Missionaries are heroes in the Assemblies of God (AG). This is especially true of the AG’s first-generation missionaries.

In Compelled to Serve, Michael McAteer tells the story of the pioneers whose sacrificial lives and missional lifestyles will both inform and inspire readers today. Many of them had little language training and no contacts when they arrived overseas. Several lost spouses or children on the mission field.

McAteer explains what motivated these missionaries, historical events that shaped their missions, and methods they used to spread the gospel.

The book begins with preliminary chapters framing the background of Chinese Christianity. Seven chapters follow, sketching the biographies of missionaries and missions teams.

H.A. Baker comes first. Although not an AG missionary, he was notable for traveling extensively, living among indigenous people in thousands of small villages and towns, and sharing the gospel with anyone who listened. Thousands of converts were baptized in the Holy Spirit under his ministry.

Victor Plymire labored for more than four decades in northwest China among remote Tibetan tribes. He established churches, trained indigenous leaders, and distributed tens of thousands of Tibetan-language Bibles and gospel tracts.

Plymire lost his wife, Grace, and son John to fever, a heartbreaking event that is all too common in these missionaries’ experiences. His sacrifice was redeemed decades later, however.

The title deed of the Plymire burial plots was in the name of the congregation Victor had planted. In the 1980s, when the Chinese government allowed churches to reclaim property that had been expropriated during previous generations, that title deed allowed the church to resume ownership.

Michael McAteer tells the story of the pioneers whose sacrificial lives and missional lifestyles will both inform and inspire readers today.

Leslie and Ava Anglin established the Home of Onesiphorus for orphans in Tai’an. It has received praise for its compassion ministry and impact on thousands of children who were rescued and discipled. Many of them in turn accepted the call to spread the gospel throughout their nation.

McAteer profiles four remarkable single women missionaries: Marie Stephany, Henrietta Tieleman, Alice Stewart, and Ana Ziese.

The first three were trailblazers in Shanxi Province, where they dedicated themselves to helping opium addicts, caring for abandoned children, and running a refugee station during the Sino-Japanese War.

Ana Ziese joined those women later in the turbulent 1930s. She was one of the few missionaries who stayed in China after World War II. Ziese continued to share the gospel and train indigenous workers under restricted conditions until her death in the summer of 1969.

W.W. Simpson was a Christian and Missionary Alliance missionary who joined the AG after the CMA rejected him because of his emphasis on Spirit-baptism and speaking in tongues. He ministered extensively across China, achieving great success in bringing the message of Spirit-baptism to thousands in northwest China.

The last story is of Leonard Bolton, a missionary to southwest China. He lost nine family members while serving on the field. Bolton also faced perilous times ministering in Burma. His ministry influenced many other missionaries.

Compelled to Serve also analyzes the AG’s early missiology, along with the methodology of these pioneers. McAteer focuses on the “indigenous principle” strategy AG missionaries employed. Their goal was to establish self-supporting, self-sustaining, and self-governing churches.

Alice Luce introduced readers to the indigenous principle by publishing three articles in the Pentecostal Evangel during 1921.

Interestingly, McAteer shows that Luce adapted the practice from Roland Allen’s 1912 book, Missionary Principles: St. Paul’s or Ours? The AG did not invent the indigenous principle, but implemented it enthusiastically.

Evaluating the work of these missionaries, McAteer identifies five concepts that made them effective: calling, evangelistic focus, the indigenous principle, emphasis on Spirit baptism, and working as a team.

Compelled to Serve is informative and inspiring. Though an academic study, it is written in an accessible, enjoyable style.

We have much to learn from these pioneers. May their passion and sacrifice inspire us to reach the lost in our own generation!

Book Reviewed

Michael McAteer, Compelled to Serve: The Story of American Assemblies of God Missions in Early 20th Century China (Baguio City, Philippines: Asia Pacific Theological Seminary Press, 2025).

This article appears in the Winter 2026 issue of Influence magazine.