IN REMEMBRANCE
The Gallup Organization, in Princeton. The firm’s initial breakthrough occurred in 1936 when the elder Gallup successfully predicted Franklin Roosevelt would defeat Alfred Landon in the race for the White House, according to the company. With national syndication of the firm’s
polling results and frequent references in the press, Gallup soon became a household word. As for the younger Gallup, he remained an executive with the firm until he retired in 2004. While there, he steered the firm into executing surveys on religion and the
views of youth, news reports said. Gallup married Kingsley Hubby in 1959, and he spoke of her fondly during appearances at Christian Union events. She died in 2007 of complications from breast cancer. Gallup is survived by two daughters, a son, and two grandchildren. ■
By Mark Kelly, Baptist Press
A GLOBAL MISSIONS PIONEER Research Consultant Had Remarkable Passion for the ‘1.2 Billion Unevangelized’
C
Editor’s note: the following story is reprinted with permisCOLUMBIA sion from Baptist Press (www. baptistpress.org). David B. Barrett, founding editor of the World Christian Encyclopedia, a former research consultant with the then-Foreign Mission Board, and a pioneer advocate for people groups still unreached with the Gospel, died August 4 in Richmond, Virginia after a brief illness. He was 83. Barrett, a mathematician who began his career researching aircraft flight design at Britain’s Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) in 1948, began training for the priesthood in the Church of England after the RAE reassigned him to missile and bomb design, according to an obituary posted by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He was appointed to Kenya by the Anglican Church Missionary Society in 1956. After post-graduate studies at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University (PhD ’65), Barrett returned to Kenya and oversaw research for the Church of England in Eastern Africa for 20 years. Barrett spent more than 10 years compiling and serving as editor of the World Christian Encyclopedia, which was published in 1982. In 1985, Keith Parks, president of the Southern Baptist Foreign (now International) Mission Board, engaged Barrett as a research consultant on the global status of Christi26 | The Ivy League Christian Observer
anity. When that relationship concluded set out for them with a passion. When in 1993, Barrett continued to conduct reDavid Barrett came to the Foreign Missearch on global Christianity through the sion Board as a consultant in 1985, less World Evangelization Rethan 3 percent of our missearch Center, which he sion force was deployed to had founded in 1965, and this last frontier. Today, its successor, the Center as a result of Barrett’s for the Study of Global prophetic push, more Christianity, according to than 80 percent of the the Gordon-Conwell obitpeople groups our misuary. sionaries serve among are David Garrison, the unreached.” International Mission “He had a genius qualBoard’s global strategist ity and was one of the and author of the book, most remarkable people I Church Planting Moveever worked with,” said ments: How God Is ReParks. “David had such deeming a Lost World, humility and was so selfworked closely with Bareffacing. I felt like he PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Baptist Press rett to present to South- David Barrett, Columbia never did seek any recogern Baptists the challenge PhD ’65, was the founding nition, never did consider of reaching the world’s editor of the World Christian himself to be as remarkunreached peoples. To- Encyclopedia. able as we felt he was.” gether they developed the Jim Haney, the Internew missionary role that national Mission Board’s director of came to be known as “stratglobal research, said Barrett played a key egy coordinator.” role in helping evangelicals understand “More than any other the missions challenge before them and man, David Barrett showed mobilize workers into the cause of taking us what the whole world the Gospel to those who have never looked like through the lens heard. of the Great Commission,” “Today, 81 percent of the people groups Garrison said. “He showed engaged by IMB missionaries around the us how God viewed the world are considered ‘unreached,’” Haney world, and particularly the said. “This percentage has continued to unfinished task. David Barclimb in our lifetime as our organization rett defined for us, for all of has prioritized those people groups that us, the boundaries of the ends of lack the resources to reach themselves. the earth, what he called ‘World A.’ Once “David Barrett’s foundational work set we saw the tragic plight of more than a these people groups before us, and it is bebillion unreached, unengaged souls, we cause of him and those who served with him