About us
Experience church
No matter how you found us – we’re thrilled that you’re here today. If you’re new and want to learn more about our vision, feel the heartbeat of ICF Hamburg, or meet new people, we invite you to get to know our dream of church. Discover what defines us as a church, what we believe, and how we live out community.
You are warmly welcome – make yourself at home and become part of the ICF Family.
Tina & Andreas Pantli
Lead Pastors ICF Hamburg
Our mission
As a church, it is our passion that people become more like Jesus Christ, live fearlessly and change their environment for the better.
Our values
Our history
Our lead pastors, Andreas and Tina Pantli, come from Switzerland and were part of ICF Zurich for over 15 years, where they served with great passion. Eventually, they followed the call to leave everything behind and plant a church in northern Germany.
That’s how ICF Startup Hamburg came to life in September 2017. The kickoff had already taken place in June of that same year with a Vision Breakfast. From September onward, the regular Community Sundays began at the Schanzen Kino.
The church soon grew and found a larger venue at the Stage Club Altona, where regular Celebrations were held until December 2019. It then moved to its current location, the Emporio Hamburg, with a Grand Opening in December 2019.
Even during the coronavirus pandemic, ICF Hamburg didn’t move backward but kept moving forward. During this time, the opportunity arose to offer online streams, allowing even more people to be reached.
Today, Sunday has grown to three services, which are still streamed online as well, so that people who can’t be there in person can also be part of the community. In 2024, we also had the privilege of planting another location with ICF Startup Lübeck, and through our Micro Churches we’ve created new ways for people to experience our Celebrations and community. This vision brought a new kind of church to Hamburg – a church at the pulse of the times that especially speaks to and inspires the younger generation. Today, as ICF Hamburg, we are a spiritual home for people of all generations.
2017
2018
2019
2020
2026
This vision brought a new kind of church to Hamburg – a church at the pulse of the times that especially speaks to and inspires the younger generation. Today, as ICF Hamburg, we are a spiritual home for people of all generations.
Our code of honor
As of: April 2026
ICF is a Christian free church grounded in the Bible. We were born out of the dream of shaping church for people in a way that is dynamic, down-to-earth, and contemporary.
“That is why we too – like runners in a race – want to run towards the finish line with all our endurance. Let us lay aside everything that hinders us from running, let us separate ourselves from the sin that so easily captivates us, and let us turn our gaze to Jesus, the pioneer of faith, who has gone ahead of us to the finish line.”
The Bible – Hebrews 12:1-2 (New Testament)
As staff and core leaders at ICF Hamburg, it is our deep desire to finish the race of faith victoriously. We are committed to living by biblical and moral standards. After numerous conversations about our lifestyle as leaders in the church, and inspired by the “Modesto Manifesto” of Billy Graham and his friends, we as ICF Pastors, Core Team, and Staff Team commit ourselves to the following principles:
ICF Hamburg is a registered association funded through voluntary donations. All employees are paid under salary models independent of commissions. Salaries are based on comparable organizations and industries and reflect the values of ICF. We handle the finances entrusted to us responsibly and practice biblical stewardship. Upon request, we grant insight into our finances. We fulfill legal requirements with conviction and voluntarily take trust-building measures, such as auditing the accounts of our organization(s) and publishing an annual report.
We maintain a healthy and addiction-free lifestyle. We actively counteract sexual sin through personal responsibility. As churches, we take preventive measures against sexual abuse and sexual boundary violations, such as a carefully considered application process, staff training, and a code of conduct for employees. Special attention is given to the protection of minors. For this, we work together with relevant specialist agencies. Every person in our churches has the right and the duty to turn to an appropriate independent specialist agency in case of suspicion. We care for the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of our paid and volunteer staff. We live out the principle of the Sabbath and encourage a life that flows from rest. We offer individual staffing models tailored to different phases of life.
We submit and commit ourselves to the ICF Corporate Identity. We use entrusted power and competencies responsibly and actively counteract the abuse of power. Andreas and Tina Pantli lead the organization as Lead Pastors, supported by the Core Team. Within the Core Team and all teams, every opinion counts. In these teams, we wrestle with decisions until everyone can support them and no one has serious reservations left. As ICF Hamburg, we are accountable to the leadership of the ICF Movement Core Team. Together, we regularly reflect on the health of our areas, the church, and the movement. Within the legal branches of the organizations, signing authority is distributed among at least two authorized signatories.
We commit to placing faith in Jesus Christ and his Word as the priority and foundation for our words and actions. Our published figures and statistics are truthful. We have commissioned and appointed an independent, external clearing office (ombudsman’s office) that is not subject to our directives. Every person in our churches and their circles has the opportunity to report there in cases of conflict with leadership, suspicion of abuse of power, or observation of unhealthy behaviors. Information and links: icf.church/clearing-stelle.
May God help us to live faithfully, passionately and in an exemplary manner.