By Douglas Morgan
Quick Overview
“My heart’s desire and prayer is that this message may go to my people all over the United States.”—Lewis C. Sheafe.

Born just as the Civil War began, Lewis Sheafe grew to manhood at a pivotal moment in American history. But instead of racial equality, the nation offered its freed slaves further oppression and injustice. Sheafe—strong-willed, dynamic, and seemingly tireless—had but two main objectives: uplift his people spiritually and socially, and consistently adhere to biblical principle in all aspects of life.

His thirst for truth led him first to the Baptists, where he became both an eloquent minister and a prominent leader of the Black community. Then his poor health led him to Battle Creek Sanitarium, where he encountered Seventh-day Adventism. Sheafe saw in the Adventist message the tenets of race relations he already championed, and he embraced it wholeheartedly. He was sent to lead the Black work in Washington, D.C., in 1902, and his evange