Lars Olsen Skrefsrud (1840–1910)

Lars Olsen Skrefsrud was a Norwegian missionary whose life testified to the gospel’s power to rescue and remake. In his youth he fell into theft and imprisonment, learning firsthand the bitterness of sin and the weakness of human resolve. Yet the Lord met him in mercy, turning a captive into a servant. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). From that renewal grew a steady courage: to go where few wished to go, to love people many ignored, and to labor long when results were slow.

Benagaria and the Santal Parganas

Skrefsrud’s chief field was Benagaria in the Santal Parganas of India, a region associated with the Santal people and marked by social marginalization. He did not merely visit; he remained, learned, listened, and bore burdens alongside families facing poverty, sickness, and suspicion from outsiders. He sought a church that could endure without foreign control—rooted in Scripture, led by Santals, and strengthened by practical wisdom for daily life.

Santali Scripture, Song, and Learning

With painstaking care, Skrefsrud translated Scripture into Santali so believers could hear God speak in their own tongue. He helped shape a hymnal that used local melodies, guiding worship to be both reverent and familiar. He also wrote textbooks to help Christians read, reason, and grow in biblical understanding, believing that faith is nourished by truth plainly taught. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105). In addition, he recorded Santal traditions, not to romanticize them, but to understand a people he aimed to serve with patience and clarity.

Schools, Trades, and a Self-Sustaining Church

Skrefsrud founded schools that trained farming and trades, recognizing that honest work can steady homes and strengthen witness. His approach joined compassion with discipline, urging believers to turn from former ways and walk in newness of life. He labored to raise local leaders, trusting that Christ builds His church through shepherds called from among their own people.

Death and Legacy (December 11, 1910)

Skrefsrud died on December 11, 1910, at Benagaria, leaving a living witness to Christ’s redeeming power. By the time of his passing, more than fifteen thousand had confessed Christ, a harvest that pointed beyond the missionary to the Savior who seeks the lost and keeps His own. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16).