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1262: Köln Christian Church, Köln, Germany Mystery Worshipper: King Solomon. The church: Christliche Gemeinde Köln (Köln Christian Church), Köln, Germany. Denomination: Independent – the style was clearly Pentecostal. Comment: See the discussion thread on this report. The building: A converted warehouse complex. On site there is the meeting hall, a bookshop, a canteen and the church office plus several smaller meeting rooms. There is also a car park in the courtyard of the church, but that is for pastors only. The church: Services are translated into several languages (English, French, Bulgarian, Russian and Portugese) and as a result the nations do come! The members hail from all over Köln. There are lots of young people, but also some oldies. They conduct a successful ministry to the poor, and quite a few beneficiaries of this ministry have joined the church. It is a cell church, with 39 cells (they call them apostolic teams) in Köln and the surrounding cities. With around 400 members, it is the largest non-Catholic church in the Köln/Bonn metropolitan area. The neighbourhood: Industrial area in the northern part of Köln. The church is close to the Ford plant, one of the biggest car manufacturing plants in Germany. The B9 expressway goes straight past the church, and the complex is clearly visible from the expressway. The cast: The service was led by the senior pastor, Dr Terry Jones. The preacher was John Engel, a Canadian pastor who is also part of the leadership team in this church. The date & time: Friday, 7 April 2006, 7.30pm. What was the name of the service? Celebrations Gottesdienst (Service). How full was the building? The building seats 500 people and was about 60 per cent full. Did anyone welcome you personally? Did they indeed! As I entered, the welcome team at the door greeted me and showed me the way to the meeting hall. During the service there was a time to greet each other, and everyone sitting near me greeted me warmly. Finally during the notices at the end of the service, all first timers were asked to stand up. We received information about the church, a list of the 39 apostolic teams, and two vouchers – one for a sandwich in the cafeteria after the service and the other for the sermon tape of the service. In all you cannot be more welcoming than this. The only thing to criticise is the fact that the car parks at the church are reserved for pastors only and the visitors have to park on the road outside the church. Plenty of spaces there, though. Was your pew comfortable? We didn't sit much, but the few times there was a chance to sit down the plastic chairs provided felt OK. How would you describe the pre-service atmosphere? Expectant, friendly, loud and warm. Everyone was chatting along. What were the exact opening words of the service? (In German) "A warm welcome to Cologne Christian Church. God is good; there is nothing better than to praise and to honour God. Let's worship him!" What books did the congregation use during the service? Bring your own Bible. On every seat there was a flyer for the upcoming finance conference in the church. What musical instruments were played? Keyboard, two guitars and drums. But they merely served as a support act for the 25-voice choir who kept us well entertained. Did anything distract you? There were lots of distractions. The whole worship time resembled more an aerobics class or a night club (it was Friday evening after all) and was very energetic. Three hundred people bouncing up and down are quite something to behold. In addition, there were a female dance group in white costumes and 15 people waving national flags performing in front of the stage. A gentleman behind me was loudly singing in tongues. I basically could not concentrate on God at all. It was good fun, though. Was the worship stiff-upper-lip, happy clappy, or what? Party time! Everyone was dancing, jumping and having a good time. The worship consisted almost exclusively of up-tempo songs performed by the excellent choir. There was one major problem, though – it was so much fun that it was difficult to focus on God. I do like lively worship and a bit of dancing and jumping about, but the worship should also include some quieter periods where you can meditate and concentrate on God. Exactly how long was the sermon? 46 minutes. On a scale of 1-10, how good was the preacher? 5 – The sermon was far too long. Pastor Engel made his point in about five minutes and need only have spent another 15 minutes or so illustrating it. Instead, he kept on and on, giving one example after another. Someone in front of me picked up a novel and began to read it rather than listen to the sermon. But it was good to hear a Canadian pastor preach in German. I know of other churches where pastors still preach in English even though they have lived in Germany for over 20 years! In a nutshell, what was the sermon about? Pastor Engel's text was Hebrews 11:1 ("Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."). But he seemed to be saying that it is more important to do things than to get stuck in the prayer phase. One of his myriad illustrations was rather weird (and very Pentecostal): When you want to receive healing, pray at home by all means, but then use your legs and go to church so the elders can lay hands on you and you can actually receive your healing. Which part of the service was like being in heaven? The welcoming atmosphere in the church. And which part was like being in... er... the other place? As the notices were read, every event was met with loud cheering. Now shouting "amen!" during the sermon is one thing, but greeting the upcoming women's meeting with a "yeeahhh!" is simply ridiculous! And it may be fitting to call your small groups apostolic teams, but offering apostolic English classes and maintaining an apostolic bookshop on site is again a bit over the top. What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost? A couple sitting in the row in front of me chatted to me straight away and we talked for about half an hour. They told me everything about the church and also showed me where to go with my vouchers. How would you describe the after-service coffee? I cashed in my voucher for a delicious ham and egg sandwich. For €0.50 you could get a cappuccino at the kiosk – a commercial brand of cappuccino powder, that is, available in six flavours. I tried the vanilla and found it quite tasty. Everyone helping out with the refreshments appeared quite friendly, and all in all it was a nice end to an entertaining evening. How would you feel about making this church your regular (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)? 8 – The service had its weaknesses and the sermon droned on forever, but it was the most welcoming church I have ever been in. The evangelistic passion and zeal were great to witness. I am told that they intend to slip an invitation leaflet under the door of every household in Köln (that's 523,744 doors!). The church thinks big and I like that. If I ever move to the north of Köln, this would be my church. Did the service make you feel glad to be a Christian? Yes, seeing so many friendly and welcoming people and a church with such a grand vision in Germany's sexually most perverted town showed me again that Jesus is alive and kicking. What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days' time? That the English course this church offers is called apostolic English. That is just totally hilarious! |
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