Torchbearer Movement
The Torchbearers Movement is an international non-denominational Christian movement and evangelical mission community founded by Major W. Ian Thomas . The torchbearer movement is active in Christian youth and adult education as well as in the implementation of short Bible schools . The individual centers are organized and managed independently of one another; but they are informally linked.
history
The torchbearer movement emerged from the popular missionary work of the English evangelist Major W. Ian Thomas (1914–2007). In 1945 , as an occupation officer in the German city of Velbert , he became familiar with the situation of German youth. A country estate, Capernwray Hall, acquired in 1947 in north-west England, was initially set up as a Christian holiday center for British youth only. However, in the following year, 30 German students were invited there to study the Bible for a month in community with young people from England . This meeting gave rise to several invitations to Major Thomas to carry out missions in youth groups and parishes of the German students. As a result, an increasing number of young people from West Germany came to Capernwray Hall. Thomas' travels and lecture services soon extended to Austria and Switzerland as well as Scandinavia .
During the camps, the young people were encouraged to work actively in their youth groups and parishes and to take on missionary responsibility themselves. The increasing number of friends finally summarized the responsibility they recognized in the form of a missionary fellowship. The members, who gave themselves the name '' Torchbearers '', want to make people aware of the gospel in their community through personal witnesses of their Christian faith. It is of course assumed that you are a member of a church or free church and actively participate in community life there.
Due to the great interest in the work of the mission fellowship, the number of congregations and youth groups that let their members take part in the camps grew. In 1958 a second leisure center in Germany, the Klostermühle in Obernhof an der Lahn, was founded. As a third leisure center, Schloss Klaus was founded in Upper Austria in 1963 , followed by another center in Austria, the Tauernhof in Schladming , in the following year . Today 26 centers in 20 countries are part of the Torchbearers Missionary Fellowship. The currently four centers in Germany and Austria are recognized by the Evangelical Church as an "Evangelical Church Association".
Centers
- Albania - Crossroads
- Australia - Capernwray Australia
- Costa Rica - portantorchas
- Germany - Bodenseehof and Klostermühle
- England - Capernwray Hall
- France - Champfleuri
- Greece - Kingfisher Project
- India - Himalayan Torchbearers
- Indonesia - Pondok Kepenrey
- Japan - Yamanakako
- Canada - Capernwray Harbor and Capernwray Québec
- Malaysia - Harvest Haven
- New Zealand - Capernwray NZ
- Austria - Klaus Castle and Tauernhof
- Philippines - Torchbearers Philippines
- Romania - Purtătorii de Făclie
- Spain - Chalet Rio Vida
- Sweden - Holsby
- Switzerland - Chasa Perspectiva and Credo
- USA - His Hill, Ravencrest Chalet and Timberline Lodge
literature
- Joan Thomas: Major W. Ian Thomas and the History of the Torchbearers . SCM Hänssler, Holzgerlingen 2015, ISBN 9783775156295
- Reinhard Hempelmann (Hrsg.): Handbook of evangelistic-missionary works, institutions and communities . Christian publishing house Stuttgart, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 978-3767577633
- B. Rebsch: Torchbearers . In: Helmut Burkhardt, Uwe Swarat (Ed.): Evangelical Lexicon for Theology and Congregation , Vol. 1, R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal 1994, ISBN 3417246415
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hempelmann, p. 165
- ↑ Thomas, Joan: Major W. Ian Thomas and the History of the Torchbearers. Holzgerlingen, 2015. p. 46.
- ↑ Oberladstätter, Mariane: Castle and Klaus. Klaus, 2011. p. 70.
- ^ Brasher, Herb: A Survey of the History of the Capernwray Missionary Fellowship of Torchbearers. Seminar paper on church history. Oberhof / Lahn, 1990.
- ↑ see website of Fackelträger International at www.torchbearers.org