Jim Elliot

Jim Elliot

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Jim Elliot (1927–1956) was an American missionary and preacher whose fervent commitment to sharing the gospel led him to martyrdom among the Huaorani people of Ecuador, inspiring generations of Christians. Born in Portland, Oregon, to Fred and Clara Elliot, he grew up in a devout Plymouth Brethren family with three siblings, embracing faith early through his parents’ example—his father a preacher and his mother a chiropractor who shared Scripture with patients. A standout student at Wheaton College, where he graduated in 1949 with a degree in Greek, Elliot honed his passion for missions, famously writing in his journal, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” In 1953, he married Elisabeth Howard, a fellow Wheaton alum, and together they pursued missionary work with a daughter, Valerie, born in 1955. Elliot’s ministry culminated in Operation Auca, a mission to reach the isolated Huaorani tribe. After arriving in Ecuador in 1952 with the Summer Institute of Linguistics, he served at Shandia, mastering Spanish and Quichua while preparing to evangelize the Huaorani. In 1956, alongside four other missionaries—Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, Pete Fleming, and Nate Saint—he initiated contact, only to be speared to death on January 8 at age 28. His death, though tragic, sparked a global missions movement, with Elisabeth and others later continuing the work, leading many Huaorani to faith. Elliot’s journals, published as The Journals of Jim Elliot, and his story in Elisabeth’s Through Gates of Splendor, cemented his legacy as a martyr whose sacrifice embodied radical devotion to Christ.
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