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​Christian community

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"And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers. (…) And all that believed were together, and had all things common."

 

(The Bible: Acts chap. 2, verses 42-47)    

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Christians are disciples (= students) of their common Lord Jesus Christ. The word "Chris-tian" occurs only three times in the entire New Testament. It was mostly used by out-siders - sometimes derogatory - as a desig-nation for people who believe in Jesus, the Son of God. The term “church” (ancient Greek: “eklesia”) means “the called out one”. He describes that the church of God con-sists of people whom God called out of the world to be his people and to serve him alone. This means that Christians are no longer determined by the norms and stan-dards of the world, which are largely in conflict with the will of God, our creator, but by the commandments of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Siehe: Who is Jesus Christ?).

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The Bible gives us a glimpse into the life of the early Christians and the way believers of that time fellowshiped with one another. In the book of Acts it is recorded that the first Christians not only shared the same creed, but also their whole lives with one another, i.e. theirs time, their joys and sorrows, their experiences with God, and even their pos-sessions. All believers were of one heart and soul, i.e. they all had the same purpose, name-ly to serve God and one another with whole devotion. As children of God, they saw themselves as a family, as brothers and sis-ters who, through their faith in Jesus, the son of God, became partakers of eternal life.

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true worship

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"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service."

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(The Bible: Romans chap. 12, verse 1)    

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The early Christians met regularly in the Temple in Jerusalem (destroyed around AD 70) and in their homes. They spent almost all of their time praying together, praising God, and interceding for all people. In addition, they did good in the people, ministered to the needs and necessities of all believers, and boldly proclaimed the gospel of salva-tion through Jesus Christ (Siehe: living in freedom and peace).

Worship for the early Christians was not limited to a few hours on any given day, as it is in many churches today. Nor did the du-ties and ministries of the early church rest on the shoulders of a few, while the rest took the role of passive listeners. On the contrary: all believers felt responsible for each other and each of them was actively involved in the church service. The motiva-tion of the people was the love for God and one another. Common meals were also an integral part of the meetings and a sign of the deep connection between the first belie-vers.

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Christian leadership

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"And when they had appointed for them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed."

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 (The Bible: Acts chap. 14, verse 23) 

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When the first churches came into being, Jesus instructed the apostles to call “elders” and set them up as leaders or overseers of the various congregations. These had the task of leading the believers, i.e. making deci-sions that are in the spirit of God and for the benefit of the community. Furthermore, the task of an elder was to teach the be-lievers, i.e. to convey God's word to them in an understandable way, so that they under-stand God's will and implement it in their lives. At the same time, it was an elder's duty to protect the church from false tea-chings and harmful influences that could endanger their relationship with God or even their salvation.

Part of her role was to ensure that church meetings were conducted in an orderly manner and that each member of the com-munity could contribute the talents and gifts he or she had received from God. El-ders themselves had to be impeccable exam-ples to the believers in everything. Unlike many contemporary denominations, no for-mal degree in theology was required to serve as a church leader, minister, or pastor. Rather, it was the personal calling, a person's character and spiritual maturity, just like virtuous lifestyle that qualified a believer for this important ministry.

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Abuses in traditional churches

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    Jesus Christ says:

 

"Why do you call me, Lord, Lord,

and do not what I say?"

 

 

(The Bible: Luke chap. 6, verse 46)  

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More and more Christians are recognizing the sometimes serious grievances that pre-vail in many traditional churches today. This affects both the regional church and many free churches. The most common pro-blems include:

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• Teachings and traditions not derived from the Bible
   

• many church members who do not believe in Jesus or the truths of the Bible glauben and do not live according to God's commandments
   

• formal gatherings with no real fellowship among believers
   

• hardly any opportunities to use one's own gifts and participate in community building
   

• distance between church and church leadership
   

• few genuine role models of leadership
   

• Tolerance of blatant sins among believers
   

• rigid or deadlocked structures and a lack of willingness to carry out fundamental reforms
   

• growing distance from the teachings of the Bible
   

• Influence of esotericism and spiritualism (New Age and hypercharismatics)
   

• increasingly adapting to the spirit of the time
   

• leisure, culture and entertainment are often in the foreground; while the spiritual recedes into the background

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• Generating financial income and members is more important than preaching the Word

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The result is that more and more people - especially young people - are leaving the churches or even turning away from God completely. Others accept the abuses and pernicious teachings of their community, which lead them away from God and ulti-mately to eternal damnation. Jesus and his apostles have already warned people about this apostasy in the last days. Those who are faithful to the truth and speak it are often slandered or excluded from their church. Many of them are looking to join faith communities in which God's Word is clearly at the center and where believers can ac-tively contribute with their gifts.

In some cases, especially when a church's teachings and practices are inconsistent with the teachings of the Bible - as is par-ticularly the case with the Catholic and, to some extent, the Protestant national church - the Bible even expressly urges Chris-tians to distance them from such a church (See: God and church).

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Back to the roots

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"For by his act we were given existence

in Christ Jesus to do those good works which God before made ready for

us so that we might do them."

 

 

(The Bible: Ephesians chap. 2, verse 10)

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In the past few decades, many so called house churches have come into being that want to return to the original teaching of the apostles and follow the example of the community of faith and goods of the first Christians, as vividly described in the Bible. This trend is steadily increasing worldwide.

Instead of in special buildings, the believers gather in their houses in a simple and plain way, as was also the case with the first Christians. Instead of working through a prepared "God service program", the believers let themselves be guided by the spirit of God and shown by him how they can shape their community in God's mind and for the bene-fit of all. Instead of a formal membership, every believer sees himself as part of the community and contributes to the upbuil-ding of the community with dedication and commitment. The preaching of the gospel, as commanded by the Lord Jesus to all who follow him, is also an essential part of the daily ministry of believers.

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It is also on our hearts to live community according to the example of the Acts of the Apostles, as we are convinced that this cor-responds to God's will and intentions for all believers and that in this way lively and fruitful community work is possible (See: About us).

We believe that church should not be a reli-gious institution to be attended for tradi-tion alone, but a place where the presence of God - i.e. the love, holyness and peace of God - is made visible in the community of the people. Neither a name nor the building, where prople meet, is important. What mat-ters is that every-thing is done for the glo-ry of God and in accordance with His will and Word.

For then - and only then - does the church prove to be the true church of God.

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       Jesus Christ says:

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"Your will be done."

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(The Bible: Matthew chap. 6, verse 10)  

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