News from Pastor Tiews

Sharing the Gospel in Germany

Dear friends and supporters of our ministry to Germany and across Eurasia!

By Rev. Tiews on 25/10/24

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Cor 12:12). The big news this past month was a strategic gathering in Berlin to kick of the start of The Persian Project, about which I have been writing in my weekly reports. In a nutshell, our goal—God willing—is to “Make Persia Christian” through what we are calling “The Persian Project.” This is a distinctly Lutheran evangelistic outreach to Persian (that is, Iranian and Afghan) immigrants in Germany, other European countries, and indirectly the citizens of Iran itself, which includes baptizing, teaching, making disciples, forming lay leaders, professional church workers (pastors, deaconesses), and planting churches in European cities with large Persian immigrant populations. Why are we doing this? Because we cannot send missionaries to Iran under the current regime. But at the same time, evangelistic work with Persian expatriates in Europe is a “low-hanging fruit” because so many Persians are coming to us, requesting to be baptized and taught about Christianity. In addition, if there is ever a regime change in Iran and the country opens itself to non-Muslim religions (beyond Armenian Christianity, which is allowed only for ethnic Armenians), there will be huge mission opportunities in that country. Evangelizing expatriate Persians makes the best use of your mission gifts since this demographic is very open to the Gospel. As such, in the four SELK churches doing the most Persian ministry in Germany (Hamburg, Wolfsburg, Leipzig, Berlin), SELK pastors and Finnish and LCMS missionaries perform well over 100 Baptisms every year. Thank you again for all your prayers and support as we take our outreach to Persian immigrants in Germany and beyond to a new level—in The Persian Project! We are all different parts of Christ’s body, and He is using us all to His glory—to “Make Persia Christian!”

Dinner before the Persian Project meeting at Trinity Lutheran Church in Berlin, Stieglitz on October 6, 2024

Let My People Go!

By Rev. Tiews on 25/10/24

“Let My people go“ (Exodus 8:1). A few days ago, Rev. Dr. Gottfried Martens of Trinity Lutheran Church (SELK) in Berlin-Steglitz and some thirty members of their Persian young adult group traveled to Hamburg on their annual field trip. This busload was only a fraction of that church’s young adult group that is about one hundred strong. After a tour of sister church Trinity Hamburg given by Rev. Andreas Rehr, the young people enjoyed a tasty pasta lunch to which I was also invited. The delicious meal was prepared by Pastor Rehr’s wife Sigrid. I sat next to an Iranian in his early 20s who is studying vet medicine and has a side job as a bouncer in a Berlin dance club, as he shared. Enjoying our macaroni garnished with freshly grated cheese, I mentioned that there was once a time when their bus would have had to pass through two rigorous border checks (from West Berlin to East Germany, and then again from East to West Germany) to get to Hamburg (something I experienced several times back in the day). People in the German Democratic Republic were basically convicts, I explained, surrounded by 13-foot walls topped with barbed wire, and prevented from escaping by cold-blooded soldiers armed with AK-47s. Most East Germans opposed the Communist regime that subjugated them. My Iranian friend offered a modern-day comparison: the predicament of his fellow Iranians (of whom as many as 1/3 are secretly Christian!), the vast majority of whom oppose the cruel Islamists who took control of their country in 1979. There are indeed many similarities between extinct East Germany and today’s Iran. But could there be another parallel? East Berlin’s cruel regime collapsed one night almost 35 years ago—without a single shot being fired. With things perhaps coming to a climax in Iran in the coming days and weeks, let us pray that God might sweep away Tehran’s barbarous regime as painlessly and bloodlessly as He did East Berlin’s government so that His people in Iran would be liberated and Christianity might blossom throughout Persia.

Living in Exile

By Rev. Tiews on 18/10/24

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce” (Jeremiah 29:4-5). Yesterday I was back in the mental health facility to visit my Iranian Lutheran parishioner, Mohammad. He was discharged a few weeks ago (see my posts Sep 27 and Oct 4), but, sadly, had a relapse. We met in a drab common room, where the only amenities were some bottles of water, hand sanitizer, and an electronic alarm clock. Mohammad has been a Christian for years and knows his Bible well. We reviewed some Old Testament history: for centuries practically everyone in the Kingdom of Judah worshipped idols. The Lord commissioned numerous prophets to call them to repentance. Several times, the Judahites did turn from their evil ways, only to fall back into apostasy. Finally, YHWH punished them by sending the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and drag most of the Judahites off to Babylon, where they would be exiled for seventy years. I asked Mohammad whether he could relate to the Judahites. “Oh yes,” he replied. “We Iranians here in Germany are exiles too. We live among people who speak strange languages and have very different customs.” “Indeed,” I replied. “It’s tough…Wherever exiles are, they have two choices: you can give up. Or you can ‘build, live and plant’—making the most of your new life. By the way, I’m an exile too…“ “How so?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “If you think about it, every Christian is. Because we’re often surrounded by a culture that is alien to us in its values and customs.” I asked him to read the above passage from Jeremiah 29. “But at the same time, the Lord *equips us* to embrace the foreign land into which he has placed us. He gives us the strength to forge on. Day by day, and step by step. So, take heart and carry on. The Lord is with you. He has even provided you with a church home, where he strengthens you in His Word and in Holy Communion—even here in exile.” “Amen,” he replied. “Build, live, and plant… That’s what I’m going to do…”

Workers in His Kingdom

By Rev. Tiews on 11/10/24

“And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:28). In the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod we are not only blessed with hundreds of thousands of laywomen who do so much to keep our churches going, but we also have talented ladies who have chosen to become professional church workers. At our LCMS seminaries these women examine the Holy Scriptures, peruse the Lutheran Confessions, learn Greek and Hebrew, and of course also study the social sciences necessary to minister to a wide range of people. The Church and indeed the world would be a much poorer place without our deaconesses. This past Sunday about a dozen missionaries and church workers from the LCMS and our local sister church (SELK) met in Berlin to take our ministry to Persian immigrants in Germany to the next level. Our host was the “godfather” of Persian ministry in Germany, Rev. Dr. Gottfried Martens. The goal of The Persian Project, as we have called it, is daunting yet simple: to *Make Persia Christian*, God willing. As such, we will continue to reach out to Iran and Afghanistan through the Internet and via their expatriate citizens whom we baptize and catechize here in Germany, and who in turn share Jesus with their friends and families back home. Among other things, we discussed how we can translate even more Lutheran materials into Farsi and unify the wording of our Farsi-language Divine Services. This brings me to our multi-talented deaconess and fellow LCMS missionary Kim Bueltmann (pictured). Not only does Kim speak Farsi and German, but she is also a talented musician and the backbone of the Persian ministry at Leipzig’s St. Luke Lutheran Church (SELK). Under Kim’s leadership, we worked out unified verbiage for the baptismal rite in Farsi which we will use across Germany and beyond. Praise God for marvelous deaconesses like Kim who is indeed blessed with so many of the gifts St. Paul cites in 1 Corinthians 12.

How Are They to Believe…

By Rev. Tiews on 04/10/24

“…How are they to believe in Him of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14). Last week I shared how our Iranian parishioner Mohammad had witnessed to his fellow hospital patient Javad. Both were discharged last Friday. Mohammad came to church last Sunday, accompanied by Javad who even signed up for our next baptismal preparation class, praise God. Every week we are blessed by several new Iranian visitors who have been invited by parishioners to attend our Farsi-language Divine Services. Why do they come? While a few may wish to be baptized because it might facilitate their asylum process, many Iranians are truly drawn to Christianity—an anomaly among people from Muslim countries. Case in point: the German government recently surveyed immigrants from various regions regarding their religious affiliation. Of those from Syria, Iraq, and various other Muslim countries who have lived here for several years, only 2 to 4% convert to Christianity. But a whopping 67.2% of *Iranian* immigrants become Christians—even though they hail from a land that is supposedly 98.5% Muslim. Why are so many Persians intrigued by Christianity? Christianity has always had deeper roots in Persia than in other regions in the Middle East. One reason is that King Cyrus II, Persia’s “George Washington” who lived some 2,500 years ago, is mentioned no less than 19 times in the Old Testament. When people like Javad discover the “father of their country” in the Old Testament, they are blown away. They realize that there is a deep historical connection between their ancestors and God’s chosen people in both Old and New Testament. But the main reason so many Persians are drawn to Jesus Christ are His promises of the forgiveness of sins, eternal life—and His inner peace that so many of them yearn for. The Lord is using loving evangelists like our parishioner Mohammad to invite Persians to hear Christ’s words of salvation preached in Farsi in many cities across Germany. Thank you for your prayers and support for Lula and me and for our other LCMS missionaries, as the Lord uses us all to reach Persians for Christ.

He Has the Words of Eternal Life

By Rev. Tiews on 27/09/24

Jesus says, “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to all creation” (Mk 16:15). I recently visited our Iranian congregant Mohammad who is still in a mental facility (see my post from Aug 30, 2024), yet making good use of his time there witnessing to Persian patients. Mohammad introduced me to a young Iranian who joined us in a drab common room, adorned with a flat-screen TV and photographs of Hamburg. Other accouterments were a tired-looking plant, a bowl of fruit, two chairs, and a Dean Koontz novel lying on the coffee table by the couch. We sat down. “How long have you been in Germany?” I asked ‘Javad.’ “Several years,” he replied. “It’s good to have you here… I understand Mohammad has been telling you about Jesus…” “Yes, he has,” Javad replied, smiling at Mohammad. “What do you know about Christianity?” “Not much, but that didn’t stop me from believing in Jesus secretly while still in Iran. I do know that Jesus forgives the sins of all who believe in Him.” I nodded and asked, “Do you believe that you are a sinner?” “Yes,” he readily admitted. “I have also heard that Jesus gives his followers a kind of inner peace. I would like that too.” I shared some basic Christian teachings: the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and the fruit of the Spirit [Gal 5:22-23]—emphasizing the gift of peace that every Christian receives. I explained that Jesus is 100% God and 100% man—and as man is Prophet, Priest, and King.” “I know that Jesus is a prophet,” Javad interjected. “Muslims believe that too.” “Yes, but Jesus is not just one of many prophets, as Islam teaches.” Javad’s eyes grew wide. “Jesus Christ is *the* Prophet because only *He* has the words of eternal life. After all, Jesus rose from the dead. In contrast, Mohammad—the greatest prophet of Islam—is still dead.” Javad’s eyes grew even bigger. “Only Jesus gives the peace that the world cannot give and which you desire.” “I can’t wait to go to your church once I get out of here,” Javad exclaimed. Mohammed nodded and smiled—having proclaimed the Gospel—not necessarily to all creation but to an anxious fellow countryman who needs and wants our Lord and Savior.

Recent Articles:

Dear friends and supporters of our ministry to Germany and across Eurasia! 
The Body and the Blood
The Book of Life
God Will Work In Him

Thank you to all who have already signed up to support this 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 interested in joining us on this path, you can do so in various ways as listed below.

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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