went to Arabia in 1962 and ministered among the employees of Aramco Company for some years. Pickens’ collection of over one thousand photos and the literature related to Islam in China is treasured at the Harvard University, Cambridge, even today. Claude L. Pickens Jr.
Beloved, what is your goal in your life?
Take away from the article
“Lord, wherever I find the opportunity, help me to use it for Your glory. Amen!”
Word of Prayer
Claude L. Pickens Jr
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