Gottlob Bruckner was born outside of Berlin, Germany in 1783. When he was twenty years old he moved to the big city to find work, and there he met a preacher whose sermons brought him to the cross for salvation. Becoming a new creature in Christ, Gottlob desired to serve his Saviour, and feeling called to the ministry surrendered to become a missionary. After studying under his pastor for 18 months he moved to Holland for additional training, but first he had to learn the Dutch language. He successfully studied there for three years before returning to Germany. By this time the wars with Napoleon made international travel impossible. But Mr. Bruckner secretly journeyed to Denmark and then to Sweden before sailing for England. Once in Britain he had to learn English before more study and finally his ordination as a Protestant missionary.
With the war reaching its conclusion, Mr. Bruckner sailed for Indonesia on January 1, 1814. The journey was filled with potential disasters, including storms, pirates and tigers before he reached his intended destination. In Semarang, Indonesia, he settled into his ministry, marrying the daughter of a Dutch Protestant minister. Eight children were born to the couple, but four of them died early in their lives.
Eventually a new and different kind of missionary, Thomas Trowt, arrived from England. Trowt asked if he could study the Malay language with Gottlob, and arrangements were made. As the two men studied together the subject of baptism came up, and Bruckner came to the realization that he had not been scripturally baptized. When he told his congregation that he had been immersed by a Baptist he was kicked out of the pulpit. Six months later Tom Trowt died of a tropical fever. The Dutch government determined that no new missionaries were permitted to enter Indonesia, but because Gottlob Bruckner was German and spoke perfect Dutch, he could stay.
On this day in 1798, William Ward, was commissioned to go to India as a gospel printer, and eventually contact was made with Bro. Bruckner, who had by then translated the New Testament into the Javanese language. In 1828 Gottlob and two of his sons sailed for India where they worked for three more years preparing the scriptures for print. During that time one of the young men died. When the work was finished and thousands of testaments and tracts had been printed, the two men sailed for home. But upon disembarking most of the literature was confiscated by the government and burned. Bruckner, however, would not quit and was able to send copies of the New Testament to the kings of Holland and Prussia. The result of those gifts finally brought about a certain degree of religious freedom in Indonesia.
Gottlob Bruckner died in 1857. He saw very, very few converts, and he had no other missionaries to help him or carry on his ministry. However today, according to some, Indonesia has more Baptist citizens than any other Muslim country in the world. Was Bruckner a failure in the ministry? I don’t believe the Lord would say so. Faithfulness should never be considered to be a failure.
