Dr. Tom Lancaster has been the missionary pastor of Rhein River Baptist
Church in Mannheim, Germany since 1992. Rhein River Baptist Church is
a church for the U.S. military stationed in Germany, but has an international
congregation. Prior to coming to Germany he pastored in the states for
twenty one years and traveled in evangelism and church planting for three
years.
He also taught at Tri-State Baptist College in Memphis, TN for seven-
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years while pastoring there. He has been greatly used in revival ministry,
having preached hundreds revival meetings and has seen many souls come
to Christ. He has been used to start seven churches in the states and has
assisted in starting four churches near U.S. military in Germany.
There are over twenty men who have surrendered to preach under his ministry who are now in full time Christian service. In recent years God has placed upon Dr. Lancaster and his wife, Dottie, a ministry of helps to missionaries. Their ministry at Mannheim, Germany has become a haven of rest for missionaries all over Europe. Each Christmas they host a Missionary Christmas Retreat which has become the
largest gathering of Independent Baptist missionaries in Europe.
Dr. Lancaster presently serves as the European Military Field Coordinator for Baptist International Missions. He allocates a portion of his time traveling world-wide in mission's conferences, promoting military missions and encouraging missionaries. His wife, Dottie, has been his faithful helpmeet for forty eight years. Their son, Mark, and his family, are also missionaries to the U.S. military in Germany. Their daughter, Dawn, and her family serve the Lord in
Chattanooga, TN. The Lancasters have four grandchildren.
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Tom and Dottie Lancaster
Serving the U.S.Military in Germany since 1992
Prayer Letter / August 2011
Greetings friends and prayer partners,
Recently as I was walking from our church auditorium to the front door I heard four
different languages being spoken along the way. That gives you a little idea of how our church is changing.
We have known for some time that our military base will be closing eventually, and it appears it may be sooner than we expected. The latest word is that the base will be closed by next summer. We have prayed that the Lord would let us leave an
international church when the base does close and we are seeing that prayer answered . We have over a dozen countries represented in our congregation at the present time. Most of these are English speaking but we do offer German translation for those who need it.
Please pray for this time of transition and for Dottie and me as we pray about how we can best serve our military in the future when our base does close.
We have had a busy and fruitful summer. Our June Family Bible School was a real
blessing. Our attendance was down from previous years partly because school was still in session mid-June, but we saw God bless with four precious children and one adult saved.
The week following Bible School we participated in our BIMI Military Field Conference in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Our hearts were encouraged by the reports of God's blessings in our military churches in Europe. Our son, Mark, and I had the privilege of preaching together at the annual Euro-wide Men's Retreat in Baumholder, Germany, July 1-2. What a special blessing to minister to these missionaries and soldiers together with my son.
The week of the fourth of July we took our biennial tour to the beaches of Normandy. About a dozen folks came from the states to join us and it was a moving trip, as always! I wish every American had the opportunity to take this patriotic tour. One of the highlights of the summer was our July Euro-Youth Conference. Over 100 energetic missionary and military teens invaded our church for three inspirational and fun-packed days. Bro. Mark did a fantastic job of organizing and directing the conference. We saw 9 teens saved and 4 young men called into full-time Christian service.
Our fall semester of the Faith Bible Institute has started with a good enrollment and lots of enthusiasm. We are going into our 18th year of ministry at the military confinement center and while the population is down we continue to see fruit.
Along the way God gives us special opportunities in sharing the gospel. This was
the case recently when I was flying to a meeting. The Lord opened up the opportunity to strike up a conversation with the lead flight attendant. After chatting for a few minutes it was obvious that God had prepared her heart for the gospel. I shared the gospel with her and she was sweetly saved. Through tears she shared what had happened with a fellow flight attendant and I was able to lead him to the Lord as well.
Praise the Lord that the gospel is still powerful and still works!! When I got home there was an email from Tina, the lead attendant, thanking me for sharing the gospel with her.
Thank you, dear friends, for your love, prayers and support for us and our ministry
with the United States military.
Please pray for us and please pray for our troops.
Serving with Joy,
Tom and Dottie Lancaster
