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!