Collection 424 Oral History Interviews with Ruth L. Maxwell
Scope and Contents
Oral history interviews with Ruth Lillian Maxwell in which she talks about her family background, including her grandfather, L.E. Maxwell, founder of Prairie Bible Institute, and her parents, missionaries with Sudan Interior Mission (SIM) in Nigeria; Nigerian village life; experiences at boarding school; conversion to Christianity; spiritual development; education in Canada at Prairie Bible Institute; joining SIM; missions work in Liberia teaching the Bible and leading study groups for women. Other topics discussed include: the state of the Christian church in Liberia; worship practices; indigenous church leadership; syncretism and animism in Liberia; traditional gender roles in Liberian society; the Biafra Civil War; singleness and missionary work; and education at Wheaton College Graduate School. The time period covered by the interviews is 1855-1989.
Ruth Lillian Maxwell was interviewed by Robert Shuster on November 21 and December 8, 1989, at the Billy Graham Center Archives at Wheaton College.
Dates
- Created: 1989
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.
Biographical or Historical Information
Full Name: Ruth Lillian Maxwell
Birth Date: January 10, 1955 Birth place: Jos, Nigeria
Parents: Ernest and Freeda Maxwell, Sudan Interior Mission (SIM) missionaries to Nigeria Grandfather: L. E. Maxwell, founder of Prairie Bible Institute
Siblings: Two brothers: David older, Mark younger
Conversion: Accepted Christ in grade 2 at Kent Academy in Nigeria
Marital Status: Single
Education:
Prairie High School, Three Hills, AB, Canada--graduated June 1973
Prairie Bible College, Three Hills, AB, Canada--ca. 1973-1977 major: Bible/Missions, degree: BRE
Columbia Graduate School--Cross Cultural Communications Course
Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, IL-- M.A. in Missions/Intercultural studies, 1990 (degree completed after interviews)
Career:
1978-1981 Assistant Dean of Women, Prairie Bible Institute
1981 Team Leader of SIM Student Missionary Interns
1982-1983 Dean of Women, Prairie Bible Institute
1984-1985 Church Secretary, Prairie Tabernacle
1986-1989 SIM missionary to Liberia
Future Plans: Continue work for SIM in urban church planting and counseling of short term missionaries.
Extent
4 Audio Tapes
187 Minutes
Language of Materials
English
Accruals and Additions
The materials in this collection were given to the Billy Graham Center Archives by Ruth Maxwell in November and December 1989.
Accession 89-123, 89-130
April 25, 1995
Mark Congdon
- Animism -- Liberia.
- Animism.
- Bible colleges
- Bible colleges -- Canada.
- Boarding schools -- Nigeria.
- Boarding schools.
- Children of missionaries.
- Christian education -- Liberia.
- Christian education -- Nigeria.
- Christian education.
- Christian life.
- Christianity and culture.
- Church growth -- Liberia.
- Church growth -- Nigeria.
- Church growth.
- Church work with women -- Liberia.
- Church work with women.
- Conversion.
- Education
- Education -- Liberia.
- Indigenous church administration
- Indigenous church administration -- Liberia.
- Indigenous church administration -- Nigeria.
- Kent Academy (Jos, Nigeria)
- Lay missionaries.
- Liberia
- Liberia -- Religion.
- Maxwell, Ernest.
- Maxwell, Freeda.
- Maxwell, L. E.
- Maxwell, Ruth Lillian, 1955-
- Missionaries -- Training of.
- Missionaries -- Appointment, call, and election.
- Missionaries.
- Missions -- Educational work.
- Missions -- Liberia.
- Missions -- Nigeria.
- Muslims -- Nigeria.
- Muslims.
- Nigeria
- Nigeria -- History
- Nigeria -- History -- Civil War, 1967-1970.
- Prairie Bible Institute.
- Sudan Interior Mission.
- Syncretism (Religion).
- Theological seminaries.
- Wheaton College (Ill.)
- Wheaton College (Ill.) -- Alumni.
- Women
- Women -- Education.
- Women -- Religious life.
- Women missionaries.
- Worship.
- Title
- Collection 424 Oral History Interviews with Ruth L. Maxwell
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Roman Script
Repository Details
Part of the Evangelism & Missions Archives Repository