As we were singing a song in German I looked over the people gathered and was thanking and praising God for all he has done in the past 40 years.  You see everyone in attendance is a direct result of a small Bible study that was started by a Canadian couple.  This Bible study birthed a church and within 11 years four churches were started.  As of a study done in 1999 there were 4 generations of churches that started from this church!

It is neat to be a part of what God is doing here in Austria.  The church based training and the Bible school are heavily involved in training and equipping active workers in these churches and helping train many church leaders.

The moderator for the church service was an EVAK (The Bible School) student and another student is leading the city wide youth group (ages 15-25) highlighted what God is doing among the youth in Vienna.  Those who pray and give financially toward us and our ministry are also helping in tangible ways for us to be here right now doing the things we are doing.  Investing into the lives of these men and women who are actively serving Christ in their ministries and daily lives.

There are other churches in Vienna where God is also working but I am most familiar with these “Evangelical Free Churches” (no direct relation to the Evangelical Free Church of America).

Yesterday, our church had it’s official opening Sunday.  Here are a few pictures of it.

We are excited to see how this new location and venue for ministry will open possibilities for ministry to those outside the church.

This building is not a church building per se.  It is a multifunctional building that has a kindergarten under its roof and an open hall for meetings, concerts, dinners etc..  One could liken it to a community center that is privately owned.

Last Friday night the owner, a believer, had an open house for the neighbors and businesses in the area to show what they can provide in services.

There has been an Advent concert already in this building and this summer there are plans to have an English outreach there.  We are excited about possibilities that are opening up with this.  I ask that you keep us in your prayers that the people of the church would also develop a vision for reaching out as the leadership envisions.

Gemeinde Kagran

Last Sunday I, Eric, was able to give a short update at church on what is going on in children’s church.  I made a short video that showed the children doing a modified “Walk thru the Bible” but just with the book of Genesis.  (In the German Bible they call the first 5 books of the Bible (the Pentetuch) 1st Moses-5th  Moses.) It was well received.  I had a handful of people comment how good it is to see what is going on with the children.

I have been helping with the children’s ministry since December.  The person in charge is going through some cancer treatment and has had to cut back on many things she is doing.

I posted an old picture of some of the children above.  I didn’t feel right in posting a video without everyone’s concent so I pulled a picture off the churches website. During my short few months working with the children I have seen some noticable changes in attitude which is always encouraging.  Most are Christians and are struggling how to live out their faith at home and especially in school.  As you can imagine with Austria being under 1% evangelical Christian they do not have much of a support system outside the church realm.

If you remember, pray that these kids will grow strong in the Lord and live their lives in a way that pleases the Lord.

Tags: Ministry

Last year  I,Eric, was asked to be in charge of our churches Children’s Ministry. I didn’t feel comfortable taking that kind of leadership positions since there were other capable people in the church.   The church is 25 years old and we believe it is not our job to do the job but help Austrians do the job.

This is more tricky than it seems because it means sometimes taking on something in order to train and equip the right people but to do something just because I can doesn’t necessarily mean it is something I must do.  Sometimes it means coming along side and helping where they have asked and other times it means standing even further back so others can step up.  This last phase can be difficult for all involved because it is not very comfortable.  This is a large issue any missionary and even anyone in ministry whether it is full or part time.  Anyway, I didn’t mean to ramble on about missiological perspectives in church work.

I did however agree to help out wherever possible and as a consultant. As a result the ministry has been divided between two capable women.

The leader for the elementary age children had to have surgery in December and asked me to take her place until she feels well enough. I have stepped temporarily have been teaching once a month and helping out another teacher once  a month.  Most of the children are Christians but not all.  It has been a challenge working with the curriculum.

I surveyed 6 churches 4 years ago about what they were doing for their Children’s Ministries and as a result discoverd that there is not one curriculum that is published or existant that goes from 5yrs-14 yrs old!

There are some curriculi that span 2 to 4 years but that have a concrete scope and sequence systematically covering the Old and New Testament from an evangelical perspective is not in existance.

One thing that I find exciting with our churche’s children’s ministry is that there are more men teaching and volunteering than women for the elementary ages.  That excites me.

Pray that the Children’s Ministry would become a strong discipleship aspect of the Kagran church.  To visit our churche’s website go here Gemeinde Kagran.  Yes, it is only in German but you can browse the pictures to get an idea of the people in the church.

Eric

Tags: Ministry, Church, Missions