Jim Elliot, 1927-1956
Philip James “Jim” Elliot was born in 1927 in Portland, Oregon, and grew up in a devout Plymouth Brethren household. From a young age, Jim demonstrated deep faith and a passion for sharing the gospel, dedicating his life to Christ at just six years old. After enrolling at Wheaton College in 1945, he sought an education in Greek and Bible that would prepare him for work in foreign missions. Graduating in 1949, Jim served in various ministry roles in the U.S., holding youth meetings in southern Indiana and Illinois and broadcasting evangelistic radio messages on the program The March of Truth with Ed McCully and Bill Cathers. Throughout this time, he regularly corresponded with Elisabeth “Betty” Howard, a fellow Wheaton graduate, though he initially believed God called him to serve as a single missionary.
In 1950, Jim attended the Summer Institute of Linguistics to prepare for overseas missions, and soon afterward accepted an invitation from Dr. Wilfred Tidmarsh to work among the Quichua Indians in the Oriente region of Ecuador. Arriving in 1952 with friend Pete Fleming, he was later joined by Betty, along with Ed and Marilou McCully. In August of 1952, Jim and Pete left Quito to reopen the mission station at Shandia, building structures for housing and a school for Quichua children. When a flood destroyed the mission settlement at Shandia in July 1953, Pete Fleming and Ed McCully stayed to rebuild and continue the work with the Quichua, while Jim left temporarily to marry Elisabeth and establish a new outpost at Puyupunga near the Puya River.
After basic rebuilding was complete, Jim and Elisabeth returned to Shandia, welcoming a daughter, Valerie, in 1955. Meanwhile, Jim and fellow missionaries Pete Fleming, Ed McCully, Nate Saint, and Roger Youdarian felt a growing conviction to attempt contact with the nearby isolated and hostile Waorani tribe (known as “Auca” to outsiders). Through months of careful preparation and aerial gift exchanges, the team launched “Operation Auca.” Tragically, on January 8, 1956, after an initial friendly encounter, the five missionaries were killed by members of the tribe they sought to reach.
