Georg Hagedorn
Education
Ph.D. Theology, Trinity Graduate School of Apologetics
Th.M., Trinity Graduate School of Apologetics
M.A. Biblical Studies, Chafer Theological Seminary
Bachelor of Theology, Bibelseminar Königsfeld
Discipleship/Leadership Program, Fairhaven Bible Chapel, San Leandro, CA
Associates of Biblical Studies, New Tribes Bible Institute, England
Professional Experience
Founder, Christlicher Medien Vertrieb in Düsseldorf, Germany
German Liaison for Ariel Ministries (2003 – current)
German Field Coordinator for Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry (2015 – current)
Involved in planting Independent Bible Church in Düsseldorf, Germany
Pastor and planter of a Plymouth Brethren assembly in Nievenheim
Languages
- German
- English
- Biblical Hebrew
- Biblical Greek
Personal Testimony
I was born on April 22nd, 1969 and was raised in a non-religious home (my parents had left the Lutheran State church in the mid-60s for political reasons). In my youth I was moved by the question of what happens to a person when he/she dies. I looked into different philosophies and theories, but found no satisfactory answer.
In 1985, I began an apprenticeship in electronics and two of my colleagues were Bible-believing Christians. Over a long period of time, we talked about spiritual things. I began to read the Bible myself, starting in Genesis and when I reached the Mosaic Law, I was convicted of my sinfulness and inability to meet God’s standards.
A while later, my colleagues and I had the opportunity to sit down together and study John 3. At that point, I realised that Christ had already paid my personal sin-dept in full and I put my trust in His finished work.
I began to attend a Plymouth Brethren assembly in Duesseldorf, where I was baptised in December 1988 and which became my spiritual home church for almost 20 years. There I participated in different ministries and later was part of the leadership.
After my time at New Tribes Bible Institute, I began to get involved in teaching ministry as well as Christian literature and media translation (dubbing English video documentaries in German). I also was approached frequently and asked to interpret for English-speaking Bible teachers on their tours through Germany. Over the years I had the privilege of serving together with several Bible teaches such as Dr. Randall Price, Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Meno Kalisher, Dave Hunt, and John R. Cross. Some of these men have become close personal friends.
Shortly after I had returned from England, I met my wife, Heidrun, on an outreach program her church and ours were doing together and eventually we got married in September, 1995.
From 1997 to 1998, Heidrun and I participated in a discipleship/leadership Program of Fairhaven Bible Chapel, a Plymouth Brethren assembly in San Leandro, CA. One of the instructors there was William MacDonald, a well-known author in Brethren circles and former director of Emmaus Bible College.
Our original goal for after the training was to move to Russia and be involved with a New Tribes Institute for equipping local missionaries and church leaders. However, my wife was pregnant with our first child and we had to change our plans and return to Germany first. Afterwards, that opportunity of service closed completely, so I began to work full-time again as a service engineer in electronics and mechanics and continued to translate Christian literature and media in my spare time.
When the company I worked for closed, I decided to work as a freelancer in the area of translation & media composition to self-support the ministry I have been involved in. This has continued to this day and has led to our publishing ministry CMV, through which we seek to make good Bible-teaching resources available in German. In spring 2003, Arnold Fruchtenbaum approached me and asked if I would be willing to serve as liaison for Ariel Ministries in Germany as the person who had previously done this was no longer able, due to his age and health problems.
The same year I decided to enroll at Bibelseminar Königsfeld for further theological studies and to learn Biblical Greek & Hebrew. From there I eventually earned a Bachelor of Theology (which over here is an equivalent to 4-years full-time Bible College). I continued my studies via distance learning at the graduate level through Chafer Theological Seminary in Albuquerque, NM and earned a Master of Biblical Studies degree.
After having been involved in a new church plant (Independent Bible Church) here in Duesseldorf, we as a family began to get involved in yet another new church plant in Nievenheim (Plymouth Brethren), a small town between Duesseldorf & Cologne, where I am currently involved in pastoral work and teaching ministry.
In January of 2015, I was commended to full-time ministry with The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry as the first representative for Germany. Since the German FOI team has grown, I’m now functioning as FOI field coordinator for Germany.
I continued my theological studies part-time with Trinity Graduate School of Apologetics beside my ongoing ministry, from where I earned my Master of Theology degree and then Doctor of Theology in 2017.
