Ruth Crawford Lindsey papers

Collection

Identifier: M0046

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Ruth Lindsey Collection contains correspondence, missions newsletters, periodicals, diaries, textbook curriculum, school bulletins and ephemera, slides, and media.

This collection is valuable for research on missionary work in Brazil, women teachers in the 1960’s, Bible school curriculum, female missionaries, how correspondence connected missionaries to their supporters.

Dates

Majority of material found in 1960–1962, 2004

Creator

Lindsey, Ruth Crawford, 1935-2023 (Person)

Conditions Governing Use

This material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use any digitized or otherwise copied material from our holdings for private study, scholarship, or research. Though the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.

Biographical / Historical

Ruth Crawford Lindsey was born December 2, 1935, near Vanndale, Arkansas, to Jesse Rivers Crawford and Theodora Childers Crawford. She grew up working on her family’s farm, driving tractors, and helping plant crops. She accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into her heart at a high school assembly and soon felt the Lord calling her to missions work. That call took her to Bible Training School from 1956-1960.

In October of 1960, Crawford boarded an oil freighter with Janet Carter, Mary Francis Poe, and Millie Crosswhite to Goiania, Brazil, where they were received by missionaries Bill and Rhoda Watson. The Church of God World Missions Board initially gave each woman only $100 to begin their journey, without the promise of being officially appointed as missionaries or financially supported for their work. Later, the board began sending $50 a month to support them.

The women started both an elementary school and a Bible school in Brazil. Crawford developed a curriculum for the Bible school in Portuguese. She also preached, conducted vacation Bible schools, lead congregations, and held evangelistic meetings.

After establishing a growing church presence, Crawford returned home from Brazil in 1973. She obtained her master’s degree in English and taught at Lee College for 27 years.

Ruth Crawford Lindsey passed away on March 7, 2023. She is buried next to her husband, Jack, in Cleveland, Tennessee at Sunset Memorial Gardens.