More than fireworks…
„Through my spiritual eyes, I saw fireworks. It was bright and beautiful for a couple of seconds, but then the darkness of night returned. That’s not the way ministry in the Kingdom of God should be; Dazzling for a moment, but without sustainability and lasting change.” That is how Gernot Elsner describes an experience during a preaching tour of South America in 2005. This desire for sustainability was a decisive inspiration in the founding of GOSPELTRIBE.

Doing it like Jesus…
Jesus’ strategy was different. He invested in the lives of people, made them real followers and kick-started a movement that truly reached the ends of the earth.

The beginnings…
These realisations lead to Gernot and Sabine Elsner founding GOSPELTRIBE in January 2006. The dream: to have a worldwide tribe of people, connected by the gospel of Christ, passionate for Jesus and with the aim of reaching the nations.

Between 2006 and 2008, the ministry of GOSPELTRIBE was made up of mostly mission trips with teenagers and students. During these first three years, over 300 young people went to over 15 nations to share the gospel. Thousands of people came to faith in Christ in countries such as Israel, Bulgaria, India, Italy and Egypt. It was so exciting to see how God was using young people to build His kingdom and how the participants themselves also were positively changed.

We need a school…
These observations made us realise: „we need a school.” We wanted to create a place where young people could learn to live as a follower of Jesus, gain a solid foundation in the bible and learn how to reach others for Jesus. Missions were also a central aspect, of course. We decided to make a three month outreach, to a different county and different culture, an integral part of the school.

In 2008, this vision was fulfilled. Co-workers came together, the first students applied and we miraculously found a house at the last minute - right in the city centre, just as we’d dreamed of. I the first year of the GOSPELTRIBE Bible and Missions School there were 14 students from four nations.

Since 2009, our school has two school years. During the first year the focus in on discipleship and evangelism, during the second the year the topics of leadership and church-planting are focused upon. So, and how will things continue?

Our dream is…
Over the next years, we desire that many follow the call to being equipped for a ministry in God’s kingdom. We hope to contribute to Germany being a country that is known for its young people’s passion for Jesus.

We dream of sending teams into the nations that will start new ministries, churches and works and penetrate society with the life-changing gospel of Christ wherever they go.

To be continued!