The Aussiedler: A Growing Church
by Merle Good
One of the larger groups of Mennonite-related peoples in the world is still adjusting to a new home in Germany. Some are not even sure whether or not they really are Mennonites. Some are pretty sure they don't want to be Mennonites, at least not the "liberal" sort they've met or heard about elsewhere in Europe. (In fact, these people number more than all of the other Mennonites in Germany, The Netherlands, France, Spain, and Switzerland — combined.)
These people have come out of the Soviet Union (or later, out of Russia) over the past generation. By the thousands. No one knows exactly how many of them should be considered Mennonites, but well-informed observers estimate the number of "Aussiedler" Mennonite-related peoples to be between 30,000 and 50,000 members (not counting children, youth, and adults who aren't baptized members), depending on how precisely "Mennonite-related" is defined.
Their churches are often packed to the rafters, and are growing at a rate of nearly 5% per year, according to John N. Klassen, an expert on the Aussiedler peoples. They are very mission-minded and embrace the word "evangelical" as central to their identity. They number more than 350 congregations in 10 different groups in present-day Germany.
"Aussiedler" is a term meaning "out of " Russia (and other Eastern block countries). Another commonly used term by these peoples is "Umsiedler," meaning "over" or "relocating from one place to another." These terms apply to four million persons of German background who have resettled back into Germany from the Eastern Block countries (about half of these were from the ex-Soviet Union) during the past 30 or 40 years, of which the Mennonites are only a small part.
In the Soviet Union, because of the repression of Christian faith, the Baptists and the Mennonites worked together and worshiped together. In 1961 there was a division of opinion within the church about whether the government had too much say about church policies, theology, and the ministry. Those who went underground have tended to view those who registered with the Communist government as being somewhat compromised and perhaps less faithful.
Those experiences still shape the church life of these groups. In a congregation near Bonn, several persons agreed to be interviewed after the service. But they did not want to give their full names and they asked that their names not be used. They repeatedly expressed suspicion of churches who devote a great deal of energy to bringing all Christians together under one umbrella.
The congregation we visited was overflowing with hundreds of worshipers at the Sunday morning service. They are in fact building larger to accommodate the 900 regular attendees.
Music played an important role, with the congregational singing led by three teenagers, followed by a large, wonderful children's choir. We were told that this congregation also has a youth choir, a church choir, a senior choir, and a Russian choir, in addition to numerous special groups and an orchestra. "Music is one means we have to express our love to Christ," the music director told us. "Music was one of the main things that held us together in Russia."
The move to the West has left some deeply concerned. "Our cohesiveness in Russia was created by outside forces — a hard life, an atheistic government, and persecution." But in Germany they found many options, great diversity, and little Christian enthusiasm. "Our greatest challenge," one said quietly, "is how to deal with so much liberty and freedom."
Many of the Aussiedler Mennonites are skeptical of Mennonite World Conference because they fear it may emphasize unity at the expense of Christian principles. This seems understandable for a people who have been through so many years of suspicion and persecution. But we tried to reassure them that MWC exists essentially to connect churches to each other, to help and encourage each other, not to create a massive international bureaucracy.
As we left, we wished for more interaction between the Aussiedler and other Anabaptist-related groups around the world. "You have so much to share with us, to inspire us in our faith," we told them.
They didn't say absolutely no. In fact, one even asked how he could receive Courier.
Merle Good, Lancaster, PA, serves as a Communication Consultant/Writer for Mennonite World Conference.
