ቄስ ዶ/ር ደረጀ ፋንታዬ ይመር Rev. Dr. Dereje Fantaye Yimer

Addis Ababa, 1959አዲስ አበባ፣ 1951 ዓ.ም.

Dereje Fantaye Yimer was born on May 27, 1959, in Addis Ababa, to his mother, Ejigayehu Seifu, and his father, Fantaye Yimer. He grew up in a large family of eleven children, alongside two brothers and eight sisters. Yet for him, the word “family” was never defined by blood alone. He regarded the many people he met, taught, helped, and served as part of his own family.

ደረጀ ፋንታዬ ይመር ግንቦት 19 ቀን 1951 ዓ.ም. በአዲስ አበባ፣ ከእናቱ ከወ/ሮ እጅጋየሁ ሰይፉ እና ከአባቱ ከአቶ ፋንታዬ ይመር ተወለደ። ከሁለት ወንድሞቹና ከስምንት እህቶቹ ጋር አሥራ አንድ ልጆች ባሉት ትልቅ ቤተሰብ ውስጥ አደገ። ሆኖም ለእርሱ “ቤተሰብ” የሚለው ቃል በደም ብቻ የሚወሰን አልነበረም። ያገኛቸውን፣ ያስተማራቸውን፣ የረዳቸውንና ያገለገላቸውን ብዙ ሰዎች የገዛ ቤተሰቡ አድርጎ ይቆጥር ነበር።

The callጥሪው

After he pursued and completed his education in Addis Ababa, Dessie, and Mekele, the Lord found him in an unexpected way, and this became the moment that completely changed the direction of his life. Before he devoted himself fully to ministry, he served as an Amharic teacher at Mekane Yesus. But beneath his work and his studies, another great calling ran deeper. His life became a life given to helping others find the Lord.

ትምህርቱን በአዲስ አበባ፣ በደሴና በመቀሌ ተከታትሎ ካጠናቀቀ በኋላ ጌታ ባልጠበቀው መንገድ አገኘው፤ ይህም የሕይወቱን አቅጣጫ ፍጹም የለወጠ ወቅት ሆነ። ሙሉ በሙሉ ለአገልግሎት ከመሰጠቱ በፊት በመካነ ኢየሱስ የአማርኛ መምህር ሆኖ አገልግሏል። ከሥራውና ከትምህርቱ ጀርባ ግን ሌላ ታላቅ ጥሪ ነበር። ሕይወቱ ሌሎች ጌታን እንዲያገኙ የመርዳት ሕይወት ሆነ።

Kenya, and a life sharedኬንያ እና የተጋራ ሕይወት

His educational journey took him to Kenya, and Kenya became the place where another great chapter of his life began. While he was pursuing his education there, he met Bizuye, who would become his life partner. They were married in Kenya in 1982/1983. They then returned to Ethiopia, where their daughter Tsegi was born, and a little later the twins, Amanuel and Abenezer, joined the family. In time, he was also blessed to see three grandchildren.

የትምህርት ጉዞው ወደ ኬንያ ወሰደው፤ ኬንያም የሕይወቱ ሌላ ታላቅ ምዕራፍ የተጀመረባት ስፍራ ሆነች። በኬንያ ትምህርቱን ሲከታተል የሕይወት አጋሩ የምትሆነውን ብዙዬን አገኘ። በ1982/1983 በኬንያ ተጋቡ። ከዚያም ወደ ኢትዮጵያ ተመልሰው ልጃቸው ፀጌ ተወለደች፤ ከጥቂት ጊዜ በኋላም መንታዎቹ አማኑኤልና አቤኔዘር ቤተሰቡን ተቀላቀሉ። በጊዜ ሂደትም ሦስት የልጅ ልጆችን ለማየት ታደለ።

The man his family knewቤተሰቡ የሚያውቀው ሰው

Qes Dr. Dereje loved people. He was delighted whenever the family gathered. He loved children. Above all, he loved to laugh. He was a man full of love, and he would not stay silent when someone was wronged. He defended others. He helped those who had nothing. Whether the person speaking was young or old, small or great, he listened. When someone needed a chance, he was bold enough to give it. He was tender-hearted — a bearer of burdens, a man who carried the burdens of others as if they were his own.

ቄስ ዶ/ር ደረጀ ሰዎችን ይወድ ነበር። ቤተሰብ በተሰበሰበ ቁጥር ደስ ይለው ነበር። ልጆችን ይወድ ነበር። ከሁሉም በላይ መሳቅን ይወድ ነበር። በፍቅር የተሞላ ሰው ነበር፤ አንድ ሰው ሲበደል ዝም አይልም ነበር። ለሌሎች ይሟገት ነበር። የሌላቸውን ይረዳ ነበር። የሚናገረው ሰው ታናሽም ይሁን ታላቅ ያዳምጥ ነበር። አንድ ሰው ዕድል ሲፈልግ ለመስጠት ደፋር ነበር። ርኅሩኅ ልብ ነበረው፤ የሌሎችን ሸክም እንደ ራሱ ሸክም የተሸከመ ሰው ነበር።

One of the greatest expressions of his love for his family was his desire that they too would come to know the Lord he knew. Over the years, he was the reason many of his family members came to accept the Lord.

ለቤተሰቡ ከነበረው ፍቅር ታላቁ መገለጫ አንዱ እነርሱም እርሱ ያወቀውን ጌታ እንዲያውቁ መሻቱ ነበር። በዓመታት ውስጥ ብዙ የቤተሰቡ አባላት ጌታን እንዲቀበሉ ምክንያት ሆኗል።

The voice on the radioበሬዲዮ የተሰማው ድምፅ

But this calling reached far beyond his family. It reached thousands of people. In an era when freely spreading spiritual messages in Ethiopia was extremely difficult, Dereje ran a gospel radio ministry through a Seychelles radio station that broadcast into Ethiopia. Through that Seychelles broadcast, and later through the “Voice of Grace” radio ministry, as well as programs broadcast from South Africa, he brought the gospel to a great many people.

ይህ ጥሪ ግን ከቤተሰቡ አልፎ ሄደ፤ ወደ ሺዎች ደረሰ። በኢትዮጵያ መንፈሳዊ መልእክትን በነጻነት ማስተላለፍ እጅግ አስቸጋሪ በነበረበት ዘመን፣ ደረጀ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ በሚያስተላልፍ የሲሸልስ ሬዲዮ ጣቢያ በኩል የወንጌል ሬዲዮ አገልግሎት ያካሂድ ነበር። በዚያ የሲሸልስ ስርጭት፣ ቀጥሎም “የጸጋ ድምፅ” በተባለው የሬዲዮ አገልግሎት እንዲሁም ከደቡብ አፍሪካ በሚተላለፉ ፕሮግራሞች ወንጌልን ለብዙዎች አድርሷል።

Oaklandኦክላንድ

After continuing this chapter of his life and ministry in Ethiopia, he returned to Kenya. From Kenya, his journey continued on to America. In America, a new and significant chapter of his ministry began. Serving as a pastor in Oakland, California, he founded a pioneering church that was open to everyone, across denominations and beyond every other difference. During this Oakland ministry, in the 1990s, many ministers served alongside him.

ይህን የሕይወቱንና የአገልግሎቱን ምዕራፍ በኢትዮጵያ ከቀጠለ በኋላ ወደ ኬንያ ተመለሰ። ከኬንያም ጉዞው ወደ አሜሪካ ቀጠለ። በአሜሪካ የአገልግሎቱ አዲስና ጉልህ ምዕራፍ ተጀመረ። በኦክላንድ ካሊፎርኒያ እረኛ ሆኖ በማገልገል ለሁሉም ክፍት የሆነች፣ ከየትኛውም ልዩነት በላይ የሆነች አቅኚ ቤተ ክርስቲያን መሠረተ። በዚህ የኦክላንድ አገልግሎት በ1990ዎቹ ብዙ አገልጋዮች አብረውት አገልግለዋል።

Even while in America, he continued to place great value on his own education. He pursued a master’s degree in theology at California, Irvine, and later completed his doctoral studies.

በአሜሪካ ሳለም ለራሱ ትምህርት ትልቅ ዋጋ መስጠቱን ቀጠለ። በካሊፎርኒያ ኢርቫይን የስነ መለኮት ማስተርስ ዲግሪ ተከታትሏል፤ ቀጥሎም የዶክትሬት ትምህርቱን አጠናቋል።

A bridge between two countriesበሁለት አገሮች መካከል ድልድይ

For more than four decades, ministry remained at the very center of his life. Yet living in America never distanced Ethiopia from his heart. He became a bridge connecting America and Ethiopia through service. He gathered medicines and medical equipment and brought them to Ethiopia. He provided extensive support to churches, communities, and people in need. He was active in charitable and community service both in the Oakland Bay Area and in Ethiopia.

ከአራት አሥርተ ዓመታት በላይ አገልግሎት የሕይወቱ ማዕከል ሆኖ ቆይቷል። በአሜሪካ መኖሩ ግን ኢትዮጵያን ከልቡ አላራቀም። በአገልግሎት አሜሪካንና ኢትዮጵያን የሚያገናኝ ድልድይ ሆነ። መድኃኒቶችንና የሕክምና መሣሪያዎችን ሰብስቦ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ አምጥቷል። ለቤተ ክርስቲያናት፣ ለማኅበረሰቦችና ለተቸገሩ ሰዎች ሰፊ ድጋፍ አድርጓል። በኦክላንድ ቤይ አካባቢም ሆነ በኢትዮጵያ በበጎ አድራጎትና በማኅበረሰብ አገልግሎት ንቁ ተሳታፊ ነበር።

Throughout these years, his gospel ministry crossed the borders of nations and places. He served in gospel gatherings across many regions of Ethiopia, and beyond Ethiopia he ministered the gospel in Djibouti, Turkey, Israel, London, Canada, Kenya, Yemen, America, and other places. In Djibouti, too, the mark of his ministry helped establish a church.

በእነዚህ ዓመታት የወንጌል አገልግሎቱ የአገሮችንና የቦታዎችን ድንበር አልፏል። በኢትዮጵያ በተለያዩ ክፍለ ሀገራት በወንጌል ጉባኤዎች አገልግሏል፤ ከኢትዮጵያ ውጭም በጅቡቲ፣ በቱርክ፣ በእስራኤል፣ በለንደን፣ በካናዳ፣ በኬንያ፣ በየመን፣ በአሜሪካና በሌሎችም ስፍራዎች ወንጌልን አገልግሏል። በጅቡቲም የአገልግሎቱ አሻራ ቤተ ክርስቲያን እንድትመሠረት አግዟል።

Christ’s command, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” was for Dereje never merely a verse to be written on a wall. It was the guiding principle of his life. He went. He preached. He taught. He raised up disciples. He served. He gave. When one door closed, he sought another.

“ሂዱና ሁሉን አሕዛብ ደቀ መዛሙርት አድርጓቸው” የሚለው የክርስቶስ ትእዛዝ ለደረጀ በግድግዳ ላይ የሚጻፍ ጥቅስ ብቻ አልነበረም። የሕይወቱ መመሪያ ነበር። ሄደ። ሰበከ። አስተማረ። ደቀ መዛሙርትን አፈራ። አገለገለ። ሰጠ። አንድ በር ሲዘጋ ሌላውን ፈለገ።

What he leaves behindያስቀረው ቅርስ

Yet all of this tells us only one part of his life. Those who truly knew Dereje knew his heart, beyond his titles and his ministry. Those who knew him called him a “hero” — someone who pressed forward in what he believed and who stood up for others. And that strength was always joined with compassion.

ይህ ሁሉ ግን የሕይወቱን አንድ ክፍል ብቻ ነው የሚነግረን። ደረጀን በእውነት የሚያውቁ ከማዕረጎቹና ከአገልግሎቱ ባሻገር ልቡን ያውቁ ነበር። የሚያውቁት ሰዎች “ጀግና” ይሉት ነበር፤ ባመነበት ነገር ወደፊት የሚገፋ፣ ለሌሎች የሚቆም ሰው። ያም ጥንካሬ ሁልጊዜ ከርኅራኄ ጋር የተጣመረ ነበር።

And so we cannot measure his legacy merely by the number of countries he traveled to, the churches he served, the sermons he preached, or the academic degrees he earned. His true legacy lives within people:

ስለዚህ ቅርሱን በተጓዘባቸው አገሮች ብዛት፣ ባገለገላቸው ቤተ ክርስቲያናት፣ በሰበካቸው ስብከቶች ወይም ባገኛቸው የትምህርት ማዕረጎች ብቻ ልንለካው አንችልም። እውነተኛው ቅርሱ በሰዎች ውስጥ ይኖራል፦

• Within the person who heard his voice on the radio and received the gospel.ድምፁን በሬዲዮ ሰምቶ ወንጌልን በተቀበለው ሰው ውስጥ።
• Within the person who, sitting in prison, came to know that God had not forgotten him.በእስር ቤት ተቀምጦ እግዚአብሔር እንዳልረሳው ባወቀው ሰው ውስጥ።
• Within the refugee who received a theological education.የስነ መለኮት ትምህርት ባገኘው ስደተኛ ውስጥ።
• Within the student he taught.ባስተማረው ተማሪ ውስጥ።
• Within the person who received the medicine or medical equipment he brought.ያመጣውን መድኃኒት ወይም የሕክምና መሣሪያ በተቀበለው ሰው ውስጥ።
• Within the communities he served in Ethiopia and America.በኢትዮጵያና በአሜሪካ ባገለገላቸው ማኅበረሰቦች ውስጥ።
• Within his family.በቤተሰቡ ውስጥ።
• Within his three grandchildren.በሦስቱ የልጅ ልጆቹ ውስጥ።
• And within the lives of the many people who came to know Christ through him.በእርሱ በኩል ክርስቶስን ባወቁ ብዙ ሰዎች ሕይወት ውስጥ።

But in every country he went to, every room he entered, every radio broadcast he spoke on, every church he served in, and every platform he preached from, he was always traveling in one direction: toward his Lord.

ነገር ግን በሄደባት አገር ሁሉ፣ በገባበት ክፍል ሁሉ፣ በተናገረበት የሬዲዮ ስርጭት ሁሉ፣ ባገለገለባት ቤተ ክርስቲያን ሁሉ እና በሰበከበት መድረክ ሁሉ ሁልጊዜ ወደ አንድ አቅጣጫ ይጓዝ ነበር፦ ወደ ጌታው።

The last yearsየመጨረሻዎቹ ዓመታት

In the final years of his life, while in America, his health began to fail. Yet even in sickness, he never abandoned his faith, his love for his family, or his hope in the Lord. In 2020/2021, he returned to Ethiopia and spent the last years of his life in the country he loved, close to his family.

በሕይወቱ የመጨረሻ ዓመታት በአሜሪካ ሳለ ጤናው መታወክ ጀመረ። በሕመሙ ውስጥም ቢሆን እምነቱን፣ ለቤተሰቡ ያለውን ፍቅር ወይም በጌታ ያለውን ተስፋ ፈጽሞ አልተወም። በ2020/2021 ወደ ኢትዮጵያ ተመልሶ የመጨረሻዎቹን ዓመታት በሚወዳት አገሩ፣ ከቤተሰቡ ጎን አሳለፈ።

After a long journey of faith, family, and service, on August 28, 2026, Dr. Reverend Dereje Fantaye Yimer completed this earthly life.

ከረጅም የእምነት፣ የቤተሰብና የአገልግሎት ጉዞ በኋላ ነሐሴ 22 ቀን 2018 ዓ.ም. ቄስ ዶ/ር ደረጀ ፋንታዬ ይመር ይህችን ምድራዊ ሕይወት አጠናቀቀ።

Today our grief is great, because the one we love is no longer with us in body. But for a person who built his life on the hope of Christ, death is not the final point of his story. Daniel 12:3 reminds us that those who turn many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.

ዛሬ ሐዘናችን ብርቱ ነው፤ የምንወደው ሰው በሥጋ ከእኛ ጋር የለምና። ነገር ግን ሕይወቱን በክርስቶስ ተስፋ ላይ ለመሠረተ ሰው ሞት የታሪኩ የመጨረሻ ነጥብ አይደለም። ዳንኤል 12፥3 ብዙዎችን ወደ ጽድቅ የሚመልሱ እንደ ከዋክብት ለዘላለም እንደሚያበሩ ያስታውሰናል።

Dr. Reverend Dereje Fantaye Yimer lived as a servant of Christ. Though we bid him farewell today in deep sorrow, we thank God for giving us the chance to know him, to love him, and to be loved by him.

ቄስ ዶ/ር ደረጀ ፋንታዬ ይመር የክርስቶስ አገልጋይ ሆኖ ኖረ። ዛሬ በጥልቅ ሐዘን ብንሸኘውም እንድናውቀው፣ እንድንወደውና በእርሱ እንድንወደድ ዕድል ስለሰጠን እግዚአብሔርን እናመሰግናለን።

Though his voice is silent today, the gospel he preached has not stopped. Though his hands have rested from their work, the people raised up by those hands still stand. Though his earthly journey has ended, the seed he sowed continues to bear fruit within families, churches, communities, and nations.

ዛሬ ድምፁ ቢጠፋም የሰበከው ወንጌል አልቆመም። እጆቹ ከሥራቸው ቢያርፉም በእነዚያ እጆች የታነጹ ሰዎች አሁንም ቆመዋል። ምድራዊ ጉዞው ቢጠናቀቅም የዘራው ዘር በቤተሰቦች፣ በቤተ ክርስቲያናት፣ በማኅበረሰቦችና በአገሮች ውስጥ ፍሬ ማፍራቱን ቀጥሏል።

May the life of Dr. Reverend Dereje Fantaye Yimer forever remind us how far a single life given to God can reach — farther than we could ever imagine. የቄስ ዶ/ር ደረጀ ፋንታዬ ይመር ሕይወት ለእግዚአብሔር የተሰጠች አንዲት ሕይወት ምን ያህል ርቀት ልትደርስ እንደምትችል — ከምናስበው በላይ — ለዘላለም ያስታውሰን።