Missions
Sebastian Heck, Church Planting in Heidelberg, Germany
Germany has been called the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation. The preaching and writings of Martin Luther (1483-1546) brought about a glorious recovery of the Gospel which, in turn, helped to spread spiritual reformation all across Europe. Germany was once teeming with passionate Christians. Presently, however, it is one of the darkest places in all of Europe. For most Americans this is hard to believe. Tourists see the beautiful church steeples all across the country. But rather than signs of spiritual life, they have become bitter reminders of a distant past. The proud atheism and agnosticism of its past philosophers has given way to a new paganism.
The largest portion of Germany‘s population is nominally (in name only) Christian. Adding up the numbers of “evangelicals” within and without the officially sanctioned Lutheran state church leads to an estimate of about 1-2% of the total population (compare with 4-5% Muslims). Church attendance ranks at about 5-7% of the population (mostly Catholics; compare with between 40% and 50% attendance in the U.S.). The Christian landscape in Germany is mostly comprised of the Lutheran State Church which has virtually no signs of spiritual life and the Free Churches which have very little respect for church history or doctrinal formulations (e.g. creeds and confessions). At this point in the history of German Christianity, a solid and truly confessional Reformed church would be unique ministry. Indeed, there is almost no presence of Reformed and Confessional Christianity anywhere in Germany. This has led Sebastian Heck to start “Reformation2Germany.” R2G stands for a vision for reformation and for the establishment of a Reformed church in Germany.
Their vision is to see the establishment of a vibrant, confessional and Reformed church in Germany in order to spread the Gospel anew. The strategy they are pursuing with R2G is three-fold:
1. Church Planting
Through God-centered preaching and evangelism they will seek to plant confessional, Reformed, evangelistic, God-glorifying German churches that rely on the use of the God-ordained, God-given means of grace (Word, sacraments, & prayer). Yes, they are praying and planning not just for one congregation but several congregations in strategic places in order to form a Reformed denomination in Germany.
The first church plant has been launched in Heidelberg, a city with a rich – but largely forgotten – Reformed heritage. Their inaugural worship service was on d.v. April 18, 2010, which wook place in their facilities in the Landfried Complex. If you want to follow the progress of renovations, please click here. For the future, they are considering other potential sites and assessing potential pastors for church planting in Germany.
2. Publishing
Publishing is part of the larger objective of creating a “Reformed atmosphere” in which people come to learn and embrace a distinctively Reformed worldview. They have already begun to publish books and pamphlets that they hope will encourage German Christians and reach out to the broader culture.
3. Training & Teaching
Wherever a great work of reformation is to be sustained, ministers of the gospel need to be trained and taught. They seek to provide training for future elders and church planters/pastors that will in turn be ready to plant churches in other cities in Germany as a part of a new, healthy, and growing denomination.
R2G is a ministry of Grace Presbyterian Church with additional ecclesiastical oversight being provided by the Northwest Georgia Presbytery of the PCA. Rev. Heck has been called by the Northwest Georgia Persbytery and Grace Presbyterian Church as an assistant pastor with the mission of serving as an evangelist to do the work of church planting in Germany. He is also currently pursuing a doctorate at the Theologische Universiteit Apeldoorn in the Netherlands.
Additional members of the R2G endeavor are Rev. Will and Judi Traub. The Traubs previously served as MTW missionaries in Germany for twelve years and are looking forward to moving back to Heidelberg in 2010/11. Will is coordinator for theological education and training for MTW Europe and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Göttingen, Germany.
They are thrilled about the partnership of Grace Presbyterian Church to be involved in the church plant in Heidelberg. Many members of the congregation of Grace PC are personally involved in our ministry. Since R2G is such a massive endeavor, they need many more congregations and individuals to support this work.
They would love to come and present their vision to your missions committee, leadership or church. Join with them in this effort to establish a gospel-centered, confessional, and Reformed church in Germany – to God’s glory and the joy and salvation of many!
For more information in English, please visit Reformation2Germany and sign up for the R2G newsletter.
Also, follow them on Twitter to know how to stay current in praying for them.
For more information in German about the Heidelberg church plant, visit Serk-Heidelberg
