Light in the east
| Light in the east e. V. | |
|---|---|
|
|
| legal form | Registered association |
| founding | 1920 |
| founder | Jakob Kroeker and Walter Jack |
| Seat | Korntal-Münchingen , Germany |
| motto | So that people have hope! |
| main emphasis | Dissemination of literature, support for local missionaries, social missionary projects, humanitarian aid |
| Action space | Eastern Europe and the CIS area |
| people | Martin Hirschmüller (Chairman), Johannes Lange (Head of Mission), Waldemar Zorn (Mission Inspector) |
| Website | www.lio.org |
The Christian Missionsbund Licht im Osten is a mission society in Germany and Switzerland whose main concern is the spread of the gospel as well as humanitarian and social aid, especially for children, in the area of the former Soviet Union (today Russia , Eastern Europe and Central Asia).
history
The Missionsbund was founded in 1920 by Jakob Kroeker and Walter Jack in the city of Wernigerode am Harz and from there initially devoted itself to Christian missionary work among the approximately 2.5 million Russian prisoners of war and internees who were still in Germany at the time. Licht im Osten was based in the building on what was then Kaiserstr. 4 in Wernigerode, where it remained until the end of the Second World War. When Red Army troops replaced the British occupation forces in Wernigerode at the beginning of June 1945, the employees of Licht in the east burned all documents and left for south-west Germany, where the Missionsbund resumed its activities in Stuttgart-Mühlhausen in 1946 and in the neighboring Korntal-Münchingen in 1956 moved, where he has been based in the current building since 1984. The Missionsbund set the priorities of its work according to the circumstances of the time (National Socialism, Second World War, Cold War, etc.). He distributed Russian Bibles in the Soviet Union in a variety of ways and published a large number of mostly smaller writings and treatises in his own publishing house of the same name .
In 2017, several congregations in the Caucasus Republic of Armenia founded the association “Light in East Armenia”.
working area
Light in the East is traditionally a literary mission that distributes magazines, books and Bibles in 80 countries, especially in Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Also for special target groups such as Braille. Since 1974 the mission society has published the Russian magazine "Glaube und Leben" and a children's magazine "Tropinka", which is distributed throughout Eastern Europe. Light achieved a certain prominence in the East during the Cold War through successful Bible smuggling operations. They provided Christians and churches in the Soviet Union and other communist countries with Bibles and Christian literature. Today this work is legal. The organization has also supported local employees since the mid-1990s, meanwhile around 45 women and men. In addition, employees of Licht im Osten translate the Bible into language groups that do not yet have their own translation of the Bible . In its ninety-year history, Licht im Osten has published Christian literature in around 30 languages.
Support foundation
It supports projects in Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia through actions of humanitarian and material aid as well as through awareness-raising and educational work in the spirit of Christian charity in cooperation with local partners.
Periodicals
- 1920-1941; 1947–1993: Your kingdom is coming: Messages from the Missionsbund Licht im Osten , ISSN 0011-7692
- since 1974: Faith and Life , Russian-language two-month magazine with a circulation of 96,000 copies
- since 1990: Tropinka (The Little Path), a bi -monthly evangelistic children's magazine that appears in nine languages and reaches over 1.5 million readers in 65 countries. ISSN 1610-9112
- since 1993: Light in the East: News from the mission in Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia , quarterly publication, ISSN 0945-4179
literature
- Waldemar Zorn : Colors of History. Stories from the history of the Missionsbund Licht im Osten; for the 90th anniversary , Missionsverlag Licht im Osten, Korntal-Münchingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-939887-66-9 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Reinhard Hempelmann (ed.): Handbook of evangelistic-missionary works, institutions and communities . Christian publishing house Stuttgart, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 978-3767577633 , p. 238ff
- ↑ No signs of an end to Christianity , idea , report from April 9, 2018.
- ↑ 25 years of Tropinka and the fruits grown from it , Licht im Osten, issue 2/2015, p. 5
- ↑ Siegfried Lokatis, Ingrid Sonntag: Secret Readers in the GDR: Control and Distribution of Forbidden Literature, p. 270
- ↑ Sherrill, John: Sherill Elisabeth: Der Schmuggler Gottes. Wuppertal 1981
- ↑ Neerskov Hans Kristian: Bibles on forbidden paths. Erzhausen 1976
- ↑ Work areas of Licht im Osten. Retrieved July 14, 2010 .
- ↑ Russian Christians: It's anti-religious like under communists , idea.de, article from April 25, 2017.
Coordinates: 48 ° 50 ' N , 9 ° 8' E