International Newsletter October 2024
We hold the Steiger Missions School (SMS) at our International Center in Krögis, Germany every summer. Students come from all over the world to prepare to reach the Global Youth Culture for Jesus. Our frontline missionaries teach them everything they know, but whether our efforts make a difference is entirely dependent on God moving in the hearts of those students. This year, God wasted no time.
Steiger missionaries Sietske and Herman volunteered at the school. They noticed how an attitude of surrender permeated every student’s heart. "The moment SMS started, it was like we were already a few weeks in,” Sietske shared. “We didn’t need to convince them.”
Alyssa, from Sacramento, USA, gave up everything just before the school began. “I just felt this strong call that I needed to surrender everything,” she recalled.
Sebastian, from Bogotá, Colombia, had a similar experience. “God told me to give Him the things that were distracting me,” he said. “As soon as I did that, He started healing hidden wounds I had deep inside me.”
As each student surrendered whatever God asked, God lavished them with His love. It was this tangible revelation of God’s unending love and faithfulness that compelled the students to share the hope of the gospel.
Students descend on the Amsterdam streets with a Jesus protest.
“God revealed His heart for His people,” Mihai, a student from Baia Mare, Romania shared. “This generation needs Jesus! I realized I need to step out of my comfort zone, be bold, and tell people about that.”
“Everybody was desperate to see God move,” Herman said. “So that’s what people felt on the streets.” In one project, students took to the streets in a "Jesus Protest." They'd begin by protesting the lies of the culture and turn it into a celebration of the freedom found in Jesus. “It was so contagious,” said Herman. “People would stop and say, ‘What is this? It looks like a protest, but it’s so joyful.’”
At the end of a powerful week in Amsterdam, the students put together an installation in the center of a main city square. Graffiti covered the signs and drew people in to watch a dance performance. “It portrayed a spiritual battle so it was a little edgy and dark,” Herman shared. “That drew a lot of attention. And we ended it with a very clear and relevant gospel proclamation.”
Onlookers fill the city square to watch the students’ performance.
When the show ended, almost everyone who had watched it approached the students. “There were groups all over the square having spiritual conversations with our people,” said Herman. “And then other people would walk into the square, see all the groups sitting down talking, and stop to talk with us too. It was beautiful to see.”
“We got to use everything we had learned,” said Alyssa. “Doing that in Amsterdam, and watching the Holy Spirit move in such a powerful way, gave me so much courage to go out and share the Gospel in my normal life. Because the Holy Spirit is definitely the one in control.”
Each of our 97 students returned back to their home countries with courage running through their veins. For many of them, they’ll be the first to start a Steiger MVMT in their hometown.
This year’s 97 students represented 22 countries.
”My life has been flipped upside down - in a good way!” Mihai said. “I have a completely new perspective on God and His love for us.”
Sebastian agreed, saying, “God showed me that He has big plans for me, but most of all He just wants to do nothing with me and everything with me - just like a father spending time with his son. That changed my life.”
In the final commissioning, Steiger founder David Pierce reminded the students of Jesus’s words in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” That is the light that will spread across the students’ 22 home countries - sparking a global movement to reach those who would not walk into a church.