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Marie Monsen
Marie Monsen (1878–1962). Born in 1878 in Sandviken, Norway, to Johannes, a model carpenter, and Karen Monsen, Marie Monsen was a Norwegian missionary and evangelist who catalyzed revivals in China from 1901 to 1932. Raised in a Christian family near a prayer house, she trained as a teacher and nurse before arriving in China on September 1, 1901, with the China Mission Association (later part of the Norwegian Lutheran Mission). Early setbacks—a fall causing a severe concussion and near-fatal malaria—humbled her, deepening her faith. Monsen’s preaching, marked by bold questions like “Have you been born again?”, sparked the Shantung Revival (1929–1931), confronting sin and igniting spiritual awakening among missionaries and Chinese believers in Henan and beyond. Known as the “mother of the Chinese house churches,” she worked closely with Asbjørn Aavik, fostering the house church movement. Her quasi-Pentecostal emphasis on the Holy Spirit’s baptism stirred controversy among Norwegian traditionalists, leading to marginalization at home. Returning to Norway in 1932 to care for her ill parents, she joined a free evangelical congregation in Bergen in 1935 and published books like A Present Help (1945) and The Awakening (1959), chronicling her experiences. Unmarried, she died in 1962 in Bergen, her grave later honored in 2001 at Brother Yun’s request for her Henan legacy. Monsen said, “The Holy Spirit searches hearts when we dare to speak the truth.”
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Marie Monsen shares a powerful testimony of a soldier who, after attending a revival meeting for the first time, experienced deep conviction of sin, leading to a profound transformation. Filled with peace and joy from the Holy Spirit's work, he confessed to a serious crime he had committed, facing a potential death penalty. Through prayer and repentance, he received unexpected mercy and a second chance at life, demonstrating the transformative power of God's grace and forgiveness.
Confessing Sin Even if It Means the Death Penalty
"In one place we felt the presence of spiritual power toward the close of the revival meetings, at which many had been saved. One day a soldier strayed into the meeting. Everything he saw and heard was strange and new to him. He said later that he had never heard of any gospel preaching before. The meeting had not closed before he had come under deep conviction of sin and was given help. A word of promise from the Lord was quoted to him once only: his praise and thanksgiving broke forth and he was filled with peace, a peace which showed on his face, as it always did when the Holy Spirit had worked. Finally we stood in one of the airy rooms off the courtyard and sang hymns of praise, and with shinning eyes he heard them for the first time and understood. For a moment, a deep Shadow fell across his face, but it passed immediately. When the hymn was ended, he said: "It will be a short life of joy for me here on earth, but I shall be saved from myself and my sins forever. Will you pray together for me until you hear a shot from the military camp? I stole ammunition and sold it, and there is a death penalty for that. I must go back now and confess to the captain." With a radiant, "We shall meet again in heaven," he ran off, a mere boy. We stood there praying in a ring, holding one another's hands. We thought it was a very long time we had to wait, praying and listening for that shot. Suddenly he was there again in our midst, smiling. He had confessed everything and given a careful, detailed account of what he had stolen. The Captain sat silent a moment, then sighed heavily and said: "As you have now become a new man and will not steal any more, I don't see why you should die, you may go.
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Marie Monsen (1878–1962). Born in 1878 in Sandviken, Norway, to Johannes, a model carpenter, and Karen Monsen, Marie Monsen was a Norwegian missionary and evangelist who catalyzed revivals in China from 1901 to 1932. Raised in a Christian family near a prayer house, she trained as a teacher and nurse before arriving in China on September 1, 1901, with the China Mission Association (later part of the Norwegian Lutheran Mission). Early setbacks—a fall causing a severe concussion and near-fatal malaria—humbled her, deepening her faith. Monsen’s preaching, marked by bold questions like “Have you been born again?”, sparked the Shantung Revival (1929–1931), confronting sin and igniting spiritual awakening among missionaries and Chinese believers in Henan and beyond. Known as the “mother of the Chinese house churches,” she worked closely with Asbjørn Aavik, fostering the house church movement. Her quasi-Pentecostal emphasis on the Holy Spirit’s baptism stirred controversy among Norwegian traditionalists, leading to marginalization at home. Returning to Norway in 1932 to care for her ill parents, she joined a free evangelical congregation in Bergen in 1935 and published books like A Present Help (1945) and The Awakening (1959), chronicling her experiences. Unmarried, she died in 1962 in Bergen, her grave later honored in 2001 at Brother Yun’s request for her Henan legacy. Monsen said, “The Holy Spirit searches hearts when we dare to speak the truth.”