History
ICF (International Christian Fellowship) grew out of a vision to develop a church which is innovative, in tune with the times and the nitty-gritty of real life, in order to guide people into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The origin of this movement goes back to 1990, when various people from different cultures and denominations met for the first time under the name of ?Studio ICF? in Zurich where they came together regularly for a worship service at the St. Annakapelle.
Approximately 70 people from a mixture of churches founded the ?ICF Church? in 1996 under the leadership of Leo Bigger, Mattias Bölsterli (presently senior pastor of the ICF Geneve) and Mickey Conod (now co-pastor of ICF Basel). Within the next 2 years, 2 more visionary leaders gave birth to children`s work and a youth out-reach: Monique Graf started the ?children-express? which is a lively Kid`s Church for ages 0-12; ND Strupler launched both the teenager department ?Youthplanet? (ages16-19) and ?Groundzero? (ages 13-15).
The ICF Church quickly developed into a lively, expanding church. In the beginning of 1999 it was re-named ?ICF Zurich? because many new ICF churches were planted in many cities. (Refer to ICF Movement)
In 2001, the former ?Irie Vibes Club? which was responsible for the handling and making of books and CD-productions, was redesigned and is now ?ICF Media gmbH? (Ltd / Inc.).
2002, ?The Twenties` Celebration? ( ages 20-25) was born. It is led by Danny Gassmann, whose main emphasis is to meet the specific needs of the early twenty year olds.
Mid 2003, the ICF Zurich moved into their new office rooms in the Maag-Areal and renovated an entire factory workshop into a ?celebrationhall? which was dedicated in December 2003.
2004, the ?ICF Events gmbH? (Ltd / Inc.) was founded. Purpose: Bar and Restaurat, Event and Travel businesses.
March 2006 was the beginning of the ?Latin Celebration? for our Spanish speaking community.
24-28 May: The Big Birthday Celebration of 10 years ?ICF Zurich? in the Schuefweg Stadium in Kloten. A 3-day conference with several guest speakers, a worship festival with the British Top-Band, ?Delirious?? and a Celebration Service on Sunday were the highlights of this ?Anniversary-week? for the more than 3500 participants from all over Europe.
October: ?The ACTS Foundation? was established as an independent work of deacons for social services. As a foundation, ACTS is under the supervision of the State. Acts, which is based on the Christian Faith and its call to care for the sick, poor and needy, wants to contribute to the community in the area of social duties.
2007, May: Grand Opening of a second branch of ?ICF Zurich? in Rapperswil, within the frame work of our new concept, one church, two locations.