Vision

Objective

The current goal of the church is to glorify God by helping people become mature disciples of Christ. This can be simply articulated as: “Love God, love each other, love ministry, love unbelievers”.

The 4 aspects of the discipleship process at FEG Innsbruck

1. LOVING GOD – By regularly attending the Sunday morning service to fall in love with God and His Word. The service presents people with the opportunity to pray, worship God through singing, listen to the Word of God, fellowship with other believers, be encouraged through testimonies from others, take part in the communion as well as give financially to support God’s ministry.
2. LOVING EACH OTHER – By being part of a Small Group to connect with and enjoy intimate fellowship with other believers. Small Group meetings provide a conducive environment for spiritual maturity through participation in prayer, reading God’s Word and its application to life situations, and sharing life with others.
3. LOVING MINISTRY – By serving in a team or ministry to build up and impact others (1 Thes 5,11) and serving the community.
4. LOVING UNBELIEVERS – By sharing the Gospel with unbelievers to make them experience God and his glory (by reaching out, teaching, showing or living out the Word of God).

As a summary: First, someone gets to love and experience God by attending our Sunday services. Next, the person gets connected to others for intimate fellowship in a small group setting. After which, the natural result is joining a team or ministry to impact others in the church and beyond through a discovery and usage of their gifts to the glory of God. Finally, the person should be living a life fully surrendered to God where evangelism is the overflow of this dynamic relationship.

All men, united in the love of Christ!

The church was founded in 1985 as Pastor Manfred Warscher with his family moved to Innsbruck and began with a small group. Evangelistic lectures under the theme “Without God is all pointless” met with much interest. People came to a personal relationship of faith and were baptized. At the beginning of 1986, the church met at Boznerplatz 5.

In the autumn of 2000, the church began to hold alpha- faith courses for seekers and interested individuals every six months. At about the same time Jochen Riemer became pastor of the church.

In June 2008, new premises were opened at Reichenauerstrasse 19. As a result of community growth, the rooms at Boznerplatz had become too small. Now we find place for the Alpha courses, community lunches, children’s worship services, crawling room, etc.

Since summer 2012, Patrick Katerlöh has been the pastor of FEG Innsbruck. Since 2015, we have been a member of the Innsbruck City of Hope initiative www.stadtderhoffnung.at, which is committed to the well-being of the city in a variety of ways.

Since July 2019, Bright Nketia took over the role of the pator of FeG Innsbruck.

Statement of Faith

I. THE HOLY SCRIPTURE

We confess that the entire Holy Scripture (Old Testament – without Apocrypha and New Testament) is God’s inspired Word.
We confess that the Holy Spirit guided the authors of the original texts, while retaining their personal and stylistic characteristics, to the point of expression. Hence, in all its statements, the Bible is absolutely true, reliable, and error-free, without any contradiction in itself. The Holy Scripture is our supreme authority in all matters of faith, of thought, and of life-shaping.

II. GOD (Theology)

We are committed to the one and only personal God.
God is spirit, but a person. He is eternal and omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. He is perfectly holy, good and righteous. He is a God of judgment as well as love, mercy, and grace.

(Deut.6,4 / Mt.28,19 / Lk.3,21 + 22 / Jer.6,3 / Jer.40,12-31 / Jer.31,3 / Deut.7,6 -8 / Rev.14,7).

This God also reveals Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Trinity).

1. The Father

We believe in God the Father, the author and preserver of all things.
It is his wish and plan to bring salvation to and have fellowship with
Mankind. He executed this plan through the sending of his one and only Son
Jesus Christ.

2. The Son

We believe in God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Through him and to him the world is created.

The Father has sent him to reconcile man with himself, and to redeem him from sin and everlasting peace of God. For this, Jesus, who was eternally with the Father, became a man voluntarily, through the begetting of the Holy Spirit and Virgin Mary’s birth, He is at the same time completely God and completely human. His mission as a Messiah he proved by his public power and miracles.

Jesus led a sinless earth life and thus, according to God’s plan of salvation and the Old Testament prophecies, could die as a perfect, ultimate sacrifice for the guilt of man on the Cross of Calvary. He has risen physically from the dead and then ascended to heaven, where he personally represents the Father before anyone who believes in him.

(Joh.1: 1/1 Joh.5: 20 / Mt. 1: 18-25 / Lk. 1: 35 / Phil. 2: 6-11 / 2 Cor. 5: 1/1 Cor. 3-8 / Acts. 1: 6-10 / Heb. 9: 11-15 / Heb. 10: 10 / Heb. 4: 14-16).

3. The Holy Spirit.

We believe in God the Holy Spirit.

He is that divine person sent by the Father and the Son to glorify Christ and to show man the way of salvation. He convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment, invites to repentance, and causes the spiritual rebirth (baptism with the Holy Spirit) in the repentant sinner, who places his trust in the Lord Jesus.
In doing so, the converts are united with all other Christ-believers in the body of Jesus. The Holy Spirit dwells in him, seals him to the day of the coming of Christ, strengthens, teaches him, enables him to live a life of holiness and gives him spiritual gifts and not for the purpose of himself, but for the ministry Local community.
As the believer surrenders his life to Christ, he is more and more filled by the Holy Spirit.

(John 15:26 / Gal.4,6 / Joh.16,14 / Joh.16,8-11 / Tit.3,5 / Joh.16,5-15 / Joh.3,5 / Gal.5 , 22 / Acts 5,3 + 4/1 Cor. 6:19 / 1 Cor. 12: 4-13: 29-31 / Eph. 1: 13-14).

III. THE PEOPLE (Anthropology)

We confess that God created man according to his own image, and thus granted him a dignity that distinguished him far from any other creature.

This image of God is manifested particularly in man’s creative abilities, as well as in his thoughts on the future, eternity and God. Man is endowed with reason, is emotion-rich and has a free will, to evaluate, to choose and to love. He is called upon to reign in authority over God over creation.

Man and woman are equal, but not alike, resulting in different tasks in family, community and society. According to God’s order of creation, which man cannot disregard without negative consequences, God is the head of Christ, Christ the head of man, the man the head of woman. The children owe their parents respect and obedience.

(Gen.1,26 / Gen.2 / 1.Cor.11,2-6 / Eph.5,22-23).

We confess that man has fallen into sin through disobedience by choosing evil from Satan and turning away from the perfect God.

As a result of the apostasy of God, plague, sickness, and death have come into the world, which now no longer reflects the divine creation harmony. The godliness of man is greatly distorted, human nature is sinfully singed, and every thought and action is sinfully controlled.
But God calls for the repentance by the Holy Spirit, and invites us to salvation in Jesus Christ, and man can respond with the help of the Holy Spirit.

For all those, though, who do not enter into God’s offer of salvation in life on the other side, the separation of God (eternal damnation) also exists in the other world.

IV. THE SOLUTION (Soteriology)

We confess that man is saved only by God’s grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe that there is only one mediator between God and man: the man Jesus Christ. God has loved the world so much that he himself has come through Jesus Christ to ultimately save man from sin and judgment and to reconcile him to himself. In the voluntary sacrificial death on the Cross of Calvary, Jesus Christ took the punishment which is due to man.

(1 Tim. 2: 5 + 6 / Rom. 5: 1/1 John 4: 10 / Eph. 2: 8-10 / Joh. 3,3-7 / Joh 1: 12 / Eph. 7 / Joh. 3: 16 / Acts. 4, 12).

Every person who, by the word of the Holy Spirit, confesses his own sinfulness before God (repentance) and willingly takes the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus Christ (personal salvation), experiences debt forgiveness and spiritual rebirth). The separation of man from God is abolished by recognizing Jesus Christ as the new Lord of his life (change of rule). The converted man has become the child of God. The Holy Spirit gives him certainty of eternal salvation according to the Word of God, accompanies him in his discipleship and challenges him to chase after sanctification. Through obedience to God’s Word, prayer and fellowship with other believers, the believer experiences spiritual growth.

(Mt.5,48 / 1 Pt. 1: 13-16 / 1 Thes.4: 3 / Heb. 12: 14 / Col. 3: 17-17 / Heb. 12: 1 / Rom. 12: 1 +2 / 2.Cor.3,18).

Although the Christian continues to sin, he is fundamentally free from the bondage of evil, and can daily claim the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. He remains subject to physical and psychological distress. In God’s hand, he gives the believer healing or strength in suffering.

(Rom. 6: 1-11 / 1 Joh. 1: 9 / Jam. 5: 13-16 / 1 Tim. 5:23 / 2 Tim. 4: 4)

V. THE COMMUNITY (Ecclesiology)

We confess to the church as the one spiritual body whose head is Christ and whose members are all spiritually reborn.
Every believer should live in such a way that his Savior and Lord is honored and glorified. The most important principle for his behavior is the love without which everything else is worthless. In the firm commitment to Jesus Christ and his will, the disciple dissolves from false doctrine, from sinful desires and actions.
The universal body of Christ becomes visible in the various local communities. The saved individual shall be bound to body of Christ.

(1.Cor.12,12-27 / Col.1,17 + 18 / Eph.1,22 + 23 / Heb.10,24 + 25 / Acts.2,42 / 1.Cor.1,2).

We are committed to the local community as a group of believers in Jesus Christ.
According to the universal priesthood, each member of the church, according to his divine gift, takes up the tasks of the local community. These are above all: praise and worship of God, testimony to the truth of the gospel and its proclamation throughout the world, biblical instruction, pastoral care, diaconia, petition and intercession.

(1 Peter 2: 9 / 4,10 / Gal.6,10).

The local community has a duty to celebrate baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Supper, Breaking Bread). Every believer, as an expression of his faith, is to experience baptism by immersion. This does not save, but is an obedient step towards God and his Word. The Lord’s Supper recalls the comprehensive salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ, and at the same time is a feast of communion with the Lord Jesus and the proclamation of his coming.

(Mt.28,19 / Acts.2,38 + 41 / Rom.6,3 + 4 / Lk.22,19 + 20 / 1.Cor.11,23 + 24).

In the love of Jesus, the members of the congregation have to meet with one another in respect and openness, to care for each other, to build up and exhort one another as well as to exercise discipline. Christ is Lord of the church. There is no ranking among the individual members, but various services – to be performed according to spiritual maturity, character, and endowment – and thus different responsibility and authority. Therefore, the members of the congregation join their spiritual leaders (elders), who are firmly committed to God’s Word and who must bear witness to their dependence on Jesus Christ. The diversity of men and women must also be taken into consideration when ordering the individual services; Teaching and leadership tasks for the local community are entrusted to men. Elders and deacons must be tried and tested siblings based on the model and qualifications of the New Testament.
In the case of decision-making, the congregation is not directly consulted at majority decisions, but in the will of God, which is anchored in the Holy Scriptures.

(1.Cor.13 / 1.Thes.5,11 / 1.Tim.4,13 / Mt.18,16 / 1.Tim.2,8-13 / Eph.4,11-13).

We are committed to the independence and self-responsibility of the local community. Each is directly responsible to their Lord. Collaboration with like-minded, biblical communities can be an advantage for the better mastering of the divine task as well as intra-community difficulties.
We acknowledge and support the government authorities in their tasks prescribed by God and follow their guidelines insofar as they do not violate God’s commandments and directives.

VI. THE LAST THINGS (Eschatology)

We confess Christ’s return and His final judgment on mankind.
At a time which we cannot know, Jesus Christ will visibly reappear in unrestricted violence and glory, to direct the living and the dead, and to present his eternal kingdom in perfection. The coming of Jesus Christ will precede periods of severe persecution and great seduction in conjunction with signs and miracles.

God will create a New Heaven and a New Earth where absolute justice dwells. The redeemed ones will spend eternity in his presence in untroubled joy and perfection. The unregenerate ones are forever excluded from it.

(Acts 1: 11 / Dan. 12: 2 + 3/1 Cor. 15/1, 5, 2, 2, 2, 2, Rev. 3,13 / Rev. 2: 1, 8 )

Finances

As a Free Evangelical Church (FEG) Innsbruck is independent of the state. We do not receive church taxes or other public money, but finance ourselves through the donations of friends and members. Through you!

Thank you to all who support our congregation in our daily weekly service or monthly by standing orders!

Your support to us for our diverse activities will be greatly appreciated!

Bank Details

Spardabank – BLZ: 46660
Kontonummer: 44139

IBAN: AT87 4666 0000 0004 4139
BIC: SVIEAT21

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