About ABWE
Raphael C. Thomas
Raphael C. Thomas (1874 - 1956) was both an ordained Baptist minister and a medical doctor, having graduated from Newton Theological Seminary, Harvard University and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Thomas sailed for the Philippine Islands in 1904 as a young single man, eager to begin a life of ministry. He went under the auspices of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (ABFMS) and was appointed to the Union Mission Hospital located in Iloilo City on the island of Panay. He eventually became the head physician and administrator of the hospital. In 1916, Raphael married Norma Waterbury Peabody in Beverly, MA. Norma was the daughter of Mrs. Henry Peabody. The Thomases continued to serve in the Philippines with the ABFMS until 1927.
Dr. Thomas had a great heart and gift for evangelism. He loved to travel into the countryside, visiting the barrios, ministering to souls as well as bodies. He also had a real rapport with high school and college students in Iloilo and developed ministries to reach them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. These activities became a point of conflict when he was criticized by fellow workers for not spending enough time in the hospital. Complaints were made against him to the board. Finally, orders came from the general secretary of the home board telling Dr. Thomas to cease his evangelistic itineration and confine himself to running the hospital. This he could not conscientiously do. It was intolerable that he not be permitted to carry out his first love, evangelism, which was the primary reason for his presence in the Philippines. He felt that he could not continue under that yoke.
Dr. Thomas and his family returned to the USA in February of 1927 and resigned from the ABFMS soon afterwards. In August of that year, they visited the home of Marguerite Doane, along with several other friends. That informal get-together resulted in the birth of the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE), with the Thomases as one of the founders and its first missionaries. They returned to the Philippines in 1928 where they ministered for several more years. Dr. Thomas retired from the mission field shortly before the outbreak of World War 2, but continued in active service for the mission as a traveling national representative for a number of years.
Dr. Harold Commons wrote the following concerning Dr. Raphael Thomas: "A man of solid faith, deep conviction and unyielding courage, his winsome personality and evangelistic fervor set him apart among men. His loyalty to the Word of God and to his Savior, Jesus Christ, was outstanding. One of his Filipino converts who later became a pastor said of Dr. Thomas, 'He was a man who really had only one sermon, YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN.' ABWE stands today because of Dr. Thomas' faithfulness to the simple gospel."