Vernon Lester Schindler

1. 1/20/1941 Aurora, IL USA

 

Spouse/Family

Wife: Belva Jean (nee Walz) b. 2/4/1940 Freeman, SD USA; m. 8/5/1967

Children: Jonathan Alan (1968) (m. Alma Villacora)

Dates of Service Field Call Assignment

1967-1979 Ghana Evangelistic Missionary

1979-1998 South Dakota, USA Parish Pastor

1998-2006 South Dakota District, LCMS District President

2006-present Zion Lutheran Church Pastor

 

Biographical Summary

Vernon (Vern) Schindler received his call to mission work in Ghana at the end of his seminary training, in 1967.  His wife, Belva, was an elementary school teacher, and the two had met during Vern’s vicarage year, during which they both lived and worked in the same town.  After being engaged for the last year of Vern’s seminary studies, they were married and traveled to Ghana very shortly after his graduation, with a call from LCMS Board for Mission Services.

 

The Schindlers were stationed in the city of Takoradi-Sekondi, referred to as Takoradi for short.  When LCMS mission work began in Ghana 1958, the idea was that missionaries would be stationed in the urban areas of the country and work would grow from there out to the rural areas.  Missionaries were to be placed in Accra, the largest city in Ghana; Kumasi, the second largest city; and Takoradi, the third largest.  Vern was assigned as an evangelistic missionary, beginning as pastor of St. John’s Lutheran congregation, a multi-tribal parish of mainly Nigerian immigrants that was only a few years old.  The understanding was that he would do mainly English-language work (English being the official language of Ghana), although he quickly discovered the usefulness of learning the local language and became proficient in Fanti.  At the time the Schindlers arrived in Ghana, the plan of having two missionary families in each of the three largest cities in the country was beginning to fall apart; some families had to leave, though in some cases others came to take their places.

 

More troublesome was the political situation in Ghana; the first post-independence government was a communist government that was hostile to religion, and its leader Kwame Nkrumah ran the country into debt.  After his overthrow in 1957, there were two more military coups, which likewise threw the country into turmoil and increased the high incidence of bribery and corruption within the government.  A third coup occurred two days after the Schindlers left the mission field, which fortunately ushered in political stability that the country of Ghana still enjoys.  Besides the general upheavals, the prevalence of bribery could be endlessly frustrating for the missionaries, though the Lord did bless them and take care of them during their service.  Belva found it could take her all day to buy the simplest foods at the marketplace, or when the family had to fill out government paperwork, responses were very slow in coming.

 

Vern was called as a pastor and church-planter, but his working environment changed drastically when the Ghanaian government passed the Aliens Compliance Act in 1968, ordering all “foreigners” (not Europeans or whites; mostly Africans from other nations who had settled in Ghana) to leave the country.  Because most of the congregation of St. John’s was Nigerian, all had to leave, and the work of the missionaries essentially started over at zero.  However, in the face of this sad circumstance, Vern and the other missionaries worked to continue church-planting and to build their congregations back up with Ghanaian members.  By the time he left Takoradi, two new churches had been planted.  Moreover, Isaac Omaano-Gyampadu, the man who had initially served as Vern’s interpreter, ended up attending seminary, becoming ordained, and taking over the work when Vern left!  Omaano-Gyampadu later would work in Chicago starting congregations among African immigrants to the U.S.

 

Amid the political and spiritual turmoil of the times, the one thing that truly allowed missions in Ghana to grow and flourish was the faith and efforts of lay leaders.  With only a few missionaries, indigenous leaders were badly needed.  At first, any leaders had to be laypeople, and the missionaries relied heavily on the ministry of elders within congregations.  Rev. Paul K. Fynn was the first ordained Ghanaian pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (ELCG), but his training was outside of Ghana: he began at the Lutheran Seminary at Obot Idem, Nigeria but because of the Biafran Conflict, after vicarage in Kumasi, Ghana, he completed his final year at a Lutheran seminary at Arusha, Tanzania.  Rev. Fynn has also served as the first and still-current president of the ELCG.  In order to begin training indigenous leaders for the church, Vern was instrumental in beginning training programs and requesting that congregations designate leaders who could be trained as pastors.  In 1975, when the Schindlers were transferred to Accra, part of Vern’s call was the training of pastors for the ELCG.  Some of the Protestant missions in Ghana sought to join into a united church, but this never materialized.   The Lutheran mission had chosen not to unite with others, but the mission did make use of Trinity College, the Protestant seminary near the University of Ghana, for training its pastors.  In order to preserve the Scriptural and confessional teachings of the Lutheran church, however, Vern’s assignment was to train the candidates for ordination in Lutheran worship and church government, Lutheran confessions, and so forth.  One advantage to using Trinity College to train pastors was that at a time when most congregations could not support a full-time pastor, the training at Trinity was considered sufficient by the government to teach religion at the high school level, a job pastors could use to support themselves.  Nevertheless, the issue of where and how to train pastors for the ELCG was not fully resolved until the Lutheran seminary was built.

 

Meanwhile, self-training was also a method by which leaders could be raised up from the indigenous church.  Particularly in the north of the country, Rev. Walter DeMoss did weekly Bible studies and sermon workshops with church leaders who could then lead congregations in remote areas.  Besides providing competent leaders for the congregations, this labor also led to leaders who were later trained and ordained as deacons and pastors.

 

The Schindlers have one son, Jonathan, who was born in Ghana.  Because the Schindlers served in urban areas, he was able to attend international or American schools while in Ghana.  Besides taking care of their son and maintaining their family home (a particularly impressive feat, given the amount of time it could take to purchase the most basic items!), Belva assisted Vern in his ministry.  One means of evangelism used by the missionaries was the staging of Bible stories on street corners using puppets.  Belva acquired the puppets and made them look like the Biblical characters; trained those who would participate in the dramas; and undertook other tasks to assist with the church’s ministry, such as dyeing Easter eggs for Vern to use in a children’s sermon on Easter Sunday.  This task highlights one of the distinctive characteristics of the Lutheran church in Ghana: its Spirit-led ministry with children and young adults.  Sunday schools were important in all congregations, and parishes from the U.S. were able to send pictures and materials to assist in teaching – since the official language of Ghana is English, the schoolchildren could understand enough English to use storybooks and pictures from the U.S.  Another distinction between the ELCG and some other Ghanaian churches was that the ELCG was inter-tribal; it was not associated only with one tribe in one area but brought worshippers of different tribes together in the name of Christ.

 

Retiring from missionary service in 1979, the Schindlers returned to the Unites States, where Vern served as a parish pastor in South Dakota as well as president of the South Dakota district for eight years; he is currently senior pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls.  Belva is commissioned as a teacher with the South Dakota district, instructing first-graders at Zion Lutheran School in Rapid City, SD for nine years and working as a preschool teacher for ten years in Sioux Falls.  She served as co-chair of the 1989 South Dakota district convention in Rapid City, and she organized a new preschool at Risen Savior Lutheran Church in Tea, SD in 2004.  She remains active in service with LWML as well as with a Christian children’s television program broadcast from South Dakota by the Good Samaritan Society all over the U.S.  The Schindlers have spoken to various groups about their mission work and presented for a children’s summer camp, and they include a mission component each year in their church’s Vacation Bible School.

 

Nota Bene

Vern was responsible for compiling and translating the Lutheran hymnal in the Fanti language.  He chose service materials and selected hymns from the 1941 hymnal and translated them for use with the Fanti-speaking people.

 

Vern served as Recording Secretary for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana from 1968-1970, and as Treasurer from 1976-1978.

 

Vern received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Concordia University of Wisconsin, Mequon, in May 2005.

 

Vern was a presenter at the LWMC national convention in Charlotte, NC in 1997; he served as proclaimer at the 2007 national convention in Sioux Falls, SD.

 

The Schindlers were named Missionary Veteran honorees by LCMS in 2007.

 

Phase 2 Information

Biggest missiological issue faced?

One of the very first issue faced was the struggle of Ghana itself post-independence.  Missionary work can be difficult and unpredictable when political conditions are uncertain. The Lutheran missionaries found that in Ghana, some of the older people wished for the days of British rule, but many younger folks were excited about independence.  The Aliens Compliance Act in 1968 caused many Lutheran churches in Ghana really to lose the backbone of their congregations, and the work had to be almost completely re-started because of the political situation.  However, the Schindlers note that even under the sad circumstance of losing their Nigerian members, the Lord turned this evil into good by allowing the missionaries to rebuild an indigenous Ghanaian church.

 

At the time the Schindlers were in Ghana, the LCMS was undergoing controversies that would eventually lead up to Seminex, including the walk-out of some missionary personnel.  The missionaries in Ghana tried not to involve lay leadership in the country in the political ramifications of the split.  However, it turned out that it might have been better to consult more openly with leaders in the Ghanaian church about the problems facing the American church, because Rev. William Reinking, area secretary for Africa at the time, ended up walking out of the LCMS, which disrupted the church in Ghana.  Ghanaian leaders should perhaps have been better prepared for such a circumstance.

 

In a country where bribery and corruption are endemic, simply trying to live can take up a lot of time, as noted above.

 

Most significant contribution during missionary service?

Contributions the Schindlers were blessed to make during their time in Ghana included the training of leaders for the church.  Vern was one of the missionaries who really focused on indigenous leadership training and making sure that the ELCG was training its own pastors.

 

The Schindlers’ evangelistic work helped spread the Gospel in Takoradi and elsewhere in Ghana.

 

They organized the first youth group in the ELCG, an idea that quickly spread and became a blessing for the church in Ghana.

 

Connection to today’s mission?

The ELCG is a partner church of LCMS, and the Schindlers themselves have maintained continuous contact with leaders in the church in Ghana.  In 2008, the South Dakota district raised almost $75,000 for the seminary in Ghana.

 

Vern has returned to Ghana, going back in 1991 to conduct a seminar for church leaders all over Ghana and in 2001 to lead a missionary retreat.  Belva organized a Vacation Bible School for missionary children in Ghana in 2001.

 

Based on his missionary experience, Vern has served with Lutheran Bible Translators for nine years and is now serving another three-year term.  He also remains involved with the African Immigrant Lutheran Mission Society International, which plants churches among African immigrants in the U.S.

 

Lessons Learned

• It was important that the missionaries live and identify with the people to whom they ministered, including learning well the language and culture.  The attempts to follow local customs often provided a good opening: for instance, when a Lutheran missionary would go to the chief of a village to ask if they could start work there, they would bring the customary small gift and would also take off their shoes as a sign of respect.  One chief was surprised and pleased when Vern took off his shoes, because normally white people didn’t do this.  It was a way of showing respect, but it also earned the missionaries greater respect among the Ghanaian people.
• Missionaries must involve laypeople and empower them to serve and be trained as leaders.  In Africa, the church grows because of the witness of laypeople who speak to families and people in their villages.
• It quickly became clear that it was important to listen to the Ghanaian and African people and understand what their dreams were, rather than imposing ideas or practices.

 

Best Practices

• At the time the Schindlers were in Ghana, the bonds between missionary families were very close.  Families needed and relied on each other.  The Schindlers’ son Jonathan has ties to other missionary families that are as strong as those to his relatives in his family of origin.  This close cooperation meant that even when the missionaries did not agree on something, they could still approach their discussion of it as brothers and sisters in Christ.
• The missionaries in Ghana were very intentional about training strong indigenous leadership in this postcolonial church.  Although there were struggles, by God’s grace the transition to a strong national church was made fairly well in Ghana.  In particular, involvement of lay people from the very beginning led to good training, a deacon’s program and the instruction of clergy at the seminary level.
• One of the strengths of Lutheran church is that it is Biblical and confessional.  This was communicated to those who were evangelized by the Lutheran missionaries, and it continues to drive and focus the ELCG today.
• A best practice for missionaries is to encourage local Christians to be indigenous in their worship and practices.  Those who are evangelized are not required to borrow all the cultural trappings of the United States.  The ELCG is definitely a Ghanaian church!

 

Phase 3 Information

 

Inspiration for entering foreign missions?

Vern knew from early on that he wanted to be a pastor.  At about the age of ten, he met a missionary from Africa, and from that time on he decided he wanted to be a missionary and go to Africa.  When he began his ministry training, the thought was still in his mind, but he put it aside for a time while he focused on his studies.  The church where he served his vicarage year had a secretary, Bonnie, whose mother was the personal secretary for Dr. Maier, secretary of the Board for Mission Services.  Bonnie and her husband were asked to go to Nigeria as lay missionaries, and at their send-off by the congregation, Vern happened to say that he’d always wanted to be a missionary. Bonnie’s mother mentioned this to Dr. Maier, and he brought it up to the leaders at the seminary.  Meanwhile, it so happened that Vern and Belva met during his vicarage because she was teaching first grade in the same city.  Belva had already been approached the year before about being a teacher in Jos, Nigeria, and she had expressed some interest but stated she didn’t want to go alone.  So when Vern asked her, once they had begun dating, if she might be willing to go overseas, she agreed.  They became engaged during Vern’s last year of seminary and were asked to discuss with their families their interest in mission work and go through the tests required.  On call night, Vern received his call to Ghana to work as an evangelistic missionary!

 

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