Ed McCully
1927 – January 8, 1956
Missionary & Martyr
Gave up a promising legal career to bring the gospel to Ecuador — martyred at age 28
Biography
Ed McCully was an American missionary who gave up a promising career as an attorney and orator to serve in Ecuador with the Plymouth Brethren. A former college football star and championship orator at Wheaton College, McCully felt called to missions after hearing Jim Elliot speak. He and his wife Marilou served the Quichua people before joining Operation Auca. He was among the five missionaries killed by Waorani warriors on January 8, 1956.
Faith & Testimony
McCully's conversion from worldly ambition to missionary service exemplifies the radical call of the gospel. He wrote to Jim Elliot: 'I have one desire now — to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it.' His willingness to leave behind comfort, career, and ultimately his life for the sake of unreached peoples reflects the costly discipleship Jesus described.
Sources
- Through Gates of Splendor — By Elisabeth Elliot. The definitive account of Operation Auca