Early life in Australia and New Zealand

Herbert Money was the eldest son of Edwin and Mary Money, and was born in Queensland, Australia, on 29 November 1899. He moved with his family to Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1904.

Money's parents had been officers in The Salvation Army and he became a Christian early in his life. Around the age of eight he was enrolled as a junior soldier of The Salvation Army in the old barracks of the SA Christchurch City Corps. Between 1910 and 1918, the family worshipped at Oxford Terrace Baptist Church. In 1918, the family moved again, to worship at Richmond Mission.

After a year as a day student at the Christchurch Technical College, he left school at the age of 15 to contribute to the family income. He spent two years with Turnbull and Jones, a firm of electrical engineers, and then joined the staff of T H Green's wholesale grocers for two years. He was determined to pursue a higher education and, while continuing with daytime employment, successfully compressed a year of full-time study into a year of night study. In 1920, he matriculated and became a probation teacher at Christchurch East Primary School.

In 1921, Money entered Teachers' Training College and Canterbury University College. In 1924, he wrote the thesis for his MA degree. His mentor was Professor James Shelley. The following year he gained diplomas in education and social science.

From 1924 he served on the staff of Christchurch Technical College until his departure for Peru in 1927.

Early influences

In 1926, the renowned missionary Dr John R Mott visited university colleges in New Zealand under the auspices of the Student Christian Movement seeking missionaries for the continent of Asia. As Money wished to go to South America, Dr Mott put him in touch with Dr John A Mackay. In 1917, Mackay, supported by the Free Church of Scotland, had founded Colegio Anglo Peruano, a school for boys in Lima, Peru. In 1942, the school name was changed to Colegio San Andrés.

Money's interest in South America was inspired by the testimonies of Frederick B Glass, whom he met in 1925, and of George Allan, a New Zealander and founder of the Bolivian Indian Mission, whom he met in 1926. Both wrote in Money's personal autograph album. Glass completed his words of encouragement with a quote from Carlyle: ‘Choose well, your choice is brief but eternal [is brief and yet endless]'. Mackay, who had by then been appointed by the YMCA to be secretary-at-large for South America, passed on Money's name to the Free Church of Scotland. The church was looking for someone with his qualifications, and since none could be found in Scotland he was offered a position on the staff of the college.

Netta Kemp

When Money arrived in Peru on 2 August 1927, he considered his chances of finding a life partner to be slim (his own words), but within a few days he was to meet Janet "Netta" Kemp, the only female teacher in Colegio Anglo Peruano. Within two months of their meeting the couple announced their engagement. Reverend J Calvin Mackay officiated their wedding on 11 January 1928 in Cajamarca. According to Spanish custom, she became known as Netta Kemp de Money. Both were fluent in Spanish and enjoyed their teaching ministry. Unfortunately they were unable to have children.

John Mackay

Mackay firmly believed that a missionary, particularly one engaged in educational work, should immerse himself in the life of the country and become as familiar as possible with its history, politics, sociology and culture. In the academic world of Peru a doctoral degree was expected of a person appointed to be the principal or vice-principal of a large school.^[1] Mackay had qualified for a doctorate in philosophy in 1918, the first Anglo-Saxon to do so from the University of San Marcos. Over the ensuing years six other members of the college staff followed his example.

Peruvian qualifications

In the 1920s, the bachelor's degree was, for most students, a prelude to law or medical studies. There was no master's degree. For a doctorate a subject could be chosen in the fields of history, letters or philosophy. The course required the study of a wide range of topics followed by the submission of a thesis in consultation with a professor. Money was determined to follow Mackey’s example and immerse himself in local study.

Early in 1928, within six months of arriving in Peru, Money had become sufficiently fluent in Spanish to matriculate and enrol as a doctoral student. He studied for three years and during this time he was either teaching at the College or was ill with tuberculosis. Money chose the sociology of Peruvian Amazonia as the subject for his doctoral thesis because he hoped to minister to the "Lowland Indians".

Money presented his thesis in December 1930, but the university was then closed to political events. Only the President of Peru could authorise a degree ceremony while the university was closed. Money had become friends with his professors, and they encouraged him to present a petition to the President, which was ultimately accepted.^[2] The needed ceremony went forward, and Money was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with distinction.^[2]

Peruvian Evangelical Church

Money was one of the founders of Iglesia Evangelica Peruana (the Peruvian Evangelical Church). The church was established in 1932 as a cooperative enterprise of the Evangelical Union of South America and the Christian Missionary Alliance. It was a self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating body that brought together a diversity of missionaries of different denominations. Less than four years after his arrival in Peru, Money was chairman of the commission that wrote the first constitution of the church and enabled it to be legally recognised by the government.

Peruvian Bible Institute

The Instituto Biblico Peruano (Peruvian Bible Institute), was founded in 1933 as a co-operative venture under the joint auspices of the Evangelical Union of South America, the Christian Missionary Alliance and the Free Church of Scotland.^[3] Its purpose was to train believers for Christian service. Money supported the institute and helped create the curriculum. After a few years the Christian Missionary Alliance found it necessary to reduce its support and responsibility for the directorship of the Institute which was then assumed by a Board of Governors composed of Christian businessmen resident in Lima, Money being amongst their number. Money's contacts enabled the Institute to acquire land for expansion. Through the years Money and his wife remained strong supporters of the Institute. From 1934 until 1968, when he left Peru, Money lectured on church history.

National Evangelical Council

Money’s sphere of influence widened when he was invited in 1940 to become the first organising and executive secretary of the newly created National Evangelical Council. He was also granted a diplomatic pass which gave him access to restricted areas where he could attend to the needs of missionaries.

New Zealand Fellowship of the Peruvian Bible Schools

In 1947, the Moneys returned to New Zealand on furlough. At that time, they found that, due to ideological differences, the Richmond Mission was unable to continue its financial support. The Money’s long-term view was to foster the development of the indigenous church, whereas the Mission believed the urgent need was to preach the gospel in all its simplicity, not to train others to teach, as they were 'now in the last days'. A second major difference of view related to the Moneys' work towards co-operation between evangelical churches, as Money believed in the need for reconciliation between different Christian groups.

At this time a number of prominent New Zealand Christian men joined together to form the New Zealand Fellowship of the Peruvian Bible Schools. The relationship between the Fellowship and the Moneys continued until they returned to Christchurch in 1968.

The Wycliffe Bible Translators came to Peru in 1946 and in 1956 the first students, literate in Spanish as well as their native tongue, graduated from a bilingual school. Money started planning for a Jungle Indian Bible School. He brought together the Wycliffe Bible translators, Le Tourneau (an American builder of heavy machinery) and Dr Moro of the Swiss Indian Mission. The Bible Institute for Lowland Indians (Instituto Biblico Selvatico de Pucallpa) was established in Peruvian Amazonia on the eastern side of the Andes, and opened in 1957 (under the leadership of Dr Moro). The following year, a permanent site was chosen in the vicinity of the Wycliffe base camp at Yarinacocha.^[4]

In time, there came an increasing demand for more advanced training and a growing need for a better-prepared ministry. To meet this need Money, then secretary of the Board of the Peruvian Bible Institute, worked for the creation of Lima Evangelical Seminary. In 1961, the board approved the project and the first students were admitted the following year. Money held the position of vice-rector until he left Peru in 1968.