Tiews (Germany) Update – January 2022

News from the Tiews Family

Sharing the Gospel in Germany

Happy New Year!

By Lula Tiews on 25/01/22

Wishing you God’s richest blessings, much love, and joy for 2022:

The Tiews Family visiting a German Bauernhof

Missionaries to Persian speakers Kim Bueltmann, Rachel Krause, Hugo Gevers, and Christian Tiews met with Director for Missions of our German partner church SELK Roger Zieger at “Die Brücke ” in Leipzig, Germany to coordinate their outreach efforts. Click here to listen to beautiful Persian liturgical music.

A New Semester at Luther Academy

By Lula Tiews on 24/01/22

Over 50 aspiring pastors, church workers, and students from all over the world have enrolled in a class of the English program at Luther Academy in Riga providing an introduction to Pastoral Theology. The class is being taught jointly by Rev. Dr. Christian Tiews and Rev. Dr. David Preus online and also directly interpreted into Latvian. Continue to pray for this wonderful opportunity to form workers for the fields of the LORD.

Another Martin Luther

By Rev. Tiews on 17/01/22

Yesterday I took the train back to Lula and Lilly after a wonderful weekend of Persian ministry in Hamburg (more on that next week). The man sitting next to me was an African-American civilian from Virginia, working here in Germany. I said that I am a Lutheran pastor and asked him whether he is a church-going man. “Yessir, I’m Baptist.” “Good to hear!” I replied. After some chit-chat, I asked him, “Do you know the story of the Baptist minister who visited ‘Lutherland’ in the 1930s?” “No,” he replied, “please tell me.” “In 1934, a Baptist reverend from Atlanta named Michael King visited Wittenberg, the Wartburg, etc., along with his son, also named Michael. On that trip, Dad came to appreciate how Martin Luther had rediscovered the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the center of our faith, which to a certain extent had gotten lost in the medieval Church. In fact, Dad was so thrilled by the Reformer’s work that both of them later changed their name from ‘Michael’ to ‘Martin.’ And so, the man whom we remember this weekend in a way started out Lutheran.” “Wow, I had no idea,” he remarked. “But there’s a curious thing,” I added. “I think Dr. King would be very unhappy with the direction that America seems to be taking. He dreamed that someday his children would be judged only by their character, not by the color of their skin. Sadly, today some people today want to flip that around and make skin color the defining characteristic of a person.” “Yes,” he agreed, “that goes completely against Dr. King’s vision.” “And yet, what has the greatest impact on our character? When we realize that we’re sinners yet are saved by Christ, and allow the Holy Spirit to gradually change our character to His image, filling us with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23). “I couldn’t agree more,” he responded. When I got to my stop, we bumped elbows and wished each other “Happy Martin Luther King Day”—a day that arguably has Lutheran roots!

Do You Eat Regularly?

By Rev. Tiews on 12/01/22

It was raining cats and dogs on a recent Sunday morning, so I decided to call a taxi rather than walk. The beige Mercedes pulled up. I opened the rear passenger door, threw my backpack in, and settled in the back seat. “Lousy weather,” I remarked. The cabbie looked in the rearview mirror and spotted my clerical collar. “Yup… Catholic priest?” he asked. “No, I’m a Lutheran pastor. I tell Iranian and Afghan migrants about Jesus.” “Oh,” he answered. It was starting to rain heavier now. He sped up his windshield wipers. After a pause, he said, “I’m Orthodox. But I don’t go to church.” He glanced in his rearview again and we made eye contact. “Being a taxi driver must be tough,” I offered. “Dealing with people all the time. I’ll bet some of them can get nasty.” “You got that right,” he grinned. “Do you eat regularly?” I asked. He gave me a quizzical look. “Well, I grab something to eat here or there, when I have a minute,” he replied. “Well, your soul needs food too,” I suggested. “St. Paul teaches that when we take Holy Communion, we participate in the body of Christ [1 Corinthians 10:16]. But he means this in two ways: he is talking about the true body of Christ that we receive in the Sacrament, but he is also implying that we receive this gift only in the community of fellow Christians.” He seemed to be leaning in my direction a little. “If we skip church, we deprive ourselves of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation that Jesus gives us in the Eucharist. But we also deprive ourselves of our fellow Christians. We need them to lean on—and they need us too…Food for the body; food for the soul; the community of fellow believers….We Christians need all of those.” I noticed that he was nodding. “Here we are. Zion Lutheran,” he said, slowing to stop. He turned around and I paid him. Then he looked me in the eye and said, “Thanks. I needed that. Food for thought… Literally.”

Recent Articles:

Fröhliche Weihnachten
The Light of the World
My Heart for Very Joy must Leap
The Cost of Discipleship
Receive the Lord’s Gifts Often

Thank you to all who have already supported the wonderful mission work that is being done by our many LCMS missionaries in Eurasia and around the world. Thank you also for partnering directly with us—the Tiews family. If you are not yet partnering with us, below are various ways in which you can do so.
Praise the LORD that
Jesus took a sinful agnostic guy, forgave him, and is now using him to bring the Gospel to a land in which so many people do not know Jesus Christ.

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Giving by Check: You can also make a donation towards the Tiews’ ministry by check. Mail your check, made payable to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and designated with their last name, to: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod P.O. Box 66861 St. Louis, MO 63166-6861
(Or call 888-930-4438 to speak with someone.)

Another option is giving through:

Mission Central
40718 Highway E16
Mapleton, IA 51034-7105
Include “Tiews-Germany Support” in the memo line or give online at Mission Central.