Pastor Bodo is probably the only garbage man in Frankfurt, Germany, with a master’s degree. At least, that’s what International Mission Board worker Kelly Seely quipped.
Together, Seely and Bodo planted a church in an economically diverse area of Frankfurt five years ago. And they’ve been intentional to make the church, Frankfurt-Süd Projekt (Frankfurt South Project), look like its community and serve the needs of the community.
Bodo was pastor of Frankfurt City Church, a thriving church plant across the city comprised mainly of young business professionals. The demographic is different in the new church. Many of those who attend the church work in the service industry. Most work with their hands. Bodo took a job as a garbage collector to serve the community and get to know the people he is called to reach.
Bodo, a Korean German, admitted that after ministering to professionals — such as lawyers and bankers — for the previous 10 years, he didn’t really know how to disciple those who live and work across the river. He was committed though to getting to know them so he could effectively reach them with the gospel.
Easy way to know the neighbors
And, in his mind, one of the easiest ways to get to know a community is to take out their trash.
Now, what started as a temporary gig has become a facet of Bodo’s calling to pastor. Five years later, he works full time as a garbage collector and full time as the pastor of Frankfurt-Süd Projekt. His wife, Moon-Sook, and his teenaged kids are involved in his daily ministry of discipleship as it often involves hosting people in their home.
Pastor Bodo reaches out to those on the garbage truck with him, invites people into his home for life-on-life discipleship, and then preaches a Sunday service.
Seely is excited about the varied ministries of the church. To connect with the athletic community, an IMB colleague teaches fitness classes in one facility. In another nearby space, a church member offers music lessons. Some in the church run coffee shops, where refugees can work and make a living. These ministries are in addition to six thriving community groups that meet in homes across the area and diverse Sunday services where Scripture is read each week in multiple languages.
In Frankfurt, this church looks and functions more like a community center.
The church’s meeting spaces include a boxing gym housed in an artsy, revamped garage and the secondary space for music lessons. These spaces aren’t simply abuzz on Sunday. They’re open each week, reaching people and meeting their practical needs.
No traditional approach
Nothing about their approach is traditional, and they truly believe that the church isn’t a building, but the people.
The church’s vision to look like its community is one of the things that drew Andy Spencer, a repeat volunteer and a member of Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, to commit to a partnership.
“What they’re trying to do is to remove lostness in Frankfurt through community groups, neighborhood evangelism, and building community centers,” Spencer said. “The [number] of Christians that there are in Frankfurt is very, very small.”
Spencer is excited about the potential this multicultural and relatable ministry has to reach the nations.
“I’ve read that the Walmart in a community always looks like the community,” Spencer said. The church, too, should look like the people of its community, he explained. That’s the way Seely and Bodo are going about church planting, he added.
Reaching the nations from unique location
For Seely, who has been a church planter in Frankfurt since 2014, this work is especially exciting.
Frankfurt is such a culturally diverse city, and Seely’s team truly is reaching the nations from this unique place. Persians, Koreans, Germans and other nationalities come together, worshipping the Lord and reaching others in their community.
Seely is encouraged by the heart of this growing church plant and its impact, now and in the future. He and Bodo are willing to do whatever it takes to reach their community, working and serving among them each day.
For more information on all of the church planting efforts in Frankfurt, click here.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Myriah Snyder and originally published by the International Mission Board.
