Streithorst, Germano Paulo (1889–1979)

Germano Paulo Streithorst,¹ pastor, teacher, and administrator, was born June 6, 1889, in Prussia, currently part of Germany. Son of Herman and Marien Streithorst, he was the brother of Edwig, Marta, Ema, Walter and Hans.² Germano spent his childhood in the city of Aschersleben in the province of Saxonia. The Adventist message reached the family through a series of evangelistic meetings, after which his parents and two older sisters were baptized. When he was 12 years old, he moved with his family to the Netherlands, where he worked in a shipyard as a blacksmith, mechanic, and construction assistant. Two years later, he went back with the family to Dusseldorf in Germany, where he labored as a bricklayer.³

One day at work, an accident caused him to be hospitalized. During a visit, his brother-in-law Ernesto, a young Adventist pastor, presented him with the book Steps to Christ. At first, he hesitated to read it, but in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit, he read and reread it. Before leaving the hospital, he went through The Great Controversy, Patriarchs and Prophets, The Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, and dozens more religious books.⁴ He was baptized on December 21, 1907. Soon afterward, he made the decision to serve God as a pastor and entered the theology course at Friedensau Adventist University, graduating in December 1910.⁵

His career of service in the Seventh-day Adventist Church began in 1911. He worked as a Bible instructor in various locations in Germany for three years, the last in the city of Dortmund. On October 28, 1913, he married Apolonia Röttgen Klein (1893-1979), whom he had met in Friendsau. Born in Roblentz, Germany, she converted to Adventism at a young age through a series of meetings. Shortly thereafter, she enrolled at the Friedensau school of nursing, graduating at the age of 18. Along with her husband, she served as a biblical instructor, nurse, social worker, child evangelist, and later as a nutritionist at the Silvestre Adventist Hospital in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.⁶ The couple had six children: Jacob Germano Filho (1914-1994),⁷ Walter Jonathan Streithorst (1918-2007),⁸ Harry Josua Streithorst, Helga Esther Streithorst (Liedke) (1922-2009), Helen Ruth Streithorst (Raffo) (1924-2019), and Emanoel Paulo Streithorst. All of them contributed to different areas of Adventist work in Brazil.⁹

In 1913, Germano accepted a call to work as a Bible instructor in Belgium. A few days after the wedding, the couple went to the city of Wilfoorden, where in 1914 they organized a series of evangelistic tent meetings.¹⁰ That same year World War I began, and Germany declared war on Belgium. The Belgians considered Germans as enemies, and it became dangerous to remain in the city. Germano and Apolônia fled to the house of some Dutch friends near Brussels, where they would not attract suspicion, since Germano spoke Dutch fluently. However, the Belgian government summoned all Germans residing in the country to present their documents to the authorities, otherwise they would be killed. But even without money and a passport, the couple managed to board a Dutch ship in Amsterdam heading to Brazil, where Apolonia's parents had emigrated.¹¹

Germano’s original family name was Herman Paul Streithorst, but when he landed in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian Immigration Department modified it to Germano Paulo Streithorst. Although he later corrected his documents with the German name, he adopted the name Germano, as he became known in Brazil. Two days later, they left for the city of Porto Alegre in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. They stayed for a day at the home of Leopoldo Preuss and then went to Passo Fundo, where they reunited with the Apolônia family.¹²

After contacting the Rio Grande do Sul Conference, in 1915 he accepted the invitation to assist its president Henrique Meyer in a series of evangelistic meetings in the city of Taquara lasting from February 7 to April 14.¹³ After finishing them, he accepted a call to be a teacher in a training program for denominational employees in Candelária, where he worked for three months.¹⁴ Then Germano served as a Bible instructor in the state of Rio Grande do Sul from 1916 to 1919¹⁵ where he worked in the cities of Quevedos (1916-1917),¹⁶ Cachoeira (1917)¹⁷ and Pelotas (1917-1919).¹⁸

At the end of 1919, Germano accepted an invitation to be president of the Paraná Mission. That same year leadership ordained him to the ministry. Throughout his career, one of the marks of his work was to conduct spiritual retreats in the fields where he served. While in Paraná, he directed a large campaign at Curitiba's SDA church that sold magazines to support the recently established Brazil College (now UNASP-SP).¹⁹

In 1924, he accepted an offer to be director of the Santa Catarina Mission.²⁰ In 1927, the church again united the states of Santa Catarina and Paraná in a single administrative organization and chose Germano to preside over the combined Paraná-Santa Catarina Mission,²¹ where he remained until 1931.²² During this period, he frequently visited the churches in the countryside, in which he preached and conducted baptisms, communions, and other meetings.²³

Then, he served as director of the Rio-Espírito Santo Mission from 1932 to 1936, as well as directing its departments of personal ministries, education, and youth.²⁴ In addition, he participated in the construction of new Adventist schools. By May 1932 eight schools were in operation, an increase of 50 percent over the previous year.²⁵

After that, he was director of the Bahia Mission from 1937 to 1939, where he also was responsible for the personal ministries department.²⁶ From 1940 to 1944 he was president of Sul Rio-Grandense Conference.²⁷ Often he visited the families of church members and encouraged them in their faith. He taught them how to practice the Christian lifestyle and urged young people to study at the Adventist college in Taquara, Rio Grande do Sul, and at Brazil College in São Paulo.²⁸

At the end of 1944, he accepted a call to shepherd the church of Moema in São Paulo, where he served in 1945.²⁹ Between late 1945 and early 1946, he taught Bible at Brazil College. In order to become more qualified, in 1946 he went to the Adventist seminary in Washington, D.C., United States, where for two years he specialized in theology. In 1948, he returned to Brazil College, where he taught courses in Bible, archeology and non-Christian religions.³⁰

Later that same year, he accepted the invitation to serve the Sul Rio-Grandense Conference, where he led the personal ministries and Sabbath School departments until 1950. There he dedicated himself to Harvest Ingathering, one of his favorite missionary activities. He said that "the greatest value is in showing the people the social work of the Adventist Church to make it known and they will have a good concept of it, which generates earning souls for the truth".³¹

Next, he worked at the Paraná-Santa Catarina Conference as head of the personal ministries and Sabbath School departments from 1951 to 1955, the temperance department from 1951 to 1953, and the radio department from 1954 to 1955. During this period, he represented the departments in the various churches.³²

In 1955, at the age of 65, he asked the conference to transfer him to Blumenau, state of Santa Catarina, to pastor the district church and help in its construction. There he could do what he liked the most--visiting and encouraging members to participate in Harvest Ingathering. After the conference's approval, he conducted a fundraising program among the region's business and industrial communities, which significantly contributed to the opening of the Blumenau church in 1957. Until his retirement in 1963 he pastored the church in Joinville.³³ Even then he continued to conduct weeks of prayer.³⁴

Germano Paulo Streithorst served the Seventh-day Adventist Church for 53 years. During his ministerial career, he personally baptized about 3,600 people. He passed on a legacy of church service to his children and grandchildren, several of whom worked in Adventist institutions. He passed away on January 26, 1979, and was buried in the city of Sumaré, state of São Paulo.³⁵ His wife, Apolônia Klein Streithorst, died two days later.³⁶

Sources

“Apolônia Klein Streithorst.” Revista Adventista, January 1979. Accessed November 2018, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

Azevedo, Osvaldo R. “Décima Nona Assembleia Bienal da Associação Sul-Riograndense.” Revista Adventista, April 1948. Accessed December 2019, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

“Germano Streithorst.” Revista Adventista, January 1979. Accessed November 28, 2018, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

Hardt, J. D. “A Obra Educacional na Missão-Espírito Santo.” Revista Adventista, May, 1922.

Lotz, Luiz. “Assembleia Geral dos Adventistas do Sétimo Dia do Rio Grande do Sul.” Revista Adventista, June 1919. Accessed December 18, 2019, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

Meyer, H.. “O Curso de obreiros de Candelária.” Revista Adventista, October 1913. Accessed December 18, 2019, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

Meyer, H. “Rio Grande do Sul.” Revista Adventista, November 1915. Accessed December 18, 2019, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

Meyer, H. “Rio Grande do Sul.” Revista Adventista, November 1916. Accessed December 18, 2019, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

Nielsen, N. P. “O Trabalho Prgride.” Revista Adventista, May 1941. Accessed December 18, 2019, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

“Quadragésima-Quinta Assembleia Geral,” Revista Adventista, July 1946. Accessed December 18, 2019, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

Rohde, Max. “Experiências de Viagem.” Revista Adventista, May 1919. Accessed December 18, 2019, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

Rohde, Max. “Notas de Viagem.” Revista Adventista, May 1917. Accessed December 18, 2019, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

“Rio Grande do Sul.” Revista Adventista, February 1918. Accessed December 18, 2019, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

“Rio Grande do Sul.” Revista Adventista, June 1918. Accessed December 18, 2019, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.

Streithorst, Ruth. Pelos caminhos e valados: A história de Germano Streithorst e outros pioneiros. Tatuí, SP: Brazil Publishing House, 1997.

Streithorst, Walter. "Breve Relato de Minha Vida." In Minha vida de pastor: cinquenta e três pastores jubilados falam de sua vida e de seu ministério, ed. Tercio Sarli. Campinas, SP: Certeza Editorial, 2009.

Streithorst, Walter. Minha Vida na Amazônia. Tatuí, SP: Brazilian Publishing House, 1993.

“Varias Noticias.” Revista Adventista, December 1919. Accessed December 2019, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

Wissner, U.. “Mudanças na União Este-Brasileira.” Revista Adventista, March 1931. Accessed December of 2019, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

Notes

1. Ruth Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados: A história de Germano Streithorst e outros pioneiros (Tatuí, SP: Brazilian Publishing House, 1997), 20, 111.↩

2. Ibid., 11; “Germano Streithorst,” Revista Adventista, April 1979, 23.↩

3. Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados,12, 13.↩

4. Ibid., 15-18.↩

5. Ibid., 19, 21.↩

6. Ibid., 19-21; “Descansa o Casal de Pioneiros,” Revista Adventista, Apri, 1979, 23.↩

7. “Pastor Jacob Germano Streithorst,” Revista Adventista, June 1994, 30.↩

8. Walter Streithorst Filho, interview by Samara Souza, Engenheiro, Coelho, Sao Paulo, May 12, 2019; Rubens Lessa, “Lições de vida,” Revista Adventista, July 2007, 2.↩

9. Walter Streithorst, Minha Vida na Amazônia (Tatuí, SP: Brazilian Publishing House, 1993), 11; Walter Streithorst, "Breve Relato de Minha Vida," in Minha vida de pastor: cinquenta e três pastores jubilados falam de sua vida e de seu ministério, ed. Tercio Sarli (Campinas, SP: Certeza Editorial, 2009), 491; “Descansa o Casal de Pioneiros,” Revista Adventista, April 1979, 23; Ruth Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados: A história de Germano Streithorst e outros pioneiros (Tatuí, SP: Brazilian Publishing House, 1997), 19, 112, 114, 117, 185.

10. Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 21.

11. Ibid., 22-24.

12. Ibid., 29, 111.

13. Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 113; H. Meyer, “Rio Grande do Sul,” Revista Adventista, November 1915, 7.

14. Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 113; Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, “Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” accessed November 28, 2018; H. Meyer, “O Curso de obreiros de Candelária,” Revista Adventista, October 1915, 1.

15. Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 113; “Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” accessed November 28, 2018; Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, “Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” accessed November 28, 2028.

16. H. Meyer, “Rio Grande do Sul,” Revista Adventista, November 1916, 10.

17. Max Rohde, “Notas de Viagem,” Revista Adventista, May 1917, 7.

18. “Rio Grande do Sul,” Revista Adventista, February 1918, 13; “Rio Grande do Sul,” Revista Adventista, June 1918, 9; Max Rohde, “Experiências de Viagem,” Revista Adventista, May 1919, 3.

19. Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 115; Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, “Paraná Mission,” accessed November 28, 2018; Luiz Lotz, “Assembleia Geral dos Adventistas do Sétimo Dia do Rio Grande do Sul,” Revista Adventista, June 1919, 3; “Varias Noticias,” Revista Adventista, December 1919, 24.

20. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, “Santa Catharina Conference,” accessed November 28, 2018.

21. Ruth Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados: A história de Germano Streithorst e outros pioneiros (Tatuí, SP: Brazilian Publishing House 1997), 129; “Santa Catharina-Paraná Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1928), 201.

22. “Santa Catharina-Parana Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1931), 244; Ruth Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados: A história de Germano Streithorst e outros pioneiros (Tatuí, SP: Brazilian Publishing House, 1997), 129; U. Wissner, “Mudanças na União Este-Brasileira,” Revista Adventista, March 1931, 10.

23. Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 118.

24. ^“Rio-Espirito Santo Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1932), 239; ^“Rio-Espirito Santo Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1937), 177; Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 143; U. Wissner, “Mudanças na União Este-Brasileira,” Revista Adventista, March 1931, 10.

25. J. D. Hardt, “A Obra Educacional na Missão-Espírito Santo,” Revista Adventista, May 1922, 14.

26. ^“Bahia Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1938), 168; ^“Bahia Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1940), 184.

27. ^“Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1941), 192; ^“Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1944), 151; N. P. Nielsen, “O Trabalho Prgride,” Revista Adventista, May 1941, 11.

28. Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 160.

29. ^“Workers Directory,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1945), 393; Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 165.

30. Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 165; ^“Brazil College,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1946), 229; ^“Brazil College,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1948), 229; “Quadragésima-Quinta Assembleia Geral,” Revista Adventista, July 1946, 2.; Osvaldo R. Azevedo, “Décima Nona Assembleia Bienal da Associação Sul-Riograndense,” Revista Adventista, April 1948, 12.

31. ^“Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1949), 167; ^“Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1951), 179; Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 118, 165.

32. ^“Parana-Santa Catarina Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1952), 169; ^“Parana-Santa Catarina Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1956), 150; Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 168.

33. Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 168-170.

34. Ibid.

35. “Germano Streithorst,” Revista Adventista, January 1979, 23.

36. “Apolônia Klein Streithorst,” Revista Adventista, January 1979, 23; Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 187; Streithorst, Pelos caminhos e valados, 170.