1 - 2000

Mission in Germany

Germany As Mission Country

Inspiration from World Mission

by Pater Hermann Schalück

Protestant and Catholic mission societies and agencies have always seen mission work in other parts of the world and in their home countries as very closely related tasks. Today, mission work within Germany is taking on increasing importance.

"Why should we always think of the needs of the churches abroad? Shouldn’t mission work begin here at home in Germany?" Lately these questions have been coming in more and more often here at missio. We understand the concern behind them. And we could turn a proverb around and ask ourselves: "Why wander far away when the problems are right here?"

Nevertheless, missio will continue doing the job for which it was founded, and which is its statutory obligation Ð bringing the Gospel to Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and providing help to our brothers and sisters in the young churches there. We cannot and do not wish to depart high-handedly from our basic commitment there. Our help is an indispensable realisation, on the global scale, of the parable of the Good Samaritan.

At the same time, however, "Germany as mission country" does also concern us here at missio. Mission means to pass on one’s experiences of faith, a task which is central for us. We take very careful note of the faith experiences of people in countries of the South, and the new approaches in their congregational life, and pass them on as stimuli for Christians in Germany: for example, through the journal missio aktuell, through lectures, through brochures for use in congregations, in catechism classes, as material for sermons, and as aids for spiritual life.

The content of these offerings, to give just a few examples, is a spirituality both of Christian experience with God and of caring about life today; it is renewed forms of church service for men and for women; it is lively congregations; it is experiences of local churches in the South, such as Bible sharing. In my opinion, three aspects of the transmission of faith are particularly important, no matter where it takes place.

• First, it must have a recognisable, high profile. Amidst the flood of images and words in which we live today, what we stand for must be clear. For me, this is God who is Life and makes the future possible; it is a way of caring about the world which Jesus’ life exemplified: patient, dialogic, critical, but not condemning; never fundamentalist, and with great consideration for a "dimly burning wick".

• Secondly, it is important to give persons priority over structures. The transmission of faith occurs when God "calls a person by his/her name", and when Christians encourage one another in the faith. Certainly almost nothing can be done without good planning, facilities and financing. Still, all that is nothing without personal witness, the spark that ignites. The faith of one person receives life from the faith of another. That is the way the church works, worldwide.

Finally, the most important service given by the church is that of "friendly concern", giving aid without calculating costs. Everyone is looking for happiness, meaning, someone to walk a mile with them. "Giving service" and "aid projects" are indispensable. missio also has to include many and various projects in its overseas work. But the most important is what we read in Paul’s Letter to the Romans: "Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you."

Yes, Germany is a country for mission work, because the seed of the Gospel does not grow everywhere - in many places it dries up. But, praise God, our country is still a "missionary" country. The churches of the South do not knock at our door in vain. Stimuli from the theology and spirituality of the "South" find reception. That gives us hope for the future of the church here at home.

The author is President of the Pontificial Mission Society of Germany missio in Aachen, Germany. This article was published in the journal missio aktuell 6/99 (missio Mitgliederzeitschrift), and was translated for publication in Ecumenical Dialogue 1/2000.