Tonight I have been bumming around the internet and I’ve found some interesting numbers. It would seem that as I near my return to Prague come the end of the summer God is placing some interesting desires, visions and etc. in/on my heart/soul/mind. Since I felt God calling me to Prague long-term, one of the questions in my mind was, “How can I best be used to build the Church in Czech and Europe at large?” The answer that has resounded in my heart is work with Athletes in Action. But beyond that I see myself being part of church planting and pastoring. I don’t want to get into too much of this in this post, but do be praying that God would focus in on what He is doing with this in my life in the days, months, and years ahead.
Anyway, read this interesting study about the spiritual condition of Europe:
Europe is both the most Christian and the least Christian place in the world today. According to this study, 72.7% of Europeans would label themselves as Christians. Does this mean that more than 2/3 of Europeans are following Jesus Christ and are concerned about the people around them? The answer is a resounding no, no, no, no, no. According to this study, only 4.2% of Europeans follow Jesus and are actively concerned about the people around them following Jesus. While most of the world has a church for at least every 5000 people, this study estimates that there is only one Gospel Oriented church for every 27749 people in Europe.
Is there a hope for Europe? The study goes on to estimate that if given a clear and relevant presentation of the Gospel, only 3.8% of Europeans would begin to follow Jesus and join a church. To make matters even worse, the rate of church planting is estimated to be moderate to poor- about one new church planted for every three hundred existing churches.
Interesting, huh? I’ve been in so many discussions as of late with people about how we CANNOT forget Europe! I am an “equal opportunity” guy when it comes to the Nations. God’s heart beats for every tribe, tongue and nation; therefore, I, we, must be an “equal opportunity” people when it comes to the Nations! It would seem that the American Church has narrowed its scope to something other than “every“! May God stir in hearts in Europe! For more information about this study, Czech out the European Spiritual Estimate site. Praying for a Revolution in Europe!
Hey, Thanks for the add on My Space. Europe does need Jesus. Glad to see you have the call to the barren land. We are working missional in Sweden. Very hard ground here but I believe as we stay focused on the Missio Dei we will see good things happen. I also heard from Danny. Cool that we can network through My Space and blogs. If you ever want to come check us out in Sweden we welcome you. Check us out at http://www.newlifeproject.se and my blog at http://missiodeiscandia.wordpress.com/. I added you to my blog roll. Peace!