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How do we evaluate the effectiveness of a missionary's ministry? Is it by the length of service? If this were the case, John G. Lake must be ruled out. He only ministered in Africa about five years, and part of that time he was away from the continent. Jesus was the greatest of all missionaries, yet He was actively engaged in ministry for only about three years.
John G. Lake was not an organizer, he was not an explorer like Livingstone; he did not raise a large amount of money for missions. But considering his work as a missionary, his success in spreading he Gospel quickly to vast numbers of them saved, his effectiveness in changing the lives he came in contact with and comparing his methods with those of Paul and the apostles, then the ministry of John G. Lake was favorably close to apostolic ideals.
Lakes' ministry in South Africa was a phenomenon. He went there without any visible means of support. Every mile of the journey was a miracle. Before his call to ministry, Dr. Lake had been a successful businessman and could have financed his ministry team for several years. But at the time of his call, he liquidated his estate and disposed of his belongings. He depended on God to supply the money for the trip. There was no organization nor mission board to support him. Dr. Lake made no particular study of the country and did not know the tribal languages. In the natural, the venture seemed destined for failure.
Despite all these handicaps, within five years, Lake and his co-worker, Hezmelhalch, had penetrated the remote areas of South Africa with the Gospel. An apostolic revival broke out that was so powerful, in a short time hundreds of churches and missions were established throughout the land. The secret to the success of these men was the signs, wonders and miracles, which their ministry continually manifested.
Satan tried to attack the great of Lake. While he was on a mission, his wife died, leaving only him to care for their large family of children. This deep loss necessitated Dr. Lake's return to the States in the year 1913.
But the Lord had other work for the man of God to do. Back in America, God gave him a consecrated companion, Florence Switzer. Shortly after their marriage, they founded a healing mission in Spokane, Washington that made history. In five years time, nearly 100,000 healings were recorded. The effects of Dr. Lake's ministry will be felt by generations to come.
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