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Jill Briscoe

Jill Briscoe (1935–) is a British-American preacher, author, and speaker whose ministry has touched countless lives through her teaching, writing, and global outreach. Born in Liverpool, England, to William and Margaret Ryder, she grew up in a non-religious home but found faith at 18 while studying at Homerton College, Cambridge, where she earned a teaching diploma. After teaching for three years, she married Stuart Briscoe in 1958, and together they raised three children—David, Judy, and Peter—while embarking on a shared calling in ministry. In 1970, they moved to the United States when Stuart became senior pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, where Jill developed women’s and youth ministries, honing her gifts as a communicator and leader. Jill’s ministry expanded significantly after Stuart stepped down from Elmbrook in 2000, when they became ministers-at-large, traveling worldwide to equip pastors and missionaries. She has authored over 40 books, including devotionals, poetry, and scriptural studies like Prayer That Works, and founded Just Between Us, a magazine for women in ministry, where she serves as executive editor. A key voice in Telling the Truth, the media ministry she co-founded with Stuart in 1971, Jill’s warm, relational preaching style has reached audiences on every continent. She also served on the boards of World Relief and Christianity Today for over 20 years. Now a grandmother to 13, she continues her work from Wisconsin, leaving a legacy of faith, encouragement, and service following Stuart’s death in 2022.
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Jill Briscoe shares the harrowing journey of Christian hero Festo Kivengere and his wife Mera as they flee Uganda to escape persecution from President Idi Amin's soldiers. In the darkness of the African night, with fear gripping their hearts, they face the daunting task of crossing treacherous mountains to reach safety in Rwanda. An invisible angel, Hark the Herald Angel, observes their struggles, unable to intervene but deeply concerned for their safety and well-being.
Into the Night
In the dark African night, two weary people bounced along in a car at the foot of a tall, black mountain. "Look out! There's only a path. We're not even on a road anymore," the woman shouted to her husband. The man and woman were scared. When they turned to look back, their worried eyes seemed to shine with tears. They could not see the invisible angel riding along with them. Hark the Herald Angel had been sent from heaven. His job was to fill in a few gaps in the record of Christian hero Festo Kivengere. But now, seeing the fear on Festo's face, Hark worried that he had found the wrong person. This man is running for his life. Could he really be a hero? Hark wondered. Because he was an angel, Hark could hear people's thoughts, even when they said nothing out loud. Now he could feel the fear that wrapped around Festo and his wife, Mera, like a knotted rope. But Hark could not help the two people. He had gone back in time. What he was seeing had already happened. He could not change it. He could only watch -- and worry -- as he recorded the missing facts of Festo's story. "Mera is ill," Hark wrote on his heavenly notepad. "She has a fever and is growing weaker. She needs to rest. But she's afraid the soldiers are following them. And if the soldiers catch them . . ." Hark could not bear to write the rest. President Idi Amin's soldiers already had killed many Christians in Uganda. Festo's name was next on their list. So Festo and Mera were trying to escape from Uganda, their beautiful homeland. They would be safe if they could reach Rwanda, the country next to Uganda. But to get there, they had to cross the mountains tonight, before the soldiers found out they had left. But maybe the soldiers already know about their escape, Hark worried. Maybe they are already following. Or perhaps up ahead more soldiers wait to jump out and capture the two nervous travelers. It was almost too much for Hark. He was not used to being worried and afraid. After all, there are no such feelings in heaven! Then Hark realized there was still another problem. Sometimes other narrow paths crossed the trail. He watched as Festo and Mera looked this way, then that way. They turned the car around and tried going another direction. Then they turned around again, bumping and bouncing as the car rumbled over the rocky trails. Sometimes the car bounced right to the edge of the narrow path. Mera thought they were going to fall over the steep side! They're looking for something, thought Hark. He caught his breath as he realized what it was. The trail, Hark gasped. They can't find the right trail to cross the mountains. Festo and Mera are lost!
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Jill Briscoe (1935–) is a British-American preacher, author, and speaker whose ministry has touched countless lives through her teaching, writing, and global outreach. Born in Liverpool, England, to William and Margaret Ryder, she grew up in a non-religious home but found faith at 18 while studying at Homerton College, Cambridge, where she earned a teaching diploma. After teaching for three years, she married Stuart Briscoe in 1958, and together they raised three children—David, Judy, and Peter—while embarking on a shared calling in ministry. In 1970, they moved to the United States when Stuart became senior pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, where Jill developed women’s and youth ministries, honing her gifts as a communicator and leader. Jill’s ministry expanded significantly after Stuart stepped down from Elmbrook in 2000, when they became ministers-at-large, traveling worldwide to equip pastors and missionaries. She has authored over 40 books, including devotionals, poetry, and scriptural studies like Prayer That Works, and founded Just Between Us, a magazine for women in ministry, where she serves as executive editor. A key voice in Telling the Truth, the media ministry she co-founded with Stuart in 1971, Jill’s warm, relational preaching style has reached audiences on every continent. She also served on the boards of World Relief and Christianity Today for over 20 years. Now a grandmother to 13, she continues her work from Wisconsin, leaving a legacy of faith, encouragement, and service following Stuart’s death in 2022.