At the same time, attention was always particularly drawn to the ecumenical situation locally. The two speakers made clear during their introduction the changed circumstances under which church work takes place in large cities today. Christians are increasingly becoming minorities in the urban centres. A certain pragmatism marks city culture. This is also used to judge Church work.
Individual people assume decisive importance for the credibility of the Christian message.
The fragmentation of the milieu particularly demands the provision of very different meeting places. In a time which is characterised by a hunger for experiences, the traditional proclamation of the Word can only form a fraction of the Church's work. Moreover, the hearts of the people shall be reached with God's message through festivals, through the presence of art and culture, in contemplative areas or by forms of meditation. The expert defined the Churches as non-profit making organisations and described conventional and new ways of raising finance. He pleaded for finance management to be taken seriously as an important church task.