As we pack, prepare and pray for our upcoming year-long journey as Mission Corps missionaries in Switzerland, I have been thinking a lot about the first time I volunteered there.
In June 2002, I went for a six-month stint as a short-term assistant to the communication coordinator at the Eurasia Regional Office -- the same place I will be serving starting in February. Then, as now, I lived on the campus of European Nazarene College (EuNC), next door to the regional office. In that place I was privileged to get acquainted with many of the students at EuNC who hailed from all over Europe and even other continents. It has been a pleasure in the 7 years since then to follow some of these students' ministries from a distance. I have been greatly impressed with the passion, commitment and innovation they are infusing into the Church of the Nazarene in the Eurasia Region.
One of them is Philip Zimmerman. He is now leading a creative ministry in the town of Mainz, Germany, called KiA Mainz. KiA stands for "Kirche in Aktion" (Church in Action.) This group of believers has purchased an old hotel and a number of them live in the hotel, inviting people from the neighborhood who need a place to stay to live among them. Some who accept this invitation are Christians, others are not. But the entire group has embraced a type of ministry focused on living out Christ's love in community, sharing everything in common--perhaps in a similar way to the very early church 2,000 years ago.
As a community these folks conduct projects of love and outreach to Mainz, including baking treats for city workers, sharing hot meals with neighbors, making first-day-of-school gifts for children of refugees, tutoring local school children, making regular visits to a nursing home, and gathering for Bible studies, discipleship and worship services. They are truly being the hands and feet of Christ through incarnational ministry in a country where many are growing up without even basic knowledge of who Jesus Christ is.
If you're interested in learning more about this ministry, visit the Web site kiamainz.de (it's in German) or check out this article in English: http://www.naznef.org/news/newsstory.asp?newsID=89. You can also read some of Philip's reflections in a recent essay on Engage magazine: http://engagemagazine.com/Magazine-Content/Stories/December-2009/The-power-of-presence.aspx
Stay tuned to our blog to hear more exciting stories about current and former students who are up to great things in Europe. We are itching to get there and be part of what God is doing through these energetic and creative leaders.
- Gina
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