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The long-awaited book from the Christian Diaconal Relief Organization (CDH) Stephanus will soon be published. In it, we will share exciting experiences and testimonies from our mission's worldwide work. We have compiled moving stories from countless conversations with devoted fellow believers, passionate missionaries, and the motivated founders of the relief organization. We would now like to explain in more detail why the book is titled "Love Compels Us" and what goal we are pursuing with it.
Remember your ancestors
Alexander Konradi, Edwin Eggert, Rubin Firus, Eduard Buchmüller, and Gustav Siebert are already in eternity. This is just a small selection of the countless other brothers and sisters who advanced numerous social, diaconal, evangelistic, and missionary projects with the Stephanus Mission. Often completely hidden from public view. But God saw every work, every effort, and every sacrifice.
Most of these siblings themselves came from poor regions. When they emigrated to Germany, they were passionate about helping the suffering people in their old homeland.
Driven by love, they worked selflessly day and night to serve others, especially our fellow believers. Over time, many of the founding fathers and dedicated workers of recent decades passed away; sadly, often without leaving behind for posterity the miracles and experiences with God on the mission field.
Brother Herbert Richter repeatedly emphasized at the Bible school in Hennef: "A generation that does not know its past will have no future." Or, to put it in the words of Helmut Kohl: "Those who do not know the past cannot understand the present and cannot shape the future." What the younger generations lack compared to the passionate brothers and sisters of recent decades becomes quite clear in the book.
Brother Viktor Folz had repeatedly expressed the desire to speak with those who had experienced much through the Stephanus Mission. He wanted to record the most interesting experiences and stories in a book, intended for edification and encouragement. This would inspire other brothers and sisters to dedicate themselves to God in the same way, to be a blessing to others, and to bear fruit for eternity.
"A generation that does not know its past will have no future." (Herbert Richter)
Ignite the fires of passion
The aim of the book is by no means to elevate or even worship people, because all glory belongs to God alone.
CDH-Stephanus has existed for several decades now. Unlike our ancestors, many of us young readers no longer know poverty from personal experience. The prosperity and carefree life in Germany lull us to sleep. The fire of passion for the poor and lost has died out or grown very weak in many of us. This is a real danger for the Bride of Christ!
We must not rest on the laurels of the past. We must not rest on the sacrifices of our fathers and mothers. The younger generation has the call to carry the torch. To continue the work and service to poor people who need our support. But also to lost souls who need the Gospel in Germany and throughout the world.
With this book, we want to show the greatness and omnipotence of God. God, who accompanied and confirmed His work with His mighty arm and divine miracles. But it is all the more important to understand that in our work, we don't just experience these supernatural, powerful things and yearn for ever more spectacular signs. God will surely reveal His glory when we serve Him sincerely and wholeheartedly.
God seeks faithful people. People who remain in communion with the Lord day after day, devotedly carrying out their work and obeying His voice. Paul teaches Timothy to pass on what he has learned to faithful and capable people.
How many zealous people have there been who sprinted for a short time and quickly faded away? What truly matters is to persevere and consistently in this work, even if with limited strength, but with a heart that loves God and humanity.
Our prayer is that this book will help ignite a lasting fire in its readers (for social and diaconal mission work, but also for evangelistic activity, both in Germany and worldwide). We desire to kindle a fire of passion, visibly expressed in complete and uncompromising devotion.
"Our aim was rather to tell the personal stories behind them and to ignite a lasting passion in the readers."
Years of work
Back in 2021, the mission leadership asked me (Thomas Fenske) to lead the book project. I contacted many brothers and sisters, missionaries, and founders of the organization who are or were key pillars of the Stephanus work. With them, I had long, multifaceted, edifying, and sometimes very moving conversations.
And I (Dennis Streichert) used my writing talent to record the countless experiences from the conversations in an engaging way, with a clear and coherent narrative. It was important to me to use an easy-to-read style. Even those who don't usually enjoy reading will find this book easy to read. With it, we hope to reach younger generations who typically prefer pictures or videos to text.
Regarding important content-related and strategic issues, we held consultations with the chairpersons Nikolai Wall, Michael Akulenko and long-time employee Nelli Dalinger to discuss the next steps.
The book's cover was designed by Jannik Kebernik (Speyer congregation). We are grateful to everyone who contributed to this large project, especially the many members who were willing to speak openly about their personal experiences in the Stephanus ministry. Once again, we emphasize: All glory belongs to God.
Available at the mission conference
As we write this article, the book is not yet finished, although it already has over 300 pages. Thomas is conducting the final interviews, Dennis is writing down the stories, and Jannik is still working on the cover design. This will be followed by an intensive period of proofreading and reviewing the entire book.
God willing, the book will be available at the missions conference in Cloppenburg in June. The first edition will likely comprise 1,000 copies, as it is probable that a few errors will slip through the cracks during proofreading. We ask for your understanding in advance if the book is not perfect.
Once the first edition is sold out, more books will be printed. The book will also be available online. All information regarding this will be provided on the mission's website after the mission conference.
An audio version will also be available as an audiobook. If the book proves popular, a Russian translation may follow.
A brief look inside the book
What exactly is the book about? We begin by recounting the founding of the aid organization, in which Bishop Alexander Konradi played a crucial role. The early years were marked by trips to the former Soviet Union. We report on eventful missionary journeys and evangelistic campaigns. A special chapter deals with the tragic truck accident in which our brothers Eduard Buchmüller and Rubin Firus were killed.
Christmas campaigns in Eastern European orphanages, work with drug addicts in Israel, schools in Africa, aid for persecuted Christians, and missionary work in India are just a few examples of projects from which we have gathered a wealth of moving and often personal stories. As part of CDH-Stephanus, we also provide a brief overview of the work of the magazine "Stephanus – Way of Discipleship" and the Bible school in Hennef.
Horrific natural disasters like the floods in Germany and the war in Ukraine are further areas where the Stephanus Mission has been heavily involved. Moving testimonies from this work are presented in the book. Finally, we reveal where the aid organization plans to focus its efforts in the coming years.
It is important to us not to simply list facts, such as how many tons of aid went to which country. Rather, we wanted to tell the personal stories behind the facts. How did the people who received our help fare? How did the staff who provided the aid fare? What difficulties did they face and how did they overcome them? What emotions did these people experience? What miracles did God perform? Which prayers did the Lord answer, and how did He bless their work?
Dear brothers and sisters, we hope and pray that this book will be a great blessing. May God move every reader to serve Him even more faithfully and effectively, bearing much fruit. We invite everyone to visit the book table at the upcoming missions conference or to order the book online afterward. We are convinced that it is worthwhile to read this easily understandable and interesting book and to be newly inspired by it to work in God's vineyard.
Thomas Fenske, Municipality of Tellig
Dennis Streichert, Municipality of Hamburg-Harburg