Johann Leonhard Dober and David Nitschmann—names that might sound vaguely German or Czech to you. If so, consider me impressed.

But who were these men?

They were Moravian missionaries.

The Moravians, originating from the Moravia region in the Czech Republic, were among the first Protestant denominations. They were unique in mobilizing laypeople—those unordained—to share the gospel.

When Dober and Nitschmann decided to become missionaries, they were laymen themselves: a potter and a carpenter.

However, their humble professions weren’t the most remarkable part of their story.

But rather their high level of conviction from the start.

They were in attendance when a preacher shared stories of those enslaved in the Caribbean, noting that some slaves showed signs of being open to receiving Christian missionaries.

And it was at that story that Dober felt deeply called to pursue that mission.

Despite skepticism and even opposition from inside and outside the church (The Danish West India Company, refused them passage) they pressed on.

The result?

They arrived in St. Thomas in December 1732 and began preaching to the enslaved population.