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Siegfried Kümpel

Photo courtesy of Brazilian White Center - UNASP. 

Kümpel, Siegfried (1908–1980)

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 25, 2021

Siegfried Kümpel, pastor, accountant, and graduate-level teacher, was born July 27, 1908, in Bartenstein, Germany.1 His parents, Friedrich Robert Kümpel and Emily Dreyer,2 also had two daughters, Esther Emilie (1906-) and Edna (1912.3 Earlier a Baptist, Friedrich converted to Adventism at the end of the nineteenth century and right afterward began to study theology at the Adventist Seminary in Germany, finishing his course in September 1903. Becoming a Bible instructor, in 1905 he married Emily. Then in 1908 he was ordained to the pastoral ministry in the city of Munich.4 Three years later, he received an unexpected call from the General Conference to work in Brazil. A meeting held at Friedensau announced his appointment as director of the Santa Catarina Mission in the south of Brazil. After considering the call, he accepted it, and that same year left for Brazil with his wife and two children. Siegfried was 3 years old at the time.5

The Kümpel family arrived in Rio de Janeiro on November 8, 1911, and continued on to Santa Catharina, where Friedrich took over the mission’s leadership. During his childhood and youth, Siegfried accompanied his father in his ministry, translating his sermons from German to Portuguese. Later he would follow his father’s steps by also becoming a pastor. In 1912, following the birth of his second sister, his mother contracted an illness known as fetal entiroblastosis that led to her death. Newborn Edna was left mainly to the care of her two brothers, but a week after her mother's death, she also died. Grief-stricken, Friedrich decided to send his two children to study at the Brazil Adventist College (now referred to as UNASP-SP).6

Siegfried and Esther Emilie arrived at Brazil College in 1922 and not long after that they started to develop their talents. Siegfried desired to become a pianist, and while studying accounting, he also took music classes. Although he had a scholarship, he also worked part-time at the high school joinery shop. One day, while working at the electric saw, he accidentally severed two fingers from his left hand. Consequently, the dream of becoming a pianist became more difficult.7 Despite this misfortune, he completed the accounting program and in 1927 started working at the Santa Catarina-Paraná Mission in the city of Curitiba as an assistant accountant.8

In the same city Kümpel met the Gianinis, a musically talented family. With Luis and Silas Gianini, he organized the first male quartet in the Seventh-day Adventist church there. Its pastor invited Kümpel to preach. Although he felt that he had no skill for public speaking, he still accepted.9 From that point on, his participation in church programs grew. In order to improve his biblical knowledge, he went to the Brazil College Seminary and graduated from it in 1929.10 Then he accepted a call to serve at the São Paulo Conference’s office.11

At the end of September 1930 he married Cecilia Gianini, in Curitiba, Paraná state.12 Together they had two children, Sieghardus Frederico Kümpel and Vitor Kümpel.13 In 1933 Siegfried accepted an invitation to work at the Rio Grande do Sul Conference office, where he served until 1935. Then he became an evangelist in that field from 1935 to 1939, when he accepted the invitation to pastor the Central Church of Porto Alegre.14 In 1941 administration ordained him to the pastoral ministry15 and he led the Central Church until 1944. During the period of the Second World War, Kümpel endured intense persecution because of his German origin. Although threatened with imprisonment many times, his respectful social manner allowed him to remain free.16

In 1943 Kümpel received an invitation to hold a Week of Prayer at Brazil College. Besides demonstrating his theological knowledge, he established a good relationship with the students, which consequently prompted the administrative board to hire him as a teacher.17 In May of 1944, he began teaching at the college’s theological seminary as well as Bible classes at the campus high school.18 In 1953, Kümpel earned a graduate theology degree in the United States.19

Beginning in 1956, the seminary had its own head. Kümpel accepted the invitation to be its first director. During his administration, it made several changes to improve its program. The seminary added a number of specializations, increased teachers, and raised the academic requirements.20

He retired in 1968 after 24 years of serving at the seminary.21 However, he continued to serve the church through the Brazilian Adventist Institute of Studies, a branch of the Home Study Institute in Washington D. C., being its leader until 1980. The institute sent its courses by mail in a workbook format to those interested in studying theological topics at home.22 Siegfried died August 11, 1980, at the age of 72, in the city of São Paulo. His funeral took place in the Brazil Adventist College’s hall. About 800 people attended. He was buried in the Campo Grande cemetery, in the district of Santo Amaro.23

Siegfried Kümpel left a legacy as an accountant, pastor, and professor. During more than 50 years of ministry, he served the church in the administrative area at the Paraná-Santa Catarina and São Paulo Conferences, and was pastor in Rio Grande do Sul. As a theology professor at Brazil College, his students would especially remember him for his teaching methods. During class, he would play the role of a Presbyterian, a Jehovah's Witness, or any other religious group. After that, he would call on a student to respond to his arguments by using the Bible. The method prepared students for the pastoral ministry. In this manner, he contributed greatly to the formation of many young missionaries.24

Sources

Beach, W. R. “The city of 113 Churches.” ARH, February 22, 1968.

Carneiro, Paulo Raimundo. “A vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel.” Monograph, Brazil College, 1986.

Custódio, Claúdio Minton. “História da Faculdade Adventista de Teologia.” Monograph, Brazil College, 1986.

General Conference Education Department, Doutrinas Bíblicas. São Paulo, SP: Instituto Adventista de Ensino.

Ione, Oliveira. “Imigrantes e Refugiados para o Brasil após a Segunda Guerra Mundial.” XXVII Simpósio Nacional de História (Online), July 22-26, 2013.

Kumpel, Vitor Frederico. “Rápidos aspectos da vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel.” Monograph, Brazil College, 1989.

Kümpel, F. R. “Conferência de S. Catharina.” Revista Mensal, September and October, 1911.

Macedo, Carlos Pinto and Leonicio Lisboa Silva. “Siegfried Kümpel.” Monograph, Brazil College, 1979.

“Morreu um defensor da verdade–S. Kümpel (1908-1980).” Revista Adventista, September, 1980.

Neilsen, N. P. “Notícias da União Sul-Brasileira.” Revista Mensal, November, 1929.

Pastor Siegfried Kümpel. In: Collection of the National Center of Adventist History / Ellen G. White Research Center: Brazil College, Engenheiro Coelho, SP. Shelf: 02. Bookshelf: 06. File “Kumpel, Siegfried.” Accessed on August 23, 2019.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1928, 1941, 1942, 1945, 1969.

Stencel, Renato. “História da Educação Superior Adventista: Brasil, 1969-1999.” PhD diss., Methodist University of Piracicaba Faculty of Human Sciences Postgraduate Program in Education, 2006.

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

“Uma luz em nossos dias: Siegfried Kümpel.” Monograph, Brazil College, 1987.

Wandel, Lima. “Mestre das Letras.” Revista Adventista, July, 2014.

Notes

  1. “Morre um defensor da verdade–S. Kümpel (1908-1980),” Revista Adventista, September, 1980, 22, 23.

  2. 2 Vitor Frederico Kümpel, “Rápidos aspectos da vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel” (Monograph, Brazil College, 1989), 3.

  3. Ibid., 6, 10.

  4. V. F. Kümpel, “Rápidos aspectos da vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel,” 3, 4; F. R. Kümpel, “Conferência de S. Catharina,” Revista Mensal, September and October, 1911, 10, 11; “Morre um defensor da verdade–S. Kümpel (1908-1980),” 22, 23.

  5. V. F. Kümpel, “Rápidos aspectos da vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel,” 3, 4; F. R. Kümpel, “Conferência de S. Catharina,” 10, 11.

  6. V. F. Kümpel, “Rápidos aspectos da vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel,” 4, 10, 11.

  7. Ibid., 12.

  8. “Santa Catharina-Parana Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1928), 201; V. F. Kümpel, “Rápidos aspectos da vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel,” 13, 14.

  9. V. F. Kümpel, “Rápidos aspectos da vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel,” 14.

  10. Ibid., 15.

  11. N. P. Neilsen, “Notícias da União Sul-Brasileira,” Revista Mensal, November, 1929, 10.

  12. V. F. Kümpel, “Rápidos aspectos da vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel,” 15; “Uma luz em nossos dias: Siegfried Kümpel” (Monograph, Brazil College), 4; Carlos Pinto de Macedo and Leonicio Lisboa da Silva, “Siegfried Kümpel” (Monograph, Brazil College, 1979), 3.

  13. “Morre um defensor da verdade–S. Kümpel (1908-1980),” 23.

  14. V. F. Kümpel, “Rápidos aspectos da vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel,” 17.

  15. “Ministers,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1941), 192; “Ordained Ministers,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1942), 144.

  16. V. F. Kümpel,, “Rápidos aspectos da vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel,” 17.

  17. Ibid., 18, 19; Macedo and Silva, “Siegfried Kümpel,” 6.

  18. “Brazil College,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1945), 218.

  19. Paulo Raimundo Carneiro, “A vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel” (Monograph, Brazil College, 1986), 18.

  20. V. F. Kümpel, “Rápidos aspectos da vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel,” 20; Renato Stencel and William Timm, “Histórico da Faculdade Adventista de Teologia no Brasil” (Artigo: Instituto Adventista de Ensino, 2014), 23; “Morre um defensor da verdade–S. Kümpel (1908-1980),” 23; W. R. Beach, “The city of 113 Churches,” ARH, February 22, 1968, 4, 5.

  21. “South Brazil Union Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1969), 218; V. F. Kümpel, “Rápidos aspectos da vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel,” 13, 14, 26.

  22. Macedo and Silva, , “Siegfried Kümpel” 6, 19; General Conference Education Department, Doutrinas Bíblicas (São Paulo, SP: Instituto Adventista de Ensino), 1.

  23. “Morre um defensor da verdade–S. Kümpel (1908-1980),” 22.

  24. V. F. Kümpel, “Rápidos aspectos da vida e obra do pastor Siegfried Kümpel,” 21, 22.

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UNASP, The Brazilian White Center –. "Kümpel, Siegfried (1908–1980)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. June 25, 2021. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=8GK4.

UNASP, The Brazilian White Center –. "Kümpel, Siegfried (1908–1980)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. June 25, 2021. Date of access February 14, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=8GK4.

UNASP, The Brazilian White Center – (2021, June 25). Kümpel, Siegfried (1908–1980). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved February 14, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=8GK4.