Manfred Otto
Manfred Otto (born March 21, 1927 in Klafeld (today a district of Siegen ); † November 25, 2013 in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe ) was a Baptist clergyman and from 1969 to 1989 director of the Federation of Evangelical Free Churches in Germany .
Life
During an evangelism in 1943, Manfred Otto decided to be a Christian , was baptized and became a member of the Siegen Baptist Congregation. In 1944, at the age of 17, he was called up for military service and experienced - as Otto said in his life review - in the middle of the last months of the Second World War, an inner calling to full-time spiritual service.
Initially Otto learned the commercial profession, but then turned to theology as a result of his career experience. From 1949 to 1953 he studied at the Baptist seminary in Hamburg-Horn . A vicariate in the Evangelical Free Church of Biberach an der Riss joined. In 1956 the Baptist congregations in Thalwil and Horgen on Lake Zurich appointed him pastor. From 1959 to 1964 he acted as director and lecturer of the free church youth seminar in Hamburg, a training center for volunteers in Sunday school , youth work and youth work. After 1964 he was pastor of the Evangelical Free Church in Lübeck, Täuferstrasse, for five years. In 1969 Manfred Otto was appointed Federal Director of the Evangelical Free Churches in Germany. The headquarters of the federal office at that time was Bad Homburg vor der Höhe . Otto remained in this church-leading administrative function until his retirement in 1989. His successor was the Bremen Baptist pastor Eckhard Schaefer .
As federal director Otto was also chairman of the supervisory board of Oncken-Verlag . Between 1970 and 1972 he was also its interim managing director.
Manfred Otto became known beyond the boundaries of his own denomination when he was elected chairman of the German Evangelical Alliance in 1980 and thus stood at the head of approximately one million Evangelical Christians. Otto is also one of the founding fathers of the evangelical news service Idea .
Manfred Otto was married and the father of four children.
literature
- Journal Die Gemeinde , April 1, 2007, p. 17
- Association of Evangelical Free Churches: With rough edges: A not always comfortable preacher of the gospel (March 14, 2007) ( Memento of September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ); Accessed July 2, 2013
- Evangelical Alliance Germany: News (March 20, 2012) ; Accessed July 2, 2013
- Baptists / BEFG: Manfred Otto died ; accessed on November 28, 2013
Individual evidence
- ↑ On June 11, 1963, the Klafeld community was renamed Geisweid; see Stephanie Reekers: The regional development of the districts and municipalities of Westphalia 1817–1967 . Aschendorff, Münster (Westphalia) 1977, ISBN 3-402-05875-8 .
- ↑ BEFG website: Current ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ); accessed on November 27, 2013
- ^ Information service of the Evangelical Alliance: Alliance chairman Manfred Otto died ; accessed on November 28, 2013
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Gerhard Claas | Federal Director / General Secretary of the Federation of Evangelical Free Churches in Germany 1969–1989 |
Eckhard Schaefer |
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Wilhelm Gilbert (* 1905; † 1998) | First chairman of the German Evangelical Alliance 1979–1984 |
Fritz Laubach |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Otto, Manfred |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Baptist clergyman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 21, 1927 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Klafeld ( Geisweid ) |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 25, 2013 |
| Place of death | Bad Homburg vor der Höhe |