Spiritual renewal in the Evangelical Church

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Working group for spiritual renewal in the Evangelical Church
(GGE)
logo
legal form registered association
founding 1979
founder Wolfram Kopfermann
Seat Hamburg , Germany
motto Church in the spirit of the inventor
main emphasis Worship services, community promotion, pastoral care
Action space Germany
Chair Henning Dobers (1st chair), Brigitte Fietz (2nd chair)
Members about 10,000 friends in Germany
Website www.gge-deutschland.de

The Spiritual Community Renewal in the Evangelical Church (GGE) is a charismatic spiritual movement in the Protestant regional churches in Germany . It is a pastoral care and worship movement that organizes free church services and worship services, introduces new songs to church services, supports and carries out healing prayer according to Jak 5: 13-16  LUT , and promotes, supports and offers the establishment of basic faith courses and alpha courses in congregations to to experience the love of God and to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit .

history

After charismatic new beginnings in the 1950s and 1960s, the first conference with Arnold Bittlinger and Larry Christenson ( USA ) took place in Enkenbach / Pfalz in 1963 . From the first Königstein meeting, which took place in 1965, an Ecumenical Church Congress developed . In 1968 an ecumenical center of life for Christian unity was founded in Craheim . In 1973 there was an ecumenical church week work in the GDR , in 1974 the Christ Service Thuringia was constituted. In 1976 the Würzburg guidelines were adopted, which contain the declared goal of a charismatically renewed church. In the same year, annual non-denominational summer conferences were launched in Berlin-Weißensee under the direction of Paul Toaspern . In 1977, the Borsdorf Convention was formed under the direction of Pastor Gottfried Rebner, which later developed into the working group for spiritual renewal in the GDR .

In 1978, under the first chairman Wolfram Kopfermann, the Charismatic Community Renewal in the Evangelical Church (CHARGE) was founded, one year later the GGE became a registered association in the EKD and set up its office in Hamburg.

After Wolfram Kopfermann left the Evangelical Church in 1988 to found the independent Anskar Church , Pastor Friedrich Aschoff became the first chairman of the GGE. In 1991 the GGE of the GDR was united with the GGE West to form a joint management group, chaired by Friedrich Aschoff, who was represented by Wolfgang Breithaupt. In 1991, the GGE and the Association for Community Development (AGGA) carried out the first community congress in Nuremberg, which was to take place annually from now on; The first pastoral care conferences took place in Friedrichshafen and Hanover .

In 1994, under the direction of Christoph von Abendroth, the conference center in Obernkirchen Abbey near Bückeburg was put into service. In 1996 the GGE introduced the alpha courses in Germany, which had been tried and tested in England and which were soon successful. In 1999 Jesus 2000 took place in Nuremberg as a joint congress of charismatic movements in Germany.

In 2000 the youth network jesusgeneration.de was launched (taken offline in 2010). Around 50,000 participants came to the first Jesus Day in Berlin . In 2002, together with YWAM, began publishing the magazine Come .

In 2008, Holger and Ulrike Tielbürger took over the management of the Obernkirchen conference center. From 2004 to 2011 Pastor Dieter Keucher (Luther Church Parish Chemnitz) headed the GGE as chairman. His predecessor Friedrich Aschoff has been honorary chairman since 2004. Pastor Henning Dobers from Hann. Münden 1st chairman of the GGE. In 2011, for organizational reasons, the head office was moved from Hamburg to Hann. Münden and thus relocated more to the center of Germany. In 2011 the GGE started the Germany prays campaign . There are also comparable (non-denominational) movements in some free churches.

structure

The working group for spiritual renewal in the Evangelical Church is a religious non-profit association. Its organs are the board of directors and a management group that functions as the general assembly. The office in Hann. Münden, whose managing director in Hamburg was Lorenz Reithmeier from 1987 to 2011. Since 2011, Pastor Henning Dobers has been managing the office in Hann. Münden currently has two employees. The letter to the friends appears four times a year . In addition, a newsletter is sent out at regular intervals (GGE aktuell). A separate conference center in the Obernkirchen Abbey near Bückeburg under the direction of Pastors Holger and Ulrike Tielbürger offers seminars on spiritual and pastoral topics. The house is also open to other groups. Its own publishing house publishes comments and literature on current issues in church and society. The work in the individual regional churches is coordinated by independent regional offices, and in some EKD member churches (Westphalia, Württemberg, Thuringia, Bavaria, North) independent associations have also been established. The first chairman of the GGE has been Pastor Henning Dobers from Hann. Münden, honorary chairman has been Pastor Friedrich Aschoff since 2004. Further board members are Pastor Brigitte Fietz (Munich-Laim), Superintendent i. R. Peter Heß (Perleberg), Brigitte Krause (Rostock), Silvia Jöhring-Langert (Lippstadt). The board of directors is elected for two years, the first chairman for four years. Re-election is possible.

Mark

According to Dobers, the spiritual renewal of the congregation in 2018 is characterized by the following characteristic elements and goals:

  • People should experience the love of God, receive forgiveness from Jesus Christ and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
  • Prayer for healing and renewal is practiced.
  • Lively church services with diverse gifts, creative elements, personal blessings and modern music are celebrated.
  • Free expressions of spirituality are encouraged.
  • Personal encounter with God is sought through prayer, worship and music.
  • The Bible is believed to be trustworthy.
  • Pastoral care is exercised in the power of the Holy Spirit and manifests itself in internal and external healing.
  • Church life is made inviting so that it can have a positive impact on society.
  • Lived unity between Christians and churches is promoted.
  • Wrong paths in church, theology and society are reversed.
  • Reconciliation and unity with Israel are sought.
  • Gifts given by the Holy Spirit are discovered and practiced.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Henning Dobers: We encourage you to open yourself to the Holy Spirit , Evangelical news agency idea , Wetzlar May 16, 2018, p. 27
  2. ↑ GGE of the Baptists.
  3. ↑ Henning Dobers: We encourage you to open yourself to the Holy Spirit , Evangelische Nachrichtenagentur idea, Wetzlar May 16, 2018, pp. 26–29