Knud Wümpelmann

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Knud Wümpelmann (actually Knud Aage Aage Abildgaard Wümpelmann ; born August 7, 1922 in Odense , Funen ; † June 2, 2020 in Amsterdam ) was a Baptist clergyman in leading positions. From 1964 to 1980 he was general secretary of the Danish Baptist Union and at the same time honorary treasurer and general secretary of the European Baptist Federation (EBF). From 1977 to 1979 he held the office of EBF President and from 1980 to 1985 that of Secretary General. In 1990 he was appointed 16th President of the Baptist World Federation . He held this office until 1995.

Live and act

Knud Wümpelmann was the only child of the married couple Heinrich Christian Wümpelmann and Helga, née Abildgaard. One of the most impressive of his childhood was the healing of his father from severe tuberculosis . After a number of specialist doctors diagnosed the disease as no longer treatable, the parents turned to a Pentecostal preacher in their distress and asked him to pray for a release from tuberculosis. The healing was immediate and resulted in the parents, who were previously only formal members of the Danish State Church , being baptized and beginning to regularly attend worship and community life in the local Baptist church. In his biographical notes Knud Wümpelmann reported that after this experience he was absolutely convinced of the existence of God. He attended Sunday School and was devoutly baptized on April 12, 1936 at the Baptist Church Easter service. His later ministry motto, “God Can!” Is rooted in this childhood experience.

Wümpelmann's parents ran a pension for the elderly in their house. Foreign guest preachers from the Baptist church usually stayed at this facility. Knud Wümpelmann got to know numerous pastors, evangelists and missionaries in his youth . Among them were Watchman Nee , the leader of the Chinese house church movement , and Aron Andersson , the Swedish Congo missionary.

After completing school, Wümpelmann completed a five-year training course at the Danish Post and Telegraph Service from September 1939 . An inner calling led him to choose the profession of clergyman. Wümmpelmann enrolled at the Danish Baptist Theological Seminary in Tølløse in 1944 . In the spring of 1945 the seminar buildings were confiscated by the German occupation forces. The theology students lived in a building provided by a Baptist bank manager until the end of World War II . There Wümpelmann met his future wife, a daughter of the banker.

Købnerkirken Copenhagen

After the theological exam , a first short pastoral service followed in the Baptist church of Pandrup / North Jutland, which at that time had 500 members . Then Wümpelmann moved to Copenhagen . The place of work was the Købnerkirken, named after the Baptist founding father Julius Köbner (see picture). The focus of his work here was youth work. In addition, he led a working group that organized a missionary campaign across Denmark. Evangelistic events were held in 175 locations over a period of 100 weeks.

Another theology course followed, which Wümpelmann took to the Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City / USA . He graduated in 1954 as a Master of Religious Education . While he was still in the United States, he received a request from the Købner congregation in Copenhagen to return to Denmark and take over the post of its chief pastor. Wümpelmann agreed and was the leading clergyman of the community from 1955 to 1964. During this period he volunteered in various Baptist and non-denominational bodies and organizations, including the Sunday School department of the Danish Baptist Union , which he chaired in 1957. In this function he developed a correspondence course for the teachers of the Danish Sunday Schools and wrote a separate catechism for the teenagers.

In 1964 the Danish Baptist Union appointed Knud Wümpelmann as its first full-time general secretary. In addition to accompanying the forty or so congregations at the time, the focus of his work was on the external mission, contact with international Baptist organizations and the representation of the Danish Baptist Union in the ecumenical movement of Denmark. From 1977 to 1979 he took over the office of President of the European Baptist Federation (EBF) in addition to his service as General Secretary . Finally, in 1980, he was appointed General Secretary of the EBF to succeed Gerhard Claas . He held the office until he retired in 1985. His successor was the Bremerhaven Baptist pastor Karl-Heinz Walter . The highest office that the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), founded in 1905, has to bestow, was held by Wümpelmann from 1990 to 1995. The main focus of his work as President of the BWA was the strengthening of the six regional bodies of the World Federation, with a focus on Africa and Asia was aligned. Looking at the African continent, he said: “Let it not be forgotten that one out of eleven Baptist churches in the world is in Africa.” During this time, he traveled to Rwanda , Malipur ( India ) and China, among others . The reorganization of the Baptist unions in the collapsing Soviet Union was also an important concern of his . For Europe, he saw an urgent need for evangelization, reconciliation and unity.

The farewell service for Knud Wümpelmann took place on June 6, 2020 in the Tølløs Baptist Church.

family

Knud Wümpelmann was married to Karen M. Petersen since 1947. The marriage resulted in two sons (Jørgen, * 1949; Mogens, * 1955).

Appreciations

Knud Wümpelmann received numerous awards, including the title Dr. of Divinity (honoris causa) from William Jewell College in Liberty (Missouri).

Publications (selection)

Literature (selection)

  • Obituary: Knud Wümpelmann passed away. Baptists mourn the loss of "lawyer for the poor" . In: The community magazine . Believe. Together. Gestalten (Ed. Association of Evangelical Free Churches in Germany ). Oncken-Verlag / Blessings for you: Kassel. Issue 14 / July 12, 2020. p. 26
  • Bent Hylleberg: Knud Wümpelmann . In: Journal of European Baptist Studies . IBTS Prague publishing house, number 3/2002. Pp. 5-20

Web links

References and comments

  1. ↑ Prabook.com: Knud Aage Aage Abildgaard Wümpelmann. Clergyman, religious organization administrator ; accessed on July 10, 2020
  2. ↑ Translation of "God is able!"
  3. ↑ Bent Hylleberg: Knud Wümpelmann president of the Baptist World Alliance 1990-1995 (PDF online, Dresden 1999) , p 1; accessed on July 11, 2020
  4. ↑ Baptist.dk / Lone Moller-Hansen: En af de største danske baptister (June 3, 2020) ; accessed on July 10, 2020
  5. ↑ EBF.org / Tony Peck: In Memoriam: Knud Wümpelmann. Pastor, National and International Baptist Leader, Christian Statesman. 1922-2020 (June 2, 2020) ; accessed on July 10, 2020
  6. ↑ Bent Hylleberg: Knud Wümpelmann president of the Baptist World Alliance 1990-1995 (PDF online, Dresden 1999) , p.2; accessed on July 11, 2020
  7. ↑ Bent Hylleberg: Knud Wümpelmann president of the Baptist World Alliance 1990-1995 (PDF online, Dresden 1999) , p.3; accessed on July 11, 2020
  8. ↑ Baptist.dk / Lone Moller-Hansen: En af de største danske baptister (June 3, 2020) ; accessed on July 10, 2020
  9. ↑ Prabook.com: Knud Aage Aage Abildgaard Wümpelmann ; accessed on July 12, 2020
  10. ↑ Bent Hylleberg: Knud Wümpelmann president of the Baptist World Alliance 1990-1995 (PDF online, Dresden 1999) , p 3ff; accessed on July 15, 2020
  11. ↑ BWA.net: Regional Fellowships ; accessed on July 16, 2020
  12. ↑ Translated: Let's not forget that one in eleven Baptist churches worldwide is in Africa. - Knud Wümpelmann: President's Report . In: BWA Agenda Book . Washington DC 1994. p. 39
  13. ↑ "[...] an urgent need for evangelization, reconciliation and unification." - See Knud Wümmpelmann: Mission in a Changing Europe . In: American Baptist Quarterly . 2/1996. Pp. 146-157
  14. ↑ E-pages.dk / Midtsjællands Folkeblad: Baptistkirkens første generalsekretær er død. Knud Wümpelmann, tidligere general secretary i Baptistkirken i Danmark og mangeårig Tølløse-borger blev 97 år (June 10, 2020, p. 21)
  15. ↑ Bent Hylleberg: Knud Wümpelmann president of the Baptist World Alliance 1990-1995 (PDF online, Dresden 1999) , p 2f; accessed on July 16, 2020
  16. ↑ Prabook.com: Knud Aage Aage Abildgaard Wümpelmann. Clergyman, religious organization administrator ; accessed on July 12, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Wümpelmann, Knud
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish Baptist pastor, President of the World Baptist Federation
DATE OF BIRTH August 7, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Odense , Funen
DATE OF DEATH 2nd June 2020
Place of death Amsterdam