posted on January 1, 2024
aXcess: Outreach and Evangelism for Church Planting in Berlin, Germany
The applicant will build relationships with non-believers in order to demonstrate their submission to Christ and desire to live like Him. Applicants will proclaim the message of the gospel with words and actions to reach out to postmodern German and Spanish speakers in Berlin.
Position Type
- International worker (IW)–aXcess–Vocational Track or Clergy Track
- Church planting, evangelism, leadership development, refugee or immigrant
- Partially funded
- Single or couple
Responsibilities:
- Build strong relationships with non-believers
- Share the facts of the gospel with words and actions with non-believers
- Train believers in evangelism and outreach
- Develop creative evangelistic initiatives to mobilize believers outwards towards non-believers
- Contribute to church planting efforts aimed at spreading the gospel in Berlin
Required Qualifications:
Clergy Track
- A recognized bachelor’s degree
- Completion of at least 30 hours of Bible/theology/ministry and 15 hours of intercultural studies
- Spouse must hold a recognized bachelor’s degree and have completed at least 18 hours of Bible/theology, 12 hours of missions/ministry studies (with a minimum of 6 hours in cross-cultural or missions studies)
- Completion of Alliance Polity course
- Completion of Alliance ordination/consecration
- Minimum of two years successful Alliance Licensed Ministry Experience
- A minimum Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) score of 50
Vocational Track
- Completion of Alliance Polity course
- Completion of the World Perspectives Mission Course (minimum of certificate level) or equivalent
- A minimum Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) score of 50
Preferred Qualifications:
- SDI assessment
- Soul care conference
Biblical Characteristics Desired:
- Kingdom-minded
- Biblically grounded
- Spirit-dependent
- Competently skilled
- Self-aware
- Self-disciplined
Timeline for Deployment:
Summer/fall 2025. All appointees are required to attend a cross-cultural and language acquisition program and pre-field course/experience prior to deploying.
General Information:
New team members will be joining the existing intercultural church-planting team in Berlin. The successful applicant(s) will be living in a rented apartment. The city has a great public transportation system (bus, metro, taxi). Internet and cable television are readily available and reliable. The city of Berlin is a challenging environment for gospel communication in two ways. It is a post-modern, post-Christian, and atheistic society. Locals are not responsive to traditional evangelism but are more responsive to the gospel expressed through authentic relationships. Due to current world events, the number of immigrants living in Germany is increasing rapidly. The church in Berlin has great opportunities to share the good news with many post-Christian Germans and Spanish immigrants/diaspora.
World Factbook – Germany
Joshua Project – Germany
Language Expectations:
Language is an essential part of ministry. Those who do not know the language will attend a language study program. The goal will be to speak, read, and write the language at a functional level in order to mentor, teach, and train others.
Language is an essential part of effective ministry. There is a high likeliness of needing to learn German and Spanish (learning two languages in addition to English).
Health Considerations:
Germany is well known for its medical care. Doctors have been trained according to Western standards. Applicants should know that daily life includes an average of walking at least a mile.
Expectations for Spouse:
Spousal roles vary based on the spouse’s gifts, training, and abilities as well as the needs of the team. It is expected that both spouses will be meaningfully involved in meeting ministry objectives depending on the nature of family roles, children, etc.
The expectation is that both spouses are part of the ministry team, and both are expected to be actively involved in ministry.
Children’s Educational Plan and Options:
Since Germany has high standards of education, the local schools are good options. Berlin has several bilingual schooling options for all grade levels. Pre-school is strongly encouraged from age two (culturally). The Black Forest Academy in southwestern Germany is also an excellent option for high school.
Compensation Package
The successful applicant(s) will receive a full compensation package with the expectation that, once appointed, efforts will be made to raise a portion of support costs through the applicant’s network of friends, family, local church, or other resources. Information on support costs will be made available upon application. Training and/or coaching in fundraising is available.
Whole-Life Health
As part of an evangelical denomination, we are committed to biblical holism, which is modeled and reflected through our work. Due to this commitment, part of the required qualifications includes optimal emotional, spiritual, and physical health. These will be assessed during the application process.
Importance Clarification
Applicant(s) should be aware that serving in the international world often requires a higher degree of grace and flexibility. For example, overseas teams can be suddenly and unexpectedly impacted by illness, government decisions, financial realities, team changes, or other factors beyond the team’s control. The challenge for applicants is that these factors can sometimes necessitate the sudden redefining of a position, which may take place before, during, or after the application/interview process has begun or is completed.
Questions?
Please email the IPO office at [email protected].