A New Approach to Camp in Germany

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power. Alan Cohen

August 15 – 17th, Al Houck, missions director of Broadway Ave. Baptist Church and I had the privilege of attending Revofest, a new approach to evangelism and church planting, hosted and facilitated by the Baptisten Gemeinde (Baptist Church) of Aschaffenburg, Germany, Keith Gandy, BBFI Missionary and Pastor.

Last year Keith and his leadership team were challenged to step out and go beyond themselves by finding a way to export and expand their approach to church planting. The seed for Revofest was planted. The idea was to host a music festival featuring German, American, and European Christian bands to attract Christian and lost youth. Through this venue they would be able to present the gospel, and enhance the value of the local church to a youth culture that hasn’t been exposed to an effective church ministry. “ Bob Hines visited our leadership team in the summer of 2007 and challenged us to export our DNA. The church has grown 15% annually for over a decade and he felt that Germany needs just this kind of church. Our burden became to bring a young demographic together and challenge/resource them in order for them to create platforms of ministry that would be effective in impacting their own generation. If we reach them at the end of schooling, but before they fully enter the workforce and begin a family, we seek to inspire them to assume responsibility for reaching their communities for Christ and plant a church.” Keith Gandy

This was a grand task for a church of 300, for it required a budget beyond their means, and a work force of at least 100. With a gift from the Rawlings Foundation and the help of two churches in the states, they set out by faith to make this event happen….AND IT HAPPENED WITH EXCELLENCE!!!

With 16 bands that included Six Pence-None the Richer, Salvador, FireFlight, and Sarah Hughes, a work staff of 130, and the Lord’s leadership, Revofest was a resounding success. With approximately 900 total teens and young adults in attendance, it was held over a three day period, Friday through Sunday, with the music starting at 5:00 P.M. on Friday and Saturday evening. Classes and seminars were held on Saturday morning and afternoon. The young adults camped on location, were fed from a well organized feeding center, had excellent restroom and shower facilities, attended classes in buildings set up for teaching, and were all exposed to the beautiful 16th century Chateau that housed the entire event. “We desire to create a new movement, so it will require targeting innovators and early adopters, rather than those that simply duplicate or model what already exists. The entrepreneurs will be the ones to take risks, which is the requirement for creating new movements. The challenge of this, to spark their interes,t requires very trendy, inspirational platforms. Anything less than creative excellence will pancake among such minds.

Our leadership team thinks that exposing young people to experienced and proven leadership in a speaking venue is where the information can be conveyed. The challenge is to attract them to that environment. To target the 20-24 year age category we selected the platform of a major music festival. This is the only tool known to us that will presently attract major numbers of young people.” Keith Gandy

There was a constant flow of teens and young adults to the counseling area and reports are still being gathered on the number that were dealt with and saved.

Everyone that attended was impressed with the wonderful spirit that was present, how well everything was organized, and the quality of the music and classes. Keith brought a good message at the Sunday morning service where the gospel was clearly presented.

This festival was a new approach to the traditional youth camp held during the summer. “We know that many of our future pastors, church planters, and missionaries come from youth camps and we just haven’t had much success in reaching German youth with the traditional model, so we wanted to try something new.” Denny Gandy.

Was it successful?…Here are some comments of some of the participants:

Derrick Webster, Missionary from Switzerland : “This impact is going to be felt for the– next five years – It is huge for believers to create this kind of Synergy for the future.”

Andra – “This is Church reaching out to the community to bring souls in.
The impact is awesome, because they are reaching young people and our generation.”

Jo Anna – Reporter for German radio station– “I think it’s very great in a Christian way. I have never heard of any festival with a Christian emphasis.”

Tim Downs BBFI Missionary – Impact – The impact on the Church is significant. Young people are being impacted that wouldn’t have been associated with the church in any way. Many young people don’t think about church, even though they may think about God, and this is a way for the church to connect with them. I think this approach is going to be a stretch for some people, but the reality is if we are going to reach them, we have to connect with them where they live.

Denny – A lot of things surprised me. It has been really great for our church but especially for church growth in the future. Our people got a vision for the importance of the church and what a church can do. Many of the people that have been saved in our church have come from State churches (Catholic) and have never seen a church that has a passion for people or passion for a project like this. I think this is a very good start for what God is wanting to do in Germany.

One teen who confessed he was not a Christian said “This is so fantastic, this has to spread”

Keith and Debby Gandy have been BBFI missionaries to Germany for 28 years and have built a great church and ministry in Aschaffenburg. All three of their children are active in the ministry, with Denny, their oldest son serving as Associate Pastor and is involved in planting a new church in the area. Their son-in-law, Christoph is their worship leader and their daughter, Lisa, and youngest son, Robert are actively involved in the ministry of the church. Keith is also aided in this ministry by Renea Thompson and Linda Fitzgerald, two BBFI missionaries. Frustrated by the inability to build a ministry that was effective in evangelism and church planting, Keith decided to change his methods and began using a more contemporary approach to worship with an emphasis on young couples and youth. The results have been a church averaging 280, a facility that the church has built valued at more the 1 million euros, and a passion for evangelism and church planting. They are committed to creating a model for evangelism and church planting in Germany that will accelerate the fulfilling of the Great Commission and make an impact on Germany and the rest of Europe.

If you would like for Keith and Debby to come to your church and share the vision and opportunity this ministry presents, please contact him at the following address:

Keith Gandy
Schweinheimerstr. 13
63743 Aschaffenburg
Germany
Church Phone – 001 49 6021 218415

Bob Hines
iMap