DAWN Fridayfax 1999 #35

Switzerland

God forgets no-one

Zermatt, at the foot of the Matterhorn, is one of the best-known places in Switzerland. Not so well known is that a number of people who want to follow Jesus there are persecuted and ostracized, partly by the Roman Catholic church. Peter Kibbel and his wife, Christians who were living in Rumania until recently, simultaneously heard God say "Go to Zermatt" while praying one day in early August 1999. Peter Kibbel reports: "We investigated, and heard of some 20 people meeting in a house church there. Because of their opposition to worshipping Maria and the saints, they are frequently attacked by the Catholic church. Unable to find the address of the house church, we simply obeyed God and went to Zermatt. After arriving, we decided to climb a hill overlooking the village, to pray. On the way, we noticed a house with a fish sticker on the front door, and decided to stop to introduce ourselves. A woman opened the door, and we explained why we were in Zermatt. She broke down in tears and invited us into the house. We soon discovered that this was where the house church met, and the woman's family the leaders. She told us about the difficult times they had been having, and how she had been crying to God 'Lord, don't let us starve in this valley, don't forget us!' Suddenly, we showed up on her doorstep to tell her that they were apparently precious to God˙- so precious that he sent us from Rumania." The Kibbels were able to encourage and minister to the church several times. God forgets no-one...
Source: Peter Kibbel

USA

CitiReach in Seattle, 'the world's richest city'

How do you transform a city with the gospel? One way is CitiReach International's strategic concept, much talked about in the USA. CitiReach is based on long-term strategic cooperation between all churches, and emphasises the planting of new, contextual fellowships. "It is not possible," says CitiReach, "to limit yourself to a few tactical projects and expect a whole city to be transformed. It's about a holistic transformation of a whole city, with all its cultural, socio-economic, religious and ethnic groups. The church cannot address this task alone, but must seek to work alongside other institutions which God has established, such as the local government, social services, educational and health institutions and businesses."





1,000 churches are not enough for 3.5 million people!

Seattle, in Washington state, is a progressive cultural and economic center around 100 miles south of the Canadian border, and home to companies such as Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon.com and Starbucks. Greater Seattle has a population of just over 3.5 million, of which 75.1% are Caucasian, 11.2% Asian, 10.1% African American and 3.6% Hispanic. Paul Schell, Seattle's mayor, stated that based on per head income, Seattle is 'the richest city in the world'. The city currently has only 1,048 churches, and, atypical for America, less than 10% of the population attend church. This has prompted many Christian leaders to develop a concept of long-term cooperation between churches, working towards physically and spiritually transforming the city. Single events and large evangelistic projects have to date shown little effect. Jon Sharpe, one of the catalysts in the 'Seattle City Reaching Initiative' recently attended one of the well-known "Partnership Seminars" held by InterDev, a movement led by Phill Butler which aims to create and support partnership and synergy between churches and movements. Following the seminar, Sharpe wrote "A CitiReach project is similar to a building. To build a house, you need an architect, a builder, various subcontractors and people to provide the material. A city-wide long-term missionary project is similar, in that the aim is to build God's kingdom. To do that, you need 'architects'˙- internal or external leaders who can describe the process conceptually and theologically; the builder is a local leadership team which assumes responsibility and the overall initiative; the subcontractors are local implementers who get involved, build the structures and turn the vision into reality. The material providers are various para-church organisations and ministries with their own particular strengths which they can contribute to the effort."





Anatomy of a strategic partnership

According to InterDev, every long-term partnership begins with an exploratory or waking-up phase, a formation phase and continues into an implementation phase. Not all Christians will immediately join a new initiative; suspicions, fears, misunderstandings, troubled relationships and other factors will continue to hinder Christian unity. It is important that the common vision continues to be communicated while relationships are sought, reconciled and strengthened. The participants in a CitiReach Initiative meet annually for a consultation and status report, and every three years for a larger congress.
Source and information: those interested in such a process for their city can contact Dr. Jack Dennison directly, from whom Jon Sharpe's full report is also available: CitiReach, PO˙Box 63120, Colorado Springs, CO 80962-3120, USA. Fax (+1)-719-548-9619. E-mail: Dennisonjl@cs.com

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