REGENSBURG in Bavaria was one of the prominent cities of the Counter Reformation. There are seventy Adventist church members there. This is the only city where they had opportunity to precede public meetings with the Gift Bible Plan. Many of the brethren thought that no one in this Catholic city would accept the Bible, and they added that they thought no one would come to the meetings, either. We all realized that it was not to be an easy place, but my visit to Germany was really an experiment, and we wanted to try every kind of place in any kind of circumstances to see what God would do.
500 Bibles Returned
Seven hundred Bibles were accepted by the people along with the lessons. The priests soon learned of this, of course, and informed their people that they should re turn the Bibles. The Protestant clergy told their members that it would be better for them to purchase their own Bibles and if they could not afford to buy one, the church would give them one. About 500 Bibles were returned. Out of the 200 left, 180 are being used in regular study. Fifty of the student group attended the evangelistic meetings. The clergy of the city warned the people not to attend the meetings. Groups of young men from the university and their teachers came to the meetings and after the services wanted to question and discuss.
After I spoke on the subject of baptism, our Catholic friends advertised in the news paper that they would speak on the subject of baptism Sunday morning in all the churches, and it was interesting to note that they used our way of advertising the subject of baptism, subtitles and all.
The laymen seem very pleased to have a part in the Gift Bible Plan. They had never done anything like this before. One family, bubbling over with enthusiasm, expressed to us the joy they were experiencing as they visited twenty-two homes with the lessons every two weeks.
At the close of the meetings in Regensburg, twelve made the decision for baptism. Sixty chose to join the baptismal class and thirty were already coming to the Sabbath services. Pastor Reinhart Rupp, union coordinator of evangelism, is associating with Pastors K. Strasdowsky and H. Haubeil in continuing the public meetings and visitation program. They had two hundred in attendance the first night of their followup meetings. An altar call on Sabbath morning had a response from seventy-one people. This is a new day for southern Bavaria.
Catholic Nun Attends
A Catholic nun attended all our meetings. She had been an influence in times past in guiding backslidden Catholics back into the mother church. She has the privilege of living in her own home in which she has a chapel filled with images, pictures, and other mementos that have meant much to her. Several times we were invited to her chapel for Bible study. She seems to be most sincere in her love for the Sacred Scriptures. One can realize but faintly the tremendous struggle that must go on in a person's mind when that one becomes conscious that many of the traditions and teachings of a lifetime are not based on Scripture. After the closing meeting of our series, she held her hands to her face and exclaimed, "What shall I do? My vows! My property! I promised all that I am and all that I have to the church. Shall I follow the law of the church or the Word of God?" She needs our prayers as do all others around the world who are in the valley of decision. There comes a time when there is nothing more or nothing greater we can do than pray.
In Regensburg we had a large Bible display prepared for us by the Deutschland Bible Society. This is the first time they have ever permitted their valuable old Bibles and translations to be put on dis play without having them under their own control. We had them for the whole month of our meetings and they held much interest for the people who attended.
$62,500
The brethren in Germany are devotedly committed to the finishing of God's work in their field. They are concerned. For ex ample: In the South German Union, where K. F. Noltze is president, the union committee voted 250,000 marks ($62,500) for the over-all evangelistic program in their union. I am told that this is the largest amount of money ever allocated for evangelism in Germany. This will make possible the purchase of ten thousand Bibles for the Gift Bible Plan, the printing of twenty-two thousand Bible Speaks Series, and the printing of a penetration tract (the first of its kind in Germany) for public evangelism and all other soul-winning endeavors.
Also, at the union committee held in Regensburg toward the close of our series, they voted to bring into the union two successful evangelists, Kurt Hasel and Heinz Hopf, to associate with Pastor Rupp, the union coordinator of evangelism, in this most important of responsibilities—the winning of souls. The administrators of this field are to be commended for their far-sighted vision and their dedication to be used of the Holy Spirit.
A school of evangelism was held along with each of the five major campaigns. The ministers attending these schools were able to stay in youth hostels. Morning devotion was at eight-thirty followed by the school session until twelve fifteen. The afternoon was used for visiting. Our meetings were usually held six nights a week. At Freiburg we had visiting ministers at our field school from nearby Switzerland and France. In Regensburg we had six men from Yugoslavia join us—the union president and five of his secretaries of evangelism. They told us of the many obstacles confronting them, yet how wonderfully God is enabling them to succeed in spite of the difficulties. They plan to build two evangelistic centers, one at Nis and the other at Novi Sad. These brethren reported having ten thou sand book evangelists in their field. Then with a smile they said, "You see, every one of our church members is active in some form of soul winning." Also, toward the last part of our school here we had the union conference president and four of his evangelistic leaders from Switzerland with us.
I want to pay special tribute to the men who served as my German voice. It is still amazing to me how I could pour English words into their ears, and from their mouths come perfect German with all the spirit, love, and earnestness in which the words were originally spoken. Erwin Meier and Peter Joseit were my translators in Dortmund. Erwin Meier and Wilfred Meier acted in this capacity in Miinchen Gladbach. L. Wilhelm in Berlin, G. Fraatz in Goslar and Hildesheim; Kurt Hasel, Reinhart Rupp, and Heinz Hopf through out the South German Union; K. Denkert and O. Bremer, and many others took a good turn at it for special meetings.
Kurt Hasel, associate evangelistic coordinator of the South German Union, and Helmut Paeske, minister, artist, and photographer, have prepared some excellent visual aids to be used on a large portable flannelgraph without the need of black light. These illustrations are quite different from what are usually seen and cover a large variety of subjects and are very descriptive. These men are sharing this material with all the workers in Germany who desire to have this aid in their evangelistic work.
Preachers of Evangelism
Just before leaving Germany, I attended the West German Union session at Essen. The theme predominently displayed was "Predigt das Evangelium" (Preachers of Evangelism). E. Denkert, the re-elected president of the union and an evangelist in his own right, had laid careful plans that all meetings should give emphasis to soul winning. O. Gmehling, president and ministerial secretary of the Central European Division, in his address to about seven thousand people, appealed to preachers and laity alike to be fervent in evangelistic preaching and witnessing. E. Kilian, associate ministerial secretary of the division, joined in this hope as did all the presidents, secretaries, and workers in this large West German Union. I truly felt the presence of the Spirit of God.
As i write this report, my mind recalls the many communion services we had at the close of each field school of evangelism. I was impressed with the love and fellow ship that I beheld among the brethren. There was rededication of ourselves to the Master's service, pledging to expend our lives completely in faithful stewardship of our responsibilities. We purposed in our hearts to love God more devotedly, study more diligently, and love people more fervently. We pleaded with God to make us more skilled and efficient workers, more able preachers, more active and winsome personal visitors, and greater soul winners.
It has been an inspiration to be with the leaders, ministers, and laity of Germany. I am told that we have touched almost every worker in the Central European Division. This has been an honor and a privilege for me. My wife and I shall never forget our new-found friends in Germany. They gave us a warm welcome, adopted us into their family, and we were reluctant to say fare well. We shall meet one another again around God's throne through our mutual faithfulness in God's blessings.
