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TL;DR:
Pioneer missionaries Harmon and Lula Schmelzenbach modeled visionary, Spirit-led foresight in their early 1900s ministry in Africa. The Schmelzenbachs illustrate that foresight in missions means taking concrete, Spirit-guided steps toward a future God envisions, rather than only reacting to present needs and opportunities. Missionaries like them reflect Christ’s own example of being proactive and intentional — planning ministry moves purposefully.
What can pioneer missionaries Harmon and Lula Schmelzenbach teach us?
Good missionaries often have good foresight. Such foresight is not merely the ability to anticipate what might happen. Rather, it means they envision future possibilities. Following the Holy Spirit's guidance, they take steps — big and small — toward that future.
In 1907, two single missionaries, Harmon Schmelzenbach and Lula Glatzel, arrived in South Africa on the same ship. A romance blossomed between the two young missionaries. A year later, they married and, before long, moved north to pioneer the work among the unreached Swazi people.
Harmon and Lula had some tough days in Eswatini, which was then called Swaziland: health problems, hostility (including death threats) from the Swazis, opposition from colonial authorities, and the deaths of three of their own infants. However, such tough times did not deter them or cause them to lose focus.
Looking ahead, Harmon built a building in which to hold church services even before he and Lula saw their first conversion. Long before any people began coming to services, Harmon would go to pray at the altar of that small building.
In that era, many Western missionaries planted one congregation that they pastored for the remainder of their missionary career. Harmon Schmelzenbach visualized something different. He dreamed of a Swazi-led church-planting movement sweeping across the land. So, before many churches had been established, he and Lula started a Bible college to train leaders. The Schmelzenbachs began envisioning a healthcare ministry and got the denomination to send medical missionaries to establish it.
Perhaps the clearest evidence of Harmon's foresight was the trips he made to government offices in other African countries to officially register the Church of the Nazarene. He envisioned a day when there would be Nazarene churches across Africa. With that thought in mind, he secured necessary legal recognition for the denomination in countries near Eswatini.
Some of those countries later tightened their registration requirements for religious organizations or even closed the process. Harmon's foresight made it possible for the Church of the Nazarene to enter places that other mission organizations could not enter because they had not registered before a specific cutoff date.
Foresight means more than simply dreaming about the future. It is taking concrete steps toward that future. To be sure, foresight in missionary work does not necessarily include a detailed plan. It means having the wisdom to take steps now — even small steps — toward a future destination. Foresight can also include discerning trends in culture, economics, politics, and the denomination, then wisely adjusting strategies and tactics.
It is possible to be a hard-working missionary without ever exhibiting much foresight. Like almost anyone else, missionaries can get caught up in simply doing the things clamoring to be done right now. Fortunately for the world missions enterprise, there have been missionaries with foresight like Harmon and Lula Schmelzenbach.
More mini-essays in the "Doing missions well" series published in Engage magazine
In 2025, the Nazarene General Secretary's Office reported that the 5,122 Churches of the Nazarene in the Africa region had a total of 868,855 members.
Would "proactive and intentional" be words that would describe the pioneering ministry of Harmon and Lula Schmelzenbach?
Jesus went about His three years of earthly ministry intentionally and proactively. At times, there was spontaneity as He interacted with people. Yet, He did not wait for unfolding events to dictate His direction, pace, or priorities.
Jesus models how missionaries can make sure that their day-to-day actions move them forward toward long-term objectives. To be sure, missionaries can accomplish good things even when they operate entirely through spur-of-the-moment decisions. When they do that, however, they risk being “blown here and there by every wind” (Ephesians 4:14, 2011 NIV).
Numerous Gospel passages indicate the intentionality with which Jesus lived and acted. Here are four:
Being proactive and intentional does not mean we should run at a frenetic pace trying to get through a never-ending checklist. It does mean that we act purposefully instead of merely reacting to circumstances. It does not mean holding so rigidly to existing plans that no adjustments can be made.
We, of course, cannot know the future like Jesus did. However, cross-cultural missionaries will do well to emulate the way Jesus was proactive and intentional. Missionaries can move beyond simply reacting to things as they happen. This does not mean banishing spontaneity. It does not mean we should be coldly calculating. It does mean that missionaries, like Jesus, can act intentionally so that their daily activities contribute to fulfilling God's call on their lives.
— Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu
This reflection on Christlike attitudes and actions that must be present in cross-cultural missionary service is one of a dozen articles in the "Missionary ministry that reflects Christ" series published in Engage, a monthly online magazine produced by the Church of the Nazarene.
Being proactive and intentional in cross-cultural missionary ministry means taking deliberate steps to understand and engage with the culture, language, and customs of the people being served. It involves thorough preparation. That includes studying cultural norms and learning the local language to best build relationships and communicate the gospel. Being intentional about in-depth learning of culture requires sensitivity, adaptability, and a commitment to ongoing learning. It is also a way to demonstrate respect and love for the community in which the missionary serves.
By being proactive and intentional, missionaries can make a meaningful and lasting impact. A respectful attitude toward cultural and language learning can foster trust and cooperation. It can greatly increase the likelihood that their cross-cultural ministry will be relevant and respectful toward those they want to serve.
Another missionary who had foresight like Harmon Schmelzenbach was Herman Gschwandtner, who helped start some Church of the Nazarene outreach efforts in Eastern Europe and South Asia.
P - Prepare diligently for what lies ahead,
R - Respond with wisdom, not with dread,
O - Observe the signs and read the clues,
A - Anticipate risks and wisely choose,
C - Cultivate habits that foster growth,
T - Take bold steps with courage sincere,
I - Initiate change with purpose clear,
V - Venture beyond the grip of fear,
E - Empower others to persevere.
Like acrostics? Here are more of them.
Sample biography written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course Modern Missionary Movement
Harmon F. Schmelzenbach is one of the most famous missionaries in the history of the Church of the Nazarene.
He began his preparation to fulfill a call to ministry at Peniel University (a forerunner of Southern Nazarene University) in northeastern Texas. He felt called to the mission fields of what was then sometimes described by Westerners as “Dark Africa.” Feeling a burden for the people of Africa that would weigh on him for the rest of his life, Schmelzenbach promised the Lord he would go to Africa if the doors were opened.
At 9 a.m. on June 18, 1907, a ship carrying Harmon Schmelzenbach arrived at Port Elizabeth, South Africa. There, he would spend the first year of his missionary service, during which a friendship begun on board the ship with Lula, another young single missionary, would flower. A year and a day after Harmon and Lula arrived in Africa, they were married and soon set out on their way to Bazana, Pondoland (in what is now South Africa), where as a missionary couple, they lived in a hut on the outskirts of an African village.
Three months after their arrival at the settlement near Bazana, Harmon Schmelzenbach was informed by colonial authorities that he and his family would not be allowed to preach the gospel to the local African people. He and Lula were ordered to move to the segregated European settlement of Bazana. They quickly realized it would be nearly impossible to preach to local Africans from that setting. So they left for Natal and then went to Durban, South Africa. There, they found themselves in the land of the Zulu people.
Soon after the Schmelzenbachs arrived in Durban, they applied to the South African Compounds and Inland Missions organization and were accepted right away. They were then sent to Estcourt, Natal, to serve at the Bethany Mission Station. The station was located directly between two warring Zulu tribes. Several small wars were fought over this piece of property. In spite of that, within a year, Schmelzenbach had many nominal Christians rededicate their lives to Jesus as well as many new converts. In trying to learn the language of the Zulu people, Harmon Schmelzenbach found himself studying 14 hours a day and entertaining young men to help him learn the language.
On October 3, 1910, the young Schmelzenbach family started on a long and treacherous trip to what was then Swaziland (now officially named Eswatini). Along the way, Harmon showed lantern slides of Jesus' life to small settlements. He preached the Word of God to every ear willing to listen. Harmon Schmelzenbach felt called to an area in Africa where no white missionaries had been allowed to go: Pigg's Peak, where the Swazi Queen resided.
After they had been in the area for nearly a year, the Swazi Queen finally agreed to let the Schmelzenbachs buy some land and build a mission. However, local traditional religious leaders warned the people that if they listened to the missionaries, they would be cursed. Therefore, people became afraid of Harmon Schmelzenbach and his family.
One day, a group of African soldiers marched past the mission on their way to approach the Queen about allowing them to push the missionaries off the land, even asking permission to kill the Schmelzenbachs. According to accounts of the incident, the missionaries understood the soldiers' unexpected restraint as an act of divine providence. Later, many of these same men became good friends with Harmon Schmelzenbach.
Eventually, small groups of people were converted, starting with women whose husbands allowed them to make their own spiritual decisions and, later, some young men. Harmon started the first Nazarene medical mission in Africa. He used homemade remedies and relied on common sense to treat the sick until the Church of the Nazarene sent Lilian Cole, a trained nurse, to the area. Several other medical missionaries were eventually sent to the area, including Dr. West and Louise Robinson.
In 1923, a great revival grew out of a passionate vision God had given to an African pastor. The pastor, Elijah Dhlamini, became convicted about his lack of tithing, which brought about the first tithing movement in Africa. It was when several young African pastors responded to his testimony that the revival caught on.
Another one of the many ways the Schmelzenbachs were able to reach the African people was through the leaders of the Women's Foreign Missionary Society (now Nazarene Missions International or NMI). A visit from Women's Foreign Missionary Society General President Susan N. Fitkin and her vice president, Ada Bresee (daughter-in-law of Phineas F. Bresee), led to the African women starting a prayer meeting in which participants committed to making a financial contribution four times each year. Their first meeting drew about two hundred people, all paying a shilling to be there.
For many of the people who attended, a shilling was an amount of money nearly impossible to come by, though a shilling would have been approximately equivalent to an American quarter. By their fourth year, attendance had risen so much that the total dues of the people amounted to $1,250. This amount of money was amazing, as over one thousand members contributed toward it.
Though many trials beset the Schmelzenbach family, they remained faithful to God's call upon their lives. Through their love and compassion for the people of what was then called Swaziland, many came to know Christ and then took the word of God and taught their own people. At times, perseverance, determination, and trust in God were the only things that kept the family in Swaziland.
In 1929, Harmon Schmelzenbach died among the people he had served. After his death, the men and women of Africa continued to honor him as a special man of God. He is truly one of the founding fathers of Nazarene Missions. His children and their descendants became "legacy missionaries" who served God around the world. Praise God for the Schmelzenbach family!
Schmelzenbach, Harmon III. Schmelzenbach of Africa. Kansas City, Missouri: Nazarene Publishing House, 1971.
Schmelzenbach, Lula. Missionary Prospector: A Life Story of Harmon Schmelzenbach - Missionary to South Africa. Kansas City, Missouri: Nazarene Publishing House, 1937.
Parker, J. Fred. Mission to the World. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House, 1988, pp. 115–129.
Schmelzenbach, Harmon. The Edge of Africa's Eden. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House, 1991.
This brief biography was written by Chris Bartholomew to fulfill a course assignment for the Nazarene Missions course at Southern Nazarene University.
Harmon Schmelzenbach's life story has enough action and thrills to make a box-office hit. He is quite possibly the most important person in Nazarene missions history. He certainly was one of the most self-sacrificing missionaries in Nazarene history.
Harmon influenced countless people through his missionary work and during his only furlough in the United States, taken the year before he died.
The action in his story begins at age twelve. He and his brother and sister were orphaned, and Harmon was forced to work at making pottery. Because of his need to work, he eventually had to quit school. But, as he grew older, he felt the call of God to missionary work. So, he went to a school in northeast Texas called Peniel University (the forerunner of what is today Southern Nazarene University). Schmelzenbach kept his call to Africa a secret until he could no longer hide the fire that burned within. President E. P. Ellyson helped him get the funding promised for a five-year period. So, on May 5, 1907, Harmon set off for Africa on board a ship with nine other missionaries.
Soon after arriving in Africa, Harmon realized that a principle expressed in Deuteronomy 32:30 could be applied to his own situation to mean that his ministry would be strengthened through marriage and partnership. So, on June 19, 1908, Harmon married Lula Glatzel, one of the other missionaries who had been on board the ship with him. The two began working to learn the language of the Zulus and trying to witness to them.
In April of 1908, Harmon's home church back in Peniel, Texas, joined the Church of the Nazarene. That meant that Harmon was now a Nazarene. Even as they applied to be officially named Nazarene missionaries, they launched into establishing the work of the Church of the Nazarene in Africa. By the time they were accepted as Nazarene missionaries, they had decided to focus their work in Eswatini, a country that was then called Swaziland.
The Schmelzenbachs' ministry in Eswatini did not begin smoothly, and the Swazi people did not initially accept them. It was the winter of 1911 before they were able to move into a permanent residence because the Swazi Queen had previously made a vow not to let any white person take up residence in her country. Indeed, at one point, a group of warriors was even given orders to kill the Schmelzenbachs.
After Harmon moved his family into a permanent home, he began work on a church building. After the church materials were burned twice and his house was battered with clubs, Harmon began to realize that the people would not come to him. So he began his daily travels to minister to the Swazi people where they lived and worked. That kind of itinerant ministry continued throughout the rest of his life and work as a missionary.
An evangelistic breakthrough finally came, and the people of Eswatini ultimately embraced Harmon Schmelzenbach. His work began to take root throughout the country. As people responded to the gospel in increasing numbers, Harmon used his own money and built churches throughout the land. As he built more churches, he had to train more preachers. As he trained more preachers, he felt the need to see that they had adequate housing.
The demands on Schmelzenbach continued throughout the years. He also had to face losing some of his children and deal with his declining health. The people whom he loved prayed for him. He would get well and continue on with his work. Though his overall health decreased with the passing of the years, his passion and desire to be used of God to save the people of Eswatini increased.
In all the years, he never gave up. He continued to go to wherever people would listen. His dream for Africa was larger and greater than he could ever have accomplished in his life. His great hope for his adopted people led him to open doors for the missionaries who followed in his footsteps. On May 22, 1929, Harmon Schmelzenbach died among the people he had come to love.
Parker, J. Fred. Mission to the World. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House, 1988, pp. 115–129.
Schmelzenbach, Harmon. The Edge of Africa's Eden. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House, 1991.
Schmelzenbach, Harmon III. Schmelzenbach of Africa. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House, 1971.
"Lay any burden upon me; only sustain me. Send me anywhere; only go with me. Sever any tie, but that one which binds me to Thy service and to Thy heart." — this quotation from David Livingstone, pioneer missionary to Africa, was written on the flyleaf of Harmon Schmelzenbach's Bible. Livingstone died about 30 years before Schmelzenbach arrived in Africa.
Missionary Prospector: A Life Story of Harmon Schmelzenbach is a book-length biography written by Harmon's wife after his death. It is available through the online Wesleyan-Holiness Digital Library.
Harmon Schmelzenbach was a noteworthy missionary figure in the early twentieth century, particularly in Africa. His legacy has several features: