THE BEGINNING
Nightfever started in October 2005, shortly after the XX World Youth Day in Cologne with one million young Christians from all around the world had ended. Throughout these days, the cities of Cologne, Bonn and Düsseldorf were then filled with young people singing and praying day and night. And churches were still full even after midnight. The church is young, and its young spirit could be experienced here.
But then things seemed to had gone back to normal only a few weeks later: the young people were at home, and the churches quite empty again. This was when two students from Bonn realized: „This cannot be the end. This great vibe/spirit of the WYD has to go on in our daily lives...!“
And it was then when Andreas Süß (today he is a Chaplain in Düsseldorf-Garath) and Katharina Fassler (Emmanuel Community, now married and mother of two children) planned the first Nightfever in St. Remigius Bonn.
The whole concept is based on the Evening of Joy of the Emmanuel Community. But the evenings of Nightfever are not run by a particular group or community, but by students from various faculties, pupils, professionals, and different communities. Initially, Nightfever was planned as a single event, but it’s high reputation, frequentation, and many request has led to Nightfever being run on a regular base: Nightfever is taking place in over 30 cities in Germany on a regular, monthly basis.
The first years
Once Nightfever had started, the word spread fast and students in other cities wanted to start running it in their churches, too. This is how Freiburg (St. Martin) followed in 2006, Erfurt (Lorenzkirche), Cologne (cathedral) and Mainz (Augustinerkirche). This has led, as mentioned, to Nightfever being run in about 30 German cities on a regular base. But the word kept spreading, and many young Christians beyond German borders wanted to start Nightfever in their churches: Vienna followed in May 2008, and it is being celebrated in many European countries too: Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
Nightfever is even a regular event at major events like the Ecumenical Church Gathering (Ökumenischer Kirchentag), the Annual Church Meeting (Kirchentag), the Catholic Assembly (Katholikentag), and at various congresses (all Germany).
Organisation
As Nightfever was founded by students, and is still being run by young adults, the structures are quite flexible: Each city that runs Nightfever is self sufficient and independent but always preserves the Nightfever DNA at it’s core. All Nightfever teams meet twice a year for a weekend away to share, celebrate fellowship, and worship together.
Having grown so fast in such a short time, Nightfever needs a leadership that overlooks the initiative as a whole; co-founder chaplain Andreas Süß is holding this office at the moment.