On 18 August, church leaders from the Thun-Spiez region took the Niesen cable car up to an altitude of just over 2,300 metres to pray for their region, standing shoulder to shoulder in fellowship with their hands raised.

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A history of revival

Throughout its history, the Thun region, a beautiful Alpine region of Switzerland, has repeatedly experienced significant revivals. Pastor Matthias Welz (of the church Bewegung Plus) gave a brief and inspiring overview of the three major ‘waves of revival’ since the late 17th century, which have left a clear mark on Thun and the surrounding area.

Today, in the city alone, there are nearly 25 free evangelical church congregations, a shared house of prayer, youth movements and a music label that reach out across the whole of Switzerland – and a percentage of committed Christians that is roughly double the Swiss average.

This is encouraging, but for the leaders present it is no reason to rest on their laurels. On the contrary: ‘Revival should happen again’ is the great longing with which they made their way up the mountain – even whilst knowing that this powerful Christian catchphrase must find its own forms of expression today.

Pastors ‘looking down from on high’

The ‘Niesen prayer’ is a lasting legacy of the ‘Fresh Water’ revival movement of the 1990s. The breathtaking 360-degree panoramic view of Thun, both lakes and the side valleys stretching as far as Frutigen helps to provide a spiritual overview of the region – even though everyone knows that ‘down there’ life goes on in a very human and ordinary way.

But the bird’s-eye view helps to see the big picture and to pray for the wider context. A view that combines the outward and the inward provides insight.

In close-knit unity…

The fact that the leaders in the region treat one another in a spirit of friendship, without fear of contact or a competitive mindset, is a welcome outcome of developments over the last few decades. A shared vision creates unity.

Take the nearby town of Spiez as an example: the Christian Life Centre Spiez (CLZ) has been a powerful force and a challenge for the small town for years – yet the minister of the Reformed Church there joins in the prayer for the Niesen from the bottom of his heart. ‘Competition’ in German (‘Konkurrenz’) literally means ‘running together’ – and that is beautifully illustrated here.

…for the region

A region is the place where unity becomes a reality and must be achieved anew time and again. Many places in Switzerland are experiencing this. The expectation for the greater Thun region is that, in the coming years, society will experience the consequences of such unity more than ever before – more of the Kingdom of God, a sort of ‘revival plus’. Leaders’ gatherings are more than just a pleasant experience; they are a strategic weapon.

The climax of the prayer meeting is followed by the descent into the lowlands of real life – the place where ‘Thy kingdom come’ becomes a reality. Everyone gets back into their cars, but we remain on the journey together in the Thun region.

Reinhold Scharnowski, pastor, networker and writer. For two decades, he was pastor of the free evangelical churches in Thun and Steffisburg, as well as director of DAWN Europe and a missionary in Bolivia.

This article was first published in German on Livenet.ch an re-published with permission.