International Christian Fellowship
Encyclopedia
ICF is a church movement aimed at young people and charismatic evangelism of the style typical of US Christianity. It began in 1990 in Zürich
, Switzerland
with ICF Zürich. Now it has spread to 17 other cities of Switzerland, 9 in Germany and one in London
(United Kingdom), Trondheim
(Norway) and Prague
(Czech Republic).
The groups run off the basic principles of Christianity. Participants are encouraged to evangelize based on the Great Commission found in the New Testament of the Bible. Tithes, or donating 10% of one's income is taken from early Jewish traditions and is commonly practiced by all modern churches.
, urging each group member to strive to become the leader of a derivative group.
Small groups are set in place to promote group discussion on biblical principles. Members are encouraged to start new groups if their own group becomes too large to the point of fair discussion being jeopardized.
, such as SmallGroup synonymous to the more pedestrian house church
.
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
with ICF Zürich. Now it has spread to 17 other cities of Switzerland, 9 in Germany and one in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(United Kingdom), Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
(Norway) and Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(Czech Republic).
The groups run off the basic principles of Christianity. Participants are encouraged to evangelize based on the Great Commission found in the New Testament of the Bible. Tithes, or donating 10% of one's income is taken from early Jewish traditions and is commonly practiced by all modern churches.
History
ICF was founded in 1990 by Heinz Strupler. In 1996, leadership was taken over by Leo Bigger and Matthias Bölsterli, who emphasized an aggressive policy of expansion. Around 2005, worship attendance at the Zurich "mother church" peaked above 2,000 participants, and has fallen to around 1,200 between 2005 and 2007.Small groups
Senior pastor Leo Bigger (b. 1968) with his wife Susanne introduced a hierarchical structure of groups, called "g|12", consisting of groups of 12 people of which every group leader was a group member in the superordinate group, terminating in the group led by Bigger. In 2004, official terminology was changed from "g|12" to "SmallGroup". The graphical representation was changed from presenting the Bigger couple at the center of a circle instead of at the top of a pyramid, but the topological structure of the system remains unchanged. "g|12" is conceived as a pyramid schemePyramid scheme
A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public...
, urging each group member to strive to become the leader of a derivative group.
Small groups are set in place to promote group discussion on biblical principles. Members are encouraged to start new groups if their own group becomes too large to the point of fair discussion being jeopardized.
Critics
ICF emphasizes "hipness", indulging in daring neologisms, consistently Denglish and prone to CamelCaseCamelCase
CamelCase , also known as medial capitals, is the practice of writing compound words or phrases in which the elements are joined without spaces, with each element's initial letter capitalized within the compound and the first letter either upper or lower case—as in "LaBelle", "BackColor",...
, such as SmallGroup synonymous to the more pedestrian house church
House church
House church, or "home church", is used to describe an independent assembly of Christians who gather in a home. Sometimes this occurs because the group is small, and a home is the most appropriate place to gather, as in the beginning phase of the British New Church Movement...
.