Youth churches : a church planting and evangelism strategy for the former German Democratic Republic

2008·0.89 MB·English

by  Burklin, Heiko

YOUTH CHURCHES – A CHURCH PLANTING AND
EVANGELISM STRATEGY FOR THE
FORMER GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

A THESIS
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF
GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY

BY

HEIKO BURKLIN

May 2008
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To the Jugend Kirche Marzahn

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CONTENTS

PREFACE…………………………………………………………………. vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………......... vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………….. viii

ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………….. ix

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION…………………………………........... 1
Thesis Statement…………………………………………………………….. 4
Limitations of the Project………………………………………………….... 5
Definitions and Background Information…………………………………… 8
Overview of Theological Issues…………………………………………….. 11
Literature Review…………………………………………………………… 14
Methodology……………………………………………………………….... 15
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………... 16

CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW ……………………………….. 18
Section I: Current State of Affairs………………………………………….. 18
Section II: Challenge of Youth………………………………………….….. 36
Section III: Youth Church Concept…………………………………………. 43

CHAPTER 3 – THEOLOGICAL REVIEW…………………………….. 50
Section I: Ecclesiology……………………………………………………… 50
Section II: Ecclesiology and Missiology….………………………………… 75
Section III: Church and Culture……………………………………….......... 82
Section IV: Church and Leadership………………………………………… 92

CHAPTER 4 – PROJECT DESIGN – METHODOLOGY…………… 106
Qualitative Research………………………………………………………. 106
Case Study………………………………………………………………… 107
Data Collection……………………………………………………………. 109
Standards for Qualitative Research, and Ethics………………………….... 112
Case Study Database………………………………………………………. 114
Case Study Protocol………………………………………………………... 115
Analysis of Case Study Evidence………………………………………….. 115
Writing Reports……………………………………………………………. 117

CHAPTER 5 – DATA DISPLAY AND ANALYSIS…………………… 119
Case Study Number 1 – Jugendkirche Marzahn…………………………... 119
Case Study Number 2 – Junge Kirche Berlin……………………………... 131
Case Study Number 3 – KRAFTWERK – Dresden …………………….... 140
Case Study Number 4 – Arche in Chemnitz ……………………………… 149
Case Study Number 5 – Lindetalgemeinde Neubrandenburg……………... 157
Cross Case Analysis……………………………………………………….. 164
A Visionary Model for a Youth Church in East Germany………………… 168
Cross Case Analysis Chart: Practical Principles…………………………... 172

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CHAPTER 6 – CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS……. 173
Summary on Religious Context of the former GDR………………………. 173
Summary on Ecclesiology and Missiology………………………………… 176
Summary on the Case Study Research…………………………………….. 178
Outcomes…………………………………………………………………... 179
Recommendations…………………………………………………………. 179
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………. 181

APPENDIX A: LEADERSHIP/CHURCH PLANTING TRACK FOR
MARTIN-BUCER SEMINARY (MBS)………………... 183
APPENDIX B: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK……………………….. 188
APPENDIX C: CASE STUDY PROTOCOL……………………………. 189
APPENDIX D: MULTI-CASE STUDY ELEMENTS…………………… 196
APPENDIX E: TIME LINE: EAST GERMANY AND BERLIN WALL 197
APPENDIX F: TIME LINE: GERMANY………………………………… 198

BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………….. 201

VITA………………………………………………………………………… 211

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PREFACE

The focus of my ministry between the years 2000 and 2006 was church planting
into the youth culture of the post-communistic and thoroughly atheistic environment in the
eastern part of Berlin in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) or commonly
known as East Germany. As can be imagined there are cultural, historical, political, social,
spiritual, socio-economic and religious issues that are unique to this area. These are on top
of the usual challenges facing church planters in the Western world in general at the dawn
of the well-documented and much discussed major paradigm shift from modernism to
post-modernism at the close of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries, with its
concomitant concerns of secularization, globalization, pluralism, relativism, increasing
individualism and value fragmentation.
The question that consumed us as a church planting team during those years was
how effective, biblical, visionary, multiplying and contextualized churches could be
planted in this spiritually-dry geographical area and how this “unreached people group”
could thus join the ranks of the multi-national, multi-lingual, multi-ethnic celebration
around the throne of God described for us in the familiar Johannine vision of Revelation
7:9-10. Our hope and vision was that a saturation church-planting movement in eastern
Berlin would be initiated so that each inhabitant would be given an adequate
understanding of the Good News and the ability to respond to the personal invitation of
Jesus Christ. Our particular emphasis was on the youth, for reasons which have brought
about this work.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research project would not have been possible without the dedicated help of
my advisor Dr. Steve Klipowicz and my second reader Dr. Sabine Schröder. Their insight
and guidance throughout the project were invaluable and instrumental for its completion.
Thanks.
The board of World Witness of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church was
willing to fund all the expenses for this project for which I am very grateful.
The missionary team in Berlin and the planting team of the youth church Marzahn
deserve mention as they picked up the slack while I was pursuing my studies.
Thanks also to personal friends such as David and Robert, my extended family and
especially my parents who have always believed in me and supported me.
Last but not least, a big thank you is in order for my dear wife Kay and our three
boys, Stephan, Yannick and Micah, for allowing her husband and their father to commit a
big portion of his time to the completion of this project.

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ABBREVIATIONS

DDR Deutsche Demokratische Republik or GDR
EKD Evangelische Kirche Deutschland or Evangelical Church in Germany
FeG Freie evangelische Gemeinde; a free church denomination
GCTS Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
GDR German Democratic Republic or DDR
HU Homogenous Unit
HUP Homogenous Unit Principle
MBS Martin Bucer Seminary
NIV New International Version
PCA Presbyterian Church in America
SED Sozialistiche Einheitspartei Deutschlands or Socialist Unity Party of
Germany
UK United Kingdom
USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

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ABSTRACT

The current situation of the church in the former German Democratic Republic
(East Germany) is marked by extensive Konfessionslosigkeit and a-religiosity. Traditional
church planting methods are highly ineffective in reaching the thoroughly atheistic,
secularized East German citizen.
Therefore, this research project investigates, explores and studies various youth
church plants in the East German context and reflects biblically, theologically and
missiologically on the youth church concept. The paradigm of critical contextualization
provides a helpful framework for evaluation of culture and the youth church concept.
The conclusion maintains the defensibility of the youth church concept
missiologically even though the premise of the concept, the homogenous unit principle, is
theologically flawed. It calls for more youth churches to be planted in one of the most
challenging areas globally and provides a model for a youth church in the East German
context and a proposal for a leadership and church planting track for youth church
planters.

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

“Most East Germans have forgotten that they have forgotten God.”1 This quote
begins to explain the challenge of church planting in this region of Germany which, in
certain areas, is up to eighty-eight percent atheistic.2 Several young people of a
neighboring youth church plant in East Berlin did a short questionnaire in a local mall
asking forty adults a simple question: “Do you believe in God?” Not even one responded
in the affirmative. One man did say that he thought that it might be nice if a god did in fact
exist, but we all knew that there is no such thing as a real deity.
“De-christianization – the worst result of the SED (Sozialistiche Einheitspartei
Deutschlands or Socialist Unity Party of Germany) church politics.”3 “The SED tried to
abolish many things: private property, market economy, inequality, democracy. Most of
those returned. Only one thing did not – Christianity. The disappearance of religion is the
biggest success of the SED.”4 These are just two quotes from the thorough and well-

1 Alexander Garth, a Lutheran pastor who has successfully planted a youth church in East Berlin
and transitioned it into a multi-generational church, made this statement to the author in the interview for
this project on February 16, 2007 in Berlin.

2 Greeley and Jagodzinski. “Top 10 Countries with the Highest Proportion of Atheists – 1991,”
Adherents.com, http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_atheist.html (accessed April 11, 2007). Other
sources indicate that nearly eighty percent are without a confession (“konfessionslos” or not a member of
any church) in the former GDR, e.g. Detlef Pollack, Kirche in der Organisationsgesellschaft: Zum Wandel
der gesellschaftlichen Lage der evangelischen Kirche in der DDR, (Stuttgart, Berlin, Köln: Kohlhammer,
1994), 374.

3 Rainer Eppelmann, Martin-Michael Passauer, and Peter Maser, “Entchristianisierung – die
schlimmste Folge der SED-Kirchenpolitik,” epd Dokumentation, Evangelischer Pressedienst, Nr. 41/94, (4.
Oktober 1994). This quote is the title of this volume of the periodical.

4 Wolfgang Büscher, “Kein Gott, nirgends,” Gemeinschaftswerk Evangelischer Publizistik, (June
26, 1998), 1. A distinction should be made here between the actual belief in God (which was almost
completely eradicated) and the structure or organization of the church in the GDR. The structure of the
parish churches remained intact even during the GDR. After the wall came down, when everything about the
GDR was being dismantled and this nation ceased to exist, the church structure remained. Some East
Germans take great pride in the fact that the state church was the only institution that refused allegiance to
the GDR regime and remained after the wall came down. Some point to this as a reason why East Germans
put more trust in the state church today than in free churches and other religious groups.
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