“What’s it like to be RC Sproul’s son?” is certainly number one on my list of Most Frequently Asked Questions. I typically answer that it has been one of the great blessings of my life, not just because my father was a great theologian but because he was a great father. That said, there is another part to the answer. As his son I was blessed to have a front row seat with some of the definitive events and people of our time. Or to put it slightly more pithily, I’m the Forrest Gump of the Reformed world.
The first Congress on the Bible? I went. The last Congress on the Bible? I attended. And the Cambridge meeting? There too. I spent time with the theological giants of our time- Francis Schaeffer, Carl Henry, James Boice, JI Packer. Men whose books lined my shelves. Also there, however, was another person who has had a profound impact far surpassing her name recognition, Rosemary Jensen. She was a hero to me.
Rosemary served as the faithful wife of a medical missionary, Dr. Bob. She likewise steered the ship of the nationwide organization, Bible Study Fellowship, for decades. She managed to both grow the ministry and to anchor it in sound doctrine by tapping the very men whose names we know to create their curriculum. Rosemary had an astute mind, but also an iron will.
As she approached retirement from Bible Study Fellowship the board of directors asked her how they might thank her, what she might want as a departing gift. She asked for an orphanage, in Africa. An orphanage. The board committed to funding such for a year. She told them you can’t open an orphanage for just a year. They gave her five. Within those five years there were ten orphanages across multiple countries in Africa. AFTER “retiring” she started the Rafiki Foundation.
I was blessed to help create a complete Bible curriculum now being used by thousands of Christian schools across Africa. When Rosemary asked me to travel with her and her team to Africa I explained that neither I nor my ministry had the money for such a journey. She reminded me that my heavenly Father did. She didn’t take no for an answer. So we moved from country to country, orphanage to orphanage in a borrowed DC-3 built in 1946.
She spoke to me clearly and directly, taking the posture of what she was, a strong and tender grandmother. Hers was an iron will, not tempered but driven by a heart filled with grace and compassion. I learned never to say “no” to Rosemary, not because I feared her but because I admired her. Her strength of will never diminished but rather demonstrated her tenderness. She was a true mother in Israel.
We, Lisa and I, kept in touch until the end, speaking often by phone. She loved my bride, as my bride loved her. And Rosemary likewise was loved as a part of His body, His bride. The Lord welcomed her home just a few days ago after her 97 year sojourn serving Him. We are blessed for having known her.