They Also Served: Stories of Adventist Women

Premieres March 7, 2025!

Coming March 7, on this season of They Also Served: Stories of Adventist Women. Join host Heidi Olson Campbell as she explores the untold stories and "unvisited tombs" of women in Adventist history. Premieres March 7, 2025. Subscribe now! 

Unvisited Tombs

Why study women's history? Why are women's roles in the development of Christianity so often invisible? Historian Dr. Heidi Olson Campbell uncovers why the way history is written and preserved can leave many important stories untold and why telling these stories matters for understanding our past and our future.
Guests: Laura Wibberding, Dr. Lisa Clark Diller, Dr. Ed Allen, Dr. Kevin Burton, Dr. Ella Simmons, Celeste Ryan Blyden.
Show Notes
Book | They Also Served (1940) by Ava Covington

Your Daughters Will Prophesy: Women in the Millerite Movement

Women were active participants in the Millerite Movement, a mid-nineteenth century American revival movement. They not only believed Christ was coming soon, they actively disseminated the good news. And if Christ was coming soon, they needed to work together to improve the lives of those around them. This episode explores the lives of little-known Millerite women who were actively involved in the Millerite, temperance, abolition, and suffrage movements and how these activities intersected.
Guest: Dr. Kevin Burton, Director of the Center for Adventist Research. 
Explore More
Book | Strangers and Pilgrims by Catherine Brekus https://uncpress.org/book/9780807847459/strangers-and-pilgrims/
Book | Sarah Osborn’s World: The Rise of Evangelical Christianity in Early America by Catherine Brekus - https://a.co/d/cyznIlQ 
Book | Barbara Kruger “Divine Expectations: An American Woman In Nineteenth-Century Palestine” - https://a.co/d/3sVK2Gv 
1843 Fitch Prophecy Chart - https://adventistdigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/adl:421834
This episode mentions Sojourner Truth, William Miller, Clorinda S. Minor, Emily Clemens Pearson, Olivia Maria Rice, Lucy Maria Hersy Stoddard, Caroline Severance, Charles Fitch, Abigail Folsom, Catherine S. Kilton, and Ellen Harmon White. 

Gospel Bearers Ignoring Barriers: Building the Church

Many women in the Millerite Movement had eagerly hoped for Christ to come on October 22, 1844.  They had dedicated their time, energy and resources to spread the good news of Christ's soon return through print and by mouth. But what happened after Christ didn’t return on October 22, 1844?
Did women return home to be the “angels of the household”?
Or did they play a role in the formation of the churches that came out of the Millerite Movement, shaping the landscape of American Christianity forever?
Guests: Dr. Cindy Tutsch, Author and retired Associate Director of the Ellen White Estate. Dr. Michael Campbell, Director of Archives, Statistics and Research at the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. Celeste Ryan Blyden is the Executive Secretary for the Columbia Union. 
Explore More
Article | Annie Rebekah Smith - https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=AA69 
Article | Adelia Patton Van Horn - https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=AIST&highlight=conference 
Article | Maude Boyd - https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=AAZ0 
Article | Only Eyes Were Lost: The Life of Ai Araki - https://am.adventistmission.org/v4n3-20 
Book | Ellen White on Leadership by Cindy Tustch - https://www.adventsource.org/store/items-by-author?value=Cindy%20Tusch 
Books by Michael Campbell | https://www.adventsource.org/store/items-by?value=Michael%20Campbell
This episode mentions Mary Frances Maxon, Annie Rebekah Smith,  Adelia Patton Van Horn, Minnie Sipe, Sarah Lindsey,  Martha Byington Amadon,  Maude Sisely Boyd,  Ai Araki, and Ellen White.
 

The Free State of Knight: Anna Knight

Anna Knight always wanted an education. Born in 1874 to a white, defected Confederate soldier and an emancipated slave of mixed heritage, she grew up in a post-Civil War South where education for Black children was severely restricted—or outright banned.
Yet, Anna’s unwavering determination propelled her beyond these barriers. Once denied access to basic schooling, she rose to become a nurse, educator, and administrator, earning recognition as a trailblazing leader among Black Seventh-day Adventists, Black women worldwide, and the entire Seventh-day Adventist community—Black or white, male or female.
Explore More
Article | Anna Knight - Adventist Encyclopedia - https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=7CF2&highlight=anna|knight
Article | The True Story of the Free State of Jones - Smithsonian Mag
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-free-state-jones-180958111/
This episode mentions Anna Knight, Newton Knight, and John Harvey Kellogg.

The Woman Who Wouldn't Die: Alma McKibbin

As women contributed to the cause of the church in the early 20th century, they faced the challenge of juggling professional and domestic tasks, often caring for multiple generations while providing financial for the family, yet were often paid less - even half as much - as their male counterparts. 
Despite working themselves into the ground, women continued to work for the benefit of their church, and Alma McKibbin was one of them. But Alma barely made it out alive. 
Thank you to our guest, Laura Wibberding, Assistant Professor of History and Department Chair, Pacific Union College. 
Explore More
Article | Alma KcKibbin - https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=AIPT&highlight=Alma|Mckibbin 
Book | A manual of lessons in Old Testament history for academic grades, by Alma McKibbin - https://lccn.loc.gov/18003993 
Book | "Step by Step: The Story of Alma McKibbin" (1964) - by Alma McKibbin
Book | "My Sister Alma and I" (1980) - Alonzo McKibbin
Article | Sarah Peck - https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=AJI9&highlight=sarah|peck 
Archive | Pacific Union College Archives - https://library.puc.edu/library/content/heritage/archives-special-collections 
Article | The Sandwich Generation - Pew Research - https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2013/01/30/the-sandwich-generation/ 
This episode discusses Alma McKibbin and Sarah Peck, Jenny Irland, Minnie Sipe, and Alonzo McKibbin. 
 

A Family Affair: Pioneering Women in South America

Missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th century often didn't speak the language and didn't know anyone in the new country they were going to, at least at first. Missionary boards typically sent couples like Joseph and Jennie Westphal into the field together so that they would not have to go it alone. 
But this didn’t stop single women missionaries in South America like Lucy Post and Olive Westphal from carrying out their calling of service. They found ways to build support networks of community, friends and other family members so their work was impactful and long-lasting, laying the foundation for medical clinics, hospitals, churches and universities that are still present today. 
Thank you to our guests, Dr. Silvia Sholtus & Pastor Kayla Goodman. 
Special thanks to Ashlee Chisholm from the General Conference Archives for helping us find photos of Jennie Westphal and Lucy Post. 
Explore More
Article | Lucy Belinda Post (1845–1937) - Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists 
Article | Jennie Westphal - “Parents Par Excellence” - Review and Herald Vol 145 No. 31, 1968 
Book | “Women in leadership in the beginnings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South America“ by Silvia Sholtus, Margarita Biaggi (Translator) 
This episode mentions Lucy Post, Luisa Post, Frank and Mary Westphal, Joseph and Jennie Westphal, Olive Westphal, River Plate University, Argentina, Brazil and South America.

Dying to Serve: Petra Tunheim's Life Across Languages and Continents

Petra Tunheim could have lived an ordinary life. She died on a ship to Singapore, traveling back to the island that she loved - Java - but she was born far from Java in Norway. 
Her childhood was far from extraordinary. She was born to an ordinary couple with already a large family in an ordinary town in Norway, raising sheep and keeping up with her nine brothers and sisters. 
But at 17, her life took one of the many turns that would make it extraordinary and lead to her living on four continents and learning seven languages. 
 
Guest: Dr. Donny Chrissutianto, Assistant Professor of Historical Studies; Master of Divinity Program Director - Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies
Show Notes
Article | "Petra Tunheim," ESDA - https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=BAWT 
Article | "Women conference presidents: a forgotten history," Adventist Record https://record.adventistchurch.com/2020/12/17/women-conference-presidents-a-forgotten-history/ 
 

How Women Brought Christianity to China

Christianity has been present in China since the 7th century—long before the arrival of Jesuit or Seventh-day Adventist missionaries. Yet for much of Chinese history, social norms meant women lived relatively private lives, interacting mostly with one another. “When I was reading Chinese Christian history,” guest Dr. Susangeline Patrick recalls, “I didn't initially see a lot of women's stories.”
And yet today, women are the backbone of China’s Christian movement—serving as pastors, leaders, and patrons. So what changed?
In this two-part series, we explore the surprising origins and growth of Christianity the 16th and 17th century China and the role women played in it. 
This is Part 1 of a two-part series on Christian Women in China.  
Guests: Dr. Joseph Lee and Dr. Susangeline Patrick.
Explore More
Article | “The Remarkable Story of China’s ‘Bible Women’” - Christianity Today - https://www.christianitytoday.com/2018/03/christian-china-bible-women/
Book | “A Model for All Christian Women:" Candida Xu, a Chinese Christian Woman of the Seventeenth Century’ by Gail King - https://www.routledge.com/A-Model-for-All-Christian-Women-Candida-Xu-a-Chinese-Christian-Woman-of-the-Seventeenth-Century/King/p/book/9780367682927?srsltid=AfmBOopVRXHImkJNtGAWNLA2ic2VUVREW_46MbDoBkG8ZZ_djwTseZr2 

The "Bible Women" of China

 Few 19th century Protestant missionaries arriving in China realized that Christianity had first come to China over a thousand years before they had. Even fewer realized how much they had to learn. Not just the language-and that would prove hard enough-but thousands of years of culture. They wanted to change the world.
Most missionaries arrived with a racial bias and assumed that Western culture was superior to Chinese.  But they had a lot to learn and would find that if they would succeed in their conversion mission, they needed to adapt their methods.  
In this episode, we explore the largely unknown legacy of the Bible Women—Chinese Christian women of the 19th and early 20th centuries who served as Bible teachers, caregivers, and evangelists. These women went where foreign male missionaries could not: into the inner lives and homes of Chinese women. 
This is Part 2 of a two-part series on Christian Women in China. 
Explore More
Article | Olga Oss - Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists (written by our own Heidi Olson Campbell!) - https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=FJEY 
Article | Lucy Andrus  - Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists - https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=H8A1