We heart this new, ongoing series–a virtual trip to the coffee shop with organizations to help you go there, serve Him, and love them even better. (For more thoughts about why you might join an agency–and a handful of reasons you might not–make sure to check out He Said/She Said/You Say? “Should I go overseas with an organization?”, both the pros and the cons.)
Today, we’re grabbing a nitro cold brew with Steiger, a powerful worldwide organization seeking to bridge the gap between the Church and youth around the world. They first captivated our staff at Go. Serve. Love with a stunning video on how they’re specifically using the arts in European cities.
Part of our passion here at GSL is to mobilize even those of you who never saw yourself going overseas with the way you were made. Get ready to break out of the missionary mold, y’all.
TELL US WHAT YOUR ORGANIZATION SPECIALIZES IN. WHAT ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT?
Steiger is a rapidly-growing, worldwide mission organization that is called to reach and disciple the Global Youth Culture for Jesus.
Our primary purpose is to bridge the gap between the Church and the Global Youth Culture. We do this by raising up missionaries and equipping the local church to proclaim the message of Jesus in the language of the Global Youth Culture, and establishing long-term teams in cities through creative evangelism, relevant discipleship, and local church partnership.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AROUND? HOW LARGE IS YOUR ORGANIZATION? WHAT REACH DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION HAVE GLOBALLY?
Steiger’s story began in 1983 in Amsterdam, at the height of the European punk rock movement. David and Jodi Pierce began a Bible study there, on a barge known as Steiger 14 behind the Central Train Station, reaching the city’s punks and anarchists.
Shortly after, David started a band called No Longer Music (NLM), as a tool to communicate the Gospel of Jesus to these young people who would never step foot in a church.
Over the years, NLM has served as a pioneer, going into previously unreached or difficult to reach places, and has been the catalyst for a worldwide movement. This has led to the creation of ministries, the planting of new churches, and the surging rise of a wave of Jesus followers who are passionate about bringing Christ’s love to those who would not otherwise experience it.
In 2003, in response to the need to raise up the next generation of radical missionaries, imparting to them the lessons and principles learned in over 20 years of front-line ministry, David and Jodi Pierce started the Steiger Missions School. As a direct result, a worldwide missions organization focused on reaching the Global Youth Culture was born.
Steiger Statistics: September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018
- 81 missionaries/staff, 160 team members and 359 volunteers
- 13,422 attended Steiger training events
- At least 103,655 reached* with the Gospel in 21 countries
- 1,056 new discipleship relationships** established
*Reached: The number of people who have clearly heard the Gospel message proclaimed in person through Steiger’s ministry activities. Does not include people reached via mass media (social media, TV, etc), though Steiger will begin tracking these numbers in 2019, nor does it take into account the indirect reach of the church partners that are trained by Steiger.
**New discipleship relationships: Verified individuals who have indicated a decision to follow Jesus and have participated in Steiger’s ongoing discipleship activities. Does not factor in those who indicated a decision to follow Jesus, but with whom we were unable to verify engagement
TELL US ONE STORY THAT GETS YOUR MOTOR RUNNIN’. WHAT’S GOD DOING THROUGH YOUR ORGANIZATION?
In recent years, Steiger has witnessed significant growth, as God has afforded us unprecedented opportunities to reach hundreds of thousands of unchurched young people all over the world.
Steiger’s strategic focus is to bridge the gap between the Church and the Global Youth Culture by establishing long-term teams in cities around the world.
A Steiger City Team
A Steiger City Team is a dynamic, missionary team specialized in reaching the Global Youth Culture of a key urban center through creative evangelism, relevant discipleship, and local church partnership.
Because it both unifies and mobilizes the Church, these Steiger teams are a small, yet powerful catalytic force that can impact entire cities.
Each Steiger City Team:
- Develops a culture of seeking God through prayer, Bible study, worship, and bold faith
- Establishes a regular, relational presence in the secular scene of its city
- Engages in weekly, creative evangelism
- Creates spaces such as community houses and weekly informal Bible studies, which foster discipleship
- Hosts at least one annual, large-scale evangelistic endeavor, which may include an evangelistic concert, interactive art exhibit, online campaign, or other creative means of outreach
- Offers at least one annual mission training event—a Steiger seminar, Compact School, or conference
- Establishes a network of church and ministry partnerships throughout the city
- Invests continually in new leaders, who will plant new city teams
In 2018, Steiger’s 10 city teams, with the support of catalytic ministries, reached at least 103,655 people with the Gospel, and established 1,056 new discipleship relationships.
Steiger’s philosophy is to disciple new believers “where they are,” in order to truly foster a culture of disciples who make disciples, who make disciples.
These new disciples are taught how to be followers of Jesus in their “scene” (ie. culture) and are soon involved in the action themselves. In fact, they often become the most effective evangelists of all, having an impact far beyond the direct reach of Steiger’s teams and missionaries.
Moah’s story
One such example would be Moah Barboza of Sao Paulo, Brazil (pictured to the right) . He was the lead singer of a popular band in the hardcore music scene when he heard the Gospel preached by a Steiger band in a nightclub. He was so moved that he asked the lead singer to “teach him about Jesus” after his band’s rehearsal every week.
This resulted in the beginning of a Bible study in a bar for both Moah and all his friends, and eventually led to him joining a local church and being baptized, while never leaving the scene (and his influence there) behind. Since then, he has grown in maturity and has become an effective evangelist in the secular music scene in Sao Paulo, leading many to Christ and starting numerous Bible studies.
Moah with participants in one of the Bible studies he leads
Steiger’s vision is to establish 100 City Teams around the world by 2025, who are both reaching 1,000,000 people and engaging in 10,000 new discipleship relationships annually.
5 WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE. GO.
Steiger Union team praying before the Compact School in Moscow Russia, March 2019.
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- Bold
- Passionate
- Creative
- Edgy
- Unorthodox
WHAT’S DISTINCTIVE ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION?
As we have mentioned already Steiger is passionate about reaching the global youth culture for Jesus. The current urban generation, connected by consumerism, social media, and the entertainment industry forms the largest global culture ever to exist. It spans the globe, sharing the same values, listening to the same music, watching the same movies, and sharing the same posts.
This global culture is largely influenced by one predominant worldview: Secular Humanism – God is irrelevant, and man is at the center. In this relativistic culture, we are god and consumerism is our religion. This is a generation that does not look to the church for answers but believes it to be a dead and empty tradition of the past. Either there is no God or, if he is there, he doesn’t interfere with our lives.
Steiger’s founding ministry “No Longer Music” Taking the Hope of Jesus to the Darkest Corners of Colombia in December 2018
God’s heart is broken for this lost generation. The message of his love, the Gospel, is for everyone, and it is not right that young people today don’t get to hear because we’re not making it accessible to them. They don’t come to us, so we need to go to them. As Jesus’ church, we need to realize the massive change in mindset and lifestyle and the need for a paradigm shift in missions.
Our calling is to challenge the status quo of the predominant secular humanist worldview and unmask its oppressive nature. We lift up the Cross outside the church and see the message of a loving God, revealed in Jesus, infused in this globalized culture. We desire to see this generation find hope and purpose again as it meets the Creator. And through this, God will radically and eternally change the world.
LET’S TALK BASICS. WHAT’S THE FIRST STEP TO JOINING STEIGER?
If you feel like Steiger is for you, the first step is to attend The Steiger Missions School in Krogis, Germany. The SMS is intended for people with a wide variety of gifting and background, who feel called to join Steiger’s mission to reach and disciple the Global Youth Culture for Jesus. It is a requirement for those who want to be Steiger missionaries.
Upon completing the SMS, there will be many opportunities available to serve with Steiger. Those interested in further involvement are encouraged to plan ahead of time, so that they will be available for these future possibilities.
WHAT HAPPENS AT THE SCHOOL? PAINT US A WORD PICTURE
INTENSE CONTEMPLATIVE SEEKING.
During the ten weeks, we observe a complete media and internet fast. Sundays are set aside as a day of silence, where students and volunteers have the opportunity to seek God in a focused and undistracted way.
One of our core values in Steiger is Hebrews 11:6: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” The media and internet fast and the silent day of seeking God are among the highlights of the school for our students.
DEEP REFLECTIVE STUDY.
Throughout the week, you will have lectures from experienced frontline missionaries, artists, and church planters from all over the world, who understand how to reach the Global Youth Culture. You will also have a personal mentor that you meet with on a weekly basis.
Key Areas of Study:
- Getting the Heart and Passion to Reach Global Youth for Jesus
- Personal Spiritual Development
- Presenting Jesus to the Global Youth Culture
- Forming Followers of Jesus in the Global Youth Culture
- Faith and Contemporary Culture
- Biblical Understanding
POWERFUL ENGAGING ACTION
You’ll be participating in music and artistic events and festivals, and reaching out to the local youth scene in European cities on a weekly basis.
Steiger founder, David Pierce, teaching at the Steiger Missions School
WHAT’D WE MISS? TELL US ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION ABOUT YOUR AGENCY.
Visit our website to learn about all our ministries. Here’s a general overview of a few we find particularly exciting!
Come & Live!
Come & Live! exists to provoke and inspire Christian creatives of every style and genre to effectively proclaim the revolutionary message of Jesus outside the Church.
No Longer Music
No Longer Music (NLM) is an evangelistic music and theatrical production group, that uses the stage to communicate the Gospel of Jesus in night clubs, city squares, and festivals. Every year, it reaches tens of thousands of young people who would never step foot into a church.Video Illustration: https://vimeo.com/steigerint/nlmFingerprintFingerprint provides dynamic tools, training, and resources for effective, creative street evangelism that leads to Gospel conversations, prayer, and the manifestation of God’s power and salvation on the streets of urban centers.
Is There More?
Is There More? is Steiger’s discipleship platform that provides dynamic tools, training, and resources for effectively discipling the Global Youth Culture. It includes informal Bible study guides for those outside the Church, follow-up resources and response tools, gospel tracts, and online discipleship content.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE LOOKING IN AN OVERSEAS DIRECTION?
Seek God!
Interested in learning more about Steiger International? Contact us at usa@steiger.org or visit www.steiger.org.