Gospel Forum

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gospel Forum
Gospel Forum Logo
Motto: Inspired by God
General
Belief Neo-Charismatic Movement
organization e. V.
Chair Peter Wenz
founding
founder Paula Gassner
Establishment date 1955
Place of foundation Talstrasse 70 in Stuttgart-East
numbers
Members Over 5,000
Others
Also called: Gospel Forum Stuttgart
Website www.gospel-forum.de

The Gospel Forum Stuttgart e. V. , formerly Biblical Faith Congregation , in short: BGG, is a free church in Stuttgart . It belongs to the charismatic and neo- charismatic movement .

history

The origins of the Gospel Forum can be traced back to the missionary Paula Gassner who, after her return from England in Bad Cannstatt , founded the Stuttgart Prayer Groups of Full Salvation between 1935 and 1937 . She managed to save the Christian community through the Nazi era by working underground between 1936 and 1944. In the spring of 1937, Friedrich Walker, who was paralyzed for around nine years, was supernaturally healed. During the war she had already held house and hall meetings in several places in Stuttgart and the surrounding area and had a great number of visitors. With her preaching service she had an impact all the way into the Black Forest.

After the war, from 1945 tent meetings took place on the Cannstatter Wasen and evangelistic free meetings on the Schloßplatz in Stuttgart. During these public missions she also met Karl Friedrich Fix (1897-1969). They got together in an international people's mission , which was part of the Pentecostal movement . This connection resulted in the people's mission of determined Christians in southern Germany after 1945 .

In 1951 Paula Gassner terminated this collaboration. She justified this step with a theological conflict between her and Fix.

In October 1955 Gassner founded the non-profit association Biblical Faith Congregation . Between 1955 and 1964 services were held in various halls and buildings in Stuttgart, including the Linden Museum , the Kunzibau and the Daimler Oberschule. Baptisms of believers took place in the Cannstatt City Baths . In 1964 the planning and construction of a mission house with a large assembly hall began at Talstrasse 70 in Stuttgart-East. The topping-out ceremony was celebrated the following year. With the inauguration in April 1965, the BGG was given a permanent seat. Gassner lived there with several religious sisters in a communal household. Today this small center is the seat and administration of the BGG. The rooms are also used for events such as church services in foreign languages, training courses, celebrations, etc.

Paula Gassner headed BGG until her death in February 1981. Thus she was the only "preaching woman" in Germany who led a Pentecostal church until her death. After the death of the founder, the number of parishioners fell to less than 100 parishioners. Gassner's successor was Rolf Cilwik. In the fall of 1984 he left the BGG and followed Reinhard Bonnke's call to Frankfurt.

In 1984 the 26-year-old Peter Wenz became pastor of BGG Stuttgart after a three-month internship. According to its own statements, the BGG underwent a "spiritual renewal" that lasted from 1984 to 1986. The Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that during this time the style of preaching changed from the "pretentious Württemberg-pietistic tradition" to "devotional sermon with a shirt-sleeved speech". In May 1986 the BGG started the house group work . The BGG describes this today as its “spiritual breakthrough”. In 1986 the number of members doubled.

In 1987, 305 people attended the church service. This made it necessary to rent various halls ( Gustav-Siegle-Haus in Stuttgart-Mitte, Sängerhalle in Untertürkheim and Raichberg Realschule in Stuttgart-Ost ) for church services. After 1990 there were two years of strong congregation growth , so that the Geneva Hall rented from 1990 in the Hotel Stuttgart International was hardly sufficient. In 1992 the BGG had 1000 members. From October 1995, the services were held in the Musical Hall (today the Apollo Theater) in Möhringen .

Between 1998 and 2001, the “Gospel Forum” event center was the current meeting place for the community. In 1998, the construction of the new community center was preceded by the purchase of the property at Junghansstrasse 9 in Feuerbach near Stuttgart's Pragsattel . On June 30, 2000, the topping-out ceremony was celebrated for the approximately 20 meter high building with a flat roof and glass fronts. Since the first service and inauguration in January 2001, it has provided space for around 2,500 people. It serves as a venue for celebrations, seminars and conferences. There is a Bible school as well as rooms for young people and children, as well as a sports hall and underground car park as well as the “Blue Chapel”.

At the end of 2018 there was a leadership crisis in the church after four board members and pastors resigned because they did not agree with the course of the leading pastor and chairman of the board of the sponsoring association, Peter Wenz. He made most of the decisions alone, did not involve the board and found it difficult to deal with any kind of criticism, it was said to justify. In addition, around half of the 1,300 volunteer employees have given up their services. At an extraordinary general meeting on December 13, 2018, many participants left the hall in protest. With the support of 117 new club members, Wenz was then re-elected.

As a result, resigned parishioners, including five former pastors of the Gospel Forum, founded the God in Life association in December 2019 . This is legally supported by the association Brothaus Protestant-Free Church Community e. V. worn. The Royl Rangers tribe 35, a scouting work and the largest tribe in Germany with 1465 members, who joined the Gospel Forum in December 2018 , also switched to the God in Life association and now has the number 553.

present

The community has over 3,000 adult members and 1,400 children and young people are active. In 2010 around 3,900 German-speaking adults, around 500 children and around 500 foreign-language Christians attended the services every weekend . The community employs 70 people .

The Gospel Forum has 22 international employees from Germany in 13 countries around the world with a focus on Africa. Over 100 locals work in BGG International's projects .

The Gospel Forum also includes church planting for groups of foreigners, for example Ghanaians, Congolese, Italians and Filipinos. In addition, church planting projects have been initiated across Germany in recent years.

The Gospel Forum does not belong to any particular denomination or congregation. At the local level, it works with the Evangelical Alliance in Stuttgart. Peter Wenz is a member and speaker in the nationwide circle of charismatic leaders (KCLD).

Church services

The church services dispense with traditional forms and liturgies , but because of their size they are carefully planned and, thanks to modern technology, such as video projectors and microphones, they are well organized. The Gospel Forum offers simultaneous translation into up to 15 languages. Since mid-September 2011 the services on Sunday mornings have also been broadcast live on the Internet.

The house groups referred to as “house churches” at the Gospel Forum are also a focus of community life.

According to the Gospel Forum, the contents of the gospel are of central importance and are addressed in every service. At the same time, the services are demand-oriented. Spiritual needs such as experiencing God, hearing his word and times of praise and worship, and prayer for personal concerns are also high priorities.

On average, over 4,000 people attend the Gospel Forum services on weekends.

Holy Spirit Night

The Gospel Forum organizes a national youth service twice a year, the Holy Spirit Night , HSN for short. The youth service includes a praise part at the beginning, prophetic impulses, a sermon and a final praise part. On October 6, 2012, the Holy Spirit Night took place in the Porsche Arena with 6,000 visitors. On 29./30. September 2017 saw the Holy Spirit Night 2017 in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle a total of 11,000 visitors.

theology

The Gospel Forum represents a neo-charismatic theology. According to information from the Württemberg regional church, the director Peter Wenz is considered to be a - meanwhile moderate - representative of the doctrine of the Word of Faith .

Affiliated works

The Gospel Forum is integrated into the charismatic scene and its groups and works. Various institutions are affiliated with it:

  • In 1988 the Stuttgart Bible Teaching Center was founded, today's Gospel Forum Academy , which offers part-time theological and practical diaconal courses both part-time and full-time.
  • The CSV Stuttgart 1999 e. V. (CSV Stuttgart) is a Christian sports club that offers a variety of sports.
  • Weg zur Freiheit (WzF) is an inpatient therapeutic facility for addicts based in Warmbronn , which was founded in 1990. The facility is financed through donations and its own services through a non-profit GmbH . There are ten therapy places. The six full-time employees have a technical training with additional training in therapy.

criticism

Characteristics of neo-charismatic movements

Criticism of the Gospel Forum concerns, among other things, points that are generally criticized of the evangelical movement and above all of the neo-charismatic movement, for example promises of healing, the Toronto blessing , the proclamation of the " prosperity gospel ", homophobia , emphasis on demonic influences and related to the "spiritual Warfare ". There are also conflicts because some see Peter Wenz's management style as too authoritarian. The SWR reported in 2004 as part of its three-part series Engel, Teufel, Hexen in the episode Devil - Return of the Exorcists about the community. In 2005 there was a dialogue in which alumni of the church spoke critically to Peter Wenz.

Miraculous healings

There were several reports in evangelical media about alleged miracle healings at events of the Gospel Forum. At the end of his talk at Holy Spirit Night in October 2012, guest speaker Daniel Kolenda, an American missionary , told the 6,000 visitors that someone was in the hall about to have a heart transplant. This is no longer needed because God created a new heart for him. Pastor Wenz himself is quoted from a church service with the words: "God just spoke to my heart, someone is now being healed of his pancreas."

Restrictive sexual ethics

According to a report by the taz, a guidebook was also distributed via the Gospel Forum that describes premarital intercourse and oral intercourse as the works of the devil and warns that masturbation leads to "demonic addiction".

Family isolation

In a documentary about the Biblical Church of Faith on SWR television, journalist Tobias Müller reports that several BGG members broke off contact with their families. In terms of the previous life context, this would have led to the isolation of those affected.

literature

  • Reinhard Hempelmann: Light and shadow of the Christian revival. Characteristics and challenges of Pentecostal-charismatic piety . Quell Verlag, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-7918-3441-X , pp. 67-76.
  • Friedhelm Jung: What is Evangelical? Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-89436-528-8 , p. 43ff.
  • Georg Schmid: Biblical Faith Community Stuttgart. In: Oswald Eggenberger, Georg Schmid, Georg Otto Schmid (eds.): The churches, sects, religions: A manual. P. 151. TVZ Theologischer Verlag; 7th edition, April 2003, ISBN 3-290-17215-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Own presentation of history ( memento of the original from August 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the BGG Stuttgart (accessed on October 15, 2008)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bgg-stuttgart.de
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Matthias Drobinski : The first German mega-church. "Hey, the gentleman is here, let's give him a real applause" In the online edition of the Süddeutsche Zeitung of January 3, 2006
  3. ^ A b c Ludwig David Eisenlöffel: Free Church Pentecostal Movement in Germany. P. 76
  4. ^ Ludwig David Eisenlöffel: Free Church Pentecostal Movement in Germany. P. 53
  5. ^ Hans Harter:  FIX, Karl Friedrich. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 27, Bautz, Nordhausen 2007, ISBN 978-3-88309-393-2 , Sp. 438-441.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive ) (accessed October 15, 2008)
  6. ↑ Paula Gassner: In the potter's hand. The autobiography of Paula Gassner . Self-published by the Biblical Belief Community in Stuttgart 1977.
  7. ^ Pentecostal Movement ( Memento of February 5, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed October 15, 2008) Archive of October 12, 2012.
  8. ^ A b c Ludwig David Eisenlöffel: Free Church Pentecostal Movement in Germany. P. 103.
  9. ↑ a b Own representation Contact ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the BGG Stuttgart (accessed on February 6, 2012)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bgg-stuttgart.de
  10. ↑ Own representation by BGG International ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the BGG Stuttgart (accessed on October 15, 2008)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bgg-stuttgart.de
  11. ^ Gospel Forum: The leadership crisis continues. In: idea.de , January 11, 2019.
  12. ^ Dispute in the Gospel Forum - Battle in the Gospel Forum. In: matthiasruf.wordpress.com. December 18, 2018, accessed July 19, 2020 .
  13. ↑ God in Life Association. In: god-in-life.de. Retrieved July 19, 2020 .
  14. ^ Website Royal Rangers Stamm 35 , accessed on April 11, 2013
  15. ↑ information Rowww.god-in-life.deyal Rangers Federal Office, Winterbach, as of December 31, 2012
  16. ↑ RR-553 Stuttgart 4 - Royal Rangers nearby. Retrieved July 19, 2020 .
  17. ^ Royal Rangers Scouting. Retrieved July 19, 2020 .
  18. ↑ Stuttgart church services at the weekend overrun by visitors Charisma Magazin Nachrichten. October 9, 2012 (Retrieved October 10, 2012).
  19. ↑ Holy Spirit Night website . Retrieved October 9, 2012
  20. ↑ Holy Spirit Night: Divine service with a controversial message In: Stuttgarter Nachrichten , October 8, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2012
  21. ↑ Stuttgart church services at the weekend overrun by visitors Charisma Magazin Nachrichten. October 9, 2012 (Retrieved October 10, 2012).
  22. ↑ "Word of Life Communities" and the "Word of Faith Doctrine" In: religio.de .
  23. ↑ Gospel Forum Akademie website , accessed on December 22, 2012
  24. ↑ CSV Stuttgart website , accessed on December 22, 2012
  25. ↑ WzF website , accessed on December 22, 2012
  26. ↑ Help on the way out of the addiction  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Leonberger Kreiszeitung, July 14, 2010, accessed December 26, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / content.stuttgarter-zeitung.de  
  27. ↑ PDF  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . bgg-stuttgart.de , September 29, 2007.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.bgg-stuttgart.de  
  28. ↑ Helge Stadelmann, Alexander Seibel: New practices within the Pentecostal charismatic movements. vigi-sectes.org, archived from the original on March 6, 2014 ; accessed on March 20, 2016 .
  29. ↑ PDF . gottfried-meskemper.de , May 8, 2007.
  30. ↑ a b Wolf Schmidt: For God's sake! Ed .: The daily newspaper . January 10, 2009 ( online [accessed February 4, 2013]).
  31. ↑ PDF, p. 3.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. weltanschauungsbeauftragte.elk-wue.de , accessed July 16, 2012.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.weltanschauungsbeauftragte.elk-wue.de  
  32. ↑ The return of the occult - three-part reportage series ( Memento from April 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  33. ^ BGG critical - an information portal: Collection of critical reports from former members, visitors and employees of the BGG on the website Geistlicher Abusive in Deutschland
  34. ↑ Holy Spirit Night: Divine service with a controversial message In: Stuttgarter Nachrichten , October 8, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2012
  35. ↑ Wolf Schmidt: For God's sake! Ed .: The daily newspaper . January 10, 2009 ( online [accessed February 4, 2013]).
  36. ↑ SWR: young documentary film. new season from September 22, 2008 , p. 16 f.