The Brick Project: a church plant for Hamburg East
With a population of 1.8 million people, Hamburg is Germany’s second largest city. East Hamburg has become a popular area for all walks of life: it is a growing area with students, young families and refugees alike able to find affordable rent and social programmes to help them.
Echoing the old redbrick houses of East Hamburg from the late 19th century, the Brick Project is a new church plant which wants to be neighbourly and down-to-earth, building a church family which reflects the surrounding community.
The Brick Project is a church plant from a large church in central Hamburg, the Hamburgprojekt. The eastern area of the city was identified as a good location for a plant because of its growing population – including two universities – which is hugely underserved by churches.
Dennis Viehof is lead pastor for the Brick Project. He is an experienced pastor and has most recently been training in church planting on staff at Hamburgprojekt. He says, “Germany and especially big cities like Hamburg are hard soil for the gospel. But at the same time, we experience that the people are curious and open – even today when I went with my little son Johann to a playground near to our apartment, where I met my neighbour Claas. Although we hadn’t talked very deeply previously, God blessed this moment and we talked about the struggles of his occupation in the finance business. I told him that I want to plant a church in this neighbourhood and he was interested… we hope to invite him to some future events. So opportunities abound even in Hamburg!”
A committed, prayerful team of planters is almost in place – they would like to have 15 adults involved and are praying for the final two or three to join in. During this preparatory phase, the priority for the team is to invest in personal relationships with people in East Hamburg. They want to find an empty store front to rent and use for dinners, art shows, readings, concerts, and parent and toddler groups. They know the area well, and want to become known as a church which cares for its neighbours. In the German context it is critical to invest in relationships ahead of starting to meet as a church, but they hope that after laying good foundations they will soon begin meeting regularly as a church.
The church plant is funded through the Europe Collaboration, of which Union is a partner.
Please pray that God will send the right people to their team, who are committed to building the church and reaching out to their neighbours
Please pray for the church to begin well, with a focus on its neighbours and community, and bring the light of the gospel to this part of the city.