MALAWI COG7 AND A.N. DUGGER
ANDREW DUGGER'S GOAL IN LIFE
Right from the day he joined Church of God (Seventh Day) in 1906, Andrew Dugger seemed to harbor a dream of bringing more people to Messiah/Christ.
And he got that opportunity when he was appointed the editor of Bible Advocate magazine in 1914 and when he was elected for the position of president of the General Conference of that church in the same year.
Andrew Dugger is said to have been the most hardworking minister during that period - even surpassing the work of other leaders who had led that movement since it was established by Gilbert Cranmer in 1852.
It was during his tenure that the church went on to have more members and to have converts in different parts of the world.
Andrew Dugger loved to preach and teach. He could walk long distances and travel in foreign lands to push the Gospel of Christ into the hearts of the people who were in darkness.
He did not mind being away from home for long periods though he had great love for his wife and children.
His greatest pleasure came from telling people about the truth as found in the Holy Scriptures and about the true church that was founded by Christ in Jerusalem in the first century.
He did not fear being in a strange environment or with strange people.
His writings travelled where he could not reach and answered questions he could not answer in person. He produced thousands of printed materials during his lifetime which directed converts around the world to his office.
People who had read an article he had written or a book he had authored would write to the address he had provided therein to request more literature or for somebody to visit them.
Such was his kind of work when he was serving God and His church at Stanberry in the state of Missouri, and later at Salem in the state of West Virginia, and much later in Jerusalem in the state of Israel.
He seemed to be the kind of man who was always thinking about his ministry to the world which he interpreted to be his service to God. As it is the case, he was involved in the Great Commission almost on a full-time basis.
His efforts resulted in congregations springing up in different parts of the world. And today, hundreds of thousands of people exist who trace their understanding of the Bible to him.
Whether you are in Central and South America, or in Africa or Asia, or in Europe or Australia, or in New Zealand or North America, you are likely to meet groups of Christians and Messianic's whose faith were shaped by his writings which continue to be reproduced by his supporters around the world.
Pictured here is Andrew N. Dugger (and his wife Effie) who spent his last days preaching and teaching the world from Jerusalem, Israel (1953 to 1975).
As he exited the world in 1975, Andrew Dugger had conquered a small part of the world with the true Gospel of the coming kingdom of God.
REMEMBERING CHURCH OF GOD MINISTER
FACTS ABOUT ALEXANDER F. DUGGER
1. A. F. Dugger was originally an ordained minister with the Advent Christian Church in the United States of America shortly after the great disappointment occasioned by the failure of the return of Christ/Messiah into this world in 1844 as had been prophesied by William Miller and his associates in the early years of the 19th century.
2. As a committed and devoted Sunday pastor and preacher, A. F. Dugger decided to engage in an intensive study and write a tract to prove that Sunday was the Sabbath of the New Testament church but was shocked to learn that the Bible endorsed Saturday as the true Sabbath by virtue of it being the seventh day of the week spoken of by God in the Bible.
3. A. F. Dugger joined a new group of Sabbath-keeping Christians in Missouri in 1874 and went on to become one of its hard-working ministers. The group changed its name to Church of God (Seventh Day) in 1875 in line with the policy of an umbrella movement which had been organized in the State of Iowa in 1865 using that very name.
4. In 1903, A. F. Dugger was appointed editor of the church magazine called the Sabbath Advocate published from Stanberry in Missouri but did not stay long in that position though he continued to submit articles to the paper after his departure from that office in 1907. The paper was originally called the Hope of Israel. It would eventually change its name to the Bible Advocate magazine currently published from Denver in Colorado.
5. When a number of Bible based and Sabbath-keeping congregations in the states of Michigan, Iowa, and Missouri met to organize the General Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day) in 1884, A. F. Dugger was appointed its first vice president under the leadership of A. C. Long of Marion, Iowa, as president.
6. A. F. Dugger and a long-serving editor and leader of the church by the name of Jacob Brinkerhoff are mentioned as having written several articles in the Sabbath Advocate magazine which helped clarify and solidify doctrines of the Church of God (Seventh Day) at the time and which are still embraced by the movement to this day.
7. A. F. Dugger is also remembered for having raised a large Sabbath-keeping group of the Church of God (Seventh Day) in his hometown of Bassett in northern Nebraska and for having helped in the organization of the Nebraska-South Dakota Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day).
A. F. Dugger died in 1910 after having served that Sabbath-keeping movement for many years and in various capacities.
May the Lord remember this great Sabbath-keeping minister of His church when He returns to this world to reward the righteous and welcome them into His kingdom of glory.
Pictured here is the late Alexander F. Dugger and his wife and children who included Andrew N. Dugger who finally reorganized Church of God (Seventh Day) in Jerusalem, Israel, in 1953.
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