An eager group of people from Germany and the U.S—all under 30. No formal church location or building. A congregation comprised of students, homosexuals, the privileged, homeless, atheists—the searching. And lives "wasted in service" to God and others.

While this may not be what many think of as the "Church," I have come to learn it is truly a beautiful portrait of heaven working on earth. And it's nothing new. As with the Early Church, it's built around fellowship and serving people's needs (Acts 2:41-47).

Twelve Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU) students, led by professor Chris Neuenschwander and myself, recently traveled to Mainz, Germany, to serve with a Church of the Nazarene church plant called KiA. An abbreviation for "Church in Action," KiA is more of a movement than an institution in the city of Mainz.

Pastor Philip Zimmermann spent an entire morning explaining his well-researched experiment of a church. His dream and vision is "to see how heaven breaks into our lives, our city, and our world." Their goals are simple:
 

• To see people get excited about Jesus Christ
• That people would find a place to grow
• That people would waste their lives in service to others

With a three-prong approach to ministry, KiA holds bi-weekly Sunday evening services (KiA Events) with a meal in a banquet hall in downtown Mainz. Weekly home groups provide an outlet for personal growth, accountability, and discipleship. Impact groups round out the experience by taking Christ to the people of Mainz, visiting nursing homes, baking treats for city workers, working with elementary school children, caring for the environment, renovating the old hotel that serves as staff headquarters, and so much more.

"There never was a plan to buy a building because we didn't want people to think that church was a building," said church staffer Evan Offutt. "God's church is the people. And while we have a young staff and many young adults involved, we have people of all ages coming to church and home groups, making a difference in their city for Christ."

In just under a year, the KiA staff has seen more than 50 people become involved in some aspect of the church. Some consistently, others sporadically. But a different kind of church also brings different ways of measuring success. While attendance numbers and offering amounts are important, KiA cares more about bringing heaven to the people of Mainz and those people in turn bringing heaven to their world. By "heaven," they mean a reality where God's will occurs-where all can be the people God wants them to be and perform the actions God wants them to.

A missional church, Pastor Philip explained, will produce three things:

"1) A beautiful mess. If you have "Kingdom eyes" you'll see the beauty in it. If not, you'll see a mess. How do you do church with people who steal, with drug addicts, with the suicidal? It gets messy. We embrace the mess and the people in it. 2) Respect for people in your city. They know you are here to love them and serve them, even if they disagree with you. When a homeless guy becomes your most effective evangelist, you know you're doing something right. 3) Partnerships with anyone who partners with you. With "prevenient grace," it doesn't matter if you agree or how they live. If your personal identity is strong in Christ, it doesn't matter who you partner with-they are already becoming the hands and feet of God."

The volunteers, staff, and leadership at KiA all go through an eight-month training and leadership program along with the continued "KiA Coaching" program. It is their hope that Nazarenes will continue to empower and release this new generation of thought. "I'm thankful for the freedom we've been given so far to try something different and innovative," said Philip. "I feel like we're losing some young people and others who are thinking much more missional and Kingdom-oriented, and that breaks my heart. I hope that we can trust God enough to believe that He can do [His work] in bringing heaven to earth."
 

Carrie Crouch is director of communications at Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

Holiness Today, January/February 2010

Please note: This article was originally published in 2010. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.