Frank Sandford

Frank W. Sandford (1862-1948) was the founder and leader of a controversial, prophetic Christian movement known as "The Kingdom".

Sandford born in Bowdoinham, Maine in 1862 and graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine in 1886. At Bates, he played baseball and was offered an opportunity to play professional baseball after college. Instead Sandford attended Cobb Divinity School in 1886. Next, Sandford attended Dwight Moody’s College of Colleges (Northfield Mount Hermon School) in 1887 in Northfield, Massachusetts. From 1887 to 1893, Sandford was a Freewill Baptist minister. From 1893 to 1896, he became an independent evangelist. In 1896, Sandford founded the Shiloh community as a Bible school near Durham, Maine. Shiloh had over 600 residents at its peak and for a time was the largest Bible School in the country. The essence of Sandford's teaching included fervent prayer for the evangelization of the world, and the preparation of the Lord's people (the Bride) for the return of Jesus (the Bridegroom). Sandford was a passionate orator, who taught the imminent return of Jesus and the need to be alert and ready for the coming of the King. He taught an unwavering faithfulness to all Scripture, and encouraged his followers to maintain holy, prayerful, and faithful standards in their daily lives.

Trip to Jerusalem

An important aspect of Sandford's ministry was a belief in and prayer for the fulfillment of all Scripture related to the restoration of the nation and people of Israel. In 1906, Sandford sailed for the Holy Land with a company of followers on board the schooner yacht Coronet (yacht) with the object to establish a prayer and mission station. During his sojourn in the Holy Land, Sandford traveled the length and breadth of the land, meticulously documenting its condition and identifying numerous Biblical sites. After establishing mission stations in Joppa and Jerusalem, Sandford departed in October 1907 on what would become a two-year circumnavigation of the world. This prayer journey included a perilous passage of Cape Horn. Thirty souls were embarked aboard Coronet during this journey with the mission to engage in constant intercessory prayer for the spiritual welfare of all nations.

Tragic Northern Voyage

Following the circumnavigation, Sandford continued his campaign of seaborne missionary work.Tragedy struck Sandford's vessel in October 1911 when, during an attempt to reach Greenland, a storm hindered the yacht's progress for several weeks, and supplies became scarce. Scurvy claimed the lives of two loyal crewmembers before the ship could return to safe harbor in Portland, Maine. As the expedition's leader, Sandford was held accountable for the loss of life, and was charged with involuntary manslaughter. Refusing to retain legal counsel, Sandford offered no defense during his trial, and was convicted of the charges. He spent seven years in the Atlanta Penitentiary, during which time he carried on a successful prison ministry in what he called "The Iron University."

Controversy and hardship

Sandford maintained that God had commissioned him to fulfill the prophetic role of Christ's second forerunner, Elijah. This prophetic aspect of his ministry lent strength and a fiery, authoritative tone to his preaching, but generated significant controversy throughout his public life. Because of its uncompromising Biblical standards and its belief in a life of faith, the Kingdom increasingly became the target of secular criticism. Many who left the community at Shiloh became ardent critics of the movement, and did their best to stir up public sentiment against Sandford and the Bible school at Shiloh. Many others remained faithful to the work and endured hardship and deprivations in their earnest desire to live a life of faith in God for the provision of their needs. Sandford was released in 1918 and in 1920 disbanded the Bible School at Shiloh and retired from public life.

Retirement

During his "retirement," Sandford spent time at the Kingdom's headquarters in Boston, and later at a modest farm in the Catskill Mountains of New York. He continued to teach small groups of students at his home, and he maintained a constant prayer vigil for the salvation of souls around the globe. Till his final days, he spent hours in solitary daily prayer for the world's evangelization, a project he referred to as "the greatest work of my life." Sandford himself continued to lead a small contingent until his death on March 4, 1948. The Kingdom, though greatly diminished in numbers from its peak years at Shiloh, remained active following Sandford's death, and still exists today with several hundred active members around the United States.

ee also

*Cobb Divinity School
*Bates College

References

*Shirley Nelson, "Fair, Clear, and Terrible: The Story of Shiloh, Maine" (1989)
*"The Sublimity of Faith" by Rev. Frank Murray, Kingdom Press (1981)
*"The Coronet Story: Conquering and to Conquer" by Captain Timothy F. Murray, (1998)
*"Shiloh" by William C. Hiss
* Tongues of Fire, Shiloh, Maine, Vol. VI. February, 1900. F.W Sandford, editor. Hannah Whitall Smith Papers(ARC 1983-002) B.L. Fisher Library, Asbury Theological Seminary, 204 N. Lexington Avenue, Wilmore, KY, 40390-1199.
*‘Tell of Holy Ghost Society’ 1906 and ‘Frenzied Fisherfolk’ March 1904, Hannah Whitall Smith Papers(ARC 1983-002) B.L. Fisher Library, Asbury Theological Seminary, 204 N. Lexington Avenue, Wilmore, KY, 40390-1199.

External links

* [http://abacus.bates.edu/Library/aboutladd/departments/special/findingAIDS/ShirleyNelsonFA.shtml Shirley Nelson: Sandford Bio and Materials] [http://www.kingdomchristianministries.org/ Website of Kingdom Christian Ministries (Reorganized and renamed, but essentially the same group)]