Former SBC representative’s struggle with ALS ends

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Former Southern Baptist representative Mary Harper no longer has to fight ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). After a two-year battle, Harper, 43, died Jan. 20. 

In 2006, Harper and her husband, John, and two daughters moved to Central Asia to share the gospel with Muslims. Within a year after arriving in Central Asia, the Harpers had already seen their first new believer. 

By 2012, the Harpers were in the prime of their ministry but ALS changed everything and Mary Harper was given a diagnosis of three to five years to live. They returned to the United States and settled in Missouri.

The Alabama Baptist’s Oct. 17, 2013, article “Southern Baptist representative shares hope in midst of ALS diagnosis,” shared the Harpers’ calling to missions, their journey while overseas and return to the U.S. as Mary Harper’s condition worsened.