Germany has three national Mennonite Brethren conferences of which the German MB Conference (AMBD) is one. AMBD conference leader André Pritzkau shares this report.
AMBD was founded in the 1960s, emerging out of the ministry and support of Multiply missionaries after World War 2. The conference understands itself as a family of MB churches in different regions of Germany. Our vision is to plant new churches, grow healthy churches and stay connected as a MB family and beyond. As we make the gospel known, we want to live as peacemakers and serve in the ministry of reconciliation in our communities and in our country with its long history of division.
In March, we welcomed into the AMBD family a new church plant in the city of Hameln and another established church in the city of Ummeln. We now consist of 14 churches with about 1,600 members. On the other hand, we also had to come to terms with one of our churches in Bielefeld closing. The few remaining families joined other MB churches in the area.
One of the highlights of answered prayer is to see over a dozen new young leaders step up in our churches and in the AMBD ready to take up responsibility, cast a vision for tomorrow and look for ways to put that vision into action.
Prayer requests
- Pray with us for this coming November as we plan a vision weekend with the young generation of leaders.
- May God give faith to dream big as we follow our calling of making disciples and planting new churches.
- May God give hearts that surrender to him, leaders that love the church and churches that reach the lost.
Did you know?
- There are more than 1,000 kinds of sausage and 3,000 varieties of bread in Germany.
- 65 percent of highways, known as Autobahn, have no mandated speed limit.
- There are more than 20,000 castles in Germany, most at least 100 years old.
- The first printed magazine was launched in 1663. The Gutenberg Press was founded in Germany. The Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen, the first-ever published magazine, was started by Johann Rist, a German poet.
The construction of the cathedral in Cologne took 632 years. Photo: Getty Images - The Cologne Cathedral is the second largest religious building in Germany. It was finished in 1880, 632 years after the beginning of its construction. Despite the heavy bombs in World War 2, the massive architecture remained standing.
- German is the third most widely taught language in the world. It is the official language of seven countries and the most widely spoken language in the European Union. It has 35 regional dialects.
- The Christmas tree tradition came from Germany. By the 19th century, the tradition had spread all over the country and other neighboring places with the help of several German royals. German emigrants brought the custom to America.
- Germany was the first to adopt the concept of daylight saving time. In 1916, Germany first established Daylight Savings Time and the concept spread all over Europe.
SOURCE: https://beelinguapp.com/blog/fun-facts-about-germany
This article has been posted by Christian Leader staff. The Christian Leader is the magazine of U.S. Mennonite Brethren.
