John Flynn

“For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth’.” [Acts 13:47]

In 1912, a Presbyterian minister named John Flynn established the Australian Inland Mission. He wanted to help the people of the Outback with spiritual, social, and medical needs. But the desperate need for emergency medical care was made clear to Flynn when he heard about the extreme case of a ranch hand with a spear embedded in his chest. The man was carried in a hammock slung between two horses for 400 miles, then to a station where he waited two weeks for a train that carried him 600 miles to a hospital in Adelaide.

At the time, there were only two doctors available for a region nearly 2 million square kilometers in size. When people in this area became ill or were injured, they were usually on their own. As a resident of the Outback himself, Flynn sympathized and wanted to do something to help provide a “mantle of safety” for people who made their homes in the bush, but what could he do to lessen the isolation of those living so far from civilization?

A letter from a pilot in 1917 convinced Flynn that aviation could provide the answer to that need. Over the next decade, Flynn gradually gathered support and the funds needed to launch the flying medical service. In 1928, the Aerial Medical Service – later known as the Flying Doctor Service – began making flights to assist those in need. During the first year, the little bi-plane named “Victory” made 50 flights, and 225 patients were treated. Soon two-way radios were available in many Outback locations, making medical assistance much more readily available. As a result of John Flynn’s determined effort and God’s blessing, this service has saved many lives over the years.

Jesus also provided care for those who were cut off from civilization, people who were isolated from others because of disease and sin. He reached out to touch lepers, demoniacs, and many others, offering healing and salvation to any person who was willing to receive it. By relieving their physical ailments, he opened their hearts to His love and truth. He asks us, as His disciples, to continue His work of providing physical and spiritual healing, bringing “salvation to the ends of the earth.”