Vital evangelism by German churches

. 1 min read

Parishioners sing during worship at the United Methodist Church of the Redeemer in Munich, Germany. From left are Jula Carlsen and Daniel  and Carina Kuß. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Story by Vicki Brown, photos by Mike DuBose
March 21, 2018 | MUNICH, Germany (UMNS)
Editor’s note: This is the ninth in an occasional series of stories, “German Methodism: A strong Christian voice,” about the 51,000-member United Methodist Church in Germany.
 
On the surface, a lively church in a new building with plenty of children and youth programs might not seem to have much in common with a tiny village church that runs a weekly community café or an inner-city church with aging members and multiple outreach programs.
Those United Methodist churches are quite different from another inner-city church that runs a nonprofit afterschool program for poor or immigrant children, or a church in an economically depressed area that holds regular outdoor services.
All those churches, as well as a group of young adults who just get together for dinner, have one thing in common: Each is an example of a vital congregation in Germany — an effort to reach out in “fresh expressions,” which Bishop Harald Rückert said is “simply doing good work.”