Otto Torvik (12 June 1901 – 8 April 1988) was a Norwegian missionary in Xinjiang and in India. He founded the Norwegian Missionary Muhammad Mission (''Den Norske Muhammedanermisjon'') in 1940. Today, the name is changed to Christian Muslim Mission (''Kristen Muslimmisjon'').

Biography

Otto Torvik was born at Romsdal in

Bolsøy Bolsøy is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality of Bolsøy encompassed the area around the Fannefjorden including most of the present-day Molde Municipality, excluding the town of Molde. The municipalit ...

parish just east of

Molde Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the m ...

, Norway. His father, Ingebrigt Taraldsen from Torvik in Romsdal, was a farmer and

lay preacher Lay preacher is a preacher or a religious proclaimer who is not a formally ordained cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presidi ...

. His mother was sick when Torvik was born, and she prayed that his son would to be used in the service of God. He attended Rauma Folkehøgskole in

, where Torvik first heard of the overseas

missions Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion * Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

. The missionary call grew in him and he continued to study at Fjellhaug Internasjonale Høgskole in Oslo which was run by the Norwegian Lutheran China Mission Association. Torvik was awarded with a Master of theology by Augsburg Seminary (now Augsburg University) in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. He also studied at Hartford Seminary in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

and was ordained in 1946. In 1931, Torvik traveled to

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

Turkistan to see if it was possible to start with a Christian mission there. In 1940 he founded the Norwegian Missionary Muhammad Mission (now ''Kristen Muslimmisjon''). Torvik was a central role at the Mission serving as Secretary General between 1958 and 1966. Eight years later in 1948, Torvik traveled to India as a pioneer missionary. He built a mission station at Sajinipara in West Bengal which was the mission's first field mission in India.

Personal life

Otto Torvik was married to Helene Wiebe (1908-1979), the descendant of Dutch and German immigrants, whom he met in Kyrgyzstan. In his later years, he and his family resided in Norway. He died during 1988. Both he and his wife were buried at Grorud kirkegård in Oslo.

Authorship

* 1939 - ''Guds medarbeidere'' (published by Misjonskurset på Fjellhaug. new edition in 1986) * 1939 - ''Mellom Muhammedanere'' (Bergen. new edition 1946) * 1940 and 1942 - '' Abdulla Jan'' (Bergen) * 1945 - ''Bak Himalaya'' (Bergen) * 1961 - ''Muhammedanermisjon'' (Oslo) * 1967 - '' Blant muhammedanere i India'' (Stavanger) * 1971 - '' Frelse og ansvar (prekensamling)'' (Stavanger) * 1981 - ''Helene fra Kirgisistan'' (Oslo) * Article in ''Misjonshuset i Bergen'' (by A. Tangeraas, Oslo, 1945 p. 300-314) * A series of articles in the magazine ''Lys over land''

References

External links

Kristen Muslimmisjon (KMM) website

Biography

Personal life

Authorship

References

External links

Related reading