Report from Germany
by Keith Malcomson SOC Director
In 1993 while living in the German–speaking North of Switzerland the Spirit of God fell upon me in a very powerful way and I was caught up in an open vision of the German speaking world. All I could see was a panoramic view of gross darkness covering these nations. I could only lie on the floor weeping and groaning in prayer, for how long I do not know. My hearts cry was 'I will do anything to reach this people.'
For the next several years I could not walk on any public street without feeling the same burden and weeping tears for lost souls. However it was not until first encountering the SOC that I came to the realisation that this was the tool to be used in reaching out to the churches scattered amongst more than 90 million German speakers in Switzerland, Austria and Germany.
During a four week continental trip in October 2010 we travelled to Germany to hold the first SOC weekend in the German language. This was held in Iserlohn West Germany where about 30 believers gathered for the weekend to watch the first 19 lessons from the Revival series. There was great joy as well as great conviction of sin in response to the messages.
This was the fulfilment of much prayer and labour. For the past six years German students have attended most of the European Schools as well as SOC conventions held in Ireland in the English language. At last we can begin the work of running the School on German soil with a full class of Germans.
One evening we met with the young man who is doing the German voice–over on Brother Clendennen's messages. It was a joy to sit in his room and to see him work at this great task of translation so long waited for. He is aided in the written work by three other gifted translators as well as several other volunteers who have graduated the school in Ireland.
After this weekend we headed for East Germany. On the way we stopped at the Wartburg Castle where Martin Luther had to flee for his life in 1521 after his famous stand at the Diet of Worms against the might of Rome when he confessed "My conscience is captive to the Word of God." After this he hid in the castle for 10 months during which time he translated the New Testament from the Greek into the language of the German people in just 10 weeks. This was to be the fuel for fires of reformation and revival in the land which would spread across all of Europe. We felt this visit to this simple bare room where the German NT was translated was providential and encouraging as we now 500 years later stand in the midst of translating the SOC into the German language. May God give us a 2nd Reformation.
We held a second SOC weekend on the Revival series in East Germany at Marienburg where again local believers gathered including some who have already graduated the School. Some of those who gathered had lived through the oppression of communism but had walked faithfully with God until the freedom of religion came.
These weekend Schools have been mere initial preparations as we prepare to run the first full SOC in the German language in 2011. The preaching and teaching of the clear truth of God is desperately needed in these lands. Immorality, heresy, compromise and worldliness plague the Church and we believe a genuine spiritual revival is the only answer. No amount of money or organisation will do this, only a mighty visitation and outpouring of genuine Holy Ghost revival. Please pray for us that the Word of God may speed through these lands.
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