ABOUT US

Our vision

 

Our vision is
to honor Christ,
train disciples,
connect leaders and
start and strengthen churches.

HONOR

Acc. to Romans 12:10 / Philippians 2:29

  • Honor Jesus Christ as king
  • HE is the center of all we do
  • Make HIM known in all nations
  • Honor each other
  • Honor other networks
  • Honor the leaders who have gone before us
  • Honor what already exists in a region
  • Each generation honors every other generation

TRAIN

Acc. to Eph. 4:11-12

  • Train every believer so that each one matures and every gift is released
  • Train in special ministry areas
  • Train elders and deacons
  • Train church planters
  • Raise up translocal teams in every nation
  • Mentor key leaders

CONNECT

Acc. to Acts 9:26-27 and 11:25

  • Connect leaders so they are not alone
  • Connect networks together
  • Connect key leaders in different nations to one another
  • Deepen key relationships through developing a multinational translocal team

START

Acc. to Acts 14:1 and Romans 15:20

 

  • Plant churches
  • Promote innovation
  • Spread new ideas through training and discussion forums
  • Support pioneering

STRENGTHEN

Acc. to Acts 14:21-23

  • Ongoing commitment to strengthening
  • Allocate time, money and resources to this important task
  • Strengthening focuses on elders and leaders, on doctrine and on values, which is correctly applying doctrinal truth to a specific context
  • Encouragement

Our values

Our values reflect our convictions and determine our behavior. They help us to stay on course and release life.

They help us to determine how we respond to each new situation and challenge as we develop and grow.

Our values must be based on a “kingdom” value system. For us the values of the kingdom that Jesus Christ proclaimed must be embraced, sustained, lived out and imparted! The biggest hindrance to God’s kingdom culture is church culture and the
national culture where the church has been planted.

These are the key values, which we hold to as we build the church and work together:

1.) Jesus Christ is the center
Jesus Christ is what we are about. He is the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through Him. He is the focus and the one who determines all we do.

2.) The Bible is our measure
The Bible is the word of God to men. We will not remove anything from it or add anything to it. The Bible is the guidebook and the source of the wisdom we need for each decision and all we are building.

3.) Supernaturally natural and naturally supernatural
Where the Spirit is, there is freedom. We seek a healthy balance between powerful preaching, aiming for excellence and giving the Holy Spirit room to move in our meetings.

4.) Honor others
We honor one another, we honor those who led in the past, we honor existing authority including the leaders in the churches working with us, we honor the existing structures in a region, we honor the different generations in the church. Honor is never demanded, but freely given.

5.) Give your best
We do the very best we can with our ability and the resources we have available to us always seeking ways to do things better.

6.) Courageous at all times
We do all that needs to be done to unlock all He has for our future.

7.) Extravagantly generous
We seek to bless, give and release to express the Fathers heart and our gratefulness for all He has given us.

8.) Build for the long term
Build biblical and effective structures that will enable long-term and sustainable ministry in every nation where we are working.

9.) Character and charisma go together
We value charisma and gifting but equally seek the reliability and trustworthiness resulting from good character.

11.) Relevant to the times
Our message remains true to the word of God, but our language, expression and packaging is geared to the times and seeks to be fresh and creative so that we inspire those who are distanced from the church to seek God.

12.) Release the potential of each one
Assist each believer to develop his gifts, his personality and his potential by developing and making appropriate training available and by creating ministry opportunities that promote this.

13.) Go to the nations
Cities, regions and nations are our heartbeat.

14.) All generations
Each church needs the different strengths of the generations – a young heart and the wisdom that experience brings.

15.) Better together than alone
We seek to establish partnerships that will lead to the strengthening of the churches.

16.) Enjoy life’s journey
We don’t want to only celebrate the arrival at a particular goal, but we want to celebrate each small step forward along the way and by so doing enjoy life to the full.

Translocal team

Churches benefit from working together with a translocal team.

The translocal team is not another form of a denomination, but is a team of gifted leaders who have clarity concerning the
vision, their common values and the basics necessary to build churches in our current age taking into account what is biblical.

The translocal team understands that it does not function as the head and does not have the authority to determine what happens in a church. The foundation of the working together in a network is the extent and strength of the relationships between the leaders. With this as a basis strong trust can be built up and advice and correction can be given and received. The elders of the local church are the highest human authority in a church. The individual churches remain autonomous, but intentionally and voluntarily seek to work together with others because they have recognized the advantages of partnership. They recognize that in the translocal team there are leaders who have gifts that can help and strengthen their churches.

This way of working together accurately reflects the way in which the churches in the new testament worked together with
translocal teams.

The translocal team understands that it is a team built on the basis of Ephesians 4:11-16. There are apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, and pastors/teachers, that prepare for service (V. 12), strengthen churches (V. 2/ V. 15-16), preserve unity (V. 13), assist in the process of growing to full maturity (V. (V. 16), bring stability (V. 14) und say the truth in love (honesty V. 15).

The tasks of the team

A good example of the practical work of a translocal team can be found in Acts 14:21-28. Here we find the tasks of the translocal team were the following:

  • preaching the gospel and the message of the kingdom of
    God (V. 21)
  • strengthening the believers to remain strong in the faith (V. 22)
  • encouraging the believers (V. 22)
  • ordaining elders (V. 23)
  • traveling to the churches wherever there was a need (V. 24-25)
  • being accountable and reporting on the trip which they had just completed (V. 26-27)

The Activate Network is a group of autonomous churches led by elders and who have a relationship with the ATT (Activate Translocal Team) through their elders. The elders of these churches have a close relationship with one of more of the ATT team members, recognize their “fivefold” ministry gift and agree with the vision and values of the ATT

The members of the Activate Translocal Team are submitted to authority in the home churches where they serve. This gives them a level of credibility and is the platform from which they minister and is in turn, that which enables other leaders to
unreservedly learn from their experience and receive help in the various stages and for the various needs of the churches they
lead.

 

The Activate Translocal Team (ATT) is interested in personal contact with the churches and their leaders. The ATT wants to walk hand-in-hand together with the local churches, to strengthen them as needed and to give good advice to guide each along the path they have been called to walk.

meet the team

We are a diverse team from all over Europe with a lot of experience and a great love for God’s church. Click on a picture to learn more about us.

Wayne & René Neuper (Dresden, Germany)
Founders of Activate Network

André & Kathi Nickel (Dresden, Germany)

Ant & Helen Rist (St. Albans, Great Britain)

Christoph & Marianne Währer (Brandenburg a.d.H., Germany)

Clive & Sandra Case (St. Albans, Great Britain)

Dierk & Nadia Müller (Dresden, Germany)

Gerfried & Ulla Schmidt (Bielefeld, Germany)

Mikhail (Misho) & Evcheto Stefanov (Sofia, Bulgaria)

Slava & Sascha Balagura (Dresden, Germany)

Stilian & Eleana Mihailov (Stara Zagora, Bulgaria)

Volodymyr & Tetyana Lanevych (Rivne, Ukraine)

Ventcy & Nadia Stoykov (Sofia, Bulgaria)

Volodymyr & Iryna Bilyk (Lwiw, Ukraine)

Waldemar & Olga Risto (Dresden, Germany)

What we believe

We are Activate Network, a network of churches who have a mutual interest in building God’s Kingdom.The basis of our faith is the Bible as God’s word. 

 

  • We accept the Bible as the decisive authority in faith and life.
  • Salvation is by grace alone, through faith in Christ alone.
  • By the power of the Holy Spirit, this saving grace of God, sanctifies the believer and enables him/her to live a God-pleasing life.
  • Water baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper are acts instituted by God to be performed by the church until Christ returns.
  • We believe that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as described in the New Testament, can be effective today in witnessing that the Kingdom of God is here on Earth and in strengthening and building up the church to fulfill its calling and mission.
  • The church is God’s main instrument that He uses to realize His redemptive purpose in the world.

 

Testimonies from our partners

VENTSISLAV STOYKOV

Ventsislav Stoykov is a member of the Activate Translocal Team and the pastor of Crossroads Church in Sofia, Bulgaria. He tells us how and why he joined the Activate Network.

CHRISTOPH WÄHRER

Christoph Währer is a member of the Activate Translocal Team and the pastor of Gemeinde mit Ausblick in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany. He tells us how and why he joined the Activate Network.

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