Baptist Mid-Missions celebrated the achievements of two extraordinary missionaries, Harold Reiner and Paul Metzler, on July 8, 2008, at its third Annual Conference, held at the First Baptist Church of Elyria, Ohio.
On the second night of the four-day Conference, missionaries who had served for 20 or more years, received special pins honoring their milestones. This year, we marked an achievement never before seen in BMM history: the 60-year pin granted to Harold Reiner, missionary to Brazil. According to our research, 60 years of service may be a pinnacle no other missionaries in our circles have ever reached.
William C. Haas Lifetime Achievement Award
The pin ceremony was just the first half of the event. Next, Harold’s wife, Joan, and many of his children, and grandchildren joined him onstage as he was honored as BMM’s first recipient of the William C. Haas Lifetime Service Award. The award, in the form of a multi-faceted crystal flame, is given to missionaries who exhibit the same pioneering spirit of BMM’s founder, William C. Haas, and who demonstrate a willingness to be completely consumed for the sake of building Christ’s church around the world.
Without a question, Harold exemplifies these qualities. When he reached Brazilian soil in the late 1940s, he came with the heart of a pioneer passionate to reach those without access to the gospel. Because he longed to share the Good News beyond the areas where his mule could carry him, he returned to the U.S. to train as a pilot. Harold built up Brazil’s aviation program into the largest on any BMM field. He labored with the assistance of his first wife, Ruth, until her Homegoing in 1960. He then married missionary Joan Cook, and together they have seen at least 13 new churches started and have been pioneers in theological education, camping ministries, and MK education.
Honoring past servants
The second lifetime achievement award was given posthumously to Paul Metzler, a missionary recruited by William Haas himself in the early 1920s. Two of Metzler’s children, Evelyne and Edwin, accepted the award on his behalf. Paul and his wife, Etiennette, were our first missionaries to Chad, Africa. With Etiennette’s help, Paul launched a Christian school, dispensary, Bible institute, and outreach to foreign military, and he initiated one of BMM’s first tribal Scripture translations.
Standing behind their missionaries
The honors did not go to missionaries alone. Representatives attended from Harold’s commissioning church, First Baptist Church of Hamburg, New York, and Paul’s church, First Baptist Church of Mishawaka, Indiana. The pastors of each congregation were presented with rosewood plaques affirming their people for faithfully standing behind their missionaries. In the case of the Metzler family, First Baptist of Mishawaka also commissioned four of Paul and Etiennette’s children as missionaries, totalling 86 consecutive years of Metzler family support.
An example of humble servants
Ironically, missionaries dedicated enough to receive such honors as the William C. Haas Lifetime Service Award are not in it for any reward other than the Lord’s “Well done, though good and faithful servant.” It is hard to guess what Paul would have said about his award had he been present to receive it. But it may have been the very thing humbly stated by Harold: “I was just doing my job. Why should I get an award?”