was held in respect that approached awe." Nakada died on September 24, 1939. Ernest A. Kilbourne Ernest A. Kilbourne was born on March 13, 1865, in Ontario. Kilbourne was brought up in a Methodist home, but after moving to the United States while still in his teens to work for the Western Union, his religious upbringing was quickly forgotten. He moved to New York at age 21. After living in New York he traveled to Australia, Europe, and New Zealand, settling for a very short time into a job as a telegraph operator in Nevada. He met his future wife, Julia Pittinger. Soon after they were married, Kilbourne transferred to the Chicago office where he met Charles Cowman, who was responsible for his conversion. In 1902, he went to Japan with his family to continue the work that had been started by the Cowmans and Nakada. When Cowman died, he became the second president of the organization. Kilbourne died in 1928. Electric Messages In November 1902, Kilbourne started Electric Messages, a monthly periodical that detailed what they were accomplishing and encouraged others to donate to the cause. This was later called The O.M.S. Standard before being changed to its current name, OMS Outreach. Lettie Cowman was the active writer for these publications for many years. The Great Village Campaign The OMS founders began the Great Village Campaign in 1913. The goal was to reach every person in Japan with the Gospel in five years. When the campaign was completed in 1918, the Cowmans were in America due to Charles' health issues. After regaining his health, Cowman traveled to promote The Great Village Campaign, but his health forced him to stop traveling. He spent his final years in physical pain, as explained in Lettie Cowman's Streams in the Desert. In early 1924 he signed over the OMS bank books to Kilbourne and a businessman named Clark. Expansion In the last 100 years, OMS began work in approximately 77 countries, including Japan, Taiwan, Romania, Spain, Colombia, Haiti, Israel and Canada. Today OMS partners with 180+ denominations and organizations. One Mission Society seeks to fulfill their mission through intentional evangelism, church planting, training of leaders, and forming strategic partnerships. More than 6,000 churches are planted every year, with the help of 14,000+ indigenous coworkers in 45 languages. References External links One Mission Society Ref 1 Ref 2 Ref 3 Ref 4 Ref 5