The war had done a lot of damage to our work for the Lord. Three preachers—Brothers Wehking, Mönch, and Senf—as well as another brother from East Prussia had fallen. Of the brothers from America who had started and led the work with us, many were in Switzerland or the USA. The only free preacher left was Brother Flottmann in Berlin, who was already at an advanced age.
Nonetheless, we set to work with renewed courage. The first thing the Lord put on my heart was to send Brother Girke and his wife to serve in Hamburg. Brother Girke had a strong foundation in the truth. In fact, he had been at the mission house in Essen before World War I, when he was drafted. With his addition, there were now three of us preachers.
At that time, the congregation in Bochum was limited to a house meeting with only a few sisters and brothers in attendance. But the Lord gave grace to attract new people, and we dared to enter the public eye. A congregation at Robertstrasse 93 allowed us to use their meeting space for our services as well.
The Lord soon gave us new guidance regarding Brother Borbe, who was working in the mines at the time. He had known the truth since 1903 and had stood up for it. His stance on doctrine was decisive and clear, and he had already done a lot to help out in his free time. The Lord helped release this brother from his obligations so that he could better serve the Gospel. Brother Borbe served in Bochum and also in Herne and Recklinghaus-Süd. Over time, his service proved to be a great blessing, and Brother Borbe became a pillar in the Lord’s work. Since he was very talented, he later taught at our Bible school, travelled as an evangelist, and eventually (in 1935) took over from me as pastor of the church in Essen. Essen was then the largest congregation we had in Germany. Brother Borbe also started the church in Hüls.
Over time, the Lord gave grace to establish even more churches. The meeting in Gelsenkirchen-Horst was revived, and we started new ones in Dienslaken, Bergeborbek, Oberhausen, Wattenscheid, Gelsenkirchen-Wattenscheid, Cologne, and Mülheim-Heissen.
In the first years after World War I, we also received a visit from Brother Dietrich Meier. He came from North America and was a preacher of the German mission in the USA. Although only in Germany for a short time, he was a great blessing. He was also instrumental in bringing the Foundation of Faith’s German-language sister publication, Evangeliums Posaune, to Germany.
At the time, we had no house in Germany owned by a congregation or the umbrella organization. Intending to provide the German mission with its own house, Brother Dietrich Meier returned to the USA but, before achieving his goal, fell ill with cancer and died. This was hard for us and a big disappointment.
Later, other brothers from the United States visited us: the preachers Blooeth, Charles Brown, and Riggle. Brother Riggle stayed for three weeks and evangelized, bringing great blessings to the congregation in Essen.
Brother Doebert served as a translator at these meetings because Brother Riggle preached in English. Many souls were converted. Among those who came to the Lord were the future mission workers and preachers Ernst Kersten, Fritz Kreitschmann, and Ferdinand Rose. Brother Riggle’s visit was actually a stop on his way from the USA to Syria, where he was a great blessing as a missionary.
Sister Frederice made a special contribution to the publication of the “Evangeliums Posaune.” She was gifted and had good spiritual discernment, serving in the editorial office for many years. Brother Waurich also worked with us, first in publishing the “Evangeliums Posaune” and writing articles and then in serving the Wattenscheid congregation together with his wife. During his time, the building in which the services still take place today was also built.
Influence
When I started working in the Essen congregation again, in 1919, I made a trip to visit my family, which had temporarily remained in Christophstal, near Freudenstadt, in the Black Forest. On this journey, a man suddenly came up to me and asked, “Aren’t you Mr. Weissburger?” When I answered “Yes,” he introduced himself as an old friend from my youth. He told me that he had also come to Christ, converting from Judaism to Jesus, like me. I was thrilled to hear this, but we unfortunately had only a little time to talk about the wonderful guidance of God in our lives. I had to get off the train while he rode onward; our paths never crossed again.
We had lived close together as teenagers, but when I converted in 1904, all association between us ended. Nonetheless, I have the impression that my conversion spoke to him and that this influence eventually caused him to come to believe in Jesus. Our actions can have a greater influence than we know.
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