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Clarence Emerson Rentfro

Photo courtesy of Brazilian White Center – UNASP.

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Rentfro, Clarence Emerson (1877–1951)

By The Brazilian White Center – UNASP

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The Brazilian White Center – UNASP is a team of teachers and students at the Brazilian Ellen G. White Research Center – UNASP at the Brazilian Adventist University, Campus Engenheiro, Coelho, SP. The team was supervised by Drs. Adolfo Semo Suárez, Renato Stencel, and Carlos Flávio Teixeira. Bruno Sales Gomes Ferreira provided technical support. The following names are of team members: Adriane Ferrari Silva, Álan Gracioto Alexandre, Allen Jair Urcia Santa Cruz, Camila Chede Amaral Lucena, Camilla Rodrigues Seixas, Daniel Fernandes Teodoro, Danillo Alfredo Rios Junior, Danilo Fauster de Souza, Débora Arana Mayer, Elvis Eli Martins Filho, Felipe Cardoso do Nascimento, Fernanda Nascimento Oliveira, Gabriel Pilon Galvani, Giovana de Castro Vaz, Guilherme Cardoso Ricardo Martins, Gustavo Costa Vieira Novaes, Ingrid Sthéfane Santos Andrade, Isabela Pimenta Gravina, Ivo Ribeiro de Carvalho, Jhoseyr Davison Voos dos Santos, João Lucas Moraes Pereira, Kalline Meira Rocha Santos, Larissa Menegazzo Nunes, Letícia Miola Figueiredo, Luan Alves Cota Mól, Lucas Almeida dos Santos, Lucas Arteaga Aquino, Lucas Dias de Melo, Matheus Brabo Peres, Mayla Magaieski Graepp, Milena Guimarães Silva, Natália Padilha Corrêa, Rafaela Lima Gouvêa, Rogel Maio Nogueira Tavares Filho, Ryan Matheus do Ouro Medeiros, Samara Souza Santos, Sergio Henrique Micael Santos, Suelen Alves de Almeida, Talita Paim Veloso de Castro, Thais Cristina Benedetti, Thaís Caroline de Almeida Lima, Vanessa Stehling Belgd, Victor Alves Pereira, Vinicios Fernandes Alencar, Vinícius Pereira Nascimento, Vitória Regina Boita da Silva, William Edward Timm, Julio Cesar Ribeiro, Ellen Deó Bortolotte, Maria Júlia dos Santos Galvani, Giovana Souto Pereira, Victor Hugo Vaz Storch, and Dinely Luana Pereira.

 

 

First Published: July 16, 2021

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Clarence Emerson Rentfro, pastor, teacher, canvasser, and missionary, was born on July 23, 1877, in the city of Sigourney, Iowa, United States. Rentfro became an Adventist at a young age and went to Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. At the age of 21, he began working in Sioux City, Iowa holding evangelistic meetings1 and selling publications through canvassing while studying at Union College.2

On June 11, 1903, Rentfro married Mary Loizette Haskell.3 From this union three children were born: Charles, Curtis, and Mirian Rentfro.4 On September 26, 1904, they landed in Lisbon, Portugal, where they had been called to work as missionaries spreading the Adventist message and doing pioneering work in that country. After working for two years, the first conversion to Adventism took place in 1906. The following year, 1907, he was ordained to pastoral ministry by Pastors Daniells and Irwin in Switzerland. He was later appointed director of the Portuguese Mission, where he served for some time. During his service in that country, he contributed to building churches in Lisbon and Porto.5

Later, the family was sent to Brazil, landing on April 8, 1917, in Rio de Janeiro. Through the invitation of Pastor Frederick W. Spies, he soon visited the state of Minas Gerais. Because of the shortage of ordained ministers in Rio de Janeiro, only three at the time, Rentfro was given the task of assisting in evangelistic programs in the state. After almost two years in there, he was transferred to Minas Gerais, where he baptized 35 people. Rentfro worked in the states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro 6 from 1917 to 1920.7

During the period that he was superintendent of the Minas Gerais Mission, the field grew greatly. The mission that once had 71 members, grew to 271 members.8 In this way, in 1920, the Minas Mission was considered one of the most promising fields of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Brazil. New churches were being opened and evangelistic work was being done with perseverance.9

For four years,10 Rentfro worked in the states of Minas Gerais11 and Rio de Janeiro12 doing visitations, baptisms, and preaching.13 However, his work advanced especially in cities of Minas Gerais like Barbacena, Porto Novo do Cunha,14 Carangola, Caparaó, and Juiz de Fora. Along with his wife, he was a great supporter of medical missionary work as well as offering canvassing courses.15

In 1921, Rentfro was transferred to Pernambucana Mission to work as president of the field.16 He remained in the administration of that Mission until 1922.17 He was then assigned to teach Bible and History classes at Brazil College (now Central Adventist University of Sao Paulo).18 He taught throughout 1923 and the first semester of 1924. After that, his wife, Mary Loizette Haskell Rentfro, who served as a hydrotherapy teacher, got sick and required serious medical care. As a result, they were instructed to return to the United States because of the medical care needed.19

They returned to the United States and from 1925 to 1927 he worked as a pastor in the North Dakota Conference.20 In 1927 he was transferred to the Wisconsin Conference, where he conducted evangelistic meetings21 until his last appointment in the year 1930.22 From then until 1937, Rentfro worked in the Michigan Conference23 and retired in 1938 and relocated to Covina, California. He passed away on September 3, 1951.24

Clarence Emerson Rentfro made a significant contribution to the Adventist Church in Brazil. He served for about 35 years as pastor, administrator, evangelist, canvasser, and teacher. In the area of evangelism, he held several series of meetings in the region of Minas Gerais, being responsible for one of the largest growths in church membership in Brazil at that time. As a canvasser, he gave great encouragement to young people to work in the publishing ministry and exerted strong support for the health message everywhere he went. In administration, he was president of the Minas Gerais and Pernambucana Missions. As a teacher, he taught Bible and history classes at Brazil College.

Sources

“Gleanings From the Field.” ARH, August 1929.

“Minas Geraes.” Revista Adventista, February 1918.

“Noticias de Minas.” Revista Adventista, July 1918.

Neilsen, N. P. “Algumas mudanças.” Revista Adventista, September 1924.

“Rentfro,” ARH, October 1951.

Rentfro, Clarence Emerson. “Experiencias de viagem.” Revista Adventista, February 1919.

Rentfro, Clarence Emerson. “Minas Geraes.” Revista Adventista, October 1917.

Rentfro, Clarence Emerson. “Minas Geraes.” Revista Adventista, June 1918.

Rentfro, Clarence Emerson. “Revendo o Passado em Minas Gerais.” Revista Adventista, November 1963.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association. Various years.

Notes

  1. “Rentfro,” ARH, October 1951, 22.↩

  2. “Iowa,” ARH, December 1898, 12.↩

  3. “Necrológio,” Revista Adventista, August 1972, 27.↩

  4. Carlos A. Rentfro, “Revendo o Passado em Minas Gerais,” Revista Adventista, November 1963, 27.↩

  5. “Rentfro”; “A Nossa História,” Portal da União Portuguesa dos Adventista do Sétimo Dia. Accessed on April 03, 2019, https://www.adventistas.org.pt/quem-somos/a-nossa-historia.↩

  6. Carlos A. Rentfro, “Minas Geraes,” Revista Adventista, October 1917, 10, 11.↩

  7. “Minas Geraes Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1918), 170; “East Minas Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1921), 121.↩

  8. “The East Minas Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1920), 290; and “Minas Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1918), 250.↩

  9. “The East Brazil Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1921), 217.↩

  10. “Minas Geraes Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1918), 170; and “East Minas Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1921), 121.↩

  11. “The east Brazil Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1921), 217.↩

  12. Rentfro, “Minas Geraes,” 10, 11.↩

  13. Carlos A. Rentfro, “Experiencias de viagem,” Revista Adventista, February 1919, 11; Rentfro, “Minas Geraes,” 10, 11.↩

  14. “Noticias de Minas,” Revista Adventita, July 1918, 21.↩

  15. “Minas Geraes,” Revista Adventista, February 1918, 12; “Noticias de Minas.”↩

  16. “Pernambuco Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1922), 125; Meyer, H., “Missão Pernambucana,” Revista Adventista, November 1921, 10.↩

  17. “Pernambuco Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1923), 144.↩

  18. “Brazilian Seminary,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1924), 191; “Rentfro,” ARH, October 1951, 22.↩

  19. N. P. Neilsen, “Algumas Mudanças,” Revista Adventista, September 1924, 10.↩

  20. “North Dakota Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1926), 57; “North Dakota Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1928), 60.↩

  21. “Gleanings From the Field,” ARH, August 1929, 27.↩

  22. “Wisconsin Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1928), 52; “Wisconsin Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1931), 55.↩

  23. “Michigan Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1932), 51; “Michigan Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1938), 42.↩

  24. “Rentfro,”↩

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UNASP, The Brazilian White Center –. "Rentfro, Clarence Emerson (1877–1951)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. July 16, 2021. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=FGNL.

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UNASP, The Brazilian White Center –. "Rentfro, Clarence Emerson (1877–1951)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. July 16, 2021. Date of access January 16, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=FGNL.

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UNASP, The Brazilian White Center – (2021, July 16). Rentfro, Clarence Emerson (1877–1951). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved January 16, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=FGNL.

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