Calvary Chapel Vienna
Greetings from Vienna! There is a tourism slogan from Vienna that states, “Vienna is different,” which is true, but ultimately the human heart is the same here as in anywhere else. Perhaps I was naïve when I first moved to Vienna, thinking that ministry would be easier here than in a more rural part of Austria. I have not found that to be the case. The culture of a big city is different, and there is a diversity of people to reach, but the ministry of “seed planting” is a challenge everywhere. In the past months, we have seen various people “move on” from our church, and only a few new people arrive. But this has brought about a new motivation to be more fervent, consistent, and diligent in prayer, which has brought encouragement to our small church. It was a good “wake up call.” So, as we press on here in Vienna, we invite you to join us in prayer, even if from a distance. God is faithful, and time in prayer is never wasted time. On the contrary, it is our greatest weapon against the spiritual darkness. We serve an Almighty God who is eager to work in and through us. As both your church and ours seeks to build up the believers who are in church, and reach the lost souls who are not, may we take the time to be still before the Lord in prayer and take heart in His promises.
Church Life and an Outreach
At church, we are going through Luke on Sundays, and Romans on Wednesday nights. I believe that both have been encouraging to the believers, and both have been a good challenge for me as I teach through them for the first time. Our church is still quite diverse, with people from Austria, USA, Hungary, Romania, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Syria, Mexico, and Peru.
We had a simple outreach by the subway station after church recently, and it was great to see five people from church participate. We passed out many Gospel messages, and had a few good conversations. A surprise was that Andreas, an Austrian with whom I only briefly spoke with, came to church three times and seemed like he was seeking truth in the midst of a hard time of life. Please pray for him: he said very little, and now we have not seen him for two weeks. We also met some Serbian men who enthusiastically talked to us, a Muslim from Afghanistan who spoke kindly with me, and a Croatian man who thinks we are all deceived.
Prayer Requests
- Pray for more servants: for more people to help serve in Sunday School, translation, and worship.
- Pray for Mary Murphy, who teaches the 10 to 13-year-olds every Sunday, and for Sabina, who leads worship every Sunday.
- Pray for Michi’s Mom, Marianne, as she tries to improve her walking ability after a recent brain hemorrhage.
- You might remember that Farid, the leader of the Arabic fellowship I helped with, passed away last winter. His family is praying about trying to start up that Bible study again. Pray that the Lord brings along a translator.
As for us, our family is always busy with much going on. Michi still works at the International Christian School of Vienna in reception. Evelyn is now a young lady of 13, and Oliver is 11. Christopher is three-and-a-half and keeps us all active.
Please send me an email if you would like to receive our update personally: viennaken (at) gmail.com
Thanks again for your support in prayer
Ken & Michi