GvC movement

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The GvC movement - formerly a community of Christians - is an evangelical free church with evangelical character from Switzerland . It was founded in 1960 by the evangelist Charles Reichenbach and today comprises five free churches at different locations, which are visited by around 2,000 people every week, as well as the Quellenhof Foundation and SoA Thurgau .

structure

The GvC movement is an umbrella organization to which five local Protestant free churches from German-speaking Switzerland belong:

The GvC movement is led by Johannes Wirth . The five individual local free churches are independent bodies, organized as associations, which are headed by local pastors.

In contrast to many other free churches , the GvC movement has no membership. Accordingly, there are no democratic community assemblies. Community life itself is mainly shaped by volunteer workers. The aim is for everyone to be employed according to their talents and to flourish through their collaboration.

history

The GvC movement emerged from a Bible study with the evangelist Charles Reichenbach in 1960 in Winterthur. Inspired by a dream, Johannes Wirth's youth group began to look after people on the fringes of society, which resulted in the Quellenhof Foundation. Later the move to Neuhegi and the foundation of further local churches followed. Driven by the dream of witnessing human life flourish, the GvC movement also dared unconventional ideas such as church services in a circus tent.

GvC Winterthur

With the purchase of the old mill, GvC Winterthur ended up in Neuhegi , a rapidly developing district of Winterthur, at the end of the 1990s , where the Mülisaal with 350 seats could be built near the Oberwinterthur train station . The strong onset of growth subsequently forced GvC Winterthur to come up with unconventional ideas again and again. So through a dream the idea came up to bridge the time to a new building in a big top. For around three years, GvC Winterthur celebrated its services in an old tent of the Monti Circus . In June 2006, after just under nine months of construction, the park arena was inaugurated. The multifunctional congress building, located directly at Eulachpark , offers space for 1,250 people and, in addition to church events, also regularly hosts corporate events, congresses or entertainment events of all kinds. The rooms, which are equipped with the latest event technology, are available in various sizes and can be rented by associations and companies.

Due to the strong growth, a decision was made to found more local free churches from 1999 onwards.

GvC Bassersdorf

They first met in the former Methodist chapel in Bassersdorf . At the end of 2005, the renovations began, most of which were carried out by volunteers. In spring 2006 the congregation was able to move into their new home.

GvC Frauenfeld

In August 2009 the decision was made to found a local GvC in Frauenfeld. In June 2010 the Chrischona community in Frauenfeld offered its rooms to sublet. Since January 2012, GvC Frauenfeld has had its own rooms, an industrial hall that was converted in 3 months with volunteers for their purposes.

GvC Züri Oberland

GvC Züri Oberland was originally founded in Uster and initially met in an event hall on Buchhaldenstrasse. After an intensive planning phase, the new, larger premises in Aathal could be moved into in spring 2015.

GvC Wil

GvC Wil was founded out of GvC Winterthur in 2004 and is currently meeting in a hall in the industrial area on Glärnischstrasse in Wil.

Teaching

The basis of the teaching is the Bible and the apostolic creed as well as the faith basis of the European Evangelical Alliance and the Lausanne commitment . As a common vision of the individual free churches of the GvC movement, the following guiding principles were defined:

«We want to see how people from all generations encounter God and how their lives blossom. We want to see with our own eyes how the church becomes socially relevant again. That is why we are building a life changing and transparent church. That is why we build places of community in the various GvC Groups. That is why we as a church serve our neighbors and society. "

According to the declaration of the Free Churches of the Association of Evangelical Free Churches and Congregations in Switzerland , the GvC movement adheres to the following principles, among others:

«Freedom of choice: Our activities and offers are characterized by transparency, voluntariness and freedom of conscience. Manipulative methods are not tolerated. Leaving the VFG Free Churches is possible at any time and is not associated with any disadvantages.
Christian values: We actively stand up for Christian values: freedom of belief, charity, forgiveness, hope through the life-changing power of God, mercy, justice, human dignity, right to life, protection of the weak, restoration of the broken, help for the needy.
Financing: We finance ourselves exclusively through voluntary donations, membership fees, grants and income. There is no principle of church tax in the VFG free churches. "

Focus of work

Church services

The GvC movement places its weekly church services at the heart of its work. These services are characterized by contemporary music, multimedia presentations and sermons in everyday language. In addition, the services are increasingly being spread on the Internet through podcasts and live streaming.

Community

The church offer is supplemented by a large number of age- and target group-specific offers. Many of them have a special focus on being together:

“In the midst of a vibrant, fast-paced and challenging society, we value real and encouraging communities. We believe that we were created to be in communion with God and one another. That is why our varied offers are places to easily make contacts and live friendships. We experience that where community is lived, people flourish. "

Social work

Social engagement has always been an important area of ​​work for the GvC movement. On the basis of Christian charity , the GvC movement supports people on the fringes of society.

In response to the misery of drugs and the plight of many young people in the 1980s, Johannes Wirth and Marcel Mettler founded the Quellenhof Foundation (QHS) in 1990 .

The purpose is the reintegration of addicts or mentally ill people. In addition, it offers IV jobs, apprenticeships, job coaching and work training in its workshops, as well as living spaces in Oberwinterthur , Neuhegi , Gundetswil and Dinhard . 100 employees look after 160 people. In 2017, QHS trained 20 apprentices. For this she received the local job creation award. In its guidelines, the QHS describes itself as “Christian non-denominational”. But the basis of their work is the "Christian faith". Their motto is “God's love in action”. According to its own information, QHS had a turnover of CHF 12 million in 2017, 37% of which was generated, 31% from daily allowances and communal integration contributions, 22% from cantonal subsidies and 10% from donations. The QHS equity financing ratio was last 47%.

TownVillage

In cooperation with the GvC movement, QHS is building a multi-generation residential project for 39 million francs on its site in the Neuhegi district of Winterthur. In addition to 61 rental apartments, the TownVillage also includes IV workshops, a cooking park for the operated congress center and offices for the QHS and GvC Winterthur.

Connections to other churches

GvC Winterthur belongs to the Evangelical Alliance Winterthur and the Association of Evangelical Free Churches and Congregations in Switzerland (VFG).

literature

  • Johannes Wirth, Verena Birchler: Never give up: experience God's possibilities . Brunnen-Verlag, Basel / Gießen 2010, ISBN 978-3-7655-1469-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Home - GvC Bassersdorf. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  2. ↑ GvC Frauenfeld | Hall 5. Accessed December 7, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Home - GvC Wil. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Home - GvC Winterthur. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Home - GvC ZO. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  6. ^ Next Step Leadership - GvC Winterthur. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  7. ^ Collaboration - GvC Winterthur. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Church and Congress Center GvC Chile Hegi - Winterthur Glossary. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Portrait - GvC Bassersdorf. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Who is GvC Frauenfeld. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Portrait - GvC ZO. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Portrait - GvC Wil. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  13. ↑ Portrait - GvC Winterthur. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  14. ^ Association of Protestant Free Churches and Communities Switzerland: Declaration Free Church. (PDF) Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  15. ^ Church services - GvC Winterthur. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  16. ↑ Portrait - GvC Winterthur. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
  17. ↑ a b Till Hirsekorn: In "Neuhegi's new soul" . In: The Landbote . November 17, 2018 ( landbote.ch [accessed December 7, 2018]).
  18. ↑ Portrait - GvC Winterthur. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .