Make Something Beautiful – The Polylux Community StoryRachel Wegner - 17 Mar 2014

Through the humble hearts of a small 24-7 Prayer community, God is redeeming one of the poorest neighborhoods in Neubrandenburg, Germany…one friendship and one story at a time.

Mach was Schoenes.

It’s the simple motto of the 24-7 community in Neubrandenburg, Germany that translates as “make something beautiful.” Against the stark backdrop of the block housing typical to Eastern Europe, Ralf and Katharina Neumann have made their home in one of the poorest neighborhoods in town. Since 2007, the Neumanns, three of their friends and their families have lived, served and sown into the community around them.  Within the last two years, they have moved into a neighborhood perched atop a hill known as Datzeberg.

 “This place caught our hearts right from the beginning,” Ralf said. “It's not one of the most beautiful places, but we already loved that part of town. We started praying and settling in as a community, trying to get jobs and get to know people. We felt rather alone at times because we didn’t know that many people, but also very much in the right place.”

Early on, they adopted the name Polylux for their community, which means “much light” in Latin. As their relationships grew, the Polylux community became more deeply invested into the stories of their neighbors and the people they met. They began inviting new friends into their homes, praying with people around their neighborhood, playing games of soccer with the local youth and even joined a program to help kids with their homework after school.

Eventually they connected with a local Catholic charity and helped to launch a family center. Two of the Polylux crew staff the center and many others volunteer time each week at there. At a nearby primary school, they also began a program called Adventure Land, where they teach children simple Bible stories, sing songs, play games and make art. They often find their time spilling over into the evenings as they get to know the children and their families. Some days, they have as many as 50 children and their families in attendance. 

“It’s lively,” Katharina said with a laugh. “The interesting thing is, although we thought we’d just tell the stories to the kids, the adults are listening to everything.”

The majority of the Polylux community lives on the same block in different apartments. They spend time together as a whole each week, sharing corporate prayer times, meals and serving together. They also rent a space where they host a prayer room. They invite their friends, neighbors and the churches in the city to join them during 24-2 weekends of prayer every-other-month.

“Everything has started with prayer and building friendships,” Katharina said. “It’s so beautiful to see every age, different denominations and different ways of expressing God come together.”

Katharina shared the story of one young woman who came to the prayer room in October 2013. The girl had recently become a Christian and was wrestling with depression and the medications she took for it. She said that she didn’t feel able to talk to Jesus herself, so she asked Katharina to pray with her. As they prayed, the young woman encountered God’s love.

“She was so longing to hear the truth,” Katharina said. “She’s still wrestling with harder times in life, but knows and feels that a life with Jesus is so much better. The brokenness of this place is starting to crack open. Step by step, God is showing up. There are only a few Christians in this place, but the ones who are here are really in love with and focused on Jesus.”

While the Eastern European landscape is largely devoid of a church presence, the Polylux crew believes that small communities of believers have the power to change the culture of entire neighborhoods. Ralf explained that this is a desperately needed piece, especially in the East of Germany, since people commonly hold a negative view of God, even though many of them have never been to a church.

“They never get the chance to get to know the God who has become so important to us and who changed our lives in such a wonderful way,” Ralf said. “We want to see God’s Kingdom spread out in our area, in all of its expressions.”

As the Polylux community continues to invest in their neighborhood, Ralf and Katharina said that they have great hope for what God will do in their city. Even in the midst of small—but growing—projects, they see Him at work every day.

“It's a comforting thought that it's not up to us to start bigger and better projects, but that God can do what He wants, even in small things,” Ralf said. “So we agree with Mother Teresa: ‘It's not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.’”

If you feel inspired by the Polylux community and can speak German, you can join a mission team this summer to go and spend a week serving alongside the Polylux community.