Birth: 07-12-1870
Home Calling: 23-06-1926
Homeland: Scotland
Place of Vision: Africa
Daniel Crawford was a Scottish missionary who served in Central-Southern Africa. Born in a Christian home, Dan grew up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. He was an active participant in various activities of the church, including the Sunday classes. At the age of 16, he accepted the Lord as his personal Savior with a deep conviction of sin. Since then, he developed an insatiable longing to know God’s Word and to preach the message of redeeming love wherever he had the opportunity. His meeting with Fredrick Arnot, a missionary in Africa, paved the way for his entry into missionary service. He left for Africa in 1889, placing his confidence and faith entirely on the Lord to supply his every need.
Dan, very much in the footsteps of David Livingstone, gave himself to making Christ known to those who were bound by paganism in Africa. His first mission station was in present-day Angola and then gradually moved towards the east into the heart of Africa. He studied the different local languages and learned the local traditions and customs, which helped him maintain a close association with the Africans. This, in turn, enabled him to win many souls for Christ. He made immense efforts to translate the Bible into the language of the Luba people. He also played the role of peace-maker between the natives and the invading Britishers.
After 22 years of service in Africa, he took a break from the missionary work and traveled to Australia, America, and South Africa to challenge the churches to take the Gospel to Africa. He then returned to Africa in 1926 and completed revising the Bible in the Luba language. His other books became a guiding light for the later missionaries to Africa. Dan, whom the local people affectionately called “Konga Vantu” (meaning ‘the gatherer of the people’), went to be with his Lord after a brief illness.
