Lambotte, Jules (1921-2002)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2002 Aug 19 p. 11

Birth date: 1921

text of obituary:

Belgian evangelist, church planter and publisher dies

FLAVION, Belgium — Belgian evangelist Jules Lambotte Jr., 81, a Mennonite church planter and publisher, died April 26 at his home.

Lambotte, while directing a center for youth evangelism, was ordained in 1953 by Mennonite Board of Missions missionary David A. Shank.

His evangelistic work included the planting of the Mennonite-affiliated Evangelical church of East Brussels in a part of the Belgian capital where no Protestant ministry had ever been established, as well as outreach in other parts of the country.

In the mid-1950s, the Congo Inland Mission invited Lambotte and his wife, Madeleine, as Belgian Mennonites, to visit the Mennonite churches in what was then the Belgian Congo. There Lambotte developed a vision for publishing Christian literature for newly literate populations.

In 1963, back in Belgium, the Lambottes established the Evangelical Center of Flavion, where they managed a retreat center and a camping facility for young people.

They also developed Lighthouse Publications, a bookstore and publishing enterprise. During this time, Lambotte also helped plant a Mennonite congregation in Givet, France.

Lambotte also was involved in the publication of The Evangelical Messenger, begun while he was an evangelist for the national Protestant synod in Belgium.

A respected teacher of Protestant religion in the Belgian public schools, Lambotte was active in the Belgian Society for the History of Protestantism.

The Lambottes were highly conscious of being the first Mennonites of the 20th century in an area where Mennonites had been martyred for their faith during the Reformation. He sought to restore the memory of the Belgian Mennonite story in a nation where less than 1 percent of the population is Protestant.

Lambotte is survived by his wife.