DR. JOHN EDMUND
HAGGAI: TENACITY!
“If God uses someone,” World Vision Founder, Bob
Pierce, used to say, “it’s not because they have a
high IQ or great skill or charm: it’s because they’re
tenacious.”
John and Ines Bolten are tenacious in their service
of the Gospel. Over decades, their impact on
world evangelism has far exceeded their impact in
business – and in business, few have equaled them.
So what a pleasure to meet with these longstanding
friends – still there, still full of the faith, and still
ready for the next challenge thrown at them.
Talk about influence!
IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT
ABOUT HAGGAI INSTITUTE . . .
I just touched down from a tour of Latin America.
What a joy, and how humbling, to have met so
many stellar leaders trained by Haggai Institute,
from Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Guatemala.
Visiting Chile, though, held special meaning,
because I met with two of Haggai Institute’s most
remarkable international donors.
John Bolten is the son of a German industrialist
who rejected Hitler for his treatment of the Jews.
For years, he was the consummate athlete.
There’s a story that, when skiing, he’d clamp a
hundred dollar bill between his ankles at the top
of the black run. Friends would say, “If you find the
bill halfway down the slope, I’m sure he’ll let you
keep it!”
In those days, as a socialite and businessman, he
only paid lip service to God. As he said later, “No
one looking at my lifestyle could have accused me
of being a Christian.”
It wasn’t until his father fell sick in 1982 that
this urban socialite and his beautiful wife, Ines,
dedicated their lives to Christ. They never
looked back.
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“If you want to find out about Haggai Institute,”
says Sam Naff, “attend an International Training
Session at the Mid-Pacific Center (MPC).”
He and his wife, Sarah, hold cherished memories of
sharing the Lord’s Supper at the MPC with leaders
in training who are from the Developing World.
Says Sarah, “It made me more aware of our unity
in Christ with all believers, regardless of race or
nationality. It challenged my commitment.”