Paul Henry John Strege
Paul Henry John Strege
- 8/5/1924 Ludell, Kansas USA
Spouse/Family
Wife: Vercile Concordia (nee Schmidt), b. 7/5/1927 Farrar, Missouri USA
- 11/6/1948; d. July 2001
Children: Ruth Elizabeth (Forni) (1950); John Arthur (1952); Mary Agnes (Petry)
(1954); Mark Theodore (1956); Timothy Alfred (1960); Lois Esther
(Dolan) (1964)
Dates of Service Field Call Assignment
1949-62 Japan Evangelistic Missionary
1962-74 Japan/USA (LCMS World Missions) East Asia Counselor
Biographical Summary
Paul Strege grew up in a parsonage in Ludell, Kansas, the son of an LCMS pastor. He attended St. John’s College in Winfield, Kansas in preparation for seminary studies at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. He studied at Concordia from 1944-48, and during that time he met Vercile Schmidt, who was in nurses’ school at Lutheran Hospital in St. Louis. They became engaged to marry while still students. Paul’s vicarage year was served as a teacher back in Winfield, along with other classmates including Paul Heerboth, who would be both close friend and colleague for years to come. After completing his final year of seminary, Paul was married to Vercile in November 1948.
While in seminary, Paul had learned some sign language, and he thought he might be called into deaf ministry upon graduation. However, the mission field of Japan had opened up with the end of World War II, and the mission board decided to send several of their missionaries to Japan, including both Paul Strege and Paul Heerboth – the first two pastors called out of seminary to serve in Japan. Paul attended mission school during 1948, while Vercile worked as a nurse for a year, and together they traveled to the city of Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan in 1949. Paul was assigned to evangelism work in Asahikawa, more than eighty miles to the north of Sapporo, and was also asked to work in Sapporo as much as he could. He commuted by train to Asahikawa every other weekend, beginning his ministry by teaching Bible classes which were mainly attended by high school students. This led to outreach to adults, and the worshipping congregation had grown sufficiently that a building for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church was built in 1951. The church growth in Asahikawa also led to outreach in the surrounding rural communities. Paul served as pastor of the congregation until 1956.
With the advent of evangelism work, the mission also began a Lutheran Hour radio program in Japan. Because his seminary thesis had dealt with methods of Bible study, Paul was asked to write a correspondence course to be used for the Lutheran Hour. Listeners who became interested would receive this or another correspondence course to begin their study of the Gospel. Missionaries then created study centers for further learning, including one in Asahikawa at which Paul led classes and counseled those who were interested in the Christian message. He also visited correspondence students as necessary, including some who were in prison.
While Paul undertook this work, Vercile was kept busy both with family and with mission responsibilities. She actually had the opportunity to be on the radio before Paul did: in the second year they were in Japan, she was asked to host a program sharing recipes for Christmas cookies. Vercile also led classes every place they went. In Sapporo she set up a cooking class for neighborhood women, and both there and in Asahikawa she taught Bible classes with the help of an interpreter. Meanwhile, the Streges’ three oldest children were born prior to their first furlough (Ruth in 1950, John in 1952, and Mary in 1954), and Vercile was caring for them during this time as well.
In 1956 the Streges had their first year-long furlough. They served as mission speakers at various congregations. Paul recalls, however, that sometimes the turnout was disappointing because they were competing with the recently-introduced television – a lot of people wanted to go straight home after church and watch whatever program was popular at the time. The Streges’ son Mark was born during their furlough.
When they returned to Japan, Paul was assigned to the Tokyo Lutheran Center (TLC), which was the largest Lutheran congregation in Japan and a sort of headquarters for the Japan mission and newly emerging church. This became a very busy time for Paul: in addition to serving at the TLC he was sent out to surrounding towns to assist with pastoral ministry and evangelism. At this point, the goal for the Japan mission was independence for the national church within twenty years. A seminary had already begun, and part of Paul’s assignment was to prepare TLC to call a Japanese pastor. This did happen in 1958, and Paul was transferred back to Hokkaido and assigned to pastor a congregation in Sapporo as well as to serve as an itinerant missionary among Lutheran Bible Hour correspondence students in East Hokkaido.
In Tokyo, Vercile had again conducted Bible classes, and while taking care of their children, she did the same once they moved back to Sapporo. She also taught English classes for employees of Japan Airlines and continued a tradition she had begun during their first term of holding a Christmas celebration each year for congregation members, friends, and her students. The Streges’ son Timothy was born in 1960. Paul continued with the Sapporo congregation and Lutheran Hour-related work until 1962, when he was called by LCMS World Missions to serve as Mission Counselor (the position would later be renamed Secretary) for East Asia. The mission board suggested that he remain in Sapporo until the family’s next furlough, after which they could transfer to Tokyo. So they stayed in Sapporo until 1964 (the year they completed their family with the birth of their youngest daughter Lois), then returned to the U.S. At this point, the LCMS decided that Paul could better fulfill his duties by remaining in the U.S. and traveling as necessary to the mission fields for which he was counselor. Although their children were very disappointed that they could not go back to Japan, the Streges settled in St. Louis.
In his capacity as Mission Counselor, Paul made frequent trips to five countries: Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Philippines. He surveyed and encouraged mission work and the work of national churches in those countries and facilitated communication between the LCMS and mission fields. Vercile, who had practiced her nursing in several unofficial capacities while in Japan, re-entered nursing practice in St. Louis, in neonatal and then pediatric practice. She contributed to Paul’s ongoing mission work by hosting meals for every new missionary family called by the Mission Board to the five countries Paul served. He writes, “This was a ‘first step’ in my area secretary's relation to missionary families as ‘pastor to missionaries.’ There was some reciprocity in that when I visited them later in their countries they often invited me for meals in their homes, which gave me opportunity to get acquainted with the wives who usually did not attend formal meetings I had with male church and missionary leaders. I usually tried to get the wives' perspective of life for them in their situation, which most of them indicated they appreciated.” Vercile also undertook hosting duties for any nationals from those five countries who visited St. Louis for study or other purposes.
Paul’s work as Area Counselor lasted until 1974, a tumultuous year for LCMS and its missions in general. He and some other missionaries and former missionaries were under suspicion of working too closely with other church bodies and encouraging deviation from traditional LCMS theology among national churches. It became clear to him that when his position was up for renewal he would not be asked to remain. He began seeking other opportunities for mission and became involved with a break-off group of congregations called Evangelical Lutherans in Mission (ELIM). He then worked with Jim Mayer, another former LCMS missionary, to found the group Partners in Mission. The organization was intended to support mission work and collaboration between Lutherans (and now Christians generally) in the United States and in other countries. Its name was changed to International Partners in Mission in 2002. Paul retired from this work in 1996.
Vercile and Paul visited Japan in 1995 and were able to see some of their old friends and the places where they worked. Vercile had a stroke that year and became somewhat memory-impaired, but she remained active until she was called home to her Lord in July 2001. In retirement, Paul keeps up with the activities of six children and eighteen grandchildren, and he volunteers for Bread for the World and as a reader for preschool children. The Streges’ journey through many different countries and experiences has been a long and fruitful one, and their work in the Lord’s mission has changed many lives.
Nota Bene
International Partners in Mission created the Strege-Mayer Award in 2008 to honor both Paul and the memory of the late Jim Mayer. Paul and Jim’s wife, Sammy, were the first to receive the award in 2008.
After quite a bit of prodding from his children and grandchildren, Paul wrote a book called How Small Is Small?, published by Chipmunk Chapel Books in St .Louis, MO in 2000. The book is a collection of stories and vignettes from his life, including his mission work. This was followed by How Far Is Far?, How Free Is Free?, and How Near Is Near?, all with the same publisher, in 2002, 2004, and 2007 respectively.
Phase 2 Information
Biggest missiological issue faced?
One of the first main issues the Streges faced in Japan was learning a new language. Because the mission field was so new, missionaries were asked to begin their work right away, using translators and any other means necessary. They had some private tutoring in Japanese, but trying to fit in language learning with their other duties was difficult. Learning on the go rather than focusing solely on learning Japanese before beginning other duties was not quite ideal and meant that Paul and other early missionaries never learned Japanese as well as they could have.
The question of ecumenism on the mission field was a central one in the time period in which Paul worked and remains an issue today. Missionaries tended to work fairly ecumenically, especially in places where there were few Christians. Sending churches did not always approve of close work with other denominations, especially when it came to training of national church leaders. This was one of the major issues in Paul’s leaving LCMS World Missions in 1974.
Another reason for his departure in 1974 was the conflict over traditional theological doctrines and contemporary theological needs. Paul was interested in helping newly formed national churches include references to dealing with particular cultural and social issues when they drew up their constitutions. Those in the LCMS who disagreed with him thought that the only theological documents or resources referenced in a Lutheran church’s constitution should be the Augsburg Confession and other foundational Lutheran documents of the 16th century. These disagreements helped lead to his break with LCMS World Missions.
Most significant contribution during missionary service?
Paul was blessed to undertake ministry in many ways while serving in Japan. Possibly his greatest contribution was noted by the leaders of the Nihon Ruteru Kyodan (NRK) (also known as the Japan Lutheran Church) when they invited him back for the fiftieth anniversary of the church’s foundation. The NRK intentionally invited specific missionaries to attend the celebration, and Paul’s invitation was extended because he was seen by the NRK as the moving force for the NRK’s independence.
Connection to today’s mission?
Paul was able to train and baptize many Christians who went on to become leaders in the NRK. He maintains close ties and friendships from his work both in Japan and with Partners in Mission. The concept of partnerships on the mission field which led to the creation of Partners in Mission has become widely accepted in mission circles. Churches and mission bodies have also moved toward direct support for missionaries and strong connections between missionaries and the people who support their ministry.
Lessons Learned
- Be yourself and respond to whatever situation you’re given; just do what needs doing when it arises. Try to be responsive to real needs. A story Paul tells along these lines is that of Mr. Suzuki, who wanted to attend church but who had a congenital condition that left him hunched over and unable to walk. Paul visited him a few times and then began picking him up on Sundays to bring him to church; someone would carry him out to the car and Paul or someone else would carry him from the car into church once they arrived. Some of the church members thought this was strange at first, but as they became used to the situation, more and more people began to help out by giving Mr. Suzuki rides or helping carry him in and out of church. Mr. Suzuki’s Christian devotion and his need for help, and Paul’s initial effort to meet his needs, became an opportunity for the Christian community to demonstrate love and grow closer to each other.
Best Practices
- Missionaries should be willing to step back. Paul learned this especially in his role as Area Counselor, when he was serving in a liaison role. A missionary can’t try to run things all the time but instead must equip others to be leaders; otherwise independence of national churches is impossible.
- Along the same lines: “Empower locals, be a friend and don’t second-guess when locals make decisions.”
Phase 3 Information
Inspiration for entering foreign missions?
As a pastor’s child, Paul remembers his family hosting missionaries who would come through their area to speak at the church. He always felt very excited about meeting the missionaries and learning about their work. In his own studies, he was always interested in leadership and trying new things. He was elected president of the student body at St. John’s College, and at Concordia Seminary he took sign-language classes and considered “specialized” ministry. It was something of a surprise when he was called to Japan, but he embraced the call wholeheartedly!
Vercile was well-prepared for the work of missions and for meeting many new people because of her nursing studies. She was also quite intelligent – it so happened that she and Paul had both graduated as valedictorians of their respective high school classes – and was able to adapt to a new place and even begin doing her own teaching very quickly. When Paul received his call to Japan, they spent a lot of time talking and praying together, but she was very supportive. Through their careers, she was very active both in doing her own ministry and in supporting his.
Quotation by/about or brief story:
- Missionaries on the field developed deep and abiding relationships, and one of the Streges’ best relationships was with Paul and Alleen Heerboth. Their friendship began even before they were called to Japan, as Paul Strege and Paul Heerboth were roommates both at St. John’s College and at Concordia Seminary. It so happened that Vercile was roommates with Alleen (then Henning) at nursing school. Once Paul S. and Vercile began dating and got engaged, they started thinking that they should undertake some matchmaking for their single roommates. So they invited Paul H. and Alleen to a picnic together and then took them on a tour of Meramec Caverns (where they joked that they were helped along by the darkness and relative privacy!). It worked – Paul H. and Alleen began dating and were in turn married. Especially after both families were called to Japan, their friendship developed into a lifelong relationship of deep respect and affection.
- While working in Asahikawa during his first mission term, Paul met a teacher in a rural area outside the town who wanted to bring his students to see the church in Asahikawa. This teacher was Christian and asked Paul to conduct Bible classes in his village. After getting to know Paul for a time, he asked that his children be baptized. Paul agreed and asked which Christian names the man wanted to use for his children in the baptism. The teacher said he would pray about it and then open the Bible to find names for his children. The first book he opened to was Leviticus! Paul wasn’t sure what to do about that, but the teacher assured him it was all right – he named his daughter after the Japanese word for “law.”
- Paul calls Vercile the “first woman preacher of the LCMS” because of something that happened while they were on their first furlough. They were traveling as mission speakers and took the train from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. While on the train, Paul began feeling ill. Upon arrival in Pittsburgh, their host found a doctor to examine him, and the doctor announced that Paul had mumps. The doctor’s advice was, “You can stay here for a couple of weeks on bed rest, or you can get on the train back to St. Louis immediately and recuperate in St. Louis.” Thinking that it would be better to return to St. Louis, Paul took the next train out. He had been scheduled to preach the next day, though, so he turned his sermon over to Vercile and she preached it for him! So although she didn’t write the sermon, she was the “first woman preacher” in an LCMS church.