Church for All

An initiative that is now history – and one we love to remember.

Open-air worship service on the Burghalde in Kempten: a musician at the piano in front of a large audience under the trees

For several years, “Kirche für Alle” (Church for All) was an interdenominational initiative of Christians from various churches in the Allgäu. We set out to talk about God with the very people you don’t find in churches and congregations: those who are disappointed with God or have turned their backs on him.

That is why our events quite deliberately took place outside church walls – in the Allgäuhalle, in the kultBOX and the bigBOX, on the Burghalde, and with our friends in the emergency shelters on Reinhartser Straße. We were a wildly mixed bunch. What united us was our enthusiasm for Jesus, because he has changed our lives and gives us direction, hope and a future.

In the Middle of the City

Two to four times a year we held worship services in the middle of Kempten. Pupils, students, working people, doubters, atheists, families, singles, the old, the sick, the hopeless, grown-ups, children – “Kirche für Alle” was there for everyone. And it was allowed to be unusual: we turned the Allgäuhalle into a huge living room with sofas, armchairs and floor lamps.

The Allgäuhalle in Kempten, filled with visitors — The Allgäuhalle, filled to the last seat

Visitors sitting on sofas and armchairs between floor lamps — A living room instead of church pews

Audience in armchairs with floor lamps in the Allgäuhalle — Listening in a cozy setting

Hans-Jörg Ronsdorf speaking into a microphone next to a globe — At the microphone in the bigBOX

Audience in the kultBOX — A full house in the kultBOX

Open air on the Burghalde, people on the steps — Open air on the Burghalde

With Passion and Creativity

Theater, sand art, music, interviews, short films – we tried out whatever touches people and gets them thinking. Not as a show, but because good news deserves to be told well.

Sand art performance on stage — Sand art on stage

Theater group holding books — Theater as proclamation

Scene: a man in an armchair with a cigar — “Money Rules the World” – a play

Performers in white costumes with raised arms — Stage scene in the bigBOX

Two men being interviewed at microphones — In conversation on stage

Man holding a sign that says “Follow me” — “Follow me”

The Bible Pub Evenings

The Bible is the most widely distributed book in the world – and yet so many people don’t know what to make of it. So, alongside the worship services, we met in many places in the Allgäu for Bible pub evenings (“Bibelstammtische”): in Sulzberg, Nesselwang, Oy-Mittelberg, Missen, Obergünzburg and elsewhere. They were not about theological debates but, in a down-to-earth way, about what the Bible means for quite ordinary everyday life.

Young woman and young man with microphones — Young voices

Hans-Jörg Ronsdorf speaking into the microphone — Explaining what the text says

Three young people laughing — Fellowship that carries you

The People Behind It

We are grateful that so many different Christians committed themselves to this and worked together across all denominational boundaries. Without this team, none of it would have been possible.

Group photo of the Kirche für Alle team on stage, with balloons

Three young volunteers with name tags — Volunteers at the entrance

Two men preparing at a computer screen — Preparation behind the scenes

Volunteers backstage — Just before the start

A colorfully mixed audience — Guests from many countries

A man and a little boy — For grown-ups and children

People in the foyer of the bigBOX — Arriving at the bigBOX

An End – and Good News

Like everything in life, this initiative also came to an end. The association “Kirche für Alle” was dissolved. What remains are the encounters, the friendships across denominational boundaries – and the memory of many evenings on which people discovered God anew.

Church for All
has ended,
God has not.

We hope that you will meet God personally and experience him.

Part of my writing also grew out of the work of “Kirche für Alle” – the retold biblical letters, for example, or “God’s Good Gospel.” You can find these books here, some free as PDF, some as Kindle eBooks on Amazon (in German).

A Photo Album

Finally, a handful of pictures from those years – without much explanation, simply to look at and remember. Click any picture to enlarge it.

Hundreds of white balloons rising above the open-air stage — Balloons above the stage

Aerial view of the open-air stage with a dense crowd — From above: the packed open-air stage

Large crowd under the trees on the Burghalde — Crowded together under the trees

Street performer with a red umbrella on a ladder in front of children — Street art for the little ones

Hall filled to the last row — Down to the last row

Panorama of a full hall with a balcony — Panorama: the full hall

Audience in the hall, looking toward the balcony — A look into the hall

Listeners in the gallery — In the gallery

Hans-Jörg Ronsdorf speaking on stage between instruments — On stage

Speaker at a music stand on stage — At the lectern

Stage with the words “Kirche für Alle” on the screen — “Kirche für Alle” on the screen

Four men in conversation on stage — In conversation on stage

Three men in conversation on stage — Three at the microphone

Hall with screen and tables, Kirche für Alle, second round — The second round

Black and white: two people talking in front of a tent — Between program items

Poster: Kirche für Alle, June 19, 2016, kultBOX Kempten — Poster for the kultBOX 2016

The Invitations

These are the flyers we used to invite people to our events – square, 98 by 98 millimeters, front and back. Along the way they also tell the story of those years. Click any design to enlarge it.

Flyer: Open Air auf der Burg (open air at the castle), Burghalde Kempten, May 21, 2017 — Open air at the castle, May 2017 – front

Back of the flyer for the open air on the Burghalde — … and the back with the program

Flyer: Frei (Free), kultBOX Kempten, October 15, 2017 — “Frei” (Free), kultBOX, October 2017 – front

Back of the flyer “Frei” (Free) — … and the back

Flyer: Talk in der Viehzuchthalle (talk in the livestock hall), Allgäuhalle Kempten, March 25, 2018 — Talk in the Viehzuchthalle, March 2018 – front

Back: Glaube, dein Ernst? (Faith – seriously?) Can anyone still believe in God at all? — “Glaube, dein Ernst?” (Faith – seriously?) – the back

Flyer: Heilung (Healing) – #gesund #frei #gerettet (#healthy #free #saved), bigBOX Allgäu, October 7, 2018 — “Heilung” (Healing), bigBOX, October 2018 – front

Back of the flyer #gesund #frei #gerettet (#healthy #free #saved) — … and the back

Flyer: Der Fall Jesus (The Jesus Case) – 5 perspectives, bigBOX Allgäu, October 6, 2019 — “Der Fall Jesus” (The Jesus Case), bigBOX, October 2019 – front

Back of the flyer Der Fall Jesus (The Jesus Case) — … and the back

Contact the author:
Hans-Jörg Ronsdorf
hj.ronsdorf@invento-deutschland.de
Phone 08376-929 643

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