Facts & Figures

May 14, 1973 - Claudia Magdalena Wintoch, daughter of Wolfgang (23) and Eva Maria Wintoch (21), is born in Vienna, Austria, as her parents' first child. Three years later her brother Ronald is born. When she is about five years old, her parents separate, so that her Mom ends up raising two children alone. Claudia is 12 years old, when her Mom's boyfriend Heinzi moves in.

Even before she starts school at the age of 6, she loves playing school and teaching her brother - an early indication of what she would do later. When she has to choose between a focus on maths or languages in grade 7, she goes for the languages, wanting to be an interpreter. By the time she is 15, she has two passions in life - astronomy and dancing. And it is at that age that she starts tutoring students in Maths, English, which later also includes French. In 1991 she graduates with "Matura" from High School, taking exams in Maths, German, French, Latin, Physics and Music.

Wanting to discover the new, she dreams of one day getting the Nobel Price for an astronomic achievement, and starts studying Astronomy and Physics at the University of Vienna. In 1993, she studies one semester of Physics in Paris, where her love for languages reawakens. Coming back and having finished the equivalent of a B.S., she changes her major to African Studies, with the minor French, with the goal of preparing to go to Mali, West Africa. In 1997, she gets a certificate from Cambridge University (UK) that authorizes her to teach English as a foreign language, and she starts teaching in language schools, while continuing her studies.

In 1999, after four years of studying and dreaming about going to Mali, Claudia gets a grant from university to do linguistic field research in Mali for nearly 5 months, to gather data for her Master's thesis and contribute to the work of SIL (Summer Insitute of Linguistics) on site. At the end of 2000, she graduates with a Master's degree from the University of Vienna.

In 2001, while still teaching, she finds her dream job, testing speech recognition software for IBM, which combines her love for languages and for computers.

In June of 2001, Claudia moves to Kansas City, MO, where she starts a two-year intensive Bible College to graduate with a Masters of Divinity degree in the summer of 2003.

By taking correspondance classes from Faith Bible College, Claudia receives her Doctorate of Theology degree in August 2003.

In September 2003 she moves to Mali, West Africa, and starts teaching German at a secular High School, therefore stepping into her destiny in God.

Story of Faith

Austria being a catholic country, I grew up having religious instruction in school and believing in God, yet not knowing Him or ever really hearing the gospel. Life became very miserable with my Mom's boyfriend moving in when I was twelve, and I became depressive and suicidal. I started getting very busy, picked up dancing at the age of 15 which I loved (ballroom dancing - latin, standard, Rock'n'Roll acrobatics, tapdance, training for competitions and performing), and loved astronomy, being very involved at an observatory in Vienna.

When I graduated from school at the age of 18, God completely disappeared from my life with the absence of religious instruction. I slowly started getting a grip on life, still looking for love everywhere. Two years into my studies at university, I went to a sports camp organized by Intervarsity in Austria (Christian student group) and gave my life to Christ that very week. Those people had something I did not and I wanted. Two weeks after my conversion, I wrote a testimony of how God reached me which I gave to every person I knew - you can read it in English, Deutsch or Français.

Six weeks after my conversion I moved to Paris, France, for half a year, which was perfect timing. Two months after my conversion, God called me to full-time ministry. Another month later to Africa. Paris was a time of rapid growth, and one week before my return to Austria, God sovereignly baptized me in the Spirit, without me knowing what was happening.

Right after my conversion I adopted C.T. Studd's motto: If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him. I also regularly prayed two "dangerous" prayers: "Send me where they haven't heard the good news" and "Send me where nobody else wants to go". And God answered my prayers. Back in Austria, I was water-baptized and found my church Vienna Christian Center, an international church of over 45 nations. The first two years of my Christian life, I invested all my free-time into Intervarsity, where I grew rapidly by doing "all the stuff" and learning a lot. Even in those early days I shared my testimony of how my life was changed from one day to the other, from a loveless life of hating my step-father, to now loving him. Yet, I still had a lot of pain and wounds and was not able to experience the Father-heart of God.

When I first heard of God's move in Toronto in the beginning of 1995 (known as Toronto Blessing, but really called The Father's blessing), hope arose for my own emotional healing. During a ministry trip to England in February of 1995, I was first overwhelmed by the power of God, which started the process of inner healing. Conferences with people from Toronto and others in different locations in Europe brought more and more healing to my broken life. At the same time, I always longed to help others find healing and freedom. In the fall of 1996, I went to Kelowna, Canada, to do a three-month School of Counseling and Healing. Yet, while I went to be equipped, I experienced an intense time of personal healing, to the degree that I had to learn to live again returning to Austria. Read my testimony of those 10 weeks here.

Having received the call to Africa in Paris in 1993, it was in 1995 that God laid the country of Mali in West Africa on my heart. Studying African languages at university, I focused on Mali the whole time, learning two of the most important Malian languages (already knowing the ex-colonial language French). Having been saved in an evangelical setting, and loving linguistics, I was getting to know and love SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics) more and more. In 1999, after four years of praying for Mali and desiring to go there, I finally went there to do linguistic field research for my Master's thesis to contribute to the work of SIL there, being an SIL guest helper. As soon as I touched the ground getting off the plane, I felt like I had come home, like being in the place where I belong.

Returning from Mali, I finished my Master's degree in December of 2000. In January 1994 God had first spoken to me in a dream about going to a Bible College, and it had always been my dream to go to Grace Training Center (at the time Mike Bickle) in Kansas City. In the fall of 2000 I was considering whether to go the Bible College as I had always dreamed, or go back to Mali where I longed to be. Yet, when I left Mali I told the Lord that I would not go back there without His power. One day, CHARISMA magazine lay open on my desk and my eyes fell on a one-page ad for a school in Kansas City, which was called World Revival School of Ministry - a name which contained words that were significant to me. All I knew was that there was a revival in Smithton, and yet, I could not forget about it any more. One month before I left for the US, I knew I had to be at that school rather than the other. And when I got to Kansas City in June 2001, He dramatically confirmed that this was the school to be.

The following two years were an intense time of transformation, equipping, learning, dying and knowing Him more. He fulfilled my greatest heart's desires - to be so intimate with Him that His tangible presence is always there, and to move in the power that is available to every believer. He also gave me friends and "family" like I had only dreamed of.

While being a full-time student at World Revival School of Ministry, I also took a few classes at then-Grace Training Center and the Forerunner School of Prayer (International House of Prayer (IHOP) - Mike Bickle). I had the joy and privilege of being Jill Austin's student during my two years there, and started serving in the IHOP ministry team and the Healing Rooms.

In May 2003 I finished my classes and turned 30 years old - a very significant birthday that marked the beginning of a new season of my life. In August 2003 I not only received a Master's of Divinity from World Revival School of Ministry, but a Doctorate of Theology from Faith Bible College.

After 8 years of preparation to take Mali for His kingdom, a suddenly of God opened the door to Mali in July 2003. In September 2003, I stepped into my destiny, or rather God's destiny for Mali, when I moved to the capital city of Bamako.

If you still want to know more...

My salvation testimony in Deutsch, Français or English (1993)

My inner healing testimony (1996)

Curriculum Vitae/Resumé (2003)