Ernst Vatter

Ernst Vatter in 2005

Ernst Vatter (born March 18, 1929 in Gönningen ; † January 7, 2012 in Unterlengenhardt ) was a German, evangelical theologian and missionary . His life was determined by the missionary assignment , which initially led him to Japan as a missionary for the Liebenzeller Mission (LM) for 14 years . After that, he was in management positions at the headquarters of the Mission in the Black Forest for almost three decades .

Live and act

From the age of three he grew up with his godmother. After elementary school he attended the teacher training college in Esslingen, interrupted by post-war clean-up operations in Stuttgart as a member of the Hitler Youth . Due to a mix-up, he was taken prisoner in France in 1945. Here he came into contact with the Christian faith through a fellow prisoner . After his conversion at the age of 17, during an evangelism in his hometown of Gönningen, he began studying at the theological seminary of the Liebenzeller Mission in 1947 and broke off the recently resumed teacher training at the Saulgau Teacher School (LOS). This was followed in 1951 by a community internship in the district of the southern German community of Albstadt-Ebingen . 1952 followed in the spring of language training in England and in the fall he left by ship as a missionary on behalf of the Liebenzeller Mission to his country of assignment, Japan. From 1960 he was the team leader of the Liebenzell missionaries there.

Due to physical complaints, Vatter returned to Germany and was treated in various Tübingen clinics until it was discovered that he had lost his adrenal gland. His condition deteriorated rapidly, but despite poor prognoses, he survived. Although the attending physician strongly advised him not to do so, after his recovery - with 3,000 cortisone tablets in his luggage - Vatter traveled again with his family to Japan until 1966.

As head of the foreign department at the headquarters of the Liebenzeller Mission in Bad Liebenzell , Vatter had a major influence on the work of the mission organization from 1968 until his retirement in 1994 and during this time traveled to 72 countries around the world. Until 1996 he was the coordinator of LM-International. For a transitional period, he was deputy head of the mission work from 1992 to 1993. During his tenure, Vatter built many new structures in the worldwide work of the Liebenzell Mission. During this time, the number of operational areas increased from five to 22, the number of employees rose from 60 to 200. His commitment helped make the Liebenzeller Mission one of the largest German-speaking mission organizations today.

In addition, Vatter performed other responsible tasks in the evangelical field: he was a co-initiator of the Help for Brothers Association founded in 1980 and from 1973 to 1993 chairman of the Association of Evangelical Missions (AEM), which he co-founded . He worked on the main board of the German Evangelical Alliance and was co-founder of the Free University for Mission (FHM) in Korntal in 1985 , which he headed as honorary rector from 1994 to 1996. From 1977 to 1995 Vatter was a member of the Württemberg regional synod . From 2001 to 2003 he was chairman of the South German Community Association and a long-term member of the executive committee of the Ludwig Hofacker Association .

Until his death in January 2012, he was a valued speaker and publisher to many conferences and church services in the country.

Honors

In 1988, Vatter was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity ( DD ) doctorate by Biola University in California .

Private

In December 1954, Ernst Vatter and Sigrid Schambach married in Japan. The couple had four children. After the death of his wife in 2010, Vatter moved from Calw-Alzenberg to Unterlengenhardt .

literature

• Ron Susek: Ernst Vatter. Mission without limits. A life story. SCM Hänssler, Holzgerlingen 2002, ISBN 978-3-7751-4985-3 .

Publications (selection)

• Ernst Vatter (Ed.) With H. Tanaka (translation from Japanese): Mitten unter den Wolfe. Biography of Sotohiko Matsuzaki (Japanese Evangelist). Verlag der Liebenzeller Mission, Bad Liebenzell 1969, ISBN 978-3-88002-512-7 .
• The unfinished business. VLM, Bad Liebenzell 1983, ISBN 978-3-88002-190-7 .
• The world mission situation today. Idea, Wetzlar 1987.
• Abundance from grace. Thoughts for every day. VLM, Bad Liebenzell 1988, ISBN 978-3-88002-357-4 .
• World mission at the end of days. In: David Jaffin (Ed.): What can we expect? Edition VLM published by St. Johannis-Druckerei 1991, ISBN 978-3-88002-479-3 .
• To be amazed in the wide world. VLM, Bad Liebenzell 1998, ISBN 978-3-88002-659-9 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Ernst Vatter in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Ernst Vatter  in the German Digital Library
• Ernst Vatter in the German biography
• Ernst Vatter - full throttle for God , portrait at Liebenzell.tv

Individual evidence

1. ^ Obituaries at the funeral service ( memento from October 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), liebezell.org
2. ↑ On the road with God in 72 countries of the world - former mission director Ernst Vatter turned 80 , openPR.de, message from March 19, 2009.
3. ↑ The beginnings of "Help for Brothers" , hilfe-fuer-brueder.de, accessed on December 21, 2013.
4. ↑ Ernst Vatter: Stations of his life ( memento from October 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), liebezell.org
5. ^ Fritz Grünzweig : To praise his fame: Experiences and knowledge from long service , SCM R. Brockhaus, Witten 1988, ISBN 978-3-417-24098-6 , p. 299.
6. ↑ The Liebenzeller Mission mourns the loss of Ernst Vatter , liebezell.org, message from January 7, 2012.
7. ↑ Ernst Vatter passed away , ead.de, message from January 7, 2012.
8. ↑ "Credible witness": Liebenzeller Mission mourns the loss of Ernst Vatter , head of foreign affairs for many years , jesus.de, message from January 9, 2012.