A Divine Connection

Out of all the doors Amir* and Hassan* could have knocked on, they chose David Kromminga’s. That was exactly the door they needed.

Shortly after moving from Iran to Berlin, Germany, the father and son walked out of the Iranian refugee center they called home and in to the Berliner Stadtmission (Berlin City Mission) center located right in their backyard.

They arrived just as Kromminga, a missionary with Resonate Global Mission, was walking out the door of his apartment in the facility.

“My father became a Christian six weeks ago,” said 17-year-old Amir in perfect English. “I want to find out what it means to become one too.”

Amir could not speak German and was navigating a new culture and country. Yet there was a church right in his backyard. The first door he knocked on, he found Kromminga.

“I was able to talk to them about Jesus and what it means to follow him,” Kromminga said, expressing his awe at God’s providence and divine timing. “We prayed together in the church sanctuary—I in English, with the son translating into Farsi for his father.”

But Kromminga is not only an English-speaking pastor—he is also connected to a vibrant Iranian congregation, which he and his wife, Mary, mentor.

Kromminga introduced Amir and Hassan to Stefan Rostami, pastor of the Iranian church. As Hassan and Amir took part in their first worship service with a group of fellow Iranian believers, Amir stood up and walked to the front of the church.

“[Pastor] Stefan told me in German to come up and pray,” Kromminga said. “[Amir] wanted to give his life to Christ.”

Kromminga prayed for Amir, and Amir dedicated his life to following Jesus. After the service, both father and son enrolled in the church’s six-month baptism preparation class.

The following day was Easter Sunday. After worship, Amir, Hassan, and another Iranian family from the refugee facility joined Kromminga’s family for dinner.

“There we were,” Kromminga said, “jammed in our little apartment, speaking in different tongues—all brought together by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead and the Holy Spirit of God.”

“We shake our heads in wonder at how God brings such people into our lives and how we get to live out God’s kingdom with them. We are also thankful that we are connected to partners—here in Berlin but also in North America and elsewhere in the world—who are sharing the resources of the kingdom with people like Amir and Hassan.”

*Not their real names