By Rev. Dr. Ed & Janice Hird
Born in Emden, Germany in 1931, Max Lange was indoctrinated in the Hitler Youth as a young boy. When his Lutheran pastor in April 1945 denounced Hitler and the Nazis from the pulpit for the crimes against the Jews, Max didn’t believe it. He used to warn his mother against the crime of secretly listening to the BBC.
At age 22, Max went to work in Liberia where he met the world-renounced Christian philanthropist and inventor R.G. Letourneau. After going to work for the Letourneau Foundation, Max heard the gospel and met Jesus personally in April 1961. Letourneau’s missionaries had something that he wanted for himself. Before that time, faith had been a matter of the head, that never reached his heart.
Max then became involved in Christian East Mission and Underground Evangelism which helped the underground church in Eastern Europe receive bibles and Christian literature. In April 1981, Max and his wife Marlies began Siloam Christian Ministries in India which helped poor blind people receive sight through cataract operations. Many Indians received both physical and spiritual sight through this mission. They also helped in the healing of lepers. Max discovered that children were the ones who were hurting the most. This led Max from eyecare to childcare. After this ministry spread to Africa, South America, and many other Asian countries, they changed the name to ChildCare International. At age 87, after thirty-seven years, he stepped down from leading ChildCare International.
Tens of thousands of impoverished children have been sponsored through ChildCare International. The core of ChildCare International’s impact is their Life Centers in ten countries, located in the center of communities and hosted by a local church. Life Centers provide children with an opportunity to hear the Gospel, learn about Christ’s redemptive love, and trust Him as their Savior. They also receive nutritious food, clean drinking water, medicine, and school supplies. These children are enabled to grow spiritually and physically into thriving young adults. The cycle of poverty is being broken one child at a time through Christ-centered education.
For more information, check out ChildCare International (Canada) at https://childcareinternational.ca/purpose/ and ChildCare Worldwide (USA) at https://childcareworldwide.org/
