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Connections October 2004

The Journal of the WEA Missions Commission

WEA Missions Commission

#1-300/118, Arul colony,

ECIL post,

Hyderabad - 500062.

A. P., INDIA

www.globalmission.org

Dr. William D. Taylor

Editor

Dr. K Rajendran

Consulting Editor

Evan Riffee

Managing Editor

Sam Arackal

Production Coordinator

Jarin Tadych

Design Coordinator

Editorials

Feature Articles

Mission to Europe: Troublesome, Challenge or Blessing,

Kees van der Wilden

Living as People of HOPE, Jeff Fountain

Europe, a Riddle Wrapped in an Enigma, Cees Verharen

The Turkish Church and The European Union, Cees Verharen

Mending a Torn Society - Hungary, Jan van Butselaar

Missional Proverbs

Book Reviews

Encounters: A New On-line Missions Resource from the U.K,

Editors

Welcome to Kees van der Wilden, William D. Taylor

From the Heart and Mind of the Editor, Willliam D. Taylor

Europe an Authentic Less- Reached Mission Field, K. Rajendran

Proverbial Perespectives of Europe, Stan Nussbaum

Report from New Zealand and “Taup4ward”, Gordon Stanley

Global Faces, A Membercare Report, Kelly O’ Donnell

TIE Report from Europe, Derek Green

Internet Based Missionary Training: An International Missionary

Training Network Report, Jon Lewis

Refugee Highway Partnership: European Refugee Network

Expansion, Mark Orr

IntroducingWorld Missions, Scott Moreau, Gary, R. Corwin,

Gary B. McGee, Reviewed by Steve Hoke

Whose Religion is Christianity? Lamin Sanneh, Reviewed by Cathy Ross

Christianity at the Religious Roundtable, Timothy C. Tennet, Reviewed

by Tai - Woong Lee

Hope for Europe, Thomas Schirrmacher, Reviewed by Klaus Muller

Missiological Reflection

Towards a Contextual Mission Theology for Europe, Friedmann

Walldorf

Global News

8

10

15

21

28

41

48

50

52

56

59

61

63

70

72

74

76

83

84

85

5

News from Europe, Dieter Trefz

India Census 2001 Religious Information Highlights, Editors

Missions Interlink-Australia: A New Look for a New Generation, Phil

Douglas 54

65

Global Reports for Global Impact

Letter to Our Readers 2

Member Care for Missionaries: A Practical Guide for Senders, Reviewed

by Hartmut Stricker

68

2

Connections The Journal of the WEA Missions Commission

October 2004Dear Connections Reader,

Connections: The Journal of the WEA Missions Commissionprovides a global writers’ roundtable to speak into the challengesof world mission today. There is no other publication like it, and wehumbly recognize God’s favour upon us to this point. We havebeen privileged to print articles by emerging writers who wouldhave no other forum to share their concerns. Geared to the globalreflective practitioners of our world, Connections attempts to “read” issues andconcerns from an international perspective. It is designed for thoughtful missionariesand for church mission pastors, for mission agencies leaders, and for libraries oftheological schools and missionary training programs.

Since Connections began its publishing life in October 2002, we have distributedover 3000 free copies per issue during an extended trial period. This is part of ourservice to the global mission movement. However, due to the costs of publishing,this will be the last issue for our “trial” subscribers. If you have not paid or reneweda Connections subscription, this will be your last issue.

If you have been a trial subscriber and would to formalize your subscription, pleasereturn the subscription card found on the next page in this issue.

For only $10 you receive 3 issues of Connections per year. For only $25, you receiveConnections for 3 years. These are exceptional values! We hope you take thisopportunity to subscribe. Regretfully, during 2005 we will have to raise the subscriptioncosts, so take advantage of this special offer.

We are grateful for your support to this point, and we trust that you will investpersonally to continue receiving Connections: The Journal of the WEA MissionsCommission.

Thank you,

Dr. William Taylor, Executive EditorEvan Riffee, Managing Editor

ps. If you have any questions about the status of your subscription, please contactus by email at [email protected]

3

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4


by William D. Taylor

As you read this 7th issue, rejoice in God’s provision for Connections as a writers roundtable on mission issues, a forum for the reflective practitioners.

I began jotting these thoughts down mid-August at 11,000 metresabove the South China Sea, en route from Kuala Lumpur, HongKong, Taipei, Los Angeles and finally to my home and family.During June-July, I was privileged to visit New Zealand andAustralia, and you will read the reports by Gordon Stanley andPhil Douglas of their national mission forum. The August trip ledme to three countries, five events and fifteen key people—allencounters that provided value-added dimension to the historicand future work of the WEA Missions Commission. They invitedme to listen, learn, pray, speak, and to serve with my Asiancolleagues.

August 1-9, Korea: speaking at “Mission Korea” the Urbana-style style student missions convention held every two years ata university. My responsibility was to speak in a plenary to the4,500 students (‘Barriers to global mission and how to overcomethem’), plus a follow-up Q/A session; then a morning talk to the300 missionaries and mission leaders (‘Strengths and weaknessesof the Korean mission movement’). I was helped by insight fromten colleagues from around the world, three of them Koreans.

Korea also brought rich conversations with my dear friend andformer MC chair, David Tai-Woong Lee and his gracious wife,Hunbok—listening, growing, praying, grateful for the 21 years offriendship that started when was faculty of Trinity EvangelicalDivinity School in the USA and David was finishing up hismissiology doctorate. It was a privilege to spend time with youngermission leaders, Steve Moon and Min-Young Jung.

August 9-14, Singapore: two of our global missiology teams (atotal of 18 people) meeting over four days (hosted by TrinityTheological College) to hammer out the contents and authors oftwo new books. One team was led by Malaysian OMF

As you

read this

7th issue,

rejoice in

God’s

provision

for

Connections

as a

writers

roundtable

on mission

issues, a

forum for

the

reflective

practitioners

From the Heart andMind of the Editor

5


missiologist, Kang San Tan, focusing onreligious pluralism; the other led byNorwegian Tormod Engelsviken,focusing on missional ecclesiology. Ourmissiology teams are coordinated by thegifted and peripatetic Rose Dowsett,OMFer based in Glasgow, Scotland.These books will be the first to deal withthese subjects from a truly globalperspective—and that’s our specialty.

Singapore also brought more richpersonal times with Dane Birger Nygaard,Missions Commission Associate androommate at TTC, David Lee again,Stanley Davies (UK), K Rajendran (India),and Andre de Winne of the SingaporeCentre for Evangelism and Missions.

One evening, hosted by the leadershipof OMF, we observed Hudson Taylor’spersonal Bible, with the famous note handwritten in the top margin of his Bible,‘Prayed for twenty four willing and skillfullabourors at Brighton, June 25, 1865’. Wealso gazed at the original CIM register ofmissionaries categories which gave theirname, arrival date, place of origin, age,previous occupation, Chinese name,furlough or left field), returned, marriage(to whom, date, place), retirement/death/departure from field. It was moving tosee how many of that early generation ofmissionaries to China died young.

August 14-18, Malaysia: participating inthe national launch of a new missionbody, the Malaysian Mission Network.For 2 ½ days some 70 leaders fromchurches, agencies, schools, mobilizersand missionaries met south of KualaLumpur to pray, listen, discuss, structure,nominate and dedicate the new MMN.My role: listen and learn, dialogue and

then speak on worldwide models andissues of national mission movements.Dr. Hwa Yung, Malaysian theologian andeducator (sharing his time betweenSingapore and Malaysia) was the othermain speaker. It was fascinating to seehow the two of us, who had no priorknowledge of what the other would say,shared four sessions of iron sharpeningiron. I felt like I stood in a birthing room,witnessing the arrival of a new nationalmissional baby, asking God for health inDNA, birth and its early childhood.

More rich personal times with PhilipChang (Missions Commission Associate,broker and leader of MalaysianInterserve), Alex Lim (friend andbusinessman with a heart for the world),Hwa Yung, and Bob Lopez (MissionsCommission Associate) of the PhilippineMission Association who was present asanother resource for the MMN.

The focus of this issue on Europe

We must see Europe anew as the farwestern end of Asia; an historic centre ofChristianity for centuries, now wronglycalled ‘Christian’ by too many; a neopagan, secular, multi-religion, post-modern continent in need of a newevangelization; a continent growing withimmigrants. We read of a Europe whosepeople raise valid questions about truthand Christianity—its claims and viability;whose Christians ask hard questionsabout what it means to be the missionalpeople of God.

So we asked some of our Europeancolleagues to write, and they did. Thisissue becomes an appetizer, challengingpresuppositions about how to classify a

6


continent spiritually, an invitation to re-think Europe. Regretfully it did not fitthe limited architecture of the 10/40Window, and too many wrote it off. Weneed new metaphors to understand ourentire world.

Two final items

We welcome Kees van der Wilden to thestaff of the Missions Commission. Readthis brief report for a glimpse of this multi-faceted servant.

Finally, as this issue goes to press inSeptember, the Missions CommissionGlobal Leadership Team will have met in

The Netherlands to re-envision and re-focus the Missions Commission. Godconvened these nineteen key women andmen to a strategic summit as theculmination of almost a full year ofdreaming, praying and asking the Spiritfor boldness and wisdom. The outcomesintroduce a broader vision, a newarchitecture, a new name, and newrelationship to our historic parent body,World Evangelical Alliance. The February2005 issue of Connections will give acomplete report of this event.

Meanwhile, fruitful reading to all of you,our fellow reflective practitioners.

William Taylor is the Executive Director of the Missions Commissions, WorldEvangelical Alliance. Born in Latin America, he and his wife, Yvonne, servedthere for 17 years before a move to the USA. He is the father of three adultGenXers born in Guatemala. Send letters to the Editor [email protected]

7


fromthe editorby K. Rajendran

Europe, an AuthenticLess-Reached Mission Field:A Perspective from the TwoThirds World

Patrick Johnston in Operation World mentions that the last 250 years have been years of

worldwide advance for the gospel but,conversely, decline in Europe.* Thecolonial spirit of the European advanceinto the world and the awakening of theChurch in the past 250 years haveopened up the doors for the Gospel inthe entire world while the followers ofChrist dwindled in Europe. How do weunderstand the obedience to the GreatCommission in this context?

Some reflectionsFirst, what is God doing, and how canwe orient and energize the Christianswho are migrating to Europe? Theglobalised world has transported peopleacross borders in unprecedentednumbers and for various reasons—thenew workers, the refugees, theimmigrants (legal and otherwise) andothers who pour into Europe. Countlessnumbers of Two Thirds world Christianshave moved into these nations.

Second, what is God doing in terms ofintentional tent-makers and othermissionaries coming from the Two Thirdsworld to Europe?

We face a problem with funding, for manyof the Two Thirds sending bases areunable to support their missionaries toEurope. Is this an invitation for European

international missions to revise theirpolicies of recruitment of missionariesfrom the newer sending nations? Oldersending and receiving churches/agenciesmust come to term with new ways ofinternationalizing their teams. The weakereconomic countries could raise aproportion of the fund while the restcomes from a common pool from thestronger economic nations. Agreementscould be made between the missions,missions associations and the churchesfrom both sending and receiving nations.

How can we encourage the tent makersin different parts of the European world?Could the Chinese and Indian medicaland IT professionals be equipped tobecome pro-active players in their newcountries? They could become tent-making church planters able to nurturebelievers of new churches, while at thesame time linking with establishedEuropean ministries to avoid confusionand duplication.

So is God challenging us to rethink theold styled mission mentalities?

Third, this is an invitation for us all torethink the traditional understanding ofthe church. Could the church, the calledout people of God, meet in houses insteadof the buildings and cathedrals with theirordained clergy? I suspect that acrossEurope many new followers of Christ,especially from the middle upper classesand intellectuals, might respond more toworship Christ in informal settings.

8


Endnote*Operation World CD. Introduction on Europe.

Many of the tent-making medical, IT andother professionals work with and relateto a many middle and upper class sectorsin Europe. It is important that missionariesnot just work among the fringes of thesocieties—a principle that must beapplied across the world.

A case study of Daniel, a Korean inLondon.Daniel and his family ended up living inthe well-to-do suburbs of London. Therewas no vibrant church and they found itdifficult to penetrate that particular poshcommunity. So Daniel and his wife, withtheir previous experience and zeal, beganvisiting British homes in theneighborhood, starting conversationsand offering appropriate literature to read.Eventually a congregation of Christiansbegan to gather in a local school. Thenew body of believers felt comfortablemeeting there and they became a thrivingplace of worship where a number ofpeople committed their lives to followChrist. This is but one example of hownon-Western Christians make an impactin Europe. Such ventures must besupported with encouragement andwithout bias.

Seeking to identify felt needs ofEuropeansWhen Western missions and churchesspeak about the ‘felt-needs’ of thepeople’s of the world, they too often referto poverty of the people, especially if they

have some kind of guilt about the Two-Third world, but there are many other feltneeds in any community. How can we allaware of Europe’s needs as we reach outinto the society and present solutions inChrist. We will find some very thoughtfularticles in this issue to help us understandEurope better.

The New-Age, a mixture of paganism andaspects of Hinduism and Buddhismsweep across the European world. Manynaive people respond to it because oftheir desperate and unidentified ‘felt-need’ to fill their spiritual vacuum. Evenwhen people claim to be atheistic, thereis a deep longing for spirituality. In thesecases, Christians from the East and GlobalSouth have much to offer and they mustbe encouraged to do so.

As we read this new issue of Connections

Let us talk together about Europe as anauthentic less-reached mission field. Wemust creatively think how to meet thespiritual needs of the Europeans with theGospel in new ways beyond our olderand narrow perceptions. We must partnerwith established missional bodies inEurope. May God give us the boldnessto try new things and innovatively engagethe Christians migrating to Europe in allcategories—to reach both the Europeansas well as the newer populations floodinginto Europe who profess non-Christianreligions.

K Rajendran is the General Secretary of the India Missions Association and the Chair of World Evangelical Alliance Missions Commission GlobalLeadership Team. He can be contacted at [email protected]

9


Kees began his work as a staff member of the Missions Commission in July 2004. We asked him a

few questions so our readers can capture a profileof our new colleague and his gracious wife, Els.

Kees, give us a bit of your personal background, marriageand ministry. What does Els do?

I was born June 26, 1953. During my first year of medicalschool I met Els who also studied there. During that yearEls became a Christian and through her testimony, after oneand a half years, I became a Christian in July, 1978. Not longafter that great moment we agreed not to meet each otherfor one week and to seek the Lord’s will for our lives. Afterthat week we compared what the Lord had told us and ourjournal entries were almost identical.

For both of us, mission had high priority. On March 1, 1979we were married. Els finished her medical studies andbecame a physician. I became a tutor in radiology, and in1985 we left for Kenya as missionaries. Els was in charge ofa hospital and established a Primary Health Care Evangelismproject in the region. I taught at the Bible school of themission agency as well as to bush church leaders. I alsolearned to fly there and became the mission agency pilot.After seven years we were privileged to hand over the workto Kenyans and returned to the Netherlands.

Back in our country, Els decided to be a professional in thesecular world, using her position to be a witness in theDutch health structures. This is a very challenging callingdue to the liberal view in the Netherlands, for instance, onabortion and euthanasia. At present Els is in charge of adepartment of a large health insurance company.

I continued in missions, and soon began became financialdirector and later general director for TEMA/MISSION, anagency organizing tri-annual European youth missionconferences. These are similar to Urbana in the USA,Mission Korea in Korea and Commission 2004 for Eastern

Welcome, Kees van derWilden, to the MC Staff!

My dream is to

see the day

when we no

longer speak

of “North” and

“South” or

“Old Sending”

and “New

Sending”, but

just about the

united work

done from the

one Body of

Christ to the

glory of God

10


and South Africa. In 1996 I became thedirector for EZA, the Dutch EvangelicalMissionary Alliance. Thus I came incontact with the Missions Commission,and my first consultation was onmissionary attrition, held at All NationsChristian College, April 1996.

What are the prime memories that stickin your mind from the Kenya years?

Several come to mind; I mention a few.First, the great eagerness of the KenyanChristians to learn more from God’s Word;the tremendous joy of the people at thepresentation of the Gospel of John in thetribal language; the numerous thingsGod taught me in these years, especiallyon trusting Him; and finally the very realspiritual warfare taking place.

What are the prime memories from youryears at EZA?

I have had the privilege of serving Dutchmissionaries through EZA, and alsoconsulting with the churches on missionpolicies and preparation of theirmissionaries. It was great to establish anational Member Care network, and tosee the growing desire of agencies toengage in co-operation and partnership.It was painful to have to releaseemployees due to EZA’s financial crisis.

What led you to sense that God wasleading you out of EZA and to the MC?

This was a process. Through EZA, Igradually became aware of how God isbuilding His church worldwide. It iswonderful to see the global churchescome into existence and assumeresponsibility to become mission sending

churches. I increasingly desired to offermy skills to this international missionarymovement.

Another factor was my contact with theMC. I attended all the conferences(Vancouver in 1997 and 2003; Iguaçu in1999; Port Dickson in 2001) and every timeI was impressed by the commitment of thedelegates to know each other and to worktogether. The publications that came as aresult of these meetings areimpressive. To serve with the MCNational Mission Movement track excitedme more about global co-operation withinthe Body of Christ.

Prayer and discussions with Bill, as wellas a realization that after eight years I hadcome to the end of my work with EZA,led to clarity that with joy I should offermy services to the MC.

What are a couple of differences betweenthese two roles?

The greatest difference is to be suddenlyconfronted with working in a “virtualoffice”. Having your colleagues workingfrom Austin, Seattle and Sao Paolo,London, Seoul, Hyderabad and manyother locations means thatcommunication is through e-mail and afew times by telephone. Working alonefrom my house requires another kind ofself discipline.

Another difference is the type of work. Ino longer manage the daily running ofEZA. Now I work more as a “reflectivepractitioner”, facing all kind ofmissiological issues from different partsof the world. My work perspectivecertainly broadened!

11


What would be some of your dreams ofthe MC and your role—in Europe, Africaand worldwide?

My dream for the MC is that we becomethe serving body for the worldwidemissionary movement—by listening tothe grassroots; gathering information ondevelopments worldwide; providingconsultations and sharing thisinformation through publications and theInternet; encouraging co-operationbetween the diverse, scattered membersof our global missionary movement; andhelping to establish and strengthennational missionary movements.

In general, I want to serve in whatever

way that matches the God-given skills.In Europe I will assist, as requested, theEastern and Southern Europeancountries as they build their missionarymovements. My work in Kenya and visitsto other African countries have given mecompassion for this very complicatedcontinent and I want to serve in someway.

My dream is to see the day when we nolonger speak of “North” and “South” or“Old Sending” and “New Sending”, butjust about the united work done from theone Body of Christ to the glory of God.

Kees can be reached [email protected]

Kees and Els van der Wilden

12


13


14


“During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedoniastanding and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia andhelp us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at onceto leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us topreach the gospel to them.” (Acts 16:9,10)

Some two thousand years ago two things coincided: Godanswered the urgent prayer of a European, understanding theneed for the message of hope; God used the eagerness of aman, Paul, to preach this message in this new arena.

The gospel of Jesus Christ entered Europe. As Jeff Fountain1

describes it: ‘At the end of the first millennium almost allEuropean people at least had heard about the Gospel’. Thenew hope inspired through this new faith resulted in valuesand an attitude that during the following ages was called‘European’ and considered to be ‘common sense’. Dependingupon the measure of acceptance of this new hope, theircollective existence changed.

This hope was the only reason making Europe into ‘Europe’,strong, self-confident, so clearly different from her Easternroots. As explained by Leslie Newbigin2 and meanwhile copiedby several other writers: ‘Europe is the only continental regionthat in fact is no continent at all! It just is the western peninsulaof the European – Asian land mass’.

Our European ancestors entered this peninsula from the East.They spoke languages like Greek, Celtic, Germanic and Baltic-Slavic, all belonging to the Indo-European language family.Their philosophical ideas, myths, legends, gods andgoddesses could be seen as the extension of Asian thought,mainly from India3

The gospel brought a massive paradigm shift in the Europeanworldview. They became alienated from their Eastern rootsand formed their own culture with its distinctive characteristicsin trade, politics, arts and rules and regulations concerningsocial welfare. Aware of their strength and drive for biggermarkets, they discovered unknown parts of the world and anextended Christendom resulted in the expansion of European

Mission to Europe:Troublesome, Challenge or Blessing?by Kees van der Wilden

Some two

thousand

years ago two

things

coincided:

God answered

the urgent

prayer of a

European,

understanding

the need for

the message

of hope; God

used the

eagerness of a

man, Paul, to

preach this

message in

this new

arena

15


thought to many parts of the world.Countries like England, France, Holland,Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Germany andSpain colonised the world. In many casesthe result was regrettable, as history hastaught us. On the other hand, from the19th century this global expansionextended the gospel as a message of hopeto those who still had no availability ofGod’s word.

At the threshold of the third millenniumhowever Europe has become post-Christian, post-communistic and post-modern. Still, against better judgment,they believe in their own power andsupremacy in the world. Spiritually‘Christian’ Europe has ‘more than othercontinents intentionally pushed aside theknowledge of God and thus has becomea destitute mission field.’4 The result ofthis decision is becoming painfully clearin European society. Nationalism growsin the present Europe in spite of the so-called European unity, unemployment,sexual exploitation, devaluation of ethicaland moral values and a widening gapbetween rich and poor. We seemushrooming interest in Easternreligions, many times embedded in allkinds of New Age philosophies. Are wereturning to our roots again. Or, as statedby Newbigin: if Europe loses the Bible,again it will become a part of Asia.5

But: thanks to God, He still (or again?)hears the cry of the ‘Macedonian man’.He is faithful and offers ways to helpEurope rediscover His message of hope.That is what Mission to Europe is about.

Mission to Europe

There are several reasons why fordecades so many people from othercontinents have moved into Europe:economic motivation; the invitation byreceiving countries to grow their

workforce. But others come driven byhealth crises, oppression and torture.

Interregional transfers occur mainly fromSouth to North; ‘migratory movementsgenerally arise from the existence of priorlinks between sending and receivingcountries based on colonization, politicalinfluence, trade investment, and culturalties’.6 This “South to North migration” isnot expected to end soon. It will continueand probably even increase in size. Thereare two causes for this growth. First isthe strong population growth indeveloping countries. Paul Kennedystated that ‘95% of the global populationgrowth in the first quarter of the 21st

century will take place in developingcountries’7. Millions of them will try tomove North for a better living. Secondly,history repeats itself for Europe will invitethem to come as labourers.

Europe faces a serious demographicalproblem. On the one hand there is aminimal, sometimes even negative, birthgrowth in most West-Europeancountries, on the other hand you see agrowing size of retirees that need to becared for through the taxes paid by theyounger working class. Different from theinflux that we saw during the fifties of thelast century is that this workforce nowwill come from countries that have astrong evangelical, charismaticpopulation. For example: Spain is askingLatin Americans to join the Spanish Army,and, according to Peter Drucker ‘Germanywill have to import one million immigrantsof working age each year simply tomaintain its workforce.’ Many of them docome from Christian background.

Imagine: African Christians are increasingat a rate of 23,000 new Christians a day(or 8.5 million a year), while churches inEurope and North America lose anestimated 6,000 church members a day.8

16


When these Africans immigrate intoEurope, in the first place they form theirown cultural churches. These are strongchurches, for even less religiousimmigrants tend to strengthen theirreligious heritage while in the hostcountry. The result is the growth instrength and size of immigrant churchescontrasted by a decreasing autochthonchurch. Frustration will rear its jealousface from the autochthon church.

A very encouraging development amongthe immigrant churches is that they nolonger are only interested in their owncultural group, but increasingly becomeaware of their witnessingresponsibility to their hostcountry. In the Netherlandsfor instance a group ofabout 12 African churchesstarted GATE: the Gift fromAfrica To Europe. Thisinitiative is supported bythe AEA (AfricanEvangelical Alliance) whoin their gratefulness theysay: ‘In the past centuries you came tous to preach the gospel, now we are herewith the desire assisting you toevangelize your own people.’

Alongside the immigrant churches wealso observe the arrival of non-Europeanmissionaries to Europe, people with aclear calling, sent by their churches tobring the gospel into secularized Europe.

As the centre of gravity in mission movesto the South we need to consider othermissiological characteristics. The newface of global and missionary Christianityshows relative poverty andpowerlessness. This emanates fromcontexts of religious plurality whereChristianity has historically been aminority faith, a persecuted religion, orsimply one among others. These factors

have serious implications for theeffectiveness of its ‘missionaries.’ Theymay have much to offer the church in theWest as it grapples with issues of identityand relevance in the face of emergingsecularism and new religious pluralism.However, while the younger movementscoming to Europe have much more tooffer, we wonder whether the Europeanchurches are ready to accept the offer?

It is obvious that the majority of churchesin Europe are not ready yet to receivemissionaries from many other cultures.When it comes to sending from thesechurches, priorities are either local or ‘far

away’ activities andmany times only one ofthe two. Support formissionaries will only beavailable if there is aconsistent relationshipwith the church. Howthen will the ‘foreigners’be received, who saysthey are called into anevangelistic task in

Europe? Besides, many churches askthemselves: ‘If Europe really is a missionfield, shouldn’t we solve this problemourselves?’ If this is so, I wonder why weEuropeans still send missionaries to othercontinents where there are mature andvery lively, dynamic churches? Do wehave the impression that they can notsolve their problem? Is it pride or just tootroublesome to appreciate the missionalarrival of our non-European brethren?

Let’s be fair. We have to deal with ourpride; it also is troublesome. As non-European missionaries enter all overEurope, how can we expect the localchurch to know what to do? A Europeanapproach is needed to enable the localchurches to get involved in this newaspect of global mission. That tooappears to be less easy than said.

It is obvious thatthe majority of

churches inEurope are not

ready yet to receivemissionaries from

many othercultures

17


While for the MTV audience andEuropean soccer fans national borders nolonger count, churches still havedifficulty to find each other and discussmatters of mutual interest. The reason forthis omission lies, as mentioned by JeffFountain, in the treaty of Westfalen of1648 where it was stated that ‘the beliefof the prince is the belief of the state.’Fountain continues: ‘This resulted invision for the church leadership that didnot exceed the borders ofthat state. Unfortunately,even after 350 years, thisattitude still seems to be ofrelevance for manyEuropean Protestantchurches. Even now therehardly is any structuralrelationship betweenchurches European wide.’9

A combined effort is neededto bring about neededchange. It is good to seethat networks like theEuropean EvangelicalAlliance (EEA), theEuropean EvangelicalMissionary Alliance(EEMA), Hope or Europe (HfE) havetaken up the gauntlet and do their utmostto encourage European-wide co-operation.

When contact between the non-Europeanmissionary and the local church is made,the challenge to work together onlystarts, a challenge for both parties.Moses Alagbe, director of GATE, wroteme not long ago: ‘I will like to appreciateyour persistency in championing ourcause as missionaries in Europe and allyou have done till this stage. I pray thatthe Lord will continue to be with you, thatall the efforts will not be in vain’. It is thecry of a brother who almost feels defeatedin his eagerness to work together withEuropean churches.

On the other hand the European localchurch faces quite some difference in‘church culture’ when welcoming thenon-European missionary. When peoplecross borders they bring their ideas,beliefs and religious practices with them.In contrast to European-style linearstructures, the emerging non-Westernmovement is ‘cellular, travels along pre-existing social relations, rests oncharismatic leadership, communicates in

songs and signals, andunderstands the humanperson in his or herrelationship tocommunity.’10 So theEuropean church isconfronted withcharismatic focus inworship, and a relationalculture where timelimitations do not count.Added to this a much moreholistic approach totheology is practiced,contrasted with the ‘eitheror principle’ betweengospel preaching andsocial work that the

European church is accustomed to.Beyond that we encounter new leadershippractices that are either hierarchical or‘led by the Spirit’.

Another stumbling block in co-operationis European governmental policy inissuing visa to non-Europeans, as wellas the lack of insight regarding the currentconsequences of non-Europeanimmigrants. A Dutch newspaper wrote inJuly 2004: ‘As per July 9 the rentalagreement of a venue where 11 migrantchurches were worshipping in Amsterdamhas been terminated as it was needed fora business purpose. When this quarterof the city was built, the building planwas based on a secularised societywithout a need for church buildings. At

Anotherstumbling block

in co-operation isEuropean

governmentalpolicy in issuing

visa to non-Europeans, aswell as the lack

of insightregarding the

currentconsequences of

non-Europeanimmigrants

18


present this quarter holds 20,000Christians worshipping in gymnasiums,garages and homes.’

God calls our colleagues to Europe inobedience to the Lord’s command to be awitness in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria andto the ends of the earth. That is what wehave to accept and personally I wouldsay we should accept with gratitude andgladness. One thing is certain: amissionary movement is often a history-making force, and these new movementswill help define the face and future ofglobal Christianity, and now again inEurope.

Engaging a Code of best Practice

It is important to realise that around theworld, many missionaries are sent or evensend themselves without reference to thereceiving regions. This concept of the‘lone-ranger missionary’ roving to and frowithout reference to a home base or thenew local church must be challenged ifinnovative global partnerships are to becreated.

‘I remember when I was in the south ofSpain and met an Argentinean sellingsweets to children on the beach. He hadbeen in Spain for seven years, survivingon the prayer support of his home churchand the money he made from his sweetstall. In all his time he had neverconnected with the local churches, butwas still active in sharing his faith. It ispeople like him whom I hope will benefitfrom this Code.’ These are my own wordswhen I started speaking with the EEMAleadership about the need for a jointEuropean approach to welcome non-European missionaries into Europe. Wedid not want again to set the olderconditions we lived with for long, but topositive offer guidelines for all thoseinvolved in the sending and receiving

process. EEMA wholeheartedly acceptedthe suggestion to make ‘Mission toEurope’ one of its projects. The WEA-MC also got involved in order to obtaininformation from the key leaders of thesending continents as well.11 After all, itshould be the wider body of Christ thatfinds its shape in local church community,national agencies, movements andtraining institutions that must also holdresponsibility for the way in which aperson is prepared for and ultimatelysupported in mission. These entities havebeen consulted during the formulatingprocess of the Code and will continue tobe approached for advice in the future.Let’s ‘globalise’ the Body of Christ andtogether prepare and support the non-European missionaries in obeying his callfor this spiritual needy continent ofEurope.

Some Conclusions

•Mission to Europe from the rest of theworld is, in spite of the challenges andproblems, a blessing. It shows thefaithfulness of God that He has notforgotten Europe. It also shows Hisprovision.•European churches are encouraged toengage in this mission effort, out ofgratitude to God, whose mission it is.They should engage also out ofcompassion for Europe, and last but notleast, out of respect for our non-Europeanbrethren who show the willingness tocome over and help.•Creative field-based training isundoubtedly needed, and not only forthe missionary before departure from thehome country and at arrival in Europe,also for the pastor and other leadershipof the receiving church.• Local European churches should startto co-operate with immigrant churches intheir neighbourhood. It will be a blessingfor both in spite of the difficulties they

19


probably encounter as they begin co-operating.• Both the National and Regional MissionMovements should play a role in thecommunication process in helping themissionary to arrive at his or her Europeanchurch.• All of us involved should not hesitate tomake use of the skills, insights, wisdom,knowledge of God and experience withinthe whole Body of Christ to enableChristians to obey God’s calling. Let His

Endnotes1 Jeff Fountain, European director YWAM. ‘Leven als volk van Hoop, geloof, hoop en visiein de 21e eeuw’. (Living as people of hope, faith, hope and vision in de 21st century) p572 Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998) speaking about the topic of mission within Western society3 See (i) p534 See (i) p265 See (ii)6 IBMR, Vol 27, No 4 October 2003.‘Migration and Mission: Some implications for the 21st century church ’, Jehu J Hanciles, a Sierra Leonean, Associate Professor of Mission Historyand Globalization, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California7 Paul Kennedy, Preparing for the 21st century (New York: Vintage books, 1993) p.248 See (vi)9 See (i) p2110 See (vi)11 The current draft-version of the Code will be presented during the annual joint meeting ofEEA and EEMA, October 2004 in Athens. From that moment onwards implementation of theCode can take place. But the Code is meant to invite a dynamic dialogue, open for changes orrevision if necessary. Also a website will be opened for Q&A and reactions.12 Martin Thomas, working with CMS, London and one of the 5 members of the steeringgroup that prepares and works on the Code; Samuel Cueva, pastor, Peruvian and living inLondon; Moses Alagbe working with GATE, Nigerian and living near Amsterdam; PaoloPasqual, member of the missions commission of the Portuguese EA; and Kees van der Wilden.

Kingdom come, His will be done inheaven, Europe and in whole the earth.

I finalise with a statement of a brotherwho is intensely involved in therealization of the Code. He says:‘Christians from Africa, Asia Latin andNorth America do not have miracleanswers, but they can bring valuableexperiences, gifts, skills and newinsights, which can empower new formsof mission across Europe’12

Kees van der Wilden, born in 1953. In 2004 he became a staff member of the WEA-MC. Before that he worked as director with the Dutch EvangelicalMissionary Alliance (EZA). Before EZA he served for 5 years with TEMA / MISSION and prior to TEMA for almost 7 years, together with his wifeEls, as missionary in Kenya. He can be contacted at [email protected]

20


The Story of

Jesus has

been the

single great-

est influence

in shaping

Europe’s

past. Why

should we not

expect it to be

the single

greatest

influence in

shaping

Europe’s

future

The story of Jesus has been the single greatest influence in shaping Europe’s past. Why should we notexpect it to be the single greatest influence in shaping Europe’s future?

This is the bold and unconventional notion of Living as People of Hope’, a book of grand themes with practical and local application relevant to much ofthe western world. Primarily the book aims to offer biblicalreasons for hope for Europe, our lands and our towns andcities.

Part one sketches the challenging situation of Europe at thestart of the new millennium.

Part two responds to the question: how can we recover faith,hope and vision for the future?

The following is based on excerpts from Part One.

WHILE TRAVELLING to the Balkans in the summer of 1999, I had abizarre and provocative encounter with a woman named Danicawhose worldview was very different from my own. Frankly, she‘rattled my cage’.

If men are from Mars and women from Venus, well, this womanseemed to be from Pluto! Describing herself as a ‘pagan,Jungian, feminist, archetypal psychotherapist’, Danica wasurbane, articulate, sophisticated, well-read and self-assured.Yet she was deadly serious about everything she was tellingme: about the Mother Goddess, a golden age of matriarchy freefrom gender-bias, and Europe’s pagan substream in history.What sort of woman was she? What sort of mystic, fringemovement did she represent?

And what I was doing listening to her gobble-de-gook?! MaybeI should politely excuse myself from this conversation, Iwondered. I was out of familiar territory and should play safe.Danica was challenging some of my deepest beliefs about Godand reality. Besides, evangelical mission leaders didn’t usuallymeet in hotels with pagan feminists, did they?This encounter, which I describe in several chapters, led to ourdiscovery of an underground labyrinth in Budapest. Weembarked together on a journey together through the different

Living as People of Hopeby Jeff Fountain

21


l

phases of European history in thosesubterranean corridors, phasesrepresenting the basic worldviews thatEuropeans had adopted and thendiscarded in turn: animism, theism andmaterialism.

In so doing, Danica opened my eyes torealise that our journey towardstomorrow’s Europe may well be aturbulent ride - back to the future.

Tomorrow’s Europe will be shaped by thebasic beliefs of tomorrow’s Europeans.Max Weber’s dictum, ‘ideas haveconsequences’, implies thatlifestyle flows out ofworldview. Our ideas aboutultimate reality, about God,nature, the supernatural,human personhood, ourorigins and the afterlife, allshape our lifestyle, ourpriorities, our values, ourmorals and our relationships,all are products of ourworldview.

What belief systems couldshape tomorrow’s Europe?In broad categories, theoptions are surprisingly few.In fact, we Europeans have alreadydabbled in virtually all of them. What arethese options? And how have theyshaped Europe over the past 2000 years?What options are we Europeans likely tochoose for the immediate future? Whatsort of Europe could result from theseoptions?

VacuumOver twenty years ago, Francis Schaefferwarned his audience at the AmsterdamFree University, ‘If we fail to root westernsociety back into biblical values, the easydays for Christianity are over.’ I still feelthe sense of foreboding with which those

words struck me, for I was sitting in thatlecture theatre.

In the early nineties, euphoria andoptimism still lingered in Europe after thefall of communism when Sir FredCatherwood described Europe as ‘a houseswept clean’. This veteran statesman ofthe British and European political scenes,a former vice-president of the EuropeanParliament, was addressing fellowevangelical leaders on the first occasionof what has since become the annual NewEurope Forum. The ominous implicationof this Biblical phrase was not lost on his

listeners. Not only didEurope face the promise ofa new future free ofcommunism; it also faced theprospect of ‘seven otherspirits’ re-possessing thehouse. A spiritual vacuumcould not be sustained.

BooksIn the months following mycage-rattling encounter inBudapest, exposing myunpreparedness to engagewith pagan spirituality, Iembarked on a readingprogramme of books new

and old.

The Bible itself assumed new currencyas I realised in a fresh way how muchGod’s self-revelation unfolded against ananimistic, pagan background. No, Godwas not caught off guard by paganism.However new it may be for me or for themodern western Church, it was nothingnew for the God of the Bible, the Lord ofhistory.

Thomas Cahill’s Hinges of History seriesreminded me of the role played by twomonotheistic minorities, the Jews and theIrish Celts, in shaping Europe’s values

Not only didEurope face the

promise of anew future freeof communism;it also faced the

prospect of‘seven other

spirits’ re-possessing the

house

22


and worldview as it emerged frompolytheistic pagan cultures1. Celticmonks joyfully transmitted the good newsfrom one pagan people to another, andevangelised much of medieval Europe.What attracted pagan Europeans to theirmessage then? How could it happenagain?

For the first time in my life, I began toread the Greek myths. As well as catchingglimpses of what it would mean to livelife in the belief that gods and goddessescontrolled one’s fate, I was fascinated todiscover some parallels to the story ofJesus.

C. S. Lewis saw in pagan Greek classicscommunication bridges for the gospel ofJesus Christ. So a natural choice to readwas Till we have faces, his ‘pre-evangelistic’ adaptation of the myth ofCupid and Psyche.

I returned with fresh motivation to AntonWessels’ Europe: was it ever reallyChristian?, a study not only of howChristianity had influenced the Graeco-Roman, Celtic and Germanic cultures ofEurope; but also of how EuropeanChristianity had embraced many oldpagan practices. David Burnett’sDawning of the pagan moon2 had beensitting on my shelf unread for severalyears, until my return from Budapest.With whetted interest I read of how thisbook about modern pagan culture inBritain resulted from his meeting with awhite witch on a BBC panel discussion.

Burnett set out to understand the beliefsand practices of the pagan community.He submitted his manuscript to someleading pagans for their comment. Theysaid he was the first non-pagan who hadreally understood them. They asked ifthey could use his book themselves!Danica’s beliefs were reflected in many

of these pages.

OptionsI found my dog-eared copy of Schaeffer’sHe is there and he is not silent, unopenedfor many years. At university I hadstruggled to find a framework to integratemy personal Christian faith andexperience with my academic studies.Schaeffer’s books had been lifesavers forme. In this modest volume, Schaefferanswered the basic philosophicalquestions of life with the biblicalrevelation of a personal, infinite God.

I read again Schaeffer’s oft-repeatedstatement that, while there are manypossible details, there were only very fewanswers to any of the great questions oflife.

My thoughts drifted back to the labyrinthin Budapest. I imagined walking againthrough those corridors, reliving thoseworldviews that had shaped the lifestylesof earlier Europeans: animism, theism andmaterialism.

The options, while with variations,indeed were few: Everything either hadan impersonal or a personal beginning.Ultimate reality was either finite orinfinite.

Reality MatrixI began to visualise a matrix based onthese two statements, with vertical andhorizontal axes intersecting to create fourquadrants: the impersonal-finite; theimpersonal-infinite; the personal-finite;and the personal-infinite.

There you have it, I thought: four basicoptions. What worldviews did these fourquadrants represent? What answers didthey each give to life’s basic questionabout meaning? About a moral frameworkfor life?

23


The first option, the personal-finitequadrant of polytheism: ‘a pantheon ofgods and goddesses’. We are familiarwith this option from biblical storybackgrounds, for the deities of Babylon,Persia, Greece and Rome controlled theaffairs of men and women.

This was Old Europe’s worldview, theview of reality shared with variations bythe Celts, the Angles and Saxons, theFranks, the Slavs and the Vikings. Someof the days of the week are still namedafter such gods (Wednesday from Woden,Thursday from Thor, etc.).

The great dilemma with finite gods,however, is that they are not big enough.Plato, Schaeffer points out, understoodthe need for absolutes, or nothing hasmeaning. Without absolutes, no sufficientbasis for morality exists. But the gods

were finite, and their behaviour reflectedhuman foibles writ large.

The panoply of gods may answer theneed for diversity, but cannot meet theneed for unity. Some New Age teachingalso belongs in this quadrant. Oftenhowever, New Agers tend to ‘mix-and-match’ between the personal-finite andthe impersonal-infinite, betweenpolytheism and pantheism. Danica on theone hand talked of personal dieties likeArtemis/Diana, and a personal spiritguide, while on the other talked of apantheistic Mother Goddess, spirit of theuniverse.

Ultimate reality under polytheism is thespirit world.

The second option, monotheism, is theview that ultimate reality is found in onepersonal-infinite Divine Being. Thecharacter and person of God is the moralabsolute of the universe. The TriuneGodhead answers both the need for unityand diversity.

The Reality Matrix

Pantheism(Everythingis God)

Eastern

Polytheism (Many gods)

BabylonGreeceRomeCellsVikings

Atheism(No gods or god)EnlightenmentRationalism

Impersonal

Monotheism(One God)Judaeo -ChristianIslam

Personal

24


Here we can find answers for the basicquestions of meaning, significance andmorals. Both men and women are made inGod’s image, and hence have a personalbeginning, and infinite significance.

Ultimate reality under monotheism is aPersonality.

The third option moves us into theimpersonal-finite option, materialism:This is the option of atheism: there is noGod nor gods. This is the option ofrationalism, and of the secular societythat had dominated the western world inthe twentieth century, as alogical outcome of theEnlightenment.

But talk of meaning,significance and moralsbecomes meaningless whenour starting point isimpersonal, when humanscan be reduced simply to‘slime plus time’. How do theparticulars, individual objects or beings,have any meaning or significance? Noanswer has ever been given to that.

When materialistic westerners havetalked about morals, they have been livingoff the memory of the Christian past,plucking the fruit of the fruit of the fruitof biblical values, as Schaeffer oftenexpressed it. If we begin with theimpersonal, we can only talk aboutpreferences, but not rights and wrongs.

Only matter matters. Non-matter doesn’tmatter.

Ultimate reality under atheism isphysical matter.

The one remaining option is thatimpersonal-infinite quadrant is that of

pantheism: ‘everything is God’.

The ancient Eastern religions ofHinduism and Buddhism, as well as muchNew Age teaching, express thisworldview. Schaeffer notes that the useof the root ‘theism’ in ‘pantheism’ falselyconnotes a personal deity. He calls it ‘pan-everything-ism’. The starting point is stillimpersonal, and thus can give no meaningor significance to the diversity of reality.Morals also have no meaning, aseverything in ‘pan-everything-ism’ isfinally equal.

When we start from theimpersonal, we arrivequickly at the humandilemma: why shouldthere be any meaning?Humankind is lost.Humankind remains azero. Personality isreduced to theimpersonal.What ultimately

matters under pantheism is feeling andconsciousness. Whether through mind-bending drugs, meditation, spiritualecstasy or sexual experience, objectivereality is denied and experience andconsciousness elevated.

Ultimate reality under pantheism isconsciousness.

The polytheism/pantheism diagonal inthe matrix represents the traditionaleastern worldviews. We could lump thesetogether, as New Agers themselves seemto do, and call the combined categoryanimism, using that word in its broadestsense. We learnt earlier that this was thebelief that the physical or natural worldwas ‘animated’ by the spiritual orsupernatural world.

If we begin with theimpersonal, we

can only talk aboutpreferences, but

not rights andwrongs

25


Correspondingly, we can note that themonotheism /atheism diagonal reflectsthe predominant western thought overrecent centuries. This is the axis wherewe in the church have felt most at home.Most of the evangelistic efforts andapologetics of the European church havebeen directed towards the unbelievingmaterialist, attempting to prove thereality of the spiritual realm and of God.

Yet very little attention has been givento the ‘eastern’ diagonal in Europe. Newpagans, like Danica, are not‘unbelievers’. They believe passionatelyin the spirit realm. Pagans are notunbelievers in the reality of the spiritworld. They are not atheists. ‘Signs andwonders’ will not necessarily impressthem about the spirit world any more thanPharoah’s magicians were impressed byMoses - at least, in the initial stages!Somehow they need to be convinced ofthe truth of that spiritual reality.

This shift of perception of ultimate realityto the ‘eastern diagonal’ amongEuropeans will require major changes inthe way we conduct our evangelism andengage with pagan spirituality.

The future of Europe will depend onwhich view of ultimate reality prevails asthe twenty-first century unfolds.Europeans have most recently rejectedthe materialistic view of reality. That iswhat post-modernity is all about. Post-modern Europeans are open to spiritualreality. That leaves a choice betweenbiblical spirituality or non-biblicalspirituality, theism and animism. Whichwill it be?

Could it be that post-modern rejection ofEnlightenment values may be leading usback to Pharoah’s court and aconfrontation between the God of Mosesand the pagan gods of new age and newscience?

Pantheism

Personal

Impersonal

Finite Infinite

Polytheism Monotheism

Atheism

E A

S T

E R

NWE

SE

RN

26


Endnotes1see ‘The gifts of the Jews’; ‘How the Irish saved civilisation ’ civilization’2see ‘Dawning of the pagan moon’, Marc, Eastbourne, 199

Ready or not?Remember the Y2K scare? The questionthen was, are we ready for the newmillennium? January 1 2000 has longsince passed. But the question stillremains: Is our enterprise – the church– ready for the new millennium? Are wereally ready for the major shiftshappening in European and westernsociety? Or will we remain stuck in atime warp, back in the twentiethcentury?

In the light of everything we have saidthus far, is there hope for Europe in thetwenty-first century?

I believe there is. In Part Two of Livingas people of hope, I posit ten imperativesfor God’s people to follow and apply thatcan help us recover faith, vision andhope for Europe tomorrow.

• if we dare to dream boldly about God’swill for our town, our country, ourcontinent of Europe;

• if we dare to be honest about the sinsand mistakes in the church past and

present, rejecting the Wormtongues ofpessimism and despair;• if we dare to remember what God hasdone in the past, and look to see whatGod is up to today;

• if we dare to allow the fullness of the

gospel of the Kingdom to radicallychange our lifestyle;

• if we dare to embrace and accept ourresponsibility for the future of ourcommunities;

• if we dare to be open for changes in thechurch both biblical and relevanttotwenty-first century culture;

• if we dare to begin working together –locally, nationally and over the borders –so that the church of Jesus Christ will beas ‘an arrow sent out into the world topoint the way to the future’,…….then we will be living as people ofhope.

Go to http://globalmission.org/wea/ todownload A Story of Hope for Europeflash movie.

Jeff Fountain has been director for YOUTH WITH A MISSION EUROPE since1990, and is one of the initiators of HOPE FOR EUROPE, an evangelicalinitiative promoting networks and platforms across Europe. Originallyfrom New Zealand, he and his Dutch wife Romkje have three adult sons,and live in Heerde, the Netherlands. He authored the book Living asPeople of Hope, released in Holland this September 2004. Further information see www.initiaal.nl. It is also available in Dutch:ISBN90-7431940-8. He can be contacted at [email protected]

27


The European Evangelical Missionary Alliance (EEMA)started in 1983 as a fellowship of Evangelical MissionaryAlliances of North West European countries, with 500

mission agencies and 13,000 missionaries worldwide. Europeas a continent has been changing dramatically over the lastcentury. The general view of Evangelicals worldwide of Europeas a ‘Christian’ continent has shifted to the generalunderstanding of Europe being a major mission field.

The problem of generalizations is that they are only generallytrue. A closer look is necessary, but more confusion could comefrom reading this article. But maybe it will help the reader toslowly get a truer picture of the complex European reality. It isbetter to know that there are more pieces of the puzzle thanthinking that you see the picture already.

This article attempts to give a broad overview of the backgroundof Europe along with some of the challenges which Europeanmission agencies today.

1. The first 19 centuries of Church and Mission History inEurope

It is impossible to describe 2000 years of Christian history in afew paragraphs of introduction. Nevertheless it is impossible toreally understand the challenge of mission from, in and to Europein the 21st century without knowing something about her history,including the following:

The cultural context of the Apostle Paul and the powerfulmovement of Christian witness across the whole Roman Empire,using its communication systems and logistical structures whiletraveling from one multi-cultural and multi-lingual major city tothe other.

Europe, a Riddle Wrappedin an Enigma !The EEMA in the Context of a Changing Continentby Cees Verharen

This article

attempts to

give a broad

overview of

the

background

of Europe

along with

some of the

challenges

which

European

mission

agencies

today

28


The bands of Irish monks, who broughtthe gospel to resistant areas of Saxonyand the Low Countries, who battledagainst heathen religions using forcefulmethods like cutting down holy oak-trees,and who were sometimes killed for doingit, like St. Bonifatius in Friesland.

The Roman Catholic Church and itsdoctrines, its power structures, itsgovernment seat in the Vatican and thework of the Holy Spirit who birthed theReformation movement that wanted tobring the church back to Faith, Grace andWord only.

The French Revolution, declaring ‘NiDieu, ni mâitre’ (No God, no master) andtwo centuries of compulsory atheisticphilosophy teaching in Roman Catholicprimary and secondary schools in France.

The Enlightenment, the development ofscience, the evolution theory and theeconomic and social sciences, ultimatelyresulting in two opposing ideologies,capitalism and communism that toreEurope and the world apart for decades.

The rise of pietism, of faith missions andof renewal movements in State Churchesbringing the richness of the Word andthe Gospel back to the pulpit in manyplaces and bringing the good news tomany nations around the globe, withCount von Zinzendorf from Hernhut inGermany as one of its main leaders.

The failures, sins and mistakes of theCrusades; the deadly persecution of theAnabaptists by the Reformers; the useof worldly power and violence to promoteChristian values; the deep rift betweensouthern Roman Catholic, northern

Protestant and eastern Orthodox cultures;the colonial empires with theirunfortunate mix of mission, merchandiseand military; the atrocities of theHolocaust; and the love-hate relationshipof Europe with the state of Israel.

2. From Theodor Herzl to the EdinburghCentennial

And how then can I describe the 20th

Century of church and mission in Europewith very some broad strokes to paint thebackground of mission from, in and toEurope in the 21st century? Let me givesome bullet points:

The pamphlet of Theodor Herzl, whocalled in 1896 for a new Jewish State wasthe start of a Jewish emancipationmovement throughout Europe and gaveoppressed Jewish communities hope thatthere would be a home-land for the Jewishpeople again. It also proved to be thebeginning of the most gruesome disasterand crime that ever took place in Europeanhistory.

The revival and holiness movementswithin the Lutheran Churches in allScandinavian countries and the BalticStates in the beginning of the 20th centurywere very much aware of the need toreach out to the millions of who did notknow Christ. They included in their visionand mission also the many Jewish peoplein Eastern Europe. One of the fruits ofthis was the birth of the EuropeanChristian Mission in Reval in 1904 (nowTallinn, Estonia).

Wales (1904) gave another impulse tothose Northern European revivalmovements, and in The Netherlands

29


where Johannes de Heer translated andsang many songs by Moody and Sankeyand others which had a long lastinginfluence even until today. Similarly‘Wales’ influenced churches andmovements in Germany and Switzerland.

Against the background of a changingand challenging world the 1910Edinburgh Mission Conference was held.John Mott and others called to reach thewhole world with the gospel in ‘thisgeneration’. Their vision was missionfrom Europe into the world. Edinburgh1910 gave a strong impulse to Westernfaith missions and denominationalmissions. The high hopes of Edinburghwere soon broken.

World War I paralyzed the EuropeanChurches. Millions of young soldiers losttheir lives as cannon-fodder in adesperately entrenched war in which newweapons developed by the new industrieswere tried and improved. The period after‘The Great War’ was a politically tensetime, with the USA Wall Street 1929disaster resulting in even moreunemployment, and huge economicproblems in Europe. These consequentlygave further rise of the powers of Stalinand Hitler who developed their godlessideologies to give new hope and senseof purpose to their people.

Shortly after the disasters of World WarII, the World Council of Churches wasfounded Amsterdam in 1948 by the DutchReformed theologian Willem Visser ‘tHooft, creating a new paradigm forchurches world wide and giving hope toEuropean churches. Mainline Europeanchurches entered a new challenging era.It was the first attempt to bring the gospel

to a world in need through a world wideProtestant fellowship and co-operation Itwas an attempt also full of theological andpolitical tensions but with vision anddetermination to bring together thevariety of Protestant churches into a worldwide movement.

In that same year of 1948 the State of Israelwas founded with the moral and financialsupport from Europe and the USA.Western Europe was the scene of anenormous effort to restore society andindustry with the financial aid of theMarshall Plan in a general atmosphere ofexpectation and hope. It was the time ofthe ‘Wirtschaftswunder’ (EconomicMiracle) in Germany.

The Allied Forces (Russia, France,England and the USA) had dividedGermany in four sectors, one of thembeing the Russian sector. Soon theideological differences led to the buildingof the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtainwhich closed of a large part of thecontinent for many decades. TheCommunist era lasted until 1989 whenSoviet President Gorbatchov gave in toPerestroika (freedom) and Glasnost(openness).

While the East-West rift began todevelop, the first steps towards theEuropean Union were taken: formerenemies agreed to the EuropeanCommunity of Coal and Steel in 1956 inorder to tie their economies together andin doing so preventing another war. TheBenelux nations (Belgium, Netherlands,Luxemburg), Italy, Germany and Francetook that first initiative and are still strongdriving forces behind the further

30


development of the EU. During the 40years after that first initiative, 9 othernations joined and thus the EuropeanEconomic Community developed andgrew to become the European Union.

In May 2004 a group of 10 nations, mainlyof the former East Block was accepted asnew members and already another groupof countries are knocking on the door inBrussels. Romania, Bulgaria and Croatiaare hoping to join in 2007. Turkey alsoputs much pressure on the EU to be alsoregarded as a future candidate. withAmerican George Bush as a strongadvocate. But it places Europeans beforea great dilemma: is the EU just a market oralso a cultural sphere based on a commonhistory and values? And where do thosevalues then come from?

In 2010 the Centennial of ‘Edinburgh’ willbe celebrated. A hundred years ago it wasa call to reach the world with the Gospelfrom the West. What will be the call in2010? What will be the situation ofmission from, to and in Europe and howdoes this fit in world-wide developmentsof the evangelical church?

3. Anglo-American evangelicals andEuropean ecumenicals

The first wave of Mission to EuropeDuring the years directly after WWII thefirst wave of mission to Europe began.Anglo American missions startedworking in Europe and they were warmlyreceived as representatives of the nationsthat liberated Europe. With the help ofBilly Graham, (the first fulltime Youth forChrist evangelist) YFC came to Europe;the Navigators began their ministry by

recruiting a young Dutch widow, Mrs GienKarssen whose books were published inover 40 languages; Bob Evans and theGreater Europe Mission started bibleschools in Germany, Sweden, France andother countries to train Europeans forEurope. The European EvangelisticCrusade began to support nationals inSpain, Portugal, Italy and Greece throughthe Canadian missionary George Bruckswho came to The Netherlands and startedEuropean bases in Switzerland and TheNetherlands. The European ChristianMission entered a new phase anddeveloped various new strategicministries in Southern and EasternEurope, such as a radio ministry toAlbania and Italy. Trans World Radiomoved from Tangier (Northern Africa) toEurope. They took over the former Naziradio transmitters in Monte Carlo andbegan their Europe-wide ministries fromthere.

These and many other Anglo AmericanMission societies were soon joined byEuropean Christians who came alongsideand who formed their own nationalsections, committees and missionagencies. These groups began to developtheir own ministries, mostly in closeconnection with their parent-bodies, butthey sometimes also developedindependent ministries in their own right.The Swiss Mission Fellowship gave birthto its German counterpart, the GermanMissionary Fellowship (DMG) whichstarted its unique ministry under thevisionary leadership of Bruno Herm, whodeveloped the principle of secondmentof their missionaries to existing missionsocieties, thus avoiding duplication offield structures.

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SecularizationDuring these years when Anglo-American Missions started working inEurope, secularization also begins togrow. The traditional churches in Europebegan to lose many members. The RomanCatholic Church lost millions ofadherents in France, Belgium,Netherlands and Germany and had to facethe fact that there are hardly any newvocational clergy for the ministry. Laypeople must take the roles of clergy inmany parts of Europe, for the RC churchis no longer able to function officially inmany places. Anglican, Lutheran andReformed State Churches suffered fromliberal theology and millions decide notto be counted in any church statisticsanymore. Many more stay on thereligious register but are no longer activemembers, if they ever have been.

In the last two decades of the 20th Century,slowly but surely, foreign missions beganto lose interest in West Europe; it wasincreasingly becoming a very hard field,with rich but indifferent people and verylittle results. The complex history andstrong theological differences made iteven more complicated to work in WestEurope. East Europe was the area of theenemy and where the oppressedchurches were. East Europe now neededto get priority attention. And the rest ofthe world was also waiting for the goodnews.

Ecumenicals and EvangelicalsThe two new Protestant movementsbegan to be each other’s rivals. Theevangelical movement strongly opposedthe theological direction of theecumenical movement with itscompromising inter-religious dialogue

and its political bias. The ecumenicalmovement criticized the evangelicalmovement of being sectarian, separatistand pietistic, without an understandingof the changing power of the gospel ofthe contemporary world and onlypreaching an eternal hope and a newheaven.

Billy Graham called for a conference in1966 in Berlin which resulted in a stronglyarticulated controversy between the twomovements and sharp rifts indenominations and local churches. In1974, he called another conference atLausanne, resulting in the LausanneCovenant and its emphasis on holisticmission. This was a major step forwardfor the world wide evangelical movementand an important building block in thedialogue with the ecumenical movement.Today in Europe, the influence ofevangelicals in ecumenical churches isgrowing rapidly. Many young pastors inthe Anglican Church, the Dutch ReformedChurch and in Lutheran churches noware evangelicals.

Generally, the relationship betweendifferent evangelical and ecumenicalchurches and organizations is greatlyimproving, although in Germany and inEastern Europe there is still a sense ofuneasiness between the Pentecostals andthe other churches.

4. A ‘Christian’ continent and a missionfield at the same time!

A Christian continent without a soulThe unique European experiment ofbuilding a community of former enemynations across many different languagesand cultures has only been possible

32


because of two factors: the very deepChristian roots of the continent and theRoman Catholic Christian values of thevisionary politicians who took the firststeps in this direction. But Europe haslost its soul. Now Evangelicals,Ecumenicals and Roman Catholics areconcerned to give Europe its soul back.In May 2004 a large satellite conventiontook place from Stuttgart and wasbroadcast to over 150 cities drawing over200,000 people with leadingrepresentatives from those three streamson the platform emphasizing that Europemust acknowledge in its constitution itsChristian heritage and values. Regretfully,even tragically, the European Parliamentdecided not to.

The Challenge of Old EuropeEurope is only to a certain extent aChristian continent. Over 2000 years theinfluence of the gospel and its values haspermeated the original culture rooted inGermanic and Nordic myths and gods andof the Celtic druids and the wiccas. Theweek-days are still called after the Sun,the Moon, Thor, Freya and other gods.These are roots that never have beencompletely extinguished and even nowbegin to grow again.

Everywhere in Europe, even in thesmallest villages in rural France orGermany or Italy, you find chapels,churches and other places of worshipwith various kinds of historic, cultural,Christian symbols. It was the continentof the Holy Roman Empire. It is also stillthe continent where Christian holidaysoriginate from, like Christmas, HolyWeek, Ascension Day and Pentecost, AllSouls Day and others. However, thedemocratic process in The Netherlands

(to give one example) would introducemultiple choice holidays, as Hindi andMuslims should be entitled to have theirown holy days.

According to Operation World, Europeis a continent with a majority of Christians.Then, of course, the question arises bywhat definition one is called a follower ofChrist! In many nations of Europe therewould be less than 1% of the populationevangelical. Hundreds of millions ofcivilized and relatively rich Europeancitizens live without a personalunderstanding of the eternal hope of theGospel and without answers for their livestoday.

The Challenge of the New EuropeansAfter decades of being flooded byimmigrants and refugees from all parts ofthe world, now the policy of ‘FortressEurope’ is being applied. The doors arebeing closed and only restricted numbersare still being accepted. There is still aspecial situation with Italy and Spainhaving special bilateral agreements withLatin American nations. ThusArgentineans who can prove that theyhave Italian ancestry, even of three of fourgenerations before them, can get an Italianpassport immediately.

Now there are millions of poor newEuropeans who are also without thegospel: the refugees, the guest workers,the illegal immigrants and the studentsfrom all over the world. But God is doinga new thing! Christians among thoseforeigners start their own churches, thePakistanis in Oslo, the Ghanese inAmsterdam, the Egyptians in Milan, theArgentineans in Italy, the Arabs inStockholm, the Romanians in Spain, the

33


Ukrainians in Portugal, the Nigerians inIreland, the Iranians in Germany and theybegin to reach out to their fellow countrymen.

A new dynamic between these immigrantchurches and existing nationaldenominations is starting to happen. Anew kind of Christian fellowship isemerging in cities, with sharing ofresources and new vision for mission inmany places and in many ways. Germanmissiologists are listening to KoreanChristians starting German / Koreanchurches in several German cities.Spanish evangelical leaders are beingchallenged by the tens of thousands ofLatin American evangelicals floodingtheir country. Portuguese churchesasking themselves how to relate to over100,000 Ukrainians in Lisbon City only.Swedish church leaders are in touch withArab Christians in Stockholm and otherSwedish cities.

In the ‘Bijlmermeer’ a high-rise suburb ofAmsterdam, every Sunday morning10,000 Christians attend 40 differentchurches of various nationalities meet inbasements of underground parking lots.They outnumber the total of Dutchchurch-goers in the rest of the city ofAmsterdam. Yet now not only newcharismatic churches are plantingchurches, but also conservative,reformed denominations are beginning tocapture the vision and the responsibilityto bring the gospel back to that city!

‘Can these bones live?’National denominations and churchesslowly begin to rise up to the challenge,overcoming organizational and liberalstraight-jackets, gaining new inspiration

from evangelical and charismaticmovements and applying new ideas andstrategies. Some of these: ‘NaturalChurch Growth’ by the German ChristianSchwarz, whose books are beingtranslated into many other Europeanlanguages; the Alpha Course from theUnited Kingdom; the Willow CreekCommunity Church of Bill Hybels inChicago, USA and from the SaddlebackConcept of ‘The Purpose Driven Church’.It seems as though miracles start tohappen. The ‘Pro Christ’ campaign heldin March 2003, led by the Lutheran YMCAleader Ulrich Parzany managed to mobilizesome 1,500 local churches in 15 Europeannations for a four day evangelisticsatellite campaign, drawing 2 millionpeople to local meetings.

Mission in Europe in the 21st Century isnot mission in virgin territory. Looking atthe Engels Evangelism Scale, thesituation in many areas might be ratedminus 10. Generally negative feelingsregarding the church and Christianitycharacterize the population. This contextrequires preparation, understanding,patience, love and endurance. It ispossible that God in His faithfulness isdoing great things in this old ‘Christian’continent which some call the new DarkContinent. Yet that is not a true andcomplete picture of the situation.

At the same time it is also true that thegospel, which came from the Middle Eastto Europe, went out from Europe againinto the whole world. The modern missionmovement, which started with pioneerslike Count Zinzendorf and William Carey,was God’s instrument to bring HisKingdom to many parts of the world. Andthe European mission movement still

34


contributes in a big way to world mission,but it has to find a response to theenormous changes that are taking place.

5. The European Evangelical MissionaryAlliance (EEMA) – a new phase

Evangelical AllianceBefore discussing the EEMA we firstmust look at the EA. The EvangelicalAlliance in Europe (EA) started over 150years ago. The Dutch EA say that theyare the oldest EA in Europe, originatingfrom the so-called ‘Reveil’ movement ofthe 18th Century. Nevertheless the officialfounding of the British EA took placeearlier, at the end of the 19th century. Todaythere are Evangelical Alliances in over 30European nations and one of the goalsof the European Evangelical Alliance isthat one day in all 45 nations of Europethere might be such a body. At present,initiatives are taking place in Sloveniatowards such an EA that would bringtogether the extremely small but also verydivided group of about 1000 evangelicals.

The EEA developed from a fellowshipwithout a common agenda towards amuch more pro-active and much morecohesive movement than it was 20 yearsago, thanks to Gordon Showell- Rogers,its current General Secretary. The focusof an EA has always been the nationalspiritual situation whilst the focus of anEMA has always been on cross-culturaland international missions.

Evangelical Missionary Alliances andMission Councils

Again, the picture in Europe is complex.

From Edinburgh 1910 a strong impulsefor world mission was given. This impulsewas translated differently in the variouscountries. In Scandinavia and in variousother European countries, such asGermany, Switzerland and Netherlands itwas an impulse for National MissionCouncils, interdenominational,ecumenical bodies that became related tothe World Council of Churches MissionCommittee. In Britain, the formerEvangelical Missionary Alliance (nowGlobal Connections) as an umbrella ofevangelical faith missions grewsignificantly. In other parts of Europe itwas only after the Berlin Conference in1966 that Evangelical mission allianceswere formed, such as in Germany andNetherlands (1973).

The European Evangelical MissionaryAllianceIn 1983 the General Secretary of the Bibleand Medical Mission Fellowship (BMMF,later called Interserve), Arthur Pont, tookthe initiative to organize a round table forEvangelical Missionary Alliances fromEurope. Stanley Davies, from the BritishEMA (later Global Connections) hasserved as the secretary of this meetingfrom the beginning until 2003. (A briefhistory of these 20 years is available uponrequest.)

In the course of the past 20 years, theEEMA has written up a ‘Memorandum ofAssociation’. It defines the membershipof the EEMA as national alliances ofevangelical mission organizations. Thecurrent 12 members from North WestEurope demonstrate the varied picture.

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EEMA Member Structuree Other National Missionary Bodies Comment

Norway:NORME (NorwegianCouncil forMissionandEvangelism

One Bodyrepresentingan ‘EA’,an ‘EMA’,an ecumenicalcouncil and an ecumenicalmission council,the Lausannecommittee

No other umbrella organisations.Partner to receive Statedevelopment money

Alsorelated toecumenicalbodiesworldwide

Sweden:SwedishMissionCouncil

Similar toNorway,except that recentlyan EA wastheLausannecommittee

No other Umbrellaorganisations. Partner toreceive State developmentmoney


Finland:Finnish MissionCouncil

A separate EA

No other Umbrella Missionorganisations

Denmark:DanishMissionCouncil

A separate EA No other Umbrella Missionorganisations


Iceland:IcelandicLutheranMission

Linked toEEMA only

UK:GlobalConnections

A separate EA A separate Mission Council Linked toEEMA only

Holland:Evangelische

A separate EA A separate Duthch Mission Council

Germany:AllianzEvangelikalerMission (D)

A separate EA A separate German Mission Council.A separate Pentecostal andCharismatic Mission Council

Linked toEEMA only

Linked toEEMA only

Switzerland:AllianzEvangelischerMission

A separate EAwith aPartnershipAgreement

A separate Swiss Mission Council.A lso for French and Germanspeaking

Linked toEEMA only

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These twelve national missionmovements are now the members of theEEMA. They represent around 500agencies and 13,000 missionaries world-wide. The largest group is from theUK.(with 200 agencies and 5,800missionaries) and the smallest being fromIceland (with 1 council and 6missionaries).

Slowly the EEMA is developing from afellowship to a pro-active group,beginning to understand that thechanges in Europe affect all of its partnersin similar ways and that there are manythings to learn together and share withone another.

The vision of the EEMA and a commonagenda

A vision for the future of EEMA waswritten up in consultation with itsmembers and agreed in December 2003:

Our vision is that the EEMA becomes analliance of national mission movementsand missionary task forces of allcountries of Europe, working closelytogether with the EEA and othernetworks to mobilize the church and tofurther the Kingdom of God in Europeand in the world.

Sharing this vision calls the fellowshipof the EEMA to begin changing into apartnership that works together towardsthis vision. A common agenda for theEEMA for the coming years begins tocrystallize, with:

Clarification of relationshipsOne aspect clearly coming from this visionstatement is that the EEMA must beginto clarify its relationship with theEuropean Evangelical Alliance. Thecomplex reality of the EEMA requires acareful consideration of how the wayforward could look like. Certainly, therecent step of the Portuguese Evangelical

EEMA Member Structuree Other National Missionary Bodies Comment

Austria:AustriaEvangelikalerM i s s i o n e n

(A)

France:FederationMissionariesEvangeliquesFrancophone(FMEF)

Portugal:PortugueseEvangelicalAlliance Mission-Council

A separate EA Linked toEEMA only

A separate EAand otherumbrella bodies

Linked toEEMA only

The MissionsCommissionswas set upby thePEA as anintegral part

Linked toEEMA only

37


Alliance has been very encouraging andmay point the way. When new missionarymovements arise in countries that havebeen mainly mission fields but now beginto send workers it seems logical that amission commission should start underthe national EA. There are other networksin Europe that EEMA must clarify.

One of these is the ‘Hope for Europe’movement, an influential movement underthe visionary leadership of the Dutch/New Zealander Jeff Fountain. He hascreatively encouraged a process tonetwork specialist ministries acrossEurope in a post-modern, non-hierarchicaland broad interdenominational wayacross organizations, countries andcultures. The EEA, EEMA and ‘Hope forEurope’ clearly complement each otherand in October 2004 in Athens these threegroups have their parallel annual withshared plenary sessions. More needs tobe done to define our Europeanpartnership together.

Sharing ResourcesHow can EEMA members learn from eachother more and share resources?

1. Is there a way for other members of theEEMA to participate in the Academy forWorld mission in Korntal, Germany? TheGerman EMA and the Swiss EMA worktogether in this vital school, but ways tobroaden its services to other EEMAmembers as well can be explored.

2. The Dutch EZA has a good missionaryinsurance department. Would there be away to make this available to other EEMAmembers?

3. How can the European churches be

challenged in a more united and visionaryway for world mission by developing astrategy and resources together?

4. How can we generate more co-operation between European missionmovements result in more financial aidfrom the EU for HIV and developmentprogrammes of evangelical agencies?

Mobilizing new candidates for WorldMissionEach of Europe’s 500 mission agency hasits recruitment policies and also there willbe some national strategies. Untilrecently, the pan-European TEMA-Mission Congress allowed manymembers to wholeheartedly participate.Now this organization has gone intobankruptcy. The question where therecould be another strategy together tomobilize young people for world mission.Is there a way to develop a new commonapproach in Europe?

Developing a European strategytogetherThe EEMA is an umbrella for nationalmissionary movement having a globalvision. Nevertheless, Europe is also ourmission field. How do we approach thissituation together with EEA and Hope forEurope?

Issues needing attention and networksbeginning to develop as we servetogether:

1. New Missionary Movements: One greatsurprise and joy in Europe today is therise of new missionary movements incountries that long have been seen asmission fields only. From Portugal, 62missionaries have been sent out into

38


international situations. From Italy severalnew initiatives came off the ground:Italian churches are supporting socialprojects in South East Asia, and fromAustria, Hungary, Romania and Poland,missionaries have been sent out to workwith agencies like Wycliffe BibleTranslators and Interserve. The youngand small evangelical churches that wereplanted many years ago by evangelicalmission societies are now beginning totake up the responsibility to participatein world mission themselves. They areevangelizing not only locally butrejoicing in their active role to bring theKingdom farther away.

The EEMA wants to encourage thesedevelopments and offer a space forfellowship, learning and sharingresources. These changes are beginningto be seen and it is a joy to see the EEMAvision becoming reality. How we can worktogether better in the future to stimulatesimilar developments in other countriesin an adventure that we are now startingto experience?

2. Mission to Europe: The first wave ofMission to Europe after WWII has nowbeen followed by the second wave. Thefirst wave was mainly Anglo-Americanmissionaries, now the church in othercontinents, from Latin America, Asia andAfrica sends its missionaries to Europe.We estimate that 1000 missionaries fromLatin America are ministering in Europetoday. Another suggests that 400 Koreanmissionaries are working in Germanyalone. It is a blessing to see God raise upthis new missionary movement to Europe.

At the same time it is clear that often thereis too little co-ordination, and not good

enough preparation, which results infailure and disappointment. Also, fromthe European side there is still limitedunderstanding on how to welcome andreceive missionaries that come to help us.It is for this reason that two years ago –at the Hope 21 Congress in Budapest2002 – the process began to create a ‘Codeof Best Practice for Mission to Europe’, atitle that is still under discussion. Theseguidelines are meant to help both sendingchurches in other continents as well ason the European receiving end. Kees vander Wilden, now on the staff of the WEA-MC will be involved in promoting andimplementing this ‘Code’.

3. Ministry to Muslims in Europe: In1992 the Eurom conference took place toprovide a place where missionaries andleaders could meet to share and discussdevelopments in Europe regardingministry among Muslims. This was ahelpful experience but it did not result ina pan-European network. The situationin Europe now calls strongly for such anetwork of missionaries and missionsworking among Muslims in Europe.

4. Member Care Europe: In May 2005the Fifth Pan-European Member Careconference will take place in Rehe,Germany. In the area of Member Care,networking among EEMA members andtheir agencies is the strongest. Manyspecialist ministries and resources arebeing made available to each other, notjust on a national basis, but also on aEuropean level.

5. European Church PlantingRoundtable: The response to the DAWNmovement proposals in Europe wasvaried. In some countries there was an

39


initial positive reaction but in others therewas strong rejection. In East Europe, theSaturation Church Planting movement hasfunctioned quite well. Nevertheless therewas not been an attempt yet to organizea European Church Planting Roundtablethat would convene leadership ofinternational church planting missions inEurope to share experiences, to comparestrategies, to map out activities and toexplore ways of encouraging each other.However, in December 2004 the firstmeeting of this group will take place inKorntal, Germany.

6. Networks and task forces: EEMA isin touch with various other networks:ESMA (Evangelical Students MissionaryAssociation), TIE (TentmakersInternational Exchange), the China-Europe connection (encouraging theevangelization of the Chinese in Europe),and EEAA (European Evangelical

Accrediting Association-with some 30Bible Colleges and Theological TrainingCenters as members). EEMA alsosuggests some new initiatives, such as aTurkey Platform, as we consider newopportunities for mission in Turkey nowthat the country is applying for EUmembership.

Drawing to a conclusion: partners in aglobal task

European churches and organizationsstill want to be and can be partners in theglobal task. The global task clearlyincludes Europe itself again. Togetherwith the world wide Church, we form aglobal ‘back to Jerusalem’ movement.That is where we expect the Lord Jesusto return and together with our Jewishbrothers and sisters who confessMessiah we will stand around the thronein the new Jerusalem. Until that day ourtask is not finished.

Cees Verharen, born 1955 in The Netherlands, has been working for European Christian Mission International since 1984 in different capacities. Since 1993he was Regional Director for several West European countries. In 2003 he wasappointed General Secretary of the European Evangelical Missionary Alli-ance. After 20 years of service, he leaves ECMI at the end of 2004 to becomethe Director of the Dutch Evangelical Missionary Alliance and remains also inhis role for the EEMA. He can be contacted at [email protected]

40


Turkey is eager to become a member of the EuropeanUnion, and during this year every EU citizen will beconfronted with this question. As things look now, a

date will be set during the April EU 2004 summit in Athens tostart negotiations for Turkish entry. If this happens, then 66million Muslims will enter into the EU. How should Christiansthink and act? This article explores this issue. While I am notan expert on Turkey I am someone who is looking for ways tospread the Gospel in all across Europe.

Turkey and the EUTen new countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, theCzech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta andCyprus) entered the EU in April 2004. After the EU leaderssigned a tentative agreement to that effect in Copenhagenlast year, referendums were held in these candidate memberstates earlier this year to green light this historic decision.Although the turnout at the referendums was generally low,the minimum required number of voters in favour of enteringthe EU was nevertheless obtained. So the growing partycontinues in Athens next April!

During the 2002 Copenhagen summit, Turkish Prime MinisterErdogan put a lot of pressure on EU members to agree on adate to start negotiations for Turkey’s entry. If this were tohappen they would become a huge buffer/interface/bridgebetween Europe and Asia. President Bush has supported thisTurkish lobby, since the USA has every interest in drawingTurkey as close to the West as it can. But Bush’s efforts werecounterproductive at the time. The Danish applauded theirprime minister who said that he would not bow to Americanpressure and he doubted whether a country with such adifferent culture actually belonged in the EU. Yet since 1963,Turkey has been a member of the NATO and the country haslong sought a rapprochement with the EU. Expectations havebeen raised again and again, and the Turks think it’s timethose expectations were met.

Turkey, its Christian Churchand the European Unionby Cees Verharen

Turkey is

eager to

become a

member of

the European

Union, and

during this

year every

EU citizen

will be con-

fronted with

this question

41


How Christian is Europe?Within the European Union, opinions aredifferent on the issue. This became veryclear during discussions about the newEuropean constitution drafted under thedirection of former French PresidentGiscard d’Estaing. Several timesD’Estaing asked for thePope’s advice about theintroductory paragraph tothis new constitution, whichis supposed to refer toEurope’s historic and culturalvalues. Erdogan intervenedin the discussion by defiantlystating that Europe is not a‘Christian club’ that couldrefuse entry to Turkey on thebasis of Judeo-Christian andhumanist values. Despitepressure from various sides,including the Pope’s ,however, the name of God isnot mentioned in the drafttext of the new EUconstitution, although 2,000years of EuropeanChristendom would fullyjustify this in the views ofvarious European leaders.

The official reasons for thereluctant attitude towards Turkey’s entryinclude matters such as respect for humanrights (including the position of the Kurdsin South-East Turkey) and the role of theTurkish army in maintaining democracy.In backroom discussions, philosophicalmotives actually count as much as thehistoric moments at which EuropeanChristendom and Islam clashed with eachother. These conflicts include raids ofthe Moors in Spain (up to Poitiers,France), the occupation of the Balkan (fora period of 400 years in Greece), theTurkish victories at, for example, Mohács,

Hungary (followed by 150 years ofoccupation by the Turks) and the ongoingtensions on Cyprus (part of the islandhas been occupied by Turkey since 1974).

Greece’s attitude towards Turkish entryhas so far been puzzling. On the one

hand, Greece considers itselfthe only European countrythat understands the Islamicthreat to the Balkan, as 400years of Turkish occupationleft many painful memories.This was shown emphaticallyby Greece’s choice in favourof Serbia and against Bosniaduring the war in formerYugoslavia. At differentmoments in recent history,Greece and Turkey have gonethrough periods of hightension with respect to theTurkish minority in Thrace,while the ownership ofseveral Aegean islands almostled to an armed conflict.Currently relations appear tobe thawing somewhat as aresult of pressure exerted byother EU countries. For thatmatter, big interests are atstake for Greece, such as theCyprus issue and business

transactions with Turkey.

Within the European Commission, thereis hesitancy as to whether in the long runthe EU will be able to deal democraticallywith such large internal differencesbetween countries and cultures andwhether this would not create too manytensions. Yet it appears that before longa date will be set for Turkey’s entry. Theenormous expansion of the internal EUmarket with another 66 million customerswill in the end become the decisive factor.

Within theEuropean

Commission,there is

hesitancy asto whether inthe long run

the EU will beable to deal

democraticallywith such

large internaldifferences

betweencountries andcultures andwhether this

would notcreate too

many tensions

42


Turkey and the Christian ChurchThe major part of the initial and ancienthistory of the Christian church took placein that part of the then Roman Empire thatis currently called Turkey. The apostlePaul came from the ‘Turkish’ port ofTarsus; he and his team mates heardGod’s calling to come over to Europe inTroas, another ‘Turkish’ port.

The apostle John wrote letters to sevenchurches in Asia Minor, currently WestTurkey. At the moment only ruins are leftof these churches, as well as of manyothers. Gradually thesehave become ratherinteresting to Turkey, notonly because ofincreasing visits byChristian touring groups,but also as a means ofshowing a kind ofsolidarity with Christianhistory.

The Christian church hasbeen able to maintain itself in Turkey fora long time, despite the rise anddominance of 13 centuries of Islam. Aconsiderably large minority of Christianskept alive for centuries, but in thebeginning of the 20th century anenormous mass murder took place, anevent almost forgotten by the public atlarge. An estimated 1.5 million ArmenianChristians in eastern Turkey weredecimated by the Turks. After that, theChristian church in Turkey waspractically wiped out, although somehistoric churches lived on, and now wewelcome the newer churches of thenation.

Around 1970, there were less than 1,000known Turkish evangelical Christians ona global level, out of a total population of

some 40 million Turks. Variouspublications of Johnstone’s OperationWorld have pointed to Turkey as one ofthe least evangelised countries in theworld. Prayer has been requestedrepeatedly and urgently for the sufferingchurch in this country without religiousfreedom. Thank God that in the past 25years a lot has changed in Turkey,including the position and the number ofTurkish Christians. Yet, some 23 of the40 evangelical churches in Turkey wererecently still being threatened withclosure, supposedly for administrative

reasons, althoughthousands ofmosques failing tomeet the same ruleswere exempted. Thegeneral position of thechurch in Turkey hasslightly improved.

Of course, thechallenge is stilloverwhelming: Today

there are Turkey has 66 million peopleand they represent a wide range of ethnic,religious and cultural backgrounds.Some are just as open to new Islamicimpulses as they are to Christianinitiatives. The strongest influence,however, is no doubt that of Westernmaterialism. The masses are not veryactive religiously, although they doofficially call themselves followers of theProphet Mohammed.

Christians are now recognised as anexisting religious group, although thefreedom this should guarantee is notalways a reality. The Church in NeedYearbook published by a Roman Catholicorganisation reports various incidents inthe past year. In 2002, the GermanOrganisation for Threatened Nations

Around 1970, therewere less than 1,000

known Turkishevangelical

Christians on a globallevel, out of a total

population of some40 million Turks

43


once more pointed out to the Turkishgovernment that while there is nothingwrong with the construction of 1,100mosques in Germany, yet it isunacceptable that Turkey forbids eventhe old Christian communities in thatcountry to build new churches.

Yet distributing Bibles is allowed, undercertain conditions, and many requests forChristian literature are received as a resultof advertisements in newspapers. AnEvangelical Alliance hasbeen founded, there aretwo small Bible schools, aBible store, and there is aninternational Christianschool in Istanbul. Apresent there are some 40Evangelical churchesspread across the country,with a total of some 2,000open members, whichmeans the number hasdoubled in the past 25-30years. The church is growing faster onan annual basis than the Turkishpopulation itself, so God is blessing thechurch in Turkey! There are many newopportunities for the Gospel, includingthe Internet and small-scale evangelisticcampaigns.

In what way will the millions of unreachedTurkish people finally get acquainted withthe Good News of Isa, the true Son ofGod who died on a despicable cross tobring about forgiveness of sins and whothen rose from the dead?

European Christians and TurkeyWhat should be the attitude of EuropeanChristians towards Turkey’s possibleentry into the EU? Should the social andcultural issues be decisive? Or should itbe the fear of increased Islamic influence?

The 3 million Turks in the EU (2.7 millionin Germany and the Netherlands alone)could easily strongly increase in numbersby an increase in the birth rate, byreuniting of families or by a newimmigration wave from Turkey to theprosperous West. The Islamic influenceis on the increase all over Europe. For along time already France’s second religionis Islam. The war in former Yugoslaviawas partly determined by the Islamicinfluence in Bosnia, Kosovo and Albania.

London is considered to bethe capital for Islam inEurope, with 1 millionMuslims in that city alone.Many observers feel thattheir presence will be felteven more emphaticallywith Turkey’s entry into theEU.

Many evangelicalChristians are of the opinionthat allowing Turkey to

enter the EU is equal to supporting thegrowing influence of Islam, and thereforethe Turks’ request should be denied. Thisviewpoint is supported by humanitarianreasons and Turkey’s enormouseconomic crisis.

However, Turkey’s entry will probablytake place sooner or later. And howshould Christians react when it does? Itis high time for us to reflect on this. Wesee two possibilities. First, just wait andsee, and meanwhile do all we can toprotect ourselves against these newinfluences. Second, make preparationsand swing into action now. For too long,European Christians have placedthemselves on the defensive as a resultthe threats to the church in our nations.As a result, we have been unable to takea proactive position.

Christians arenow recognised

as an existingreligious group,

although thefreedom this

should guaranteeis not always a

reality

44


Yet there is reason to trust in the futureof the church, for God is a God who holdsthe world and history in His hands. Hewill complete His plan and build Hischurch and use it to complete themissionary command to make all thenations His disciples. Thus EuropeanChristians may look forward to the futurewith hope and expectation and startanticipating as well as planning forincreased contacts with Turkey.

The Turkish churches need our prayersand support in witnessing in their owncountry in their attempts to live out anddemonstrate to their fellow-countrymenthe truth of the Bible.Prayer is most importantin this. Winning peoplefor Christ is a spiritualbattle and the oppositionis everywhere and alwaysfierce, certainly in placeswhere not onlyindividuals but also wholecommunities or even awhole society areconfronted with theGospel. All churchesacross all of Europeshould be aware of theprayer points listed by Operation Worldand act upon them.

The requirements for EU entry that haveto be met by Turkey, including freedomof speech, freedom of establishment andequal democratic rights, will play a majorrole in answering the question whetherthe Gospel can increase opportunities inTurkey. This will open up morepossibilities for mission workers,evangelists, summer teams, short-termvolunteers, tent makers and visitors tobe witnesses of Christ. This will requirethe availability of lots of specially

developed literature, videotapes and CD-ROMs to support initiatives by Turkishchurches and mission organisations, aswell as the availability of funds for trainingof Turkish evangelists and pastors as wellas for buildings and other capitalinvestments.

From the other end of the debate, thequestion comes. How can Turkishchurches assist European Christians intheir efforts to reach the millions of Turksin Europe? This is already pertinent today.There is an urgent need for Christianswilling to minister among Turks in Europeor in Turkey, but at the same time the

Turkish Christiansthemselves must play amajor role in equippingthese new missionariesand developing a visionfor their roles acrossEurope.

How many of theopportunities are beingutilised at this verymoment to bewitnesses for the 3million Turks now livingin Europe, whether by

neighbours, local churches, or Christianorganisations using literature, radio,television or the Internet? Europeanchurches need to be equipped now inorder to become aware of the Turks intheir own environment, sensitive tocultural differences, and knowing how tocommunicate the Gospel in a relevantmanner. Here is a case study. A Turkishman came to faith in a refugee camp inDebrecen, Hungary, after receiving aHungarian Gospel of St. John and tryingto read it with the help of a dictionary.However, no Christians thought aboutgiving the man a Turkish Bible or discipled

The Turkishchurches need our

prayers andsupport in

witnessing in theirown country in theirattempts to live outand demonstrate to

their fellow-countrymen thetruth of the Bible

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him. National organisations that arealready working to equip people shouldask themselves whether they can maketheir experience available on aninternational level as well.

Besides everything else, one thing iscrucial, Christians ties must be strongerthan existing political or cultural borders.The interests of the church in Turkeyshould become and remain a matter ofserious prayer. Many EuropeanChristians are citizens of the EuropeanUnion, but their primary citizenship is thatof another Kingdom. Our Turkishbrothers and sisters are our fellow-citizensin God’s Kingdom already, regardless oftheir EU status.

Christian organisations and TurkeyThe possibility of having Christianconferences in Turkey is a very recentopen door. Most of these conferenceshave been aimed at strengthening the tieswith the church in Turkey or to continuespreading of the Gospel among theTurkish peoples. This was the case eventhough open church planting is still avery touchy subject in Turkey, despitethe official freedom of speech. However,competitive prices and an attractiveclimate have encouraged increasingnumbers of Christian organisations tohold their conferences in Turkey.

With such trips to Turkey it is naturallyobvious to reflect on a key question.What is the prophetic significance of thevanished churches of Turkey to thechurches in Europe? Could the churchin Europe vanish in the same way as theold churches in former Asia Minor did?What does God have to say to us throughthe letters in Revelation? But also,present-day Turkey and European Turks

ought also to be given proper attentionat these conferences.

Turkish Christians and other Christianscoming from Islamic backgrounds have agreat deal of experience to offer EuropeanChristians. They can help us equipEuropean churches to be witnesses toMuslims. In my opinion, Christianorganisations that organise trips to orconferences in Turkey on a regular basisshould incorporate this aspect into theirprogrammes.

The witness of the Turkish minoritychurches and their growth during recentyears, despite strong opposition andpressure from an Islamic society, canbecome an inspiration and anencouragement to churches andmissionaries in Europe. Their mainchallenge is not Islamic pressure, butmaterialistic disinterest in the message ofthe Gospel that centuries ago changedEurope completely and then spread outacross the whole world with greatdedication and enthusiasm by Europeanmissionaries.

This could also be the start of mutualcontemplation, by European and TurkishChristians, on how to deal with theincreasing post-modern, materialisticinfluences. What can Turkish Christianslearn from the failing of many Westernchurches and Christians in this area. Howcan they arm themselves against theseinfluences in the growing Turkish church?And on a very practical level, how aboutusing your next trip to Turkey to visit therelatives of your Turkish neighbours?Efforts like this would be greatlyappreciated and may become the bridgefor a personal talk about our destinationand our convictions.

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Christian journeys and conferences inTurkey can send off good or bad signalsto the Turkish society. Generallyspeaking, the ‘Christian West’ does nothave a good reputation. Most Turks makeno distinction between the materialisticWestern culture and an honest Christianlifestyle. Thus Western Christians shouldalso reflect on their relationships withTurkey and the Turkish church. On theother hand, churches and organisationsin Europe have a great deal of knowledgeand experience in many fields of life. Howcan they start sharing these riches and

making them available to the Turkishchurch?

The time is ripe for European churchesand the Turkish church to get in touchwith each other in a co-ordinated way.This will allow us to deal with current andfuture possibilities in a systematic mannerrather than getting entangled in theconfusion of all kinds of individualinitiatives. It is time that the EuropeanEvangelical Alliance (EEA) and theEuropean Evangelical MissionaryAlliance (EEMA) take the lead in this.

Cees Verharen, born 1955 in The Netherlands, has been working for European Christian Mission International since 1984 in different capacities. Since 1993he was Regional Director for several West European countries. In 2003 he wasappointed General Secretary of the European Evangelical Missionary Alliance. After 20 years of service, he leaves ECMI at the end of 2004 to becomethe Director of the Dutch Evangelical Missionary Alliance and remains also inhis role for the EEMA. He can be contacted at [email protected]

“WHEATON COLLEGE - Department of Missions and Intercultural Studies

Professor of Evangelism (rank open) and Director of Evangelism Degree Program. A full-time,tenure track position beginning fall, 2005. Ph.D. or equivalent required; interests in gospeland contemporary culture, mission church or emerging church perspectives welcome.Interested candidates should send a letter of inquiry and a complete curriculum vita to Dr. A.Scott Moreau, Chair of the Evangelism Search Committee; Department of Intercultural Studies;Wheaton College; 501 College Avenue; Wheaton, Illinois 60187-5593. FAX: (630) 752-7125. E-MAIL: [email protected]. Application forms will be sent to promising candidates. Thesearch will continue until the position is filled.

Wheaton College is an evangelical protestant Christian liberal arts college whose faculty andstaff members affirm a Statement of Faith and adhere to lifestyle expectations. The Collegecomplies with federal and state guidelines for non-discrimination in employment. Womenand minorities are encouraged to apply.”

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Doing missionary work in Hungary may seem like carrying coals to Newcastle. The country wasChristianized a long time ago, and the statue of the

pious King Matthias (1443-1490) – the first of his people toembrace Christianity – still soars high above Budapest. The16th century Reformation has not been forgotten either. Amajor intersection in the city centre is named after Calvin,the Genevan reformer. Yet the country is bustling withmissionary activity. Not by foreign missionaries, but byHungarian Christians.

An impressive Reformed church sets the scene of CalvinSquare. Recently, a statue of him was added. After the fall ofcommunism the fondest wish of a Hungarian artist could befulfilled: creating Calvin’s statute.

The Reformer is portrayed as a serious man – and so he was.However, because of the statue’s dimensions it has notbecome a formidable monument. It’s almost ‘cosily’ placedin front of the Calvin Cafe, while on the benches at his feetstudents bask in the sun and in each other’s company.

Local Churches

The Missionary Institute of the Hungarian churches islocated on Calvin Square. The people within this institutehave distinct thoughts about missions in Hungary. At onetime, before the World War II, Hungarian Christians launchedan all-out overseas mission effort. The Institute’s Dutchmanaging director, Prof. Anne-Marie Kool, even obtainedher doctorate with a thesis on that part of history. Today,however, Hungarians no longer associate missions withfaraway places.

According to Prof. Németh, Dean of the Theological Facultyin Budapest, mission is experienced as a commission for thechurch itself. The missionary activities of each local churchcomprise encouraging each other in the faith, drawing inpeople from outside the church and being present in today’sHungarian society.

It’s not easy to do this well. In post-communist Hungary,society is under great pressure; living together as a

Mending a Torn Society:Resurging Missionary Zeal in Hungaryby Jan van Butselaar

At one time,

before the

World War II,

Hungarian

Christians

launched an

all-out

overseas

mission effort.

Today,

however,

Hungarians

no longer

associate

missions with

faraway

places

48


community is not easy. This is caused,first of all, by the bumpy transition thecountry has been making from the generalpoverty of the past to a capitalisteconomy. Some are succeeding inbecoming immensely rich, while others areat their wits’ end and don’t know howthey’ll manage to feed their childrentomorrow. This leads to bitter contraststhat are further exacerbated as corruptionand crime make their entry.

The country’s recent history poses asecond threat to Hungarian society. Howdid everybody behave during the formercommunist days? Neighbours had towatch each other; sometimes even withinfamilies one wasn’t sure of one’s life. Ingeneral, churches did not behave verybravely in the face of oppression andtorture. Often the church leaders weregovernment agents rather than shepherdsof the flock of God; pastors in towns andcities mainly tried to survive, sometimeseven literally. Mind you, this is nooccasion for Western people to passjudgement. The stories aboutunbelievably naive Western churchleaders who visited communist Hungaryand swallowed all the pretty, untruestories about the situation in the country,filled many Hungarian Christians withdespair at the time. Apparently, there waseven a German church which, untilrecently – a long time after the fall ofcommunism! – financed an ‘ecumenicalinstitute’ of a former Reformed bishop (theReformed Church in Hungary knowsbishops) so the man could continue hislies for a long time.

You can imagine the kind of tensioncaused by these situations. Mutualconfidence is sometimes hard to find.How then do you build a church (withfellowship as a key word) if people showso much distrust? Add to this the realitythat the percentage of suicides in

Hungary is extremely high. Many peoplelack the trust they need to merely stayalive.

Poverty and riches, betrayal andopposition, and gypsies. Gypsies formanother challenge/problem in theHungarian society. Unlike their kin inWestern Europe, the numerous gypsiesin this country are not nomads, but livein ‘ordinary’ houses. The communistrulers used to relocate entire gypsygroups in order to breach the social unityin a town or an urban district – and thusreducing the chance of social unrest. Yetthe gypsy culture and history aredifferent from those of most Hungarians.If they address themselves to the church,they have different (spiritual and material)expectations. This causes quite a fewtensions and stands a chance of boostingthe contrasts in society. Ethnicity is areal threat.

Add to this that anti-Semitism is alwayslurking, in spite of the fact that Budapesthouses the world’s second largestsynagogue (the largest is in New York).How do you do mission in such asituation?

ExchangeThe Budapest Missionary Institute triesto equip people for the new situation inHungary and to help them to give shapeto missions in this torn society. Groupsof church members come to the city totake courses at the Institute. Students ofTheology, the future ministers, receiveadditional missiological training. Thelatest development is the presentation ofa course for East-European students whowant to develop or support missions intheir own countries.In this way, withinEastern Europe, experiences areexchanged between missionaries, comingfrom both large and smaller churches,older and newer ones—Pentecostal and

49


Baptist churches that are springing upeverywhere. Stories are told aboutmissionary activities among gypsies,about mission weeks in churches, aboutmissions and theology.

In this respect, the Institute sustains along-standing spiritual tradition inHungary, i.e. the revival movement. It ischaracterized by a kind of piety that alsoused to be found in certain parts of theNetherlands - a personal, inward, simplepiety, a connection with Jesus. It isprobably a good way of finding the heartsof the Hungarian people, a way that doesnot confront them immediately with theother and with others, but initially withthemselves: who am I, who am I beforeGod? Once those questions have beenanswered, an individual will find his orher way back to other people, too. That’show missions work in Hungary; that’show this mission initiative of the churchworks, supported by organizations in theNetherlands (such as the ChristianReformed Missionary Alliance), theUnited States and elsewhere.

So is it successful? We see a newgeneration of people slowly being given

a chance. The older generation burdenedby the past is increasingly withdrawingfrom leadership. The new generationdares to be more open, more honest. Justa few examples: the new bishop ofBudapest was not ashamed to tell at hisinauguration about the poverty he hadexperienced in the pastor’s family in whichhe was born; clothes from theNetherlands (!) made it possible for himand his brothers and sisters to go toschool…. Or the politician who had thecourage to withdraw when it becameknown that his direct relatives had alsobeen informants of the secret police. Orthe theologian who dared to analyse‘theological’ brochures from thecommunist days and expose the truth andthe lies in them. A young minister startingout with full zeal in an old church andattracting young people. Students formBible study groups studying the TenCommandments, asking, “What do thesemean to me, to us, to our country?”Naturally, these are just small-scaleactivities, but they’re a beginning. Andquite an encouragement for people whoknow the history of the mustard seed.Missions in Hungary, missions in EasternEurope work. To the spiritual benefit ofman and society.

Jan van Butselaar can be contacted at [email protected]

50


Though Europe has plenty ofproverbs of its own, we may getsome fresh perspective on Europe

by applying some old Nigerian proverbsto the European situation today. Considerthese as you peruse the other articles inthis issue.

A hen that decides to smear its eggs withits own droppings will have itself toblame (Igala).

A great deal of the despair in Europe todayis a result of the European Enlightenmentwhich emerged three centuries ago.Europe fouled its own nest by replacingGod with human reason as the center oflife and the final authority for decisions.“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There isno God’” (Ps. 14:1). But now thecontinent has to live with the stench ofthis statement, and growing numbers ofEuropeans are rejecting theEnlightenment’s confidence in humanreason. They sense there has to be abetter way to live. It is a time ofopportunity for the good news.

If the music changes, the dance changes(Hausa).

The music is changing in Europe todayfrom the modern worldview andEuropeans are dancing to a post-modernrhythm and tune. Though the churchmust never dances to the world’s tune,the form in which the gospel of Jesus ispresented does change. It is a dancewhich can take on many forms and stillsend the same message—Jesus is Lord

over all the music (Acts 2:36).Reachinga place first does not mean you willalways be first (Bura).

In technology and political power in themodern era, Europe has been first for solong that it has come to see itself as thenatural first among the continents.Globalization and the emergence ofmassive political and economic blocsoutside Europe (and its daughter, NorthAmerica) create an identity crisis forEurope. Europe has yet to learn what Paulsaid to a particular group of Europeans(the Romans), “Do not think of yourselfmore highly than you ought, but ratherthink of yourself with sober judgment, inaccordance with the measure of faith Godhas given you” (Ro. 12:3).

If it is not possible to mix mud thoroughly,then pack it together (Ebira).

Some who are active in mission agenciesand mission training centers in Europeare distressed that the current generationof missionary candidates and missionsupporters does not allow them to do asmuch as they used to do, at least not inthe way they used to do it. The proverbadvises people to work with the materialthey have in the way that material allows,not force the material to do what they areused to doing. To change the image, wecould say that the previous generationand the current one need each other likethe eye and the hand (1 Cor. 12:21).They are each unique but they have tofind ways to work together as they wereintended to do.

Stan Nassbaum is the staff missiologist for Global Mapping International inColorado Springs, USA, and a member of the Global Missiology Task Force ofthe Missions Commission. He can be contacted at [email protected]

Proverbial Perspectives on Europeby Stan Nassbaum

51


Taup04ward- the June, 2004Missions Consultation, is nowhistory but all the enthusiastic

participants left with a clear view of theTriune God and His call to move forwardin Mission. Around 80 people gatheredat the comfortable Lake Taupo ChristianCamp in its spectacularlybeautiful setting, andthought deeply aboutGod’s world and His callto bring abouttransformation.

Dr. William D. Taylor, theExecutive Director ofWorld EvangelicalAlliance MissionsCommission, led us inour deliberations. Bill’sunique low key styleenabled us to think alongwith him rather thanlisten to pre-digested declarations. Thefact that he was thinking out of years ofpractical and wide ranging experienceadded a richness to the tapestry of allour experiences and thinking. It wasgood to have a number of churchmissions people participating and theyformed a separate stream within theconsultation. Mission agencies, traininginstitutions and mobilisers were wellrepresented also. One of the most popularworkshop choices (we had to repeat it)was a dialogue between church andagency leaders and the synergy thatcomes when the perspectives andinterests of both are catered for.

The dramatically changed and changingworld in which we must now ‘do mission’formed the major theme of Taup04ward –Globalisation and its impact on mission.Each evening we learned of innovativeapproaches. The presence of over 100,000international students, plus the new

immigrants and refugeesin today’s New Zealandpresent opportunities andchallenges for bothchurches and agencies inoutreach here. A freshapproach to the way weequip people goingoverseas are immense andpractical. This presents adifferent possibility forsynergy betweenchurches and agencies.

We were refreshed andencouraged to hear the

input of Kiwis (New Zealanders)including Hami Chapman, Val Goold,Kirstie Macdonald, Matthew Perry, JamieWood, and Cathy Ross. They representthe younger thoughtful leaders, and werealised that we have several outstandingpeople thinking deeply about mission.

The local “tangata whenua - NgatiTuwharetoa” (Maori community)welcomed us and contributed gracefullyto our deliberations throughout. A greaterunderstanding of the Maori and of theirways of doing mission as communalpeople added a dimension not usuallyexperienced in consultations like this.

National Mission MovementsA report from New Zealand: “Taup04ward” Leaves aGood Tasteby Gordon Stanley

The dramaticallychanged and

changing world inwhich we must nowdo mission’ formedthe major theme of

Taup04ward –Globalisation andits impact on mis

sion

52


Taup04ward was a “by-invitation only”event for reflective practitioners—thosewilling to think seriously about what theyare doing. We all left the Lake Taupoarea with much to grapple with in ourservice for God, and with enrichedopportunities now to network with otherswho face similar opportunities andchallenges.

Taup04ward Reflections

First of all, for those who were unable toparticipate in Taup04ward, here are someimpressions from some of the 80 plusattendees:. “It was helpful to me in mywork. I had so many wonderfulconversations with people that wouldhave been difficult otherwise”, “It hasbeen an extremely fruitful and rewardingexperience for me meeting and learningfrom fellow-workers”, “People wentaway inspired with a betterunderstanding of what others are doingand how some of the dynamics couldhelp them- in the free time there weregroups of people talking”, “Bill Taylorwas very thought-provoking”.Good food and accommodation, and

crisp, sunny Taupo weather added to theenjoyment of the event which several folkwould like to see repeated every two tothree years. It was very special to havechurches, schools, agencies andmobilisers represented, to have a goodbalance between age groups and gendersand those with a focus overseas andthose working in NZ. We met in “ministrystreams” for focus groups andworkshops for special interests, andgrappled with the challenges being facedin our rapidly changing world. Being likethe children of Issachar andunderstanding our times and knowingwhat we should do (1Chronicles 12:32)was the overarching theme.

Bill Taylor’s style was refreshing as heinvited us to think along with him,speaking out of vast and relevantexperiences but not in a declarative way,enabling us to connect our ownexperiences and learn together. His finalmessage, challenging us to finish wellwas poignant. One participant noted,“The highlight for me was the time therewasn’t a dry eye in the place- incrediblehow a simple story from a guy could haveguys getting emotional – fantastic!”

Gordon Stanley is director of Missions Interlink (NZ), the New Zealand missionmovement. He and his wife, Helen, previously served for 34 years with SIM inNigeria, Australia and the USA before returning to their very-changed passportcountry. He can be contacted at [email protected]

53


At the end of June, 2004, the 17th

National Missions Forum formembers of Missions Interlink

Australia, convened at Belgrave Heights,near Melbourne. We were privileged tohave Bill Taylor, Executive Director of theWEA Missions Commission, as our mainspeaker. Bill shared from his heart andexperience concerning the need formission leaders to reflect on missiologicalprinciples, disciplines andstrategies. His contributionwas greatly appreciated bythe 60 participants at theconference, as heencouraged mission leadersto develop the art ofreflection and focus on theessential issues ofChristian life and ministry.

We were also privileged to have dialogueand interaction with local Christianleaders of Chinese and Koreanbackground. These gracious people wererepresenting a large number of Christiansof non-Anglo background in ourchurches, and they may be able to helpus understand some different cultural andlifestyle approaches to missions,particularly from an Asian perspectivethough operating from a Western base.

The members at the Annual GeneralMeeting overwhelmingly endorsed a newnational structure for Missions Interlink,Australia. A prime objective is totransform MI from a federal structure to

a national structure with a single nationalmembership levy to cover all state andnational members.For more than a year the nationalcommittee had been working on a rangeof options, aware that the next generationof mission leaders prefers to networkrather than operate in formal committeestyle meetings. Further work will be doneover the next 12 months with a plan to

implement the newRegulations (orConstitution) by July, 2005.

The adopted regulationsare intended to reflect thefollowing changes:

1.The “national committee”be renamed the “LeadershipTeam”;

2.New structure of state branches (as“Networks”) with state Leadership Teamsand the recognition of various“Networks” and “Ministries” at nationaland/or state level;

3.General Meetings (known as GeneralForums) of members normally held everythree years;

4.Between General Meetings theLeadership Team will function as themanagement body; and will consist of atleast ten members, of whom 3 shall beCEO’s elected for three year terms atGeneral Meetings;

Missions Interlink Australia:A New Look For a New Generationby Phil Douglas

MissionsInterlink willcontinue to

provide information, services,and advocacy

for its members

54


5.The balance of the Leadership Team willbe made up of the leaders of eachrecognised national ministry and network(including recognising each state chapteras a network);

6.Approved state bodies will be offeredannual grants to assist with theiradministration.

The first General Forum and GeneralMeeting of members under the newregulations is planned for July, 2005 withthe election of five CEO representativesto the Leadership Team and theconfirmation of the appointment ofministry and network representatives tothe Leadership Team.

Missions Interlink will continue toprovide information, services, andadvocacy for its members. However,there will be a new focus on encouragingministries (such as MissionaryOrientation) and networks (such as ShortTerm Missions and Missionary Care) tofunction at national level.

States will continue to function anddeliver services at state level. They willhave independent control over their staff,finances and activities. States will beencouraged to organize seminars, prayerevents, fellowship gatherings andmissions’ events as they have in the past.

Phil Douglas was born a Pastor’s Kid in Rockhampton, Australia and has spent about 25 years in missions administration in Papua New Guinea and Australia, the last seven years as National Director of Missions Interlink,based in Melbourne, Australia. He is married to Grace and has three marriedsons and five grandchildren. He can be contacted at [email protected].

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Global Faces:Facilitating Personal and ProfessionalRelationships Among Member CareWorkersby Kelly O’ Donnell

There are so many facets and facesin member care! Global Faces is anew project to help member care

practitioners further develop skills andrelationships. We want to ‘grow deeplyand go broadly’ as we intentionallyconnect together as member care workers(MCWs). Phase oneinvolves conveningspecial gatherings inEurope (EuropeanMember CareConsultation—EMCC)and North America(Pastors toMissionaries—PTM) in2005, in which severalMCWs from the NSCs willparticipate.

Global Faces—Background andRationaleThe Global Member Care Resourcesgroup (MemCa) has discussedpossibilities for convening aninternational member care consultation,since our inception in 1998. Yet timing isalways an important issue. Theconsensus was that such a consultationwas not something that we could pursue,primarily because we felt other regionsand nations needed more time to developtheir respective member care experienceand approaches. Not to mention the

logistical challenges of trying to convenesuch a gathering! So we opted to helpsupport national and continentalgatherings of member care personnel/mission leaders instead of trying to pushfor a larger more global one.

The closest we came todoing an internationalmember care gatheringwas the MemCa-sponsored retreat, withhelp from NarramoreChristian Foundation,which met after the at the2000 Mental Health andMissions conference inthe USA. We were agroup of 25 people fromvarious countries, and it

was a very special and intimate time.Added to this would be similarexperiences of connecting with membersof the international mission and membercare community: the first Brazilian membercare consultation in 1999; the Associationof Evangelicals in Africa conference inIvory Coast in 2000; the EvangelicalFellowship of Asia conference in Thailandin 2001. What a boost that was for manyof us! Also, it is important to recall thethree international conferences onMissionary Kids (ICMKs) in the 1980s.These can be considered as early

There are somany facets andfaces in member

care! Global Facesis a new project tohelp member carepractitioners fur

ther develop skillsand relationships

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international member care gatherings,focusing on MKs/families yetoverlapping with other member careareas. But a more global consultation,explicitly focusing on member care per se,has yet to materialise.

Such international gatherings, and thevarious ones envisioned by Global Faces,are key mechanisms for furtherdeveloping the field of member care.There is nothing like face-to-faceconnections to build relationships,exchange updates, consolidate learning,and acquire resources and perspectivesto share back in one’s respective setting/country/region. But even morefundamental to these benefits would bea sense of the Spirit directing many of us,via the Global Faces gatherings, to helpsupport mission personnel in newer, moreunited and more international ways.

Global Faces—Three Ongoing Phases• Phase one focuses on including upto 30 MCWs from the NSCs at two keyconferences. First, is the bi-annualEuropean Member Care Consultation(April 13-17, 2005, close to Frankfurt,Germany). The theme will be ‘CaringAcross Cultures’, with culture includinggenerational, organisational, media, andnational domains. Second, is the annualPastors to Missionaries Conference(early December in Waxhaw, NorthCarolina, USA). Details of theseconference are available at:[email protected] [email protected]

• Phase two champions the idea ofcolleagues with international membercare experience—senior MCWs—beinginvited to participate in national/regionalmember care gatherings as a small team.

Essentially they would go as learners/consultants. Although many would comefrom Europe and North America, otherexperienced colleagues from the NSCswould also be part of such groups. Thepurpose would be to mingle, buildrelationships, and exchange updates andresources. Some inside and outside ofMemCa do this regularly on differentcontinents, mostly in ones or twos, yetthe idea to intentionally form small teamsto systematically connect with themember care community, is new.

• Phase three involves a combinedeffort to convene international membercare consultations, every few years on adifferent continent, possibly starting in2007.

Global Faces—Current Action StepsFirst, a small working group has formedfor phase one, and includes leaders fromMemCa, EMCC, and PTM, along with afew consultants. We will work towards arepresentative group internationally forthe other two phases of Global Faces, tobe initiated with input from the MemCaLeadership Team.

Second, we have sent an invitation/summons to over 50 colleagues aroundthe world in order to identify qualifiedMCWs to participate in phase onegatherings, and to request input forphases two and three.

Third, we have established invitationcriteria for phase one:• Recognised ministry in member care inone’s region; approval from one’sorganisational leadership.

• Prioritising those from NSCs; includereps from different regions; proficiencyin English.

57


• Recommended by a regional membercare coordinator and/or one member ofthe working group.

• Part of networks and have the desireand ability to connect with other groups.

• Agree to participate in the entireprogramme; have a brief written plan toapply their experience.

• Do not usually come to suchinternational member care events.

• Attend a special one-two day retreatafterwards.

• Funds are available to help cover someof the costs of qualified NSCparticipants.

Global Faces—Our Purpose StatementGlobal Faces facilitates personal andprofessional relationships betweenmember care practitioners from the NSCsand OSCs. We do this primarily byinviting qualified NSC MCWs toparticipate in the annual PTM (USA) andthe bi-annual EMCC (Europe). We arealso interested in discussing ways for: 1)internationally-experienced MCWs toattend NSC regional member care/missionconferences; and 2) a series ofinternational member care consultationsto be organised on different continents.

Dr. Kelly O’Donnell is a psychologist based in Europe. Kelly studied clinical psychology and theology at Rosemead School of Psychology, BiolaUniver sity. His emphases are in the member care/human resource field:crisis care, team development, and member care affiliations. He chairs theGlobal Member Care Resources (MemCa), of WEA Missions Commission.He can be contacted at [email protected]

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TIE Europe currently has 15 Countries with TIE nationalrepresentatives – (at present there are about 40 Countriesinvolved worldwide). For administrative convenience we

have (a) Scandinavia – Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.(b) Western Europe – UK, Germany, France and Spain. (c) EasternEurope – Estonia, Poland and Hungary. (d) The Balkans –Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia. Each representative isencouraged to set up a TIE Information Exchange with theobjective of giving advice on tentmaker training, being part of aglobal communications network, encouraging the growth of“Great Commission” companies, recruiting and mobilizingchurches to think “tentmaker” strategy.

The key sentence for the TIE national representative is: ‘The TIErepresentative knows the one who knows what you want toknow, and how to gain this knowledge’. The representative isthus an Information Exchange. He or she will be well aware of thetraining available, and who are the sending agencies. Throughinternational connections each one is well aware of the jobopportunities out in the field.

The way each representative operates may differ: Norway andthe UK have well developed Information Exchanges and operatetraining programmes; France TIE is linked to a Christian languageschool, preparing tentmakers for ministry in French speakingcountries; in Denmark the TIE representative works amongststudents, whilst in Germany promotion is linked to ministryopportunities. Finland has developed mission based upon thetentmaking strategy for many years and has expanded into theMiddle East and North Africa. The present expansion of TIE intothe Balkans and Eastern Europe is largely due to the newrelationship between TIE and WEA.

TIE is seeking to promote a New Reformation in the way theChurch operates and thinks of mission. Rather like the 16th centuryreformation, it has begun slowly but is gathering speed. Astheological teaching embraces the New Testament truth that thesole purpose of church leadership (apostles, prophets,

Tentmaker InternationalExchange (TIE) European Regionby Derek Green

‘The TIE

representative

knows the

one who

knows what

you want to

know, and

how to gain

this

knowledge’

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evangelists, pastors and teachers) is toprepare God’s people for service/ministry(Ephesians 4:11-13), so we shall seemission moving from the ordainedspecialist to the whole people of God.History has generally frustrated this bychanging the emphasis, giving to theleadership the cosy alternative ofproviding sacramental services ofworship, and reducing the ‘laity’ to beingobservers of colourful rituals.

Whilst tentmaking as a strategy ofmission had its 20th century emphasisupon ‘sending’, the 21st century is seeingthe need to ‘receive’ tentmakers. Largenumbers of Christians from non-Europeanethnic groups are moving into Europe,seeking work and taking up professionalposts. Suddenly there is a new missionforce available for the re-evangelisationof Europe. Besides, there is a growingneed to engage in evangelism to reachthe Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and atheistminority groups in all EuropeanCountries. Who can better deal with thisthan Christians from these same

groupings? They deserve theencouragement and support of aneffective tentmaker administration.

The need for a European TIE network ofInformation Exchanges and NationalRepresentatives goes hand in hand withthe development of the EuropeanCommunity. There is a vast untappedsource of lay missionaries within thechurches throughout Europe, needing a‘wake-up’ call to obey the GreatCommission. However, evangelismbegins at home, and this quotation fromthe 1945 Archbishops Report ‘Towardsthe Conversion of England’ underlinesthe importance of the pastors andministers of the churches getting on withthe task of training their congregationsnow – ‘We are convinced that Englandwill never be converted until the laityuse the opportunities daily afforded bytheir various professions, crafts andoccupations.’

What is true for England must also betrue for the rest of Europe – and the wholeworld.

Derek is a retired evangelical minister of the Church of England. Hespent three years as a chaplain in the RAF, mainly in Singapore.There followed a 35 year ministry in Norfolk (UK) as co-ordinator ofministries of evangelism, training and Bible Reading promotion in theeastern counties of England. Upon retirement from his parishes andScripture Union in 1993, Derek has given his attention to setting upTIE National Exchanges throughout Europe. Derek is married toPhebe, who has always shared in his ministry; and they have fourmarried children. He can be contacted [email protected]

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Internet based training has been partof a discussion that has leftvisionaries spinning castles in

cyberspace, and pragmatists laboringwith realities that seem to overwhelm anyperceived potential. Unless it isaccompanied by heavy motivators, suchas credit towards degrees and highaccountability, it is difficult to motivatestudents. Perhaps one of the greatestchallenges for ministry training is toreduce the barrier between instructor andstudent. High tech tries to address thatissue through voice chat and videotechnology with varying degrees ofsuccess. But how do you reduce thatdistance when working in the Two-Thirds-World where technology is oftenlimited to narrow band Internet andemails?

The Argentine based, Córdoba Center forMissionary Training (CCMT) has founda way to help pre-candidates takeimportant steps towards missionaryservice through Internet coursework. Inpartnership with UBICUA (an Argentineinternet educational company) they haveoffered the Spanish version of WorkingYour Way to the Nations, (Jonathan Lewis,Ed. 1995, UNILIT). This uniquepublication developed by the MissionsCommission offers a course focusing onthe individual (primarily but not onlytent-makers) and the process they walkthrough to reach the field. The CCMT

has trained tutors that work with groupsof up to 15 students who interact witheach other as they answer questions andwork through evaluative steps.

When the first module was offered (free)about a year ago, 283 Spanish speakingstudents from 30 countries signed up forthe course. Now, a year later, hundredsmore have signed up for this modulewhile many are working through thesecond module and several are finishingthe third and final one. Their testimoniesare encouraging, as this couple who goto Toscana, Italy after an intensivemissionary training course in Brazil:

‘We have wonderful new to share,’ writesDaniel, a student who with his wife isfinishing the course. ‘In January we willbe leaving for the mission field! We areso overjoyed! God has done suchwonderful things for us—things thatwere totally impossible for us! We wantto first of all share our joy with you andthen ask you to pray for us. We are veryhappy with the course because it hasbeen of tremendous blessing—helping usconfirm some of our concepts and makingus reconsider others.’

The Internet does have potential, but thisprogram only works because studentshave a real, approachable personattending to them throughout the course.The Córdoba Center for Missionary

Internet BasedMissionary Training

by Jonathan Lewis

An International Missionary Training Network Report

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Training is also developing a master’slevel course by extension and accreditedthrough a partnership with a Brazilianseminary. For this course, DevelopingMinistry Training (Robert Ferris, Ed.1995, Wm. Carey Library) was translated

and used to teach a module on curriculumdevelopment. A new book, StrengtheningMissionary Training, is being writtenusing chapters from the older text withnew additions that complement thecourse, for release by January 2005.

Jonathan Lewis has been on the staff of the Missions Commission since 1992and currently serves as Associate Director working with the InternationalMissionary Training Fellowship and the MC Publications. He can be conactedat [email protected]

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Europe Update

The Europe Team is active andgrowing! Six country coordinatorsare currently in place, and their

goal is to have 15 European countriesactive in the Refugee HighwayPartnership by the end of 2004 and 25 bythe end of 2005.

The RHP Europe vision is to be a resourceto refugee ministries by freely sharingapproaches, encouraging existingministries, and stimulating expansion ofrefugee ministry across Europe. TheEurope Team is currently researching andmapping the refugee situation and needsin each European country. Oncecomplete, a better understanding of theEuropean refugee situation, and ways thechurch can serve refugees, will emerge.

‘The Europe Team is a member of theEuropean Evangelical Alliance, andactively works and participates with theEEA network. We are also participatingas a track leader in HOPE 21, anevangelism strategy for Europe’ reportsMarco Vermin, Refugee HighwayPartnership Europe Coordinator anddirector of GAVE Netherlands.

This work will reach a significantmilestone when the Europe Team meetsfor a regional Refugee HighwayPartnership consultation in February,2005.

South America Update—Focus Brazil

Antonio Carlos Nasser, South AmericaCo-ordinator and local church pastorreports: The RHP Brazil started with avery good meeting in São Paulo city withgood representation from the missioncommunity in Brazil. After showing apresentation about refugees and sharingsome words about our goal as RHP inBrazil, Nasser asked if any present wantedto join our RHP Work Group. With joyand honor to God, a new team is beingraised to glorify our Lord:

Antonia Leonora Van Der Meer (Tonica)- CEM - Mission Evangelical CenterAntonio Carlos Nasser - RHP - SouthAmerica FacilitatorBertil Ekstrom - Interact/WEACarlos Gomes - Lagoinha Baptist ChurchCornélio Zillner - ACMIDurvalina Bezerra - APMBEdward Luz - New Tribes Mission BrazilJohn e Yvonne Macy - Action/JUVEPJosué Martins dos Santos - AvanteMissionary AgencyLuiz Mattos - AEVB - Brazilian EvangelicalAllianceMércia Carvalhaes - Sepal – OCSilas Tostes - AMTB - Brazilian CrossCultural Missionary AgenciesAssociationWagner Gonçalves - Horizontes Mission

As a new RHP work group, we decided tohave our 1st Brazilian Consultation in

Refugee Highway PartnershipEuropean Refugee Network Plans Expansion to 15Countries by End of 2004by Mark Orr

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November 2004 in São Paulo. It is a verygood and receptive time right now tointroduce refugees issues in Brazil. Wewant to take advantage of this andorganize the RHP here. We thank Godfor this very representative WG that hasbeen formed. Praise the Lord.

North America Update—Focus Canada

Report from Anne Woolger, Canada Co-ordinator and Director of MatthewHouse, Toronto.

Good news! We recently held our firstever national refugee consultation ofevangelicals across Canada in Montreallast month and it went very well. We hadgood representation from across thecountry and a keen group who havecommitted to form a “core team” to bringrefugee issues to evangelical churchesacross the nation. The vision and missionof the RHP was shared and we essentiallyadopted our own mission statementmodeled on that of the RHP with a desireto intentionally network with it.

Middle-East Update

Report from: Abraham Shepherd, Refugee

Highway Co-ordinator for Middle EastRegion.Here in Greece, we will try to haveour first meeting in September of this yearfor those who are involved with refugeework in the country. Greece has close to800,000 refugees, most from the Middle-East. The First Greek Evangelical Churchhas offered to host this meeting and be apart of the ministry. Greece is a transitcountry, bridging the stretch of theHighway joining the Middle-East ,Somalia and Sudan with Europe.

JETS, a theological school in Jordan, isone of the key hosts of ‘Love MiddleEast Conference’ that will take placeAugust 2nd in Jordan. Leaders from manydifferent Mid-East countries will attendto discuss various issues, includingrefugees and specifically the Iraqis.Jordan bears much of the burden in thenumber of Iraqi refugees entering theircountry, adding to the thousands ofPalestinian refugees who have been therefor years already.

To contact the Refugee HighwayPartnership, or download a full PDFversion of our recent Global Update,please visit the website at http://refugeehighway.net

Mark Orr serves as the Associate for Information Sharing for the WEA Missions Commis sion. He is currently in Greece working on a colloborationmodel for the Refugee Highway Project. He can be contacted [email protected]

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review

The older practical missions texts by J. Herbert Kanewere a life-saver to me when I started teachingmissions in 1977, but they are now dated and in need

of revision. This new first book of an intended series isintended to be a general textbook introduction to missionsfor both the prospective missionary as well as thosepreparing for pastoral ministry and needing a perspectiveon contemporary missions.

Rather than the typical historical review from Scripture tothe present day, the book is divided into five major sections.The first two sections are theological and foundational; thelast three sections tackle practical issues and currentchallenges from different perspectives. The biblical andtheological encounter initiates the discovery, laying thefoundation for the rest of the book. In Part 1, the authorsargue that ‘the evangelistic mandate of winning people toChrist must be at the core of any theology of mission thathopes to remain true to the biblical orientation.’ Part 2, thehistorical context, is a freshly written overview of the historyof God’s work around the world through the church inmissions.

Part 3 explores missions from the perspective of theprospective missions candidates and others who share inthe task. It provides such pragmatic information as whatdoes it mean to be ‘called,’ what is involved in moving intolong-term involvement in cross-cultural ministry, and thebasic of living in another culture. Part 4 extends theencounter by looking at the challenges that any individualfaces in being sent out from a church to another peoplegroup in another culture, from personal spiritual andadjustment issues, to strategic and ministry issues. Part 5

Reviewed by Steve Hoke

Authors: A. Scott Moreau, Gary R. Corwin, Gary B. McGeePublisher: Baker Academic Book: 349 pages, hardcoverISBN: 0801026482

Introducing World Missions:A Biblical, Historical and Practical Survey

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concludes the book with an explorationof critical challenges to missions,including the missionary encounter withnon-Christian religions, and a briefprojection on missions future.

Several items further recommend the bookto teachers and professors looking forassistance in course design and teachingaids. The authors provide foursupplemental sets of materials, two ofwhich are related to the text itself, andtwo available electronically. First, mostchapters contain a practical case studyhighlighting a dilemma/issue from thatchapter, inviting students to grapple at adeeper level. The cases are designed tohelp students draw from theory in lightof the practical problems faced in fieldreality.

A second set of additional materialscomes in the many sidebars seededthroughout the book, which add bothsubstance and spark reader interest.Most offer deeper thinking on a particularissue being discussion, withaccompanying questions for reflectionand discussion. My favorite sidebarsincluded the following: Missions in thePsalms, ‘Sent’ in the Old Testament, Themeaning of ‘all nations,’ Does discipleshipinclude justice?, Member Care at HersheyEvangelical Free Church, and SevenRealities of Cross-Cultural Friendship.

The third innovative feature is a CD-ROM containing the entire EvangelicalDictionary of World Missions (EDWM)attached inside the back cover. Thisrecent (2000) reference work providesresources for student readings relevantto each chapter, additional backgroundarticles for reading, research or reflection.

Entries range from ‘African TraditionalReligions’ to ‘Zwemer.’

The final supplemental feature whichmakes this text of high value to teachersin the WEA network is an instructor’smanual to support the teacher whoadopts the book as a required text. Thisalone commends the book to newteachers or those considering changingto a new text. Upon adoption of this newtext, instructors simply notify BakerAcademic, and receive a copy of the CD-ROM manual. The materials includeadditional cases and further case studyhelps, important historical documents,downloadable PowerPoint presentationsfor each chapter, more discussionquestions, and suggested readings fromthe EDWM for each chapter. Thefreshness and usability of theseresources alone sold me on the book, anddemonstrate the high value of sharedteaching materials.

While there was little I didn’t like aboutthe text, I mention two shortcomings.There was no visible connection or linkto the ‘Perspectives on the WorldChristian Movement’ course, the mostpopular and effective course introducinglay people to God’s foreign policy, in thelast 24 years. Some link could haveleveraged the power of ‘the story of HisGlory’ from that text and book to this one.Second, the text draws entirely on onebook to identify its ‘Church Models ThatWork,’ and thus limits itself to the peculiarselections of a book many North Americanchurch-missions experts considersomewhat narrow in its choice ofchurches.

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Why do I like this new text? First, itdepicts the unfolding biblical drama inseven acts stretching over first fourchapters. It reads more like the highdrama that it is. Second, the numerousdiagrams, tables and charts are helpfuland visually stimulating. Third, theauthors draw widely from currentsecular (Barber, Hall, Hofstede), andsome of the best contemporary

Christian authors on missions— DavidBosch, Ajith Fernando, Roger Greenway,Paul Hiebert, Walter Kaiser, ChuckKraft, Jim Reapsome, and others. Ienjoyed walking through their 21-pagebibliography of current authors. This isa well-crafted and readable book thatwill catch the attention of novice readersearly, and hold it until they reach thechallenges facing missions in the finalchapter.

Dr. Steve Hoke is Vice President for People Development for Church ResourceMinistries (CRM; Anaheim, CA), and serves on the staff Development andCare Team. His passion is to equip and encourage front-line mission leaders tominister in the power of the Spirit and with Spiritual Authority in the difficultplaces of the world. He lectures widely for the Perspectives course, does trainingwith ACMC, has been a Tranining Associate for the WEA/MCIMTF since1993, and serves as facilitator on the EFMA-IFMA joint Leader Link faculty.He can be contacted at [email protected]

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review‘What is at issue now is the surprising scale and depth of theworldwide Christian resurgence, a resurgence that seems toproceed without Western organizational structures, includingacademic recognition, and is occurring amidst widespreadpolitical instability and the collapse of public institutions, partof what it means to speak of a post-Western Christianity.’ (p.3)

In essence, this is what the book is about – the incrediblegrowth of Christianity in the majority world. It is divided intotwo main parts. The first charts and explains this astonishinggrowth in the Global South. The focus is on Africa,understandable as Sanneh is originally from Gambia, althoughhe now teaches at Yale University in the USA. He expounds aninteresting theory on why Christianity grew rapidly in Africaafter the end of colonial rule, in contrast to Islam where the endof colonial rule seemed to hinder the growth of Islam. I am notsure about his distinction between ‘world’ Christianity and‘global’ Christianity. He claims that the former is ‘the movementof Christianity as it takes form and shape in societies thatpreviously were not Christian, societies that had no bureaucratictradition with which to domesticate the gospel.’ (p.22) Thelatter ‘….on the other hand, is the faithful replication ofChristian forms and patterns developed in Europe.’ Perhaps‘global’ Christianity smacks of globalisation? He looks at theretreats and advances of Christianity in history, discussesAfrican theology, gives a wonderful example of compassionateMaasai reaction to 9/11, suggests that some new Christianmovements are a reaction to globalisation and concludes thissection be explaining that groups that adopt indigenous namesfor God are more likely to ‘produce results that have indigenouscredibility rather than just foreign approval.’ (p.79)

The second section considers Bible translation, where heproposes that Bible translation into mother tongues hasopened the way for a rich diversity of Christian expression as

Whose Religion is Christianity?The Gospel Beyond the West.Reviewed by Cathy Ross

Author: Lamin Sanneh.Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003. Book: 138 pages, paperback,ISBN: 0802821642

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well as a fresh theological outlook. Hedefends Bible translation not only fromthe charge of being too simplistic, butalso from the assertion that it placesilliterate cultures at a disadvantage.

The book is made particularly accessibleby its dialogical nature. It is written in aquestion and answer fashion and this isa deliberate strategy by the author.Sanneh explains that, ‘The interviewmethod should facilitate discussion,debate, and exchange without gettingpeople defensive, and may be used as aframework for tackling difference in acharitable spirit and for discussingconcrete issues in diverse contexts withmutual openness and respect.’ (p.5) Itcertainly makes the book readable andallows the reader to identify with some ofthe questions asked, although at times Ifound this unknown interlocutor

distinctly irritating with questions thatwere arrogant and patronizing such as‘How can Africans be Christian beforethey have been civilised? And how canthey be civilised unless African rule hasdone that?’ (p.41) or ‘If we grant thatconversion is to God, how can the nativemind comprehend such a lofty idea at allwithout proper tutoring?’ (p.47) Suchattitudes left me so incensed I wonderedif this was a real questioner with suchquestions or if Sanneh had made them upwith some mysterious purpose in mind.Goodness knows what Africans andthose from the Majority World (i.e. theTwo Thirds World) make of suchquestions! However, the dialogicaltechnique engages the reader and allowsfor interior debate within one’s own mind.

This is an extremely thought-provokingread which I would highly recommend.

Cathy completed an MA in French and German from Auckland University before studying with her husband at All Nations Christian College in UK.They spent time in Rwanda and Belgium prior to working with the Anglican Church for three years in the Democratic Republic of Congo. From1991 - 1998 she worked for the Church Missionary Society. She is marriedto Steve and they have three children. Cathy completed her doctorate in2003 and spent the latter half of 2003 lecturing at Uganda Christian University with her family. She can be contacted at [email protected]

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reviewWe have thousands of missionaries spread around

the world, sharing the eternal message of JesusChrist with the unreached. That is wonderful! And

there is much joy in serving the Lord!

Yet one of the deep questions lingering in the minds of sendersis this: Who is reaching our missionaries in their emotional,spiritual, physical, and their family needs? Who’s there duringthe hard times to see their tears, frustrations, disappointments,unfulfilled dreams, and the pain of being separated from familymembers back home? As they minister to the deep needs ofothers, who’s caring for them and their own deep spiritualneeds?

This book provides a comprehensive prescription for how tohelp support missionaries on the field. In a step-by-stepprogression the reader is equipped to better understand to keyroles of pastoral support, ministry support, logistical support,prayer support, as well as communications, finances, andencouragement. It is here that Prins and Willemse combinesolid biblical truth and convictions with a wealth of experience,and challenge God’s people to actively care for their sons anddaughters on the frontlines of Kingdom building. The goal andthrust of this book is to build a missionary support team thatcan practically involve parents, friends, churches, and missionorganisations.

The contents of this book are arranged around three main parts.Introduction to Member Care includes a definition, rationale,and biblical perspectives for care. Life Cycle of the Missionaryoverviews the predictable challenges for missionaries. Caringfor the Missionary outlines ways to support personnel duringthe preparation, on-field, and re-entry phases. Theinterconnecting theme of these three parts is how God’s peoplein both churches and agencies can partner together to nurture

Reviewed by Hartmut Stricker

Member Care for Missionaries

Author: Marina Prins and Braam Willemse.Publisher: Member Care-South Africa, 2002. 127 pages

A Practical Guide for Senders

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and develop mission personnel over thelong haul. Chapters 8, 9, and 10 are key,as they address strategies for the supportteam, on-field care, and re-entry.

It would have been good to findadditional material that focuses onspecific issues for the Two Thirds worldmissionaries. Apart from this limitation,the book is still very relevant for allsenders. It provides a helpful conceptualframework, the biblical basis, and needed

tools for practical assistance in membercare. I hope every sending church, pastor,and missionary will read this book, as wellas missionaries before they go and return.It is an easy and fascinating way forentering into the realm of member care.Member Care for Missionaries will alsolikely be a springboard for one’s furtherin-depth studies on member care issues.It can be ordered from Marina [email protected] or http://home.wol.co.za/~20141204/

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review

Timothy C. Tennent has done a valuable service bywriting this book from the evangelical stance. So farnon Evangelicals have dominated the conversation on

inter-religious dialogue for the past three quarters of a century.With the coming of the globalization, Evangelicals cannot affordto remain in isolation any longer. Christianity is not the onlyone that became global, for the major religion of the world,such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam also have long sincebecame worldwide religions. Evangelicals in this newmillennium, particularly from those in the Non-Western world,daily encounter other religions, and Tennent has given us amodel in this regard. With this introductory remark some of thestrengths and weakness of the book will be mentioned.

There are a number of strengths in this book. Tennent hasgiven us a good summary of the inter-religious dialogue thathas occurred in the last half a century or so, along with aframework for dealing with other religions that was used in thepast with some helpful comments. Three presuppositions hementions about the Liberal Christians in their dialogue withother religions of the world are very poignant (see pages 13-16). Exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism could have been anoutdated nomenclature for the theology of religions in thisthird millennium. Tennent, however, introduces the term withcurrent changes in the theologies of religion to give a frameworkon which to hang his proceeding inter-religious dialogue. Thisnot only gives a reader clues to understanding where to standin regards to other religions, but also becomes a tool to critiqueothers who are engaged in inter-religious dialogue.

Those who claim to be inclusivists have especially been hardhit time and again through the dialogue when Tennent focuseson the topic of godhead in Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. He

Reviewed by David Tai-Woong Lee

Christianity at the ReligiousRoundtable: Evangelicalism in Conversation withHinduism, Buddhism and Islam”

Author: Timothy C. TennentPublisher: Baker Academic, 2002 Book: 272 pagesISBN: 0801026024

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has succinctly shown us the hugedifferences between their concept of godand the God of the Bible. AlthoughTennent was not conclusive by anymeans, he has given us insight into howwe should look at the claims of suchpersons as Justin Martyr, Brahmabandhavand A.G. Hogg and where to put them ininter-religious dialogues (see part 4 oncase studies, pages 195-38).

When talking about the differencebetween the Christian God and the Allahof the Muslims, Tenennt suggests thatwe must examine it from three differentlevels: linguistic, revelational andpositional. Tennent argues that a distancebetween the God of the Bible and theAllah of the Quran is much wider thansome seem to think if one takes thisperspective (see pages 204-208). Hetherefore concludes after engaging witha Hindu and a Buddhist on the doctrineof God: ‘A careful examination…hasrevealed, despite key insights, majordifferences between dominant Hinduteachings concerning the doctrine of Godand the evangelical view’ (see page 61).

He adds: ‘To use religious language tomask this difference is to be unfaithful toboth the history of Buddhist (for thatmatter even for the Hindu) thought andthe integrity of Christian revelation’ (seepage 113).

Yet there are a number of weaknesses,and I mention only two. First, it wouldhave been better to give a briefdescriptive definition of religion from theEvangelical viewpoint at the beginningof the book, as he has done on thespectrum of views regarding Christianityand other religions. For unless we have ageneral picture of what religion is as awhole, one-to-one comparison betweencertain doctrines alone may not give atrue picture of the reality. Secondly,omission of sin and salvation in thisdialogue evades the heart of the problem.For the average person in the Two-Thirdsworld, this topic may be more relevantthan even the doctrine of God.

We thank Tennent for his effort to set apattern for Evangelicals to activelyengage in the inter-religious dialogue inthis global age.

David Tai – Wong Lee is the director of the Global Missionary

Training Center in Seoul, Korea, Chairman of the board of directors

for the Global Missionary Fellowship, and a member of the WEA

Missions Commission Global Leadership Team. He can be contacted

at [email protected]

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reviewThe European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) together with

missionary societies in West- and East Europe at theirfirst meeting 1993 found that Christians should have

“hope” for Europe. Thomas Schirrmacher has written a newstatement with his 66 Theses, which were ponderedtheologically in depth at the “Hope 21” congress in Budapest,2001. “Hope for Europe” is also backed by the theologicalcommission of the EEA and the Lausanne movement. Theyaffirmed that Christians should neither be de-motivated by thepolitical and economic development nor be euphoric. For theirimpulse they get their input from the eternal, valid Word ofGod.

Short comments and a direct appeal for Christians are presentedon how the theses can be put into practice. They are groupedinto eight headings which describe necessity, sources,dependability, and the application of hope as well as the powerand correction which come from them. It is not a cheap hope,but one that stems from the connection with the God ofcreation. This hope is of an obligatory nature and is reliable forChristian life. The missionary dimension, political effect,strategic orientation, and practical application cover all socialand ethical areas which are affected by this hope.

Whoever has abandoned hope has given up. A satisfactorylife is neither guaranteed by high living standards nor by fanaticreligious devoutness which drive young people into suicidalactions. Both aspects miss the realistic hope which the Bibleproposes. If Christians have no hope, their churches do notgrow. If hope is not enacted and supported by the Holy Spirit,if it is not alive in the love towards God and men, then it ispowerless and limp, leaving people to themselves. The 66Theses stem them against this tide, they are like an anchor in astrong current, like a lighthouse for those who have lost their

Reviewed by Klaus W. Müller

Hoffnung für Europa(Hope for Europe)

Author: Thomas Schirrmacher, . 66 Thesen. Nürnberg: VTR, o.D.

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course. The 66 Theses are like God’s offerof life to his world in times of turbulence.

To order this superb resource: ThomasSchirrmacher: Hope for Europe - 66

Klaus W. Müller has been missionary to Micronesia 1970-1981 and teaches since then missiology with emphasis intercultural and practical issues. Hehas got his Ph.D. from Aberdeen University 1993 and is presently professor for missions at Freie Theologische Akademie in Germany and at the ETF-University in Leuven, Belgium. He is chairman of the associationof German-speaking missiologists and of the board of Deutsche IndianerPionier Mission as well as director of the Institut für evangelikale Mission,Biebertal, Germany. He can be reached at [email protected]

Theses, Foreword by Peter Regez. VTR:Nürnberg, 2002. 79 S. ISBN 3-933372-48-8. 8,— Euro.

Hope for Europe appeared already in 14languages.

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reflection

From the perspective of God´s mission (missio Dei),Europe has always been a mission country. But recently

the fact has become more obvious. Indian Christianleader Francis Sunderaraj describes what he sees looking outof the 10/40 Window from India towards Europe: ‘spirituallybankrupt churches, total indifference to Christ and theprinciples of the kingdom, moral degradation and everincreasing adherence to the gods of secular humanism,materialism and tribalization and to movements such as NewAge’.1

Europe is in need of mission. But what exactly does missionmean in the European context? This question has beenintensely discussed in the European mainline churches andthe European Lausanne Committee between 1980 and 2000.From this debate basic models for a contextual theology ofmission in Europe have emerged, which provide a basis forfurther discussion.2

1. The Church is the Soul of Europe: an ecclesiocentric–inculturational model

In 1980 the Polish worker´s union ‘Solidarnosh’ (Solidarity)caused the first cracks in monolithic communist EasternEurope – with the support of the Catholic Church. At thesame time, Pope John Paul II initiated his career promotingthe new evangelization of Europe. Jacques Delors, formerFrench president of the EU-Commission, agreed. We have togive a soul to Europe. When the communist system in theEast had finally collapsed and Western Europe didn’t havemuch to offer apart from economic concepts, it became evenclearer: the new ‘House of Europe’ needed a spiritual andethical foundation. The theme of ‘New evangelization’consequently turned into the central topic at the Symposia ofthe Roman Catholic European Council of Bishops (CCEE) 3,

Towards a Contextual MissionTheology for Europeby Friedemann Walldorf

This question

what exactly

mission mean

has been

intensely

discussed in

the European

mainline

churches and

the European

Lausanne

Committee

between 1980

and 2000

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leading up to the ‘Special Synod ofBishops on Europe’ in Rome 1991.4

The center of John Paul II’s vision is theinculturation of theGospel in present day Europe on the basisof its Catholic-Christian past. His goal isa new creative synthesis between theChurch and post-modern Europeanculture. The Pope’s vision for Europe isinspired by his conviction that Europe isintrinsically Christian since its Catholicbaptism in the early medieval times.Thereby he personifies European cultureand history and treats it according toRoman Catholic sacramental doctrine.Present-day Europe continues ‘under thesacramental sign of its covenant withGod’. European unity, too, is interpretedfrom a mystical point of view: medievalCatholic Europe is pictured as the‘seamless coat of Christ’ (cp. John 19:23),which was torn into pieces first by thebreak with the Eastern Orthodox Church,then by the Protestant Reformation andfinally by secularist atheism. The goal ofnew evangelization therefore is torecapture the reality of the one (Catholic)Church being the mystical soul of oneEurope.

Three ways of missionary involvementdevelop from this vision: (1) Socio-ethicalinvolvement on the various political andcultural platforms and levels of Europeansociety. (2) Personal spiritual andsacramental renewal. In Ireland, forexample, a movement which calls itself‘Evangelical Catholics’ emphasizes theimportance of the Bible and evangelism– within the framework of the parochialsystem.5 (3) Ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue in order to re-establish the “seamless coat of Christ”

which in the last analysis is also a picturefor the Church’s exclusive soteriologicalinclusivism: the full truth of Christ canonly be found in the Catholic ‘mother-church’.This ecclesiocentric missionary vision isnot shared by all within the RomanChurch. Pluralist Catholic theologiansreject the notion that Europeans shouldbe brought back into the Church and itstheology. Rather, they argue, the Churchshould meet people where they are andencourage them in their own spiritualjourney.6

2. Discovering God in Europe: acosmocentric–pluralist model

A similar view is presented by theConference of European Churches(CEC)- the WCC-related forum ofProtestant and Eastern Orthodoxchurches in Europe. The full assembly in1986 Stirling, Scotland, resolved to givetop priority to ‘the mission of theChurches in a secularized Europe’.7

Different aspects of this mission arestudied in succeeding consultations inSwitzerland, Sweden and Crete.8 Themodel which emerged in theseconferences represents almost a reversalof the ecclesiocentric concept. Thechurch is not the soul of Europe. Europedoes not need such a soul, since themissio Dei is directly taking place in all ofEuropean society. This model combinesorthodox theosis-theology and theecumenical kosmos-christology (WCCAssembly New-Dehli 1961) which assertsthat with the coming of Christ a salvation-historical transformation process of allcreation was inaugurated. This iscombined with Paul Tillich’s post-modern

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interpretation of the Christian justificationdoctrine: God is not only justifying thesinner, but also the doubter and modernEuropean despair as such. In this wayEurope and the European experience itselfare ‘holy ground’ and a ‘sacrament’,where God and man meet.

The European Enlightenment isespecially interpreted as a period whereEuropeans were liberated from thedogmatic pressures of ecclesiasticinculturations. Mission in Europetherefore must not propagate theinstitutional Church, but the opening upof Churches to the Holy Spirit´simmediate work in post-modern and multi-religious European societies. Dialogue isthe way of the discovery of God´spresence in secular Europeans and ethnicminorities.

Pluralist mission theologian W. Ustorf,Birmingham UK, goes further, pleadingfor a new European Christology from apsychodynamic perspective. In contrastto the biblical witness he thinks that theadmittance of shadow sides in JesusChrist (chaotic, disintegrative, disturbed,guilty) will help Europeans to identify withJesus. Ustorf concludes: ‘It seems thatthe disestablishment of Jesus Christ isgenerating ... new space to inherit thetreasures of other religions ... and toovercome the heritage of anxiety andaggressiveness. This would alter verymuch the format and structure ofChristian mission ... to a new form of acomposite, bi-religious, or pluri-religiousawareness’.9

Not everyone at the CEC-Consultationswent along such lines. Romanian

theologian Dimitru Popescu affirmed aNew Testament based Christology ‘fromabove’ as basis of a truly liberatingmission in Europe. Raymond Fung,former Secretary of Evangelism at theWCC, emphasized the ‘missionarykoinonia’ in the fellowship of the TriuneGod as the basis for mission in Europewhich consists of both: patient waitingfor lost European sons to experience thelove of the Father as well as activerunning towards them in the crossing offrontiers.10

3. Communicating Christ to Europeans:a Bibliocentric–holistic model

Close to these latter views we find themodel which emerged during theconferences of the European LausanneCommittee (ELC) in Stuttgart 1988,Manila 1989 and Bad Boll 1992.11 In Manilaand later in Uppsala, Os Guinness pointedto the deep spiritual challenge of missionin Europe: ‘The ultimate factor in thechurch’s engagement with modernity isthe church’s engagement with God’.12

Therefore, according to the ELCconviction, the renewal of biblicalspirituality forms the beating heart ofmissiological reflection and involvementin Europe today. ‘The only way to bedelivered from Euro-pessimism is to catcha fresh vision of Christ!’ (John Stott inStuttgart 1988). The ELC is convincedthat Christ can neither be directlydiscovered in European history nor beconfined to a mystical Catholic-Europeanconnection. Only the historically andtheologically authentic witness of theNew Testament together with the presentwork of the Holy Spirit is the basis onwhich Europeans can personally

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encounter Jesus Christ as their Liberatorand Lord.European history and cultures areinterpreted in the creative tensionbetween creation and sin, grace andjudgement. Europe therefore offersbridges as well as barriers to the Gospel.European history, economic union,pluralist, post-modern and post-Marxistrealities are always both—a chance anda challenge. The goal of mission in Europeincludes cultural and political renewal onthe basis of the Gospel as Public Truth(L. Newbigin). The heart of mission inEurope are local churches crossingcultural, social or religious barriers withthe biblical message of Jesus Christ toreach the neighourhoods and give thema holistic witness through ‘theproclamation and the demonstration ofthe love of God in Jesus Christ’13.

Local churches and the local church,understood as ‘all believers in that place’,are the plausibility structure forevangelistic witness: ‘we will giveourselves in a servant spirit to meetmaterial, spiritual ... and cultural needs ofas many people as possible in ourneighbourhoods’14. This mission canhappen in traditional parochial structuresas well as through independent missionand church planting movements. The ELCtherefore affirms ecclesiological pluralitywithin the unity of the Gospel.

4. Evangelical conclusions from thedebate

So what does mission mean in theEuropean context? As an evangelical(who identifies self-critically with the lastmodel), I think we can also learn from the

other models. The Catholic inculturationalmodel helps us to understand theimportance of Christian community,tradition and its relevance for culture. TheProtestant-pluralist model reminds us thatGod has provided points of contact inevery society. It challenges us rightly tolisten carefully to and learn from secularEuropeans. But both models alsorepresent some form of European religionwhich needs to be thoroughly challengedfrom a biblical point of view. Here are somefurther perspectives.

First, European Religion or Missio Dei?Hope for and mission in Europe are basedon the conviction that God became Manin Jesus Christ - for everyone on earthincluding all Europeans. His Holy Spiritis active in Europe ‘to convict of ... sinand righteousness and judgement’ (John16:8), and to cause Europeans to turn andfollow Jesus Christ. But if EuropeanChurches undermine this biblical missioDei by substituting it with a missioEuropae and by submitting themissionary text of the Bible toecclesiastical or to pluralist philosophicaland societal norms (and thus confusingtext and context), they deprive themselvesof the hope which comes from the factthat God is not a prisoner of Europeanhistory and culture, but the living andalmighty God, who has spoken and laiddown his promises in the creative andnormative text of the Bible. In this respectthe Biblio-centric model can show the wayforward.

Second, Mission in Europe has deeproots and a wide scopeThis kind of Bible-centered and holisticmission in Europe is not new. It took placewhen Martin Luther challenged the

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mighty Roman-Catholic inculturation in1517 with his solus Christus, solascriptura, sola gratia and sola fide; whenWilliam Booth started his mission to themarginalized in industrial London in 1865;when Francisco Paula y Ruet plantedevangelical churches in Spain in the1860s; when Dietrich Bonhoeffer died in1945 in resistance to the Nazi-regime andwhen Francis Schaeffer discussedEuropean philosophy and arts withagnostic students in Switzerland afterWorld War II – just to mention a fewexamples. Today, new missionarymovements are forming in the olderdenominations and in new independentchurch-planting movements. The Hope-for-Europe-Network initiated in 1994, co-sponsored by the European EvangelicalAlliance and the European LausanneCommittee, was a courageous attempt toexpress and encourage this complex‘unity in diversity’.15 Mission in Europeneeds to know and study its own historyand the diverse missionary landscape inEurope today; this will provideencouragement and insight for futureplanning.

Third, Gospel CommunitiesIt is a myth that Europeans are no longerinterested in truth. Yet their search fortruth is hidden within the search foridentity and community. Local missionarychurches as visible communities of theKingdom of God consisting of women,men, youth and children trusting JesusChrist in their daily lives are theplausibility structures for the uniquenessof the Gospel and its mission in pluralistEurope today. They will function as asemeion (Greek: sign, symbol) woven intothe texture of European culture andpointing to the hope found in the sure

promises of God. Europeans needChristian friends and communities thatcan show them how the Gospel works inreal lives.

Fourth, Narrative Truth‘This generation will ... become convertedto the Christian community. However, weneed to make sure they are converted notonly to the community but to the King ofthe community, Jesus Christ’.16 Missionin Europe therefore is the challenge totell Europeans the biblical story of theLiving God and his Son. The less peopleknow this true and transforming story, themore evangelism needs to be narrativeand not one that immediately calls fordecisions. In a Europe filled withimaginary media-stories it is decisive toaffirm that the biblical story is true as wellas life-transforming. This stresses theimportance of missionary apologetics.Contemporary Europeans hunger for atruth that they are convinced cannot befound – because history and scienceseem to show that everything is relative.Mission in Europe needs to show whyrelativistic pluralism does not make senseand why Jesus Christ is the one anddecisive Word of God in a world of somany words.17 This is real good news forEuropeans, who need to encounter thetruth about themselves and discover thetruth of Jesus Christ that will set themfree (John 8:36).

Fifth, Gospel, Plurality and PluralismMission in Europe needs to distinguishbetween plurality and pluralism. Whilepluralism (relativism) is the greatestapologetic challenge, religious freedomand plurality are a consequence of and achance for mission. Plurality is a

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consequence of mission history inEurope, since only the biblical view ofman creates respect and tolerance inspite of differing religious opinion. Eventhe Enlightenment emphasis of religiousfreedom has gospel roots. Religiousplurality is a chance for mission since itprovides freedom of religious choice andmakes possible the presence of peopleof non-Christians faiths. The presentpluralist ideology in Europe will not beable to maintain a basis for religiousfreedom and plurality in the long run.Thus, Christian mission in Europeincreasingly has important publicdimensions.

Sixth, World Mission in EuropeMission in Europe is part of God’s worldmission. The strong growth ofevangelical churches in the Two-ThirdsWorld is an encouragement for missionin Europe: ‘God has not finished with ourcontinent. God can step in again to revealhis power!’ Europeans can learn from themissiological experiences of churches inthe non-western world in non-Christiancontexts. European missionaries thathave worked in other cultures will also

have a lot to contribute to themissiological challenge in Europe. Peoplefrom all continents and world religionsare living in Europe. Many of them havenever heard the Gospel. But many of themare also coming as mature Christians,immigrants, workers and missionaries, toreach out to ethnic minorities and secularEuropeans. What does that mean for localchurches, denominations andpartnership in mission in Europe?

Finally, a Spiritual ChallengeMission in Europe is a spiritual challengewhich transcends human strategicthinking and planning. The heart ofcontemporary European culture issuffocated by the ‘deliberate locking-outof genuine transcendence’. Mission inEurope can only rely on God’s Word andSpirit to open up this ‘iron cage’. WhenGod speaks, not even the worst or bestof our hermeneutics and strategies canhold him down.18 The centre of missionin Europe therefore is found in a Bible-centred multi-denominational and –cultural missionary community prayingthe prayer of Moses: ‘Show me yourglory’ (Ex. 33,18) and the prayer of Isaiah:‘Here am I, send me’ (Is. 6,8).

Endnote1 Evangelical World : WEF Newsletter 1995:72 For a detailed missiological investigation of this process and the various models see: F.Walldorf, Die Neuevangelisierung Europas. Missionstheologien im europäischen Kontext,Gießen/Basel: Brunnen TVG, 2002.3 Cp. Die europäischen Bischöfe und die Neu-Evangelisierung Europas, Stimmen derWeltkirche 32, hg. v. Sekretariat der DBK/CCEE Sekretariat, Bonn/ St. Gallen, 1991.4 Damit wir Zeugen Christi sind, der uns befreit hat. Erklärung der Bischofs-Sondersynodefür Europa. Verlaut barungen des Apostolischen Stuhls 103, hg. v. Sekretariat der DBK,Bonn, 1991.

Dr. Friedemann Walldorf teaches missiology at the Freie Theologische Akademie (FTA)and the Akademie für Mission und Gemeindebau (AMG) in Gießen, Germany. He can bereached at [email protected]

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5 Monaghan, Paddy, ‘What is an Evangelical Catholic?’, Lion & Lamb (Belfast) 14, 1997:11-14.6 For example: O. Fuchs, ‚Was ist Neuevangelisierung?’, in: Stimmen der Zeit , 210. Bd.(1992): 465-473:471; K. Koch, ‚Neuevangelisierung im Missionskontinent Europa, Chancenund Versuchungen ’, Katechetische Blätter 118 (1993/ 2): 98-112.7 KEK (Hg.), Begegnung in Stirling: Bericht der X. Vollversammlung der KEK 4.-11. September1986 Universität Stirling, Scotland, Genf: KEK, 1986, S. 107.8 For a detailed interpretation of these consultations see F. Walldorf, Die NeuevangelisierungEuropas , p. 106-189.9 W. Ustorf, ‘The Emerging Christ of Post-Christian Europe ’, A Scandalous Prophet: TheWay of Mission after Newbigin, ed. T. Foust, et al, Grand Rapids, 2001, p. 141.10 Die Mission der Kirchen in einem säkularisierten Europa: Biblische Aspekte der Mission.Bericht der Studienkonsultation der KEK, 2.-6. Mai 1988 in Sigunta, Sweden.. Genf: KEK,1989, S. 17-19; 45ff.11 For a detailed interpretation of these conferences see F. Walldorf, Die NeuevangelisierungEuropas, p. 193-303.12 O. Guiness, ‘Mission Modernity: Seven checkpoints on Mission in the Modern World’,Faith and Modernity, hg. v. P. Sampson et al, Oxford: Regnum, 1994, S. 322-351.13 ‘The Bad Boll Commitment ’ (BBC), World Evangelization (Jan/1993): 6-7.14 Ibid. p. 7.15 Cp. S. McAllister et al, Hope for Europe: An Initiative of the European Round Table,Vienna, 1994. See also the recent Hope.21- Konsultation in Budapest from 27.04. - 01.05.2002.16 Jim Long, ‘Generating Hope: A Strategy for Reaching the Postmodern Generation ’,Telling the Truth: Evangelizing Postmoderns, ed. D.A.Carson, Grand Rapids, 2000, S. 322-335: 334.17 Cp. H.A. Netland, Encountering Religious Pluralism: The Challenge to Christian Faith &Mission, Downers Grove: IVP, 2001; V. Ramachandra, The Recovery of Mission. Beyond thePluralist Paradigm, Carlise: Paternoster, 1996.18 O. Guinness, ‘Mission Modernity: Seven checkpoints on Mission in the Modern World’,Faith and Modernity, hg. v. P. Sampson et al, Oxford: Regnum, 1994, S. 349ff.

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Europe has become a mission fieldand there is an urgent need to

evangelise this continent. Thenumber of evangelical

Christians in Europe is few and, ironicallymany countries in the former typical mission fields, actually have more Christiansthan in European nations. Europe hasnow finally been re-discovered as a mission field. Yet, while many might havethe impression that little is done for Europe, there are many missions serving inEurope and many efforts undertaken toreach the continent with the Gospel. Regretfully, in general there is not much sharing and co-ordinating, especially betweenchurch-planting missions. To addressthese needs the following conference willbe a great help.

Roundtable Europe – Church Planting Europe

The Roundtable ‘Church planting Europe’wants to bring together missions leadersand European regional leaders ofinternational missions with the objectiveof strengthening and developing anoverall vision and ministry of churchplanting in Europe. We will meet at theAkademie fur Weltmission in Korntal(Stuttgart), Germany from December 6-9,2004.

Some of the outcomes that are aimed are:•getting to know each other andstrengthening relationships;•sharing information regarding the

respective ministries that are represented;•sharing specific challenges thatinternational missions face in Europe;•getting a better understanding of theareas and locations where churchplanting is taking place;•sharing experiences, trends, resourcesand needs;•discovering ways of working together,locally and on other levels.

The facilitators are:

Rev. Johan Lukasse (formerly thePresident of the Belgian EvangelicalMission, now European Church plantingconsultant), Ernie Addicott (formerlyEuropean Director of Interdev, now theInternational Director of EuropeanChristian Mission International

The organizers are:

Dieter Trefz (Kontaktmission), ReinholdScharnowski (DAWN Europe), GordonSaunders (GEM Europe), Cees Verharen(ECM-International until 1 October 2004,thereafter working with the Dutch EZA –Evangelical Missionay Alliance and theEEMA – European EvangelicalMissionary Alliance)

For more information please [email protected]

or Cees [email protected]

News from Europeby Dieter Trefez

Dieter Trefz since 1987 has been the international director of Kontaktmissionwww.kontaktmission.de, a mission agency committed to church planting in13 nations with 140 missionaries in Europe and Asia. He is married with 4children and two grandchildren. He can be contacted [email protected]

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The editors of Connections sendyou this item from Redcliffe

College, England:

We wanted to let you know about a newmissions resource in the UK. It is calledEncounters and is a new magazinespecifically about mission issuesaffecting the British Missions movement.As it says in the opening editorial it is aconcern that there is very little highquality discussion about missionavailable in the UK at the moment. Theplan is to promote such a discussion andwe have made it very easy for people torespond to and interact with the issuesraised. We have already had excitingcontributions from Ian Rees of WorldHorizons, Patrick Johnstone ofOperation World and others.

Encounters:A New On-Line Missions Resource from the UK

Whilst we want it to fill the gap of a UKmissions journal, we do not want toengage in insular reflection and thereforeinvite you to speak into British missiologyand interact with us. If you have anycomments on the concept itself, the ideaof a British missions magazine, and aboutthe way that we have laid things out, itwould be great to hear from you. Ofcourse, we also hope that you will feelyou want to add your voice to thediscussion!

You can find Encounters online at theRedcliffe website (www.redcliffe.org/mission). We hope to publish this everyother month. It will be exclusivelyelectronic (at least for the time being) andthe first edition is already out there.

For more information get in touch with Rob Hay at:[email protected] or Jonathan Ingleby at: [email protected].

Editors

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To the Connections readers. Thefollowing census data from Indiahas clear Christian interpretation

as you read the numbers. Mull these over.

Religion: At the national level, of 1,028million population, 828 million (80.5 %)have identified their religion as Hindus,followed by 128 million (13.4 %) asMuslims, 24 million (2.3 %) as Christians;19 million (1.9 percent) follow Sikh religion8 million (0.8 %); are Buddhists, and 4.2million (0.4 %) are Jains. Some 6.6 millionfollow to other religions and persuasionsincluding tribal religions. About 0.7million have not stated their religion. Christianity has the highest sex ratiowith 1,009 females per 1,000 while Sikhshas the lowest with 893. Buddhist have953; Jains 940; Muslim 936 and Hindus931. The national average is 933. In thechildren between 0-6 years of age Sikhshave 786; Jains 870; Hindus 925;Buddhists 942; Muslims 950 andChristians 964. The national average is927. This may show the Christianreverence for life and the rejection ofsonograms to identify girl babies who canbe aborted. Literacy rate based on age of 7 andabove: Jains is the highest with 94.1 %followed by Christians at 80.3 %. Thenational average is 64.8 % in whichHindus and Sikhs fare slightly better.Muslim literacy rate is 59.1 % whileBuddhist have 72.7 %. Christian literacy

rate in 21 states is over 75 %, and is 90 %or above in the states of: Lakshwandeep,Kerala, Delhi, Mizoram and Maharastra.Only Arunachal Pradesh has below 50 %.Some 84.4 % Christian males and 76.6 %females are literate. The gap is less amongJains also. It is wide among Hindus,Buddhists and Muslims. The average Christian population inIndia is 2.3 %. North East India hasconsiderable Christian presence.Christian percentage in the states indescending order are: Nagaland 90;Mizoram 87; Meghalaya 70.3; Manipur 34;Goa 26.7; Andaman 21.7; Kerala 19;Arunachal Pradesh 18.7; Pondicherry 6.9;Sikkim 6.7; Tamil Nadu 6.1; Jharkhand 4.1;Assam 3.7; Tripura 3.2; Dadra & Nagar2.7; Orissa 2.4; Daman Diu 2.1; Karnataka1.9; Chattisgarh 1.9; Andhra Pradesh 1.6;Punjab 1.2; Maharashtra 1.1;Lakshwandeep 1; Delhi 0.9; Chandigarh0.8; Gujarat 0.6; West Bengal 0.6; MadhyaPradesh 0.3; Uttranchal 0.3; Jammu &Kashmir 0.2; Bihar 0.1; Uttar Pradesh 0.1;Rajasthan 0.1; Haryana 0.1; HimachalPradesh 0.1 Total number of Christians: 24,080,016of which Urban Christians are 8,186,058while rural Christians are 15,893,958. For more information please visit thewebsite: http://www.censusindia.net ”I don’t do big things. I do little thingswith big love.” Mother Teresa

India Census 2001Religious Information HighlightsEditor

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