Philadelphia Club

The Philadelphia Association , based in Leonberg, is the legal sponsor of the Philadelphia Work, a non-denominational, Christian work. With its diaconal institutions, it is a member of the Diaconal Work of the Evangelical Church in Württemberg e. V. based in Stuttgart.

organization

Foundation and self-image

The association was founded in 1945 by missionary Christian Röckle (1883–1966) after the Philadelphia Movement emerged in 1942 - a spiritual awakening movement that was intended to shake people up to live the Christian faith with full commitment and to accept the offer of the boundless love of God and them to pass on in everyday life. According to its founder, it should be a gathering movement to prepare “true believers” from all churches as the “Bride of Jesus Christ” for the return of the Lord, with the emphasis on a life of discipleship and sanctification.

Conferences

In 1946 the “Philadelphia Conferences”, which were initially called Alliance Conferences, began with the general theme “The Second Coming of Jesus and Our Preparation”. This conference was continued in this spirit and with the same theme and took place every year in Leonberg until the 2010s.

Newsletters

Philadelphia Letters magazine was launched in 1948 . Christian Röckle saw it as a necessity to give the movement a public organ. For many years the magazine was published in a simple version every two months. It was mostly kept with an edifying content. Sometimes current topics were also included.

In 2003 the Philadelphia Letters were redesigned. They now also report on the current spiritual activities of the Philadelphia Association. Today they appear up to four times a year.

publishing company

To distribute the writings of Christian Röckle and other spiritual literature, a separate publishing house and bookstore was founded in 1949.

farm

The Philadelphia Association has been running its own farm since 1954 in order to supply its employees and the affiliated houses, the Bible and convalescent home, the old people's and nursing home and the children's home with its own products. The idea that you want to know where your own food comes from plays an important role.

In 1961 an emigrant farm was built. The gardening and agricultural buildings are located there. As a Christian community, the idea of cultivating and preserving creation is obvious, therefore gardening and agriculture are run according to ecological guidelines (Bioland). The “Farm as a learning place in Heckengäu” project gives many school classes an insight into food production every year.

Diaconal institutions

The association is affiliated with the Diakonisches Werk and maintains several diaconal institutions:

a Bible and recreation home in Leonberg (until 2015 and 2017),
a retirement and nursing home (Haus Friederike) in Ditzingen,
a children's home and a leisure center in Murrhardt ,
several residential buildings as well as a bookstore and the Philadelphia publishing house as the bearer of Röckle's writings and all of the writings on the subject.

criticism

The Philadelphia Doctrine is controversial because it - over and above the Christian doctrine of the perfect, sin-forgiving sacrificial death of Jesus Christ - requires further involvement of the believer in the form of personal effort and makes perfect freedom from sin a condition for attaining salvation. The teaching focuses on the "bride church". According to Röckle, God wants a bridal congregation that “does not have a spot or wrinkle” (Ephesians 5:27).

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Who we are - self-image of the association. Philadelphia Association V., accessed February 19, 2012 .
↑ Where we come from - beginnings of the association. Philadelphia Association V., accessed February 19, 2012 .
↑ Hutten: seers, brooders, enthusiasts. 12th edition, 1982, p. 240.
↑ The Origin of the Conferences. Philadelphia Association V., accessed February 19, 2012 .
↑ The History of the Philadelphia Letters. Philadelphia Association V., accessed February 19, 2012 .
^ Publishing house and bookstore. Philadelphia Association V., accessed February 19, 2012 .
↑ Gardening and Agriculture. Philadelphia Association V., accessed February 19, 2012 .
↑ "[...] The Spirit of God, who did this work of grace without all his merit and worthiness, also glorify Christ as his Redeemer and Savior, that is, to make it clear to him that he cannot be saved without the work of redemption at Golgotha […] “(Röckle, Philadelphia-Briefe 165/166, 1963).
↑ Röckle never emphasized the identity of the Bridal Church and the Philadelphia Movement, but always proclaimed that the Philadelphia Movement was only a gathering place for those Christians who strive to participate in the rapture . See Philadelphia Movement . religio.de. Retrieved April 26, 2013.

[1] Who we are - self-image of the association. Philadelphia Association V., accessed February 19, 2012 .

[2] Where we come from - beginnings of the association. Philadelphia Association V., accessed February 19, 2012 .

[3] Hutten: seers, brooders, enthusiasts. 12th edition, 1982, p. 240.

[4] The Origin of the Conferences. Philadelphia Association V., accessed February 19, 2012 .

[5] The History of the Philadelphia Letters. Philadelphia Association V., accessed February 19, 2012 .

[6] Publishing house and bookstore. Philadelphia Association V., accessed February 19, 2012 .

[7] Gardening and Agriculture. Philadelphia Association V., accessed February 19, 2012 .

[8] "[...] The Spirit of God, who did this work of grace without all his merit and worthiness, also glorify Christ as his Redeemer and Savior, that is, to make it clear to him that he cannot be saved without the work of redemption at Golgotha […] “(Röckle, Philadelphia-Briefe 165/166, 1963).

[9] Röckle never emphasized the identity of the Bridal Church and the Philadelphia Movement, but always proclaimed that the Philadelphia Movement was only a gathering place for those Christians who strive to participate in the rapture . See Philadelphia Movement . religio.de. Retrieved April 26, 2013.