Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf was from a noble German family.
While on his "Grand Tour," in which young aristocrats were introduced to royal courts around Europe,
Count Zinzendorf viewed in the Dusseldorf museum a painting by Domenico Feti depicting Christ's suffering.
The painting, titled "Ecce Homo" ("Behold the Man"), had a Latin caption underneath,
"Ego pro te haec passus sum
Tu vero quid fecisti pro me,"
which translated is:
"This have I suffered for you;
now what will you do for me?"
Young Count Zinzendorf was moved in a profound way.
Convicted,
Count Zinzendorf came to an intensely personal faith in Christ, an experience which was part of a revival movement labeled "Pietism."
In 1722,
Count Zinzendorf opened up his estate at Berthelsdorf, Saxony, for persecuted Christians of Europe to come and live together.
People arrived from Moravia, Bohemia (Czech Republic) and other areas, and built a village on his estate called
"Herrnhut," which means
"The Lord's Watchful Care."
When they started disagreeing amongst themselves, 27-year-old
Count Zinzendorf began a prayer meeting, August 13, 1727.
This prayer meeting went on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and, with believers taking turns, went on uninterrupted for over 100 years.
Count Zinzendorf stated:
"I have one passion: it is Jesus, Jesus only."
More Moravian missionaries were sent out from Herrnhut in the next 20 years than all Christendom had in the previous 200 years.
Moravian missionaries went all over the world:
to Greenland,
to the West Indies,
to American Indians,
to the northern shores of the Baltic,
to the slaves of South Carolina,
to Suriname,
to slaves in South America,
to Tranquebar and Nicobar Islands in the East Indies,
to the Copts in Egypt,
to the Inuit of Labrador, and
to the west coast of South Africa.
Moravian missionaries sailed to the
colony of Georgia in America.
Caught in a terrible storm, the
Moravian missionaries confidently sang praise to the Lord.
Get the book Miracles in American History-32 Amazing Stories of Answered Prayer
Their faith made a tremendous impact on two other frightened passengers on that ship, namely,
John and
Charles Wesley.
John Wesley was being sent to be the Anglican minister in the Colony of Georgia, at the settlement on St. Simon Island;
and
Charles Wesley was sent to be the secretary of Georgia's founder
James Oglethorpe.
The Wesley brothers returned to England where they later founded the
Methodist revival movement.
In 1738,
John Wesley visited
Herrnhut to study with the
Moravians.
Through the Wesleys, the Moravian influence was felt by
George Whitefield, who helped lead the Great Awakening Revival in the American colonies.
In 1741,
Count Zinzendorf visited America, hoping to unify the various German Protestants churches in Pennsylvania.
On Christmas Eve, 1741,
Count Zinzendorf founded
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
There his daughter, Benigna, organized a school which became
Moravian College.
Count Zinzendorf traveled with the German Indian agent and interpreter
Conrad Weiser into the wilderness to share his faith with Iroquois Indian chieftains, making
Zinzendorf one of the few European noblemen to meet with Indians in their villages.
Conrad Weiser's daughter married a young German minister,
Henry Muhlenberg, one of the founders of the Lutheran Church in America.
Henry Muhlenberg became pastor of fifty German families at the Old Trappe Church in Pennsylvania, December 12, 1742.
In 1751,
Henry Muhlenberg founded Trinity Lutheran Church in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Henry Muhlenberg was influenced by the Pietist movement within Lutheranism which stressed a personal relationship with Christ in addition to adhering to orthodox doctrine.
Pietism had a political consequence similar to 'separation of church and state'.
Whereas
Calvinist Puritans believed God had a will for everything including government and it was a Christian's duty to put God's Will in place;
Pietists, on the other hand, believed that when someone believed in Christ their life should change and they should not participate in worldly distractions such as bars, theaters, and ... government.
It was therefore a major step for Henry Muhlenberg's son,
John Peter Muhlenberg, pastor of Emanuel Church in Woodstock, Virginia, to join General George Washington's army as a colonel, with 300 members of his church forming the 8th Virginia Regiment.
John Peter Muhlenberg was promoted to Major-General in the Continental Army, then elected to the U.S. Congress and Senate.
Henry Muhlenberg's other son,
Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, was pastor of a Lutheran congregation in New York.
Frederick Muhlenberg became active during the Revolution and afterwards was elected to the U.S. Congress, being the
first Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Both
John Peter and Frederick were members of the
First Session of U.S. Congress which passed
Twelve Amendments limiting the power of the Federal Government.
Only
Ten of the Amendments were ratified by the States.
There are two signatures on the
Bill of Rights:
Vice-President John Adams-who was President of the Senate; and
Speaker of the House Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg.
Pastor Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, who died OCTOBER 7, 1787, wrote of
General George Washington at Valley Forge in
The Notebook of a Colonial Clergyman:
"I heard a fine example today, namely that His Excellency General Washington rode around among his army yesterday and admonished each to fear God, to put away wickedness...and to practice Christian virtues..."
Rev. Henry Muhlenberg continued:
"From all appearances General Washington does not belong to the so-called world of society, for he respects God's Word, believes in the atonement through Christ, and bears himself in humility and gentleness.
Therefore, the Lord God has also singularly, yea, marvelously preserved him from harm in the midst of countless perils, ambuscades, fatigues, etc., and has hitherto graciously held him in his hand as a chosen vessel."