06 Jun The Passing of Founder, Dr. Rev. Werner Bürklin
Founder, Dr. Rev. Werner Bürklin, went home to be with his Savior June 6, 2020. We are grateful for how God used him to bring many to Christ and for what a blessing he was to his family and those he ministered to all over the world. The legacy that he started with the beginning of China Partner – to serve the church in China – is continuing today 30+ years later.
Werner was born on November 2, 1930 in Wuhu, Anhui province to Gustav and Lina Bürklin who served as missionaries in China from 1925-50. He moved to Germany after Mao Zetong came to power in 1949 and forced all foreigners to leave China. While studying at a Bible School in Paris, he met and fell in love with his future wife, Inge. They got married in 1957 in Frankfurt, Germany and were happily married for 61 years. He is survived by his four children Erik and wife Tammy, Heiko and wife Kay, Stephan and wife Barbara, and Linda (Pervenecki) and husband David, as well as his 10 grandchildren and their spouses.
Werner’s greatest accomplishments were his faithfulness to and love for his wife and his devotion to loving and mentoring his four children. He had a deep love for Jesus, faithfully declaring HIS Gospel in 128 countries as an evangelist. Thousands came to faith in Jesus through his ministry. In 1969 he moved his family to Kingston, Jamaica and in 1978 to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he was preparing and directing youth conferences with the ministry Youth for Christ. In 1983 and 1986 he lived in Amsterdam, Netherlands while he served as the Director of the International Conference for Itinerant Evangelists with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. In 1987 he moved to Boca Raton, FL where Werner founded China Partner which exists to serve the church in China through equipping and training emerging pastors. He had the privilege to participate in China Partner’s 30th anniversary celebration, rejoicing in years of God’s faithfulness, on his birthday just last year. His life verse was Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. ‘
A Memorial Service (Celebration of Werner’s life) will take place sometime in the fall after COVID
health guidelines once again allow for larger gatherings.
