Global Partner
History of Involvement in Germany
Fellowship Bible Church began its partnership with Germany after an exploratory vision trip in October of 2008 to the only Masters Level Seminary in Germany that teaches the literal interpretation of the Bible, the Freie Theologische Hochshule (FTH).
The vision team met with several alumni from FTH who had been through the church plant training program. In a visit to Frankfurt, they took part in church plant services where both Pastor Steffen and Pastor Christoph were serving. The entire team was impressed with both pastors' heart and passion to serve the Lord and reach the lost. Steffen and Christoph then shared their vision for jointly planting a church in former East Germany to influence the over 99% of the population that do not know Christ.
Soon after that initial trip, pastors Steffen and Christoph launched their church plant in Potsdam, and it wasn't long before this new relationship turned into a full blown partnership. In December 2009, Steffen came to Fellowship’s first Global Summit and in 2010 and 2011 Fellowship sent teams to assist the Potsdam church in their VBS outreach initiatives.
In 2012, Pastor Steffen started a new church called "mittendrin" (in the thick of it) with the specific target of reaching unbelievers in their own backyard! Part of this vision was accomplished by having a coffee shop ministry, “Zwitwohnsitz”, meaning “second home.” This café gave the church a connection to the city, opening the doors for relationships with locals. Mittendrin originally started meeting in an up-stairs room of the Comedy Club, but moved in to the theater room as the church grew. In the spring of 2015, the “refugee crisis” in Germany gave mittendrin a “refugee chance” to share the gospel with a people group they would otherwise not reach, so a welcome ministry to support refugees in Potsdam was launched.
We’ve had several Fellowship families move to Potsdam to work alongside mittendrin. In January 2013, John & Molly O'Connor relocated to Germany to give their lives away at the mittendrin church. In August, 2013 Ronnie & Leslie Freeman and their 3 children moved to Potsdam to serve as the music and worship leaders. In 2016, Nate and Brittany Bruns and their 3 children answered God’s call for their family to go and work in Potsdam.
After founding and leading the church in Potsdam for ten years while also planting three daughter churches, in 2019 Steffen was asked to take a leading position in the City to City church planting movement, with responsibilities over Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
That same year, God used a deep personal and physical crisis in Steffen’s life to renew his calling, with a renewed focus on “multiplication”—“make your experiences available for others.”
In August 2020, God began to bring together the patchwork that would be Steffen’s next mission, with requests coming from various people in multiple organizations, all entreating Steffen to take a leading and launching role in their ministries.
In a nutshell: move to Hamburg, Germany's second largest city, to focus on the following different ministries:
Pastor for outreach at Haven.Hamburg, a City to City Church
Lead the City Movement for church planting for the City of Hamburg
Plan and launch a training center for church planting and church renewal for Germany and northern Europe.
Lead City to City DACH plus Nordic (Scandinavia)
[Steffen has felt a conviction and confirmation of God’s calling for the planting of new bible-based churches throughout Europe, and is planning accordingly.] So Steffen and his wife Nata packed up their lives in Potsdam, handed the ministries of mittendrin to two colleagues (former trainees at mittendrin), became empty nesters and moved to Hamburg in July 2021.
Biography
Steffen Weil and his wife ReNata live in Hamburg, Germany, where Steffen is the pastor for outreach at Haven.Hamburg, City Movement leader for church planting in Hamburg and leader and trainer at the training center for church planting and church renewal that is to be launched yet. Besides the work in Hamburg, Steffen leads City to City DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), a church planting network.
Born in 1972, Steffen is the oldest of three siblings. Raised in a Christian family, he gave his life to Jesus the Savior at the age of 16.
Having worked as a nurse and as paramedic at the German Red Cross before going to seminary (FTH), he is not only a theoretical theologian but loves putting things into practice. Steffen and his wife, Renata, have four children: Lara-Carlotta, Stina-Elisabetha, Linus-Kalle and Lieve-Anderson.
After seminary he became leading pastor of an evangelical church in Rechtenbach (Frankfurt area) in 2003, a growing church within the Evangelic Association for Germany (EGfD).
During this time he felt a holy restlessness about the spiritual situation in Germany, specifically in former East Germany. He didn’t feel content with managing a traditional church - the desire to plant a relevant and contemporary church in a German city grew within him. This desire compelled Steffen to complete a church planter training program and training for pastoral care and counseling with his wife Renata. From 2009 to 2021 he lived in the city center of Potsdam with his family before Steffen and Nata moved to Hamburg in July 2021 to continue his work spurring on church planters throughout Germany and Europe.
Steffen loves to travel, read, listen to music, and play music himself. He also claims to work out regularly...
A deep personal and health crisis in 2019 lent him a new perspective, with a renewed calling for raising up church planters better equipped to cope with the challenges and demands of European church planting. After 18 years in ministry, God led Steffen into a new phase and role: Multiplication.
His people-oriented nature helps him to motivate others for a shared vision.
Expenditures
Each year, we work with our global partners to refine how our involvement might support their essential ministry efforts and projects, and learn about their kingdom-advancement and ministry expansion dreams—if God would provide the means to make them happen.
Last year, God provided resources for our partners' efforts with over $1,000,000 from our Global Christmas giving. Our plenty, providing for their needs. We encourage you to pray and ask for the Lord’s leading in how your generosity can have an impact all around the world, all to the glory of God!
These funds will cover the expenses of a trainee retreat/team building.
$5,000
These funds will support the ministry training in Hamburg by providing materials, equipment, food and housing to leaders from other European cities.
$3,000
Steffen will need to travel to different regions to train and network with other church planters.
$4,000
Monthly financial support for administrative staff that will assist Steffen at the training center.
$6,000
Monthly financial support for Nata who will provide mentoring and coaching that will benefit the trainees, church planter couples and family ministry.
$6,000
Monthly financial support for the Weil family.
$10,800
These funds will help cover the salary of administrative staff for the City-to-City work.
$3,000
Contact Us
Email Tim Van Hal for more information on Steffen Weil, our partner in Germany.