The land of the Reformation began when an Augustinian monk, Martin Luther pinned his ’95 Theses’ on the church door at Wittenberg in 1517. The evangelization of Germany however, remains only partial. A land which since that time has had a conflictive history, not less during the 20th century, remains divided between the East and West economically, between Catholicism and Protestantism and Islam religiously, between secularism and new spirituality. In short, Germany may be the largest nation in the EU by population and its principle economic power, but is in desperate need spiritually.
OAC in Germany
Germany was OAC’s first European nation. The initial work of OAC Germany was begun by an US missionary, Keith Rudkin in 1964. Later, Ulrich Hofius took over as the National director of OAC Germany.
OAC Germany not only serves in their own country, but also evangelizes in other European countries with the main focus on Hungary and Slovakia. Germany had a fundamental part in the establishment of the work in Austria and earlier in Switzerland.
OAC Germany has many outreaches throughout the year but in the summer they have three main outreaches. To these they invite young people to join the team and find their strength in ministry while they tell people about the greatest gift God has given us humans: His son Jesus Christ. These outreaches take place in Germany at the ‘Kieler Woche’ in June, at the camping ground near the ‘Ulmbachtalsperre’ in July and at the lake of ‘Balaton’ in Hungary in August.
Kieler Woche:
This is the biggest national event in North Germany with an average of three million visitors attending during that week. In this incredible maritime atmosphere, we have the opportunity to proclaim the gospel together with our team to the by-passers. There we use our sketchboard, illusions and ballooning to get their attention.
Ulmbachtalsperre:
This is the camping ground on which OAC Germany does the camping outreach across the span of about three weeks in the month of July. Here the team lives on a lawn which belongs to the local church. There, in the middle of the camp site, they hold programs for children, youth and adults and have the possibility, to share the gospel with campers and show them Jesus’ love in a simple and natural manner.
Lake Balaton:
This is the biggest lake of middle Europe and is considered the „Hungarian Ocean“. When Germany was still split up between West and East and people couldn’t travel to the other side, then this was almost the only possibility for families in the two parts of Germany to see each-other again. OAC Germany started doing outreaches in 2000 and from that time on, every year. There they do children programs on the beaches on the south-side of the lake and in the evenings they go to the piers and preach the gospel with the sketchboard for adults.
Uli and Anne Hofius
These are three completely different outreaches, but they show the variety of ministry OAC Germany does.
For more information about this ministry, please go to the national website.
OAC Germany is also on Facebook, but if you aren’t on FB, you can still see their updates at: oac-d.de/index.php?id=75
