Day 4
The Mind of a Missionary Devotional
Whether by Life or by Death
John and Betty Stam
“Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.” — Revelation 2:10
The telegram arrived at Peter Stam’s residence in Paterson, New Jersey, on December 14, 1934. The yellow Western Union message contained a single sentence: “Cablegram from mission headquarters Shanghai reports Stam baby safe Wuhu.” The telegram provided yet another detail in a still-unfolding tragedy on the other side of the world, but it was good news this time. The desperate, waiting relatives were relieved to hear their granddaughter, Helen Priscilla, was alive and safe at Wuhu General Hospital in Anhui Province, China, where she had been born three months earlier. However, the “good news” came with a caveat: she was now an orphan.
Helen Priscilla’s parents, John and Betty Stam, made the ultimate sacrifice in the tumultuous backdrop of 1930s China. Their commitment to the Gospel and their love for the Chinese people would lead them down a path of profound suffering and martyrdom.
The life of Betty Scott, born in 1906, was deeply rooted in missionary work. Raised in China by her missionary parents, she was no stranger to the challenges and sacrifices of serving on the mission field. Her early experiences in China sowed the seeds of a deep passion for Christ, a love that would guide her life’s trajectory. As a teenager, she wrote a prayer of surrender to God’s will, expressing her readiness to give up all her plans and desires for Him. Her prayer read, “I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee to be Thine forever.” Little did she know then the extent of the sacrifice God would require of her.
After completing her education in the United States, Betty felt the call to return to China. She joined the China Inland Mission (CIM), where she met John Stam, a missionary whose zeal for the Gospel mirrored her own. Their union was not just a marriage but a God-arranged partnership for His divine mission.
However, their shared vision and commitment would soon be tested in ways they could never imagine. On the morning of December 6, 1934, their peaceful routine in Anhui Province was shattered. As Betty bathed their infant daughter, Helen Priscilla, the ominous sound of gunfire echoed in the distance. Before they could fully grasp the situation, soldiers from the Red Army stormed their residence. They took the couple and their daughter hostage and led them by gunpoint to the communist headquarters. There, under duress, they penned a ransom letter, addressing it to the CIM mission station in Shanghai. “My wife, child, and I fell into the hands of the Communists,” John wrote. “They demand a ransom of twenty thousand dollars for our release.” The letter did not make it to the CIM in time.
On December 8, the Stams were paraded through the city like criminals. Their hands were bound tightly, and they were stripped of their dignity and outer garments. People jeered and mocked them, but John and Betty responded with loving smiles. Thankfully, two-month-old Helen Priscilla was left on the bed, where she was discovered and rescued two days later.
Outside the town, on a small mountainous terrain, their final moments happened swiftly and brutally. John was forced to kneel. The communist leader, without hesitation, beheaded him. Betty, still bound with ropes, fell beside her husband’s lifeless body, weeping. Moments later, she, too, met the same fate. The sword that had taken John’s life was then used to end hers with a single blow. “It was for you that they came to China,” a Chinese Christian proclaimed. “Do not forget what they said: You must repent and believe the Gospel!”
Their lives, drenched in sacrifice, challenge us to consider whether we will live out the Gospel with the same passion. Are we prepared to echo Paul’s words, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21)?
After receiving news of his son’s death, John’s father, Peter Stam, wrote, “It was our desire that he, as well as we, would serve the Lord, and if that could be better done by death than by life, we would have it so.” Incredibly, his father did not harbor hatred or seek revenge. Instead, he longed for the salvation of Chinese souls. He continued, “How glad we shall be if many dear Christian young people shall be inspired to give themselves to the Lord as never before, for a life of sacrifice and service!”
The Stams’ martyrdom galvanized a new generation of missionary candidates, including 700 young people at Moody Bible Institute, the Stams’ alma mater, and 200 at nearby Wheaton College. Many pledged to follow John and Betty’s example of selfless Christian service. John’s final message to his missionary colleagues, given years prior, echoed in the ears of those who went: “The Lord bless and guide you—and as for us—may God be glorified whether by life or by death.”
– Personal Response –
Passage: Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. (Revelation 2:10)
Point: Faithfulness to Christ may cost everything, but it gains eternity.
Ponder: Are you willing to follow Jesus, not just in comfort, but in costly obedience—even unto death?
Prayer: Lord, strengthen my faith to follow You in life or death. Let my love for You surpass my fear of sacrifice. May Your grace and glory shine in and through my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Proclamation: I will glorify God with a surrendered heart and fearless faith, knowing He causes all things to work together for His purposes.
Practice: Write a private letter of surrender to God, declaring your willingness to go wherever He leads, no matter the cost.
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