What if God was the conversation of your city?
That’s what happened during the summer of 2012 in Chemnitz, Germany (where 240,000 people live, but only 1% are Christian). The Cru missionary team in that country helped 14 local churches join hands in this former communist East German town for a city-wide campaign to intentionally make Jesus the ‘talk of the town.’
Beforehand, billboards, banners and posters peppered the town, which created a buzz of curiosity. Then about 500 Christians began to publically profess their faith through service projects, performances, flash mobs, street parties, handouts and more. During conversations, they handed out cards with a Knowing God website personalized for Chemnitz.
Chemnitz resident Teresa Engel smiled as she watched a short film about a woman who visited the website after seeing a poster in Chemnitz station. “That was exactly what happened to me. On the 20th of May, I was in the same waiting area when I saw that poster. I thought it might be meaningful so I went to the website. I saw myself there and, when I got to the prayer, I knew it was my turn to invite Jesus into my life.”
Teresa is one of 5,000 clicks to the website which led to 220 prayers and 76 people who made a decision for Jesus and got more information. Also through this campaign, churches were able to launch 4 new Alpha courses.
Cru staff, like Gerhard Spanka, are thrilled that Chemnitz Christians from different churches worked together and learned to share their faith, many for the very first time. “On top of that, we have the products and website now to keep going,” he says.
The campaign may be over but the website continues as a useful platform for Chemnitz Christians to point to in their spiritual conversations. Participating churches decided to have frequent evangelistic street activities together, utilizing the website, and have committed to undertake another major city campaign for 2013.
If you would like help working with churches to canvas your city with the gospel, contact the writer at Jeff.Grant@cru.org.
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