Vivo Church celebrates a decade of faith and growth in Geneva. As Vivo celebrated its 10th anniversary on the evening of Saturday, 13 January 2024, it looked back on a spiritual adventure marked by mission, relocation and Saturday evening worship.
It is a captivating story of a dynamic community, celebrating its achievements with gratitude and determination to face the challenges ahead.
It was a big party and the members of Vivo pulled out all the stops. In two parts, first with a captivating liturgy, then an evening filled with games and feasting, members and guests shared an infectious joy together, expressing their gratitude to God for this community's extraordinary journey.
Ten years may seem a short time for a church, but for building a community, it's a significant period. In 2005, the "Hope for big cities" project was launched at the 58th General Conference in St Louis, with the aim of extending evangelism into big cities, where the world's population is growing denser. Eight years later, in 2013, Geneva submitted its application for funding. The project was approved, and on 11 January 2014, Vivo's first service was held. The fledgling community rented a room just a stone's throw from Cornavin station, welcoming missionaries from all over Europe for a year, multiplying street actions and events. The first baptism took place that November, marking the start of a series that continues to this day.
After several moves, the church finally found its home, in 2022, in the basement of Geneva's French-speaking church, ideally located just 100 metres from the hospital and a stone's throw from the historic centre.
Vivo's DNA lies in its mission, with one special feature: Saturday evening worship.
Pastor Leandro Lopez, who has been in charge of the community from the outset, explains that "the aim is to enable members of other churches to invite their friends to Vivo while continuing to attend Saturday morning worship in their own community".
Vivo is looking forward to many more anniversaries like this one, featuring modern worship, poignant testimonies from early members, a video retrospective and a moment of thanksgiving after the sermon. The whole evening was dedicated to God, who has paved the way for this community determined to make His Name shine on the streets of Geneva for at least another ten years.
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