Developments in recent years paint a clear picture: More and more people in our country do not know the message of the Gospel. In the last 40 years alone, the number of members of the major national churches has almost halved. Whereas in 1970, 95% of the population were still part of a national church, today it is less than half.

At the same time, the power of the Gospel has lost none of its relevance: Jesus saves, heals and changes lives sustainably – through his Spirit and through his Word!

Jesus’ mission

When Jesus says: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8), he describes four fields of activity: the personal environment, the region, our own country and the whole world. As the Board of Directors, we have a deep desire in our hearts to invest more in reaching our country in addition to local church building and global missions. This requires equipped churches that are ready to be used by Jesus for his heart’s desire.

The experience

Experience shows: Wherever trained people devote their time and dedication to this task, people come to faith in Christ. To make this possible, we have begun – as an extension of the current LiFe office – to establish a competence center for evangelism, which trains and accompanies churches in Switzerland.

The competence center

We would like to make this competence center possible – similar to our Thanksgiving offering, which is aimed at global mission – through an annual special offering on Pentecost weekend. With this type of funding, we can promote evangelization in Switzerland in the long term and sustainably. As the Board of Directors, we are convinced that the desire to reach Switzerland more intensively with the Gospel is not only a matter close to Jesus’ heart, but also to our heart as a church.

Partnerships

We are grateful that we as a church already have valuable partnerships that support this vision with their heads, hearts and hands. In addition to Urs Schmid with his many years of experience, we are accompanied by Prof. Dr. Stefan Schweyer from STH Basel and Christian Haslebacher, Chairman of VIVA Church Switzerland.

Prayer and finances

I would particularly like to commend this request to our congregation: Pray with us that we may experience a new flare-up of the Gospel in our country! Switzerland needs Jesus. And we want to invest with joy – in prayer and with our finances.

Matthias Theis
Church Leader and head of the mission commission

Ways in which you can contribute:

• Special offering in the church services from June 8, 2025
• Deposit to our postal account
  (Remark: Mission in der Schweiz)

Buchegg and Silbern Church (Pfingstmission Zürich)
8057 Zürich
IBAN CH18 0900 0000 8000 7143 9

Thank you very much for your support!