Summer 2017: Sabbatical & Strides

Mid-August is considered the peak of “holiday season” in Europe. It’s when most of the schools are closed, and families and individuals alike get away for some period of vacation, to get some rest from the hectic pace of work and study.  For the Converge International Fellowship church family, this rest period is particularly well-deserved after a very busy and productive season of ministry. Let us share a few highlights with you.

Personal Sabbatical

With Nicole & Eric in Athens, Greece

First, the backdrop of all that follows. All the activities and advancements in the church that will follow happened while we were away. We departed on March 23 for the annual Ministry Leadership Conference of the IBC, this year in Athens, Greece. We had a terrific time there, enhanced by the chance to share the experience with our daughter, Nicole and her husband Eric. The theme of the conference this year was “Soul Care for Ministry Leaders,” and was especially encouraging to us as we began a Rest Sabbatical on April 1.



Our sabbatical gave us time for physical, spiritual, emotional and relational renewal. It began with three weeks in Arizona, hosted by Dennis and Amanda McMains, the Director of European & Middle Eastern ministries for Converge.  They generously poured blessings into our souls as we rested there. We also got to spend lots of evenings and weekends in April with our youngest, John, and his girlfriend Kefei, who live nearby in Scottsdale. It was a wonderful start to the sabbatical experience!

With John & Kefei in Arizona

In late April, we traveled to Elmira, New York, to spend 3 weeks with Nicole and Eric, and their boys, Asher and Cayden, as they went about their routine of school, baseball, church and LIFE! We had a great time with them.

With Nicole, Eric, Asher & Cayden in New York

Then we moved on to Norfolk, Virginia, for the final leg of our time in the USA with our son, Andrew, his wife Rachel, and their three children: Levi, Samantha and Jackson. Andrew was in a training school for the Navy, so we only got to see him on weekends, but it was still wonderful time with their young, growing family!

Andrew, Rachel, Levi, Samantha & Jackson in Virginia

Bob returned to Germany on June 30, to spend a month in spiritual retreat, while Carol has remained in the US to assist and be with the grandchildren for a little longer. Later in August we will meet in Wisconsin, where we will do some work on our farm to prepare it for either new renters or for sale. Please pray for us as we work and consider selling or renting our Wisconsin property...and let us know if you know anyone interested in renting or purchasing a 5-acre, 4-bedroom hobby farm!

The Sabbatical was a wonderful experience for us. We have renewed our spirits, refreshed our souls, rested our bodies, and reconnected with our children and grandchildren. We are ready, by God’s grace, to begin a new season of ministry and service to Him and His church!

What was equally wonderful was how God has been at work in Darmstadt while we were away...Keep reading (Click Here)!

Ministry Strides

While we were on Sabbatical, the Lord was doing great things at Converge International Fellowship! We are so grateful to the Lord that in our absence, God enabled the leaders and the congregation to do some wonderful things:


• On March 25,the church hosted a "Board Game Night" - an outreach event focused to invite friends, colleagues and family who don't go to church to come and spend an evening getting to know other English-speakers from the area, and introducing our church family to them. It was very well received, and a second evening is being planned for November 4!

• On May 13, CIF hosted the first annual Converge International Forum on Science and Faith. Held at a local hotel conference center, the keynote speaker was Prof. Dr. Barbara Drosser, head of the Physics Dept. at TU Darmstadt. She spoke on "Are Science and Faith Incompatible?"  She is part of an association of scientists who are also believers, and has agreed to assist us in finding future speakers. We had about 60 people in attendance, and the majority were not from the church. There were a large number of Muslim students who came, and the response was very positive. Our prayer and vision is to host this event annually in Darmstadt, Germany’s “City of Science.”

• A week later, the church hosted its first short term mission team - they came from one of our partner churches in Kansas, and worked for a week at the German national headquarters of Youth for Christ. They did cleaning and prep work for the upcoming summer ministry season, and some joint ministry with our Young Adults and praise team.

• The church hired an interim pastor while we were gone, Dr. Denton Lotz and his wife Janice served the congregation faithfully; ministering to the sick, visiting the LIFE Groups, preaching on Sundays, and meeting with the leadership.

• In addition, we are very excited that one of our young couples feels that God is leading them into full-time ministry – specifically to serve in an International Church somewhere in the world! We are excited to see how God will lead them, and the church as we work with them!

Over the course of the summer, some dear friends from the last 6 years have concluded their work and studies in Darmstadt, and moved to other parts of the world, carrying the gospel of Christ with them as they go. In Acts 8:4 says, "But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went." We are sad to bid farewell to our friends, but excited as God leads them into new fields that are ripe for the harvest! We also enjoy then blessing of meeting new members of the church community who have recently joined us from Kenya, Germany, India, the USA and other lands.

As you can see, the experience of our sabbatical was a glorious display of God's grace, both for us and as a big step in the further development the church. We are more certain than ever that He has equipped, and is equipping the church for many years of ministry to come!

Spring & Summer Plans

This promises to be a very exciting year at Converge International Fellowship - Darmstadt. Please pray about three new ministry events in the life of the church:

1.  Short Term Missions Team:  Plans are in the works for a team of 5 to come from Union Valley Bible Church in Hutchinson, Kansas. This will be the first time we have welcomed a short term missions team to our work. The team will be working at the national headquarters of Youth for Christ, Germany.  They will be doing clean up and preparation work in the campus buildings, gardening in the lawns and athletic areas, and preparing the center for the coming summer ministry season.  In addition, they will join with our Young Adults group for ministry in Darmstadt, and visit IBC churches to get a full view of International, English-language ministry.

Prof. Dr. Drossel

2.  First ever Converge International Forum on Science and Faith.  From our earliest days of ministry in Darmstadt (Germany's "City of Science") we have felt a strong compulsion to stage an annual event that would feature leading figures from the science community who also happen to hold a strong faith. Our goal is to impress upon the current scientific community and the future scientists who study at the Technische Universität Darmstadt that science and faith are not mutually incompatible.

Under the leadership of CIF Elder Adam Williams, who himself is a respected member of the European Space Agency (He is currently a coordinator on ESA's ExoMars mission),  we have set a tentative date of Saturday, May 13 for the first of these annual events. Prof. Dr. Barbara Drossel, professor of  Theoretical Physics at the TU-Darmstadt, and Executive Director of the Institute of Solid State Physics, will be the keynote speaker for the event.

Please pray for this event. Pray for the planning and logistics (meeting room, marketing, etc), for Prof. Drossel as she prepares and presents her material, and for careful follow-up with the students and scientists that we hope to attract to the event.

3.  Connect 2017.  The first weekend in August will be the unveiling of the first CONNECT conference for the International Baptist Convention. This long weekend based family event replaces the Interlaken Conference that served as the summer gathering of the IBC for more than 50 years. Bob served as the committee chairman through the process of changing from the previous format to the new, and last fall the CIF church family went to the retreat site for a "trial run" and our first "church retreat."  Bob is currently serving as the coordinators for the Seminars that will be presented as part of the event. Please pray for the speakers, praise leaders, coordinators and the attending members of the IBC family from around the world as they gather.

Sabbatical Plans

After 5 1/2 years on the field, Carol and I have reached a point where we are in need of a time of rest and renewal. We are tired, and approaching burn-out.

We've spoken with the church leadership here in Darmstadt, the leadership of the International Baptist Convention, and the leadership of Converge International Ministries, and together we have agreed on a plan for a sabbatical to begin on April 1.

The plans are still coming together, but we do know that the first few weeks will be spend in the Phoenix, Arizona area, where we can meet with a Converge counselor and get away at a retreat center in the area. Subsequent weeks will include some visits with family, but mostly will be centered on physical rest, spiritual renewal and emotional refreshing.

We won't be doing any church visits, pulpit fills, etc. during this year. In previous years we have spent two months travelling the USA - driving thousands of miles and visiting with many of you. We would love to see you all again. Catching up with your and your lives and updating you on our life here in the place we love - but it simply won't be possible this year.  

Please pray for us as we take this much-needed time for renewal. Pray for the church as there are many great things happening this Summer (see the rest of this newsletter). Pray as we seek an interim pastor to come for three months to serve in Darmstadt, and for the Elders and Ministry Coordinators as they lead the church.

Thanks for your prayers and love.