Journal of European Baptist Studies, 2007

early twentieth century women were accepted as missionaries, Bertelson’s actual work included much broader tasks: she was an educator, a ‘church planter’, a preacher, a pastoral figure, and a Christian journalist. This essay uses a number of primary sources, such as Bertelson’s diaries, typewritten manuscripts and Mustvee Baptist Church Minutes, along with oral information and private correspondence with people who personally knew Bertelson, which have been made available to the author. In addition, Baptist periodicals Teekdija (Wayfarer) and Elukevade (The Spring of Life) published articles about Bertelson and her evangelism work. As to secondary sources, David Lagergren’s writings in Swedish contain valuable information. The first part of the essay analyses Bertelson’s early years and education as preparation for later ministry; the second part explores her ministry from 1918-1924 in St Petersburg (Leningrad); and the third part focuses on Bertelson’s expanding evangelism and ‘church planting’ in Estonia from 1925-1940. With the beginning of Soviet occupation in Estonia and the Second World War, from 6 Journal of European Baptist Studies 1940 a new era began in the life and ministry of Emilie Bertelson: she lost Swedish support and had to minister in the context of severe atheistic pressures. This phase of her life remains outside the scope of this essay. Preparation for ministry Emilie Bertelson, from a Swedish ethnic background, was born on 14 th October 1884 in Naissaare, a little island in the Baltic Sea. The island is part of Estonia but during those days had a mainly Swedish population. Emilie’s parents were influenced by a pietistic revival movement which reached the island in the 1870s, and was led by a Lutheran missionary Petrus Bergsten who worked on the island until 1881. 1 Revivalist ideas continued to spread and Emilie’s mother experienced repentance and conversion, and her father remained friendly towards the pietistic form of faith though did not clearly identify himself with the movement. A number of relatives from her mother’s extended family, the Matsons, were later influential in Estonian Baptist life, perhaps the most well known of them being Daniel Heinrich Matson, who was a pastor, evangelist and writer. The pietistic religious context in which Emilie Bertelson grew up emphasised Christian activity as an important element of religious life. 2 3 Important for Emilie Bertelson’s own spiritual life and calling was a trip for young people, in which she participated with her parents. On 24 th June 1900 the group visited the Kehra Baptist Church where the inauguration of a new prayer house was celebrated. This experience had a deep impact on Emilie, and she decided to ‘give her life to God’, as was the widespread expression to denote religious conversion among Baptist circles. Conversion was so important to her that she remembered it as something very special for years. She