This year, America celebrates the 400th anniversary of the coming to North America of reformation Christianity, the English Bible, the Christian common law, the Great Commission, republican representative government, and our first protestant Christian churches and baptisms. This and much more is the legacy of Jamestown. Now Vision Forum Ministries is calling on the grateful children of America to stand together on the principles found in the Fifth Commandment and to join us in erecting an Ebenezer of thanksgiving — a rock of remembrance to the Lord for His providential work through the lives of our forefathers.

By Douglas W. Phillips

In the Bible, God’s people often laid stones of remembrance - memorials and monuments to the providences of God. Jacob consecrated the rock that had served as his pillow, making it a pillar of remembrance for his heirs (Genesis 28:18); the sepulchre of David was used as a monument of remembrance and encouragement (Acts 2:29-37); and Scripture tells us that “Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Hitherto hath the Lord helped us’” (I Samuel 7:12).

Past generations of Americans have recognized the importance of using the occasion of historic anniversaries to raise up rocks of remembrance to the glory of God and His many providential blessings through the lives of our forefathers. For the 250th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement, the former United States President John Tyler exhorted Americans:

What if the inscription on the monuments erected over the dead be rendered illegible by time, and the monuments themselves be in fragments; yet is there a glory encircling those ruins, and arising from the earth on which those adventurers trod, which decay cannot reach, and which the lapse of centuries can only make more imposing. We are to do them reverence, and in the silent homage of the heart to utter thanksgiving and praise to our Heavenly Parent for the great benefits which, under His good providence, their hardy and successful adventures have conferred upon us and upon the world. (“Celebration at Jamestown: A Report of the Proceedings of the Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Settlement at Jamestown,” SLM 23 (1857), p. 437)

For the three hundredth anniversaries of both Jamestown and Plymouth, great markers and monuments were placed, some of which boldly invoked the name of the Lord and pointed to Holy Scripture. (See Plymouth in the Words of Her Founders: A Visitor’s Guide to America’s Hometown and Laird and Lee’s Guide to Historic Virginia and the Jamestown Centennial, both published by Vision Forum.)

One example - the great 103-foot-tall Jamestown Tercentenary Monument - was erected by the United States in 1907. It bears the following inscription:

Lastly and chiefly the way to prosper and achieve good success is to make yourselves all of one mind for the good of your country and your own, and to serve and fear God the giver of all goodness, for every plantation which our heavenly father hath not planted shall be rooted out. - Advice of London Council for Virginia to the Colony 1606

Just yards away from the Tercentenary Monument is the beautiful Rev. Hunt Memorial Shrine, commemorating the first Protestant Christian worship services in the New World. Not far from the shrine is the 1922 statue of America’s first baptized Christian convert - the princess Pocahontas. Around the corner in the Jamestown church, one can read markers of gratitude for the heroes of Jamestown, including another convert to Christianity named Chanco who saved the lives of many of the settlers.

All of these markers were placed by men and women of past generations who felt a burden to remind us - the children of their future - about the miracle of America and the providence of God.

But for America’s 400th birthday, there are no plans by officials to erect monuments of gratitude which give praise to the Lord for men of God like Rev. Hunt and Captain John Smith who brought Christianity to these shores.

And how can there be when the use of the word “celebration” has been banished from the official events out of embarrassment over our Christian forefathers? How can we expect praises to the Lord when our officials are afraid that mentioning the name of the Lord will be offensive?

Calling on the Grateful Children of America

We must transcend the temptation to curse the darkness and instead be about the business of lighting candles. That is why Vision Forum Ministries and the Faith of Our Fathers Project are calling upon the grateful children of America to rectify this problem by taking advantage of an important moment in time. This is our opportunity to offer praise to the Lord for the mighty deeds He has done in the days of our forefathers.

We intend to place a monument of honor on the occasion of America’s four hundredth birthday as the event will be celebrated by the thousands of families who we trust will be participating in the Jamestown Quadricentennial: A Celebration of America’s Providential History.

Paid for by the one-dollar donations of the children of this generation, the Jamestown Children’s Memorial will be a reminder to future generations that that we honored our fathers by raising rocks of remembrance on the anniversary of our nation’s birth. It will stand as a testimony to our children’s children, letting them know that we were a thankful people.

And we have much for which we should be thankful.

Jamestown was not only the first permanent English settlement in the New World. It was established on the Charter of 1606 which documented the fact that the legal and moral foundation for settlement was the Great Commission. Jamestown was the spot where Protestant Christian worship was brought to the new land. At Jamestown, we experienced our first Gospel conversion and Christian baptism. In fact, Jamestown is the site of the first “inter-racial” marriage in our history - the marriage of Englishman John Rolfe with the converted princess Pocahontas. The Jamestown Colony was birthed by Christian visionaries like Richard Hakluyt who desired to see the New World become a place for religious freedom and evangelism. Their dream ultimately became a reality. At Jamestown, Americans got their introduction to Christian common law and republican representative government. Though the legacy of Jamestown includes the mistakes of imperfect men, these imperfections only drive us to deeper appreciation for the mercy of the Lord and for His providence in the lives of these persevering forefathers.

A Monument that Glorifies God and Honors Our Fathers

Carved by the same company that built the now-legendary Alabama Ten Commandments Monument, the Jamestown Children’s Memorial will be a beautiful edifice crowned with a sculpting of Holy Scripture opened to Psalm 78 - the text which admonishes fathers to teach the providences of God so that their children might have hope. The monument will display Scripture, a list of key providential accomplishments, a quote from the Christian visionary behind Jamestown, and a message of gratitude left for future generations. The four sides of the monument reveal the Fifth Commandment, words of Christian exhortation from the visionaries behind Jamestown, a list of providential accomplishments through Jamestown, and the following acknowledgement:

In gratitude to the Lord our God for the mercy and kindness bestowed upon the American people and the children of the twenty-first century, through His providential direction and care of our Jamestown forefathers. Erected on the four hundredth anniversary of the Jamestown Settlement by the grateful children of America. [i]

A Multi-Generational Vision of Honor

The year 1607 was a time of great uncertainty for our Jamestown founding fathers. Ours, too, is an age of tremendous uncertainty about our future as a people. But the Fifth Commandment is clear: To live “long in the land which the Lord [our] God giveth” (Exodus 20:12), we must honor our fathers. In 2007, one way for Christian families to do just this is to gather their children and make a pilgrimage this June to our nation’s birthplace for the Jamestown Quadricentennial: A Celebration of America’s Providential History. Another way is to be part of our national effort to lay the Jamestown Children’s Memorial.

Someday, the children of this generation will be parents. They will have children who in turn will have children. My question is this: How will they remember us?

One hundred years from now, America will celebrate its five hundredth birthday. It is our prayer that, on that great anniversary, the children of the twenty-second century will be inspired and encouraged to learn that a remnant of children from the twenty-first came forward to honor their forefathers and to give thanks to the Lord on the occasion of America’s four hundredth birthday celebration.

On that day in 2107 - should the Lord will it so - a time-capsule under the monument will be opened. In the time capsule will be a scroll with the names of all the children who stepped forward to honor their American forefathers by contributing one dollar to the Jamestown Children’s Memorial. Those names will be read. And perhaps, just perhaps, the great grandchildren of those donors will be present to give praise to the Lord, not just for America, but for the faith of their fathers.

To learn how to support the Jamestown Children’s Memorial, click here.

P.S. Visit the official site to learn more about our speakers and events for the Jamestown Quadricentennial. Also, make sure to take advantage of the discount room rates when you are booking your hotel reservations.

The Faith of Our Fathers Project is a ministry of Vision Forum Ministries. It was established in 2005 to teach the younger generation to honor the fathers and mothers of the generations that came before them. This year, our efforts focus on the Jamestown Quadricentennial: A Celebration of America’s Providential History. The Jamestown Children’s Memorial is one expression of this effort. If you would like to make your own contribution of one dollar or more to the Jamestown Children’s Memorial, submit your donations online, or write to us at Vision Forum Ministries, Attn: Jamestown Children’s Memorial, 4719 Blanco Rd., San Antonio, TX 78212. We estimate the costs for the Jamestown Children’s Memorial to be approximately $30,000. Should donations exceed the amount needed for the monument, the excess funds will be used to support the Jamestown Quadricentennial event. Make sure to give us the names of the children who are represented by the donation if you want their names included in the time capsule. Please note: Plans for the shape, size, and text of the monument are still being finalized and are subject to modification.

[i] Vision Forum Ministries has formally requested of the appropriate authorities that the monument be placed on the site of the original Jamestown Island. That decision is pending. In the event that this option is not available, another location of historic significance near Jamestown by the James River has been secured.