Otto Keppke

Photo courtesy of Brazilian White Center - UNASP. 

Keppke, Otto (1898–1970)

By The Brazilian White Center – UNASP

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The Brazilian White Center – UNASP is a team of teachers and students at the Brazilian Ellen G. White Research Center – UNASP at the Brazilian Adventist University, Campus Engenheiro, Coelho, SP. The team was supervised by Drs. Adolfo Semo Suárez, Renato Stencel, and Carlos Flávio Teixeira. Bruno Sales Gomes Ferreira provided technical support. The following names are of team members: Adriane Ferrari Silva, Álan Gracioto Alexandre, Allen Jair Urcia Santa Cruz, Camila Chede Amaral Lucena, Camilla Rodrigues Seixas, Daniel Fernandes Teodoro, Danillo Alfredo Rios Junior, Danilo Fauster de Souza, Débora Arana Mayer, Elvis Eli Martins Filho, Felipe Cardoso do Nascimento, Fernanda Nascimento Oliveira, Gabriel Pilon Galvani, Giovana de Castro Vaz, Guilherme Cardoso Ricardo Martins, Gustavo Costa Vieira Novaes, Ingrid Sthéfane Santos Andrade, Isabela Pimenta Gravina, Ivo Ribeiro de Carvalho, Jhoseyr Davison Voos dos Santos, João Lucas Moraes Pereira, Kalline Meira Rocha Santos, Larissa Menegazzo Nunes, Letícia Miola Figueiredo, Luan Alves Cota Mól, Lucas Almeida dos Santos, Lucas Arteaga Aquino, Lucas Dias de Melo, Matheus Brabo Peres, Mayla Magaieski Graepp, Milena Guimarães Silva, Natália Padilha Corrêa, Rafaela Lima Gouvêa, Rogel Maio Nogueira Tavares Filho, Ryan Matheus do Ouro Medeiros, Samara Souza Santos, Sergio Henrique Micael Santos, Suelen Alves de Almeida, Talita Paim Veloso de Castro, Thais Cristina Benedetti, Thaís Caroline de Almeida Lima, Vanessa Stehling Belgd, Victor Alves Pereira, Vinicios Fernandes Alencar, Vinícius Pereira Nascimento, Vitória Regina Boita da Silva, William Edward Timm, Julio Cesar Ribeiro, Ellen Deó Bortolotte, Maria Júlia dos Santos Galvani, Giovana Souto Pereira, Victor Hugo Vaz Storch, and Dinely Luana Pereira.

 

 

First Published: June 23, 2021

Otto Keppke, canvasser, treasurer, editor, and translator, was born in Germany on April 6, 1898.1 The son of Julio (1860-1921) and Maria Keppke (1865-1927), he emigrated to Brazil in 19132 along with his siblings Germano, Emílio, and Joanna Keppke.3 In Brazil, he married Mercedes Hartz, with whom he had a daughter.4

In 1920, Keppke enrolled in the Theology program at Brazil College (today UNASP-SP) in order to serve God as a pastor. Soon, he joined student canvassing with the aim of raising funds to pay for his studies. In 1921, he canvassed in Cantagalo in the state of Rio de Janeiro, then, in 1922 in São João Nepomuceno in the state of Minas Gerais. The results he achieved as a canvasser revealed the commitment he had while working towards his goals.5

He graduated from Theology in 1925 together with Jerônimo Granero Garcia and Siegfried Hoffmann, who also made relevant contributions to the Adventist Church.6 In 1927, Keppke was appointed as secretary and treasurer of the Rio Grande do Sul Tract Society.7 The following year, he served as a licensed missionary in the same field, holding evangelistic efforts in the city of Erechim.8 Afterwards, he was appointed secretary and treasurer of the Bahia Mission, where he served during 1929.9 In 1931, Keppke was invited to assist Neilsen and Bauer as a translator in the South American Division office based in Argentina. Accepting the call, he served in this position for 10 years, until 1941.10

Between 1947 and 1948, Keppke was a credentialed missionary at the South Brazil Union Conference.11 In 1949, he accepted the mission to again serve at the South American Division office where he was an associate editor of the magazine O Pregador Adventista (The Adventist Preacher) from 1949 to 1952.12 This publication was created to instruct church workers on topics in evangelism, theology, and pastoral work as well as providing illustrations, Bible studies, and sermon outlines.13 This publication was later replaced by O Ministério Adventista [The Adventist Ministry].14

Keppke served in the publishing and translation areas of South American Division15 until his retirement in 1958, which happened due to an illness.16 He passed away on April 6, 1970,17 and he is remembered for diligently serving the Seventh-day Adventist Church for 24 years, 21 of which were dedicated to the South American Division publishing area.

Sources

Boehm, J. “Minha Primeira Viagem ao Rio Grande do Sul.” Revista Adventista 27, no. 1 (January 1932).

Cunha, E. D. “Relatório de Colportagem Rio e Distr. Feder. – February 1921.” Revista Adventista 16, no. 4 (April 1921).

“Do Collegio Adventista.” Revista Adventista 20, no. 12 (December 1925).

Harder, A.C. “Keppke.” Revista Adventista 22, no. 10 (October 1927).

Leite, C. “Minas Gerais – Janeiro de 1922.” Revista Adventista 17, no. 3 (March 1922).

Lima, Valquírio S. “Oto Keppke.” Revista Adventista 65, no. 7 (July 1970).

Livro de Registros dos empregados. InCollection of the National Center of Adventist History/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho. Rack: 02. Shelf: 13. Folder: “Keppke, Otto.” Accessed December 2, 2018.

Neilsen, N. “Algumas mudanças em nosso campo.” Revista Adventista 21, no. 12 (December 1926).

Neilsen, N. “Notas da União Sul-Brasileira.” Revista Mensal 24, no. 2 (February 1929).

Schulbert, Walter. “Ao Serviço de um Melhor Ministério.” O Ministério Adventista 1, no. 1 (January-February 1954).

Schulbert, Walter. “Boa Notícia.” O Pregador Adventista 19, no. 5-6 (May-June 1953).

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association. Various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/. 

Stencel, Renato and Alberto Timm. “Histórico da Faculdade Adventista de Teologia no Brasil.” Artigo, Instituto Adventista de Ensino, 2014.

Stoehr, H. G. “Julio Keppke.” Revista Adventista 16, no. 7 (July 1921).

Notes

  1. Valquírio S. Lima, “Oto Keppke,” Revista Adventista 65, no. 7 (July 1970): 34.

  2. Livro de registros dos empregados (Collection of the National Center of Adventist History/Ellen G. White Research Center, UNASP-EC); Lima, “Oto Keppke,” 34; H. G. Stoehr, “Julio Keppke,” Revista Adventista 16, no. 7 (July 1921): 15.

  3. A. C. Harder, “Keppke,” Revista Adventista 22, no. 10 (October 1927): 16.

  4. Lima, “Oto Keppke,” Revista Adventista , 34.

  5. E. Cunha, “Relatório de Colportagem Rio e Distr. Feder. — Fevereiro de 1921,” Revista Adventista 16, no. 4 (April 1921): 15 and 16; C. Leite, “Minas Geraes — Janeiro de 1922,” Revista Adventista 17, no. 3 (March 1922): 15.

  6. “Do Collegio Adventista,” Revista Adventista 20, no. 12 (December 1925): 11; Renato Stencel and Alberto Timm, “Histórico da Faculdade Adventista de Teologia no Brasil” (Artigo, Instituto Adventista de Ensino, 2014), 36.

  7. The Brazil Publishing House was formerly called “Sociedade de Tratados Internacionais” [Society of International Treaties]. However, when the Revista Adventista mentions only “Tract Society”, it generally refers to small publishers that distributed literature regionally, as is the case of the Tract Societies in Rio Grande do Sul and the Tract Societies in Itararé. “Itararé, São Paulo,” Revista Adventista 1, no. 3 (July 1906): 4-5.

  8. N. Neilsen, “Algumas Mudanças em Nosso Campo,” Revista Adventista 21, no. 12 (December 1926): 12 and 13; “Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1928), 201; “Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1929), 210; N. Neilsen, “Notas da União Sul-Brasileira,” Revista Mensal 24, no. 2 (February 1929): 14.

  9. “Bahia Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1930), 231.

  10. “South American Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1932), 233; “South American Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1942), 134; J. Boehm, “Minha Primeira Viagem ao Rio Grande do Sul,” Revista Adventista 27, no. 1 (January 1932): 15; Lima, “Oto Keppke,” 34.

  11. “South American Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1948), 153; “South American Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1949), 166.

  12. “O Pregador Adventista,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1950), 344; “O Pregador Adventista,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1953), 324; Lima, “Oto Keppke,” 34.

  13. Walter Schulbert, “Boa Notícia,” O Pregador Adventista 19, no. 5-6 (May-June 1953): 32.

  14. Walter Schulbert, “Ao Serviço de um Melhor Ministério,” O Ministério Adventista 1, no. 1 (January-February 1954): 4.

  15. “South American Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1954), 163; “South American Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1958), 145; Lima, “Oto Keppke,” Revista Adventista , 34.

  16. “South American Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1959), 161.

  17. Lima, “Oto Keppke,” 34.

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UNASP, The Brazilian White Center –. "Keppke, Otto (1898–1970)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. June 23, 2021. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=7GJX.

UNASP, The Brazilian White Center –. "Keppke, Otto (1898–1970)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. June 23, 2021. Date of access February 13, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=7GJX.

UNASP, The Brazilian White Center – (2021, June 23). Keppke, Otto (1898–1970). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved February 13, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=7GJX.