I didn't know there were that many with that few!

Over coffee this morning I was looking at the number of evangelical Christians in Europe according to Operation World.

I was a bit shocked to discover that there are 24 countries in Europe whose populations are less than 1% evangelical! Some of those on the list are Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Poland and Spain. So we aren't talking just tiny countries you couldn't find on a map.

Of those 24 nations, 11 are less than 0.2% evangelical!!

When I compared the total evangelical population of Europe to other continents I discovered that it has the lowest evangelical % of population of ANY continent (except Antarctica for which Operation World doesn't provide data). Africa, for example, has an evangelical % of population that is six times that of Europe.

No wonder one of the ECM missionaries preparing to work here in the UK is from Nigeria and Brazilian missionaries are coming to work in Spain.

One last figure to share, not from Operation World. We need to remember that God loves 100% of the people in Europe. We just still need to help most of them meet him.

Bad news for the church on BBC radio 4 is good news for you

The "church" is in the news again.


As I drove home yesterday the main item on BBC radio 4 was the report from the NI Police Ombudsman probe into 9 deaths in bombings in Claudy, County Londonderry on 31 July 1972 that indicates:

"The police, the Catholic Church and the state conspired to cover up a priest's suspected role in one of the worst atrocities of the Northern Ireland Troubles..."

I know that this is about the Catholic Church and as such doesn't represent evangelical Christianity. And I know that this happened almost 40 years ago and as such doesn't represent even the modern Catholic Church. And I know that the report hinges on one individual priest, and there will always be people who don't live the good life their faith calls them to.

Most normal people listening to Radio 4, or watching the news, or reading about this in the papers (and I tremble to think what is the the tabloids about this today) will only hear that once again the "church" is involved in something bad. The "church" tried to cover up for their own, just like they did with the priests involved in child abuse. Once again the message is "you cannot trust the church". 

But in this there is also an opportunity. At least the church is in the news. At least people are thinking about it. 

So grasp the opportunity this provides and go talk to someone about it. Tell them that the church you go to isn't like this and that Jesus is still alive today providing a choice that doesn't result in revenge and death.

Don't let Satan win this one. 

Big faith in France

An ECM missionary in France recently posted this on her blog. It is well worth a listen!

Raf, a missionary and evangelist has moved from the church in Tours to plant a church an hour away in Loches.  He has just done a very interesting interview (in english) on the state of church planting in France.  If you want to listen, here’s the link: http://www.ccfof.org/podcasts/index.html

Photo used courtesy of Tom Curtis:  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=178

Who NEVER goes to church?

We know that most people don't go to church regularly, but it is easy to think that most  have gone a few times and are vaguely familiar with it.

But results from the latest European Social Survey indicate that 60% of people in the Czech Republic NEVER attend religious services (except for "special occasions" like marriages and christenings). More than 50% of people in France, the United Kingdom and Belgium gave a similar response.


Out of the 28 nations polled people in Cyprus and Greece attend the most religious services (only 2.4% don't ever go to church in Cyprus and 4.9% in Greece). 


So not only do a lot of people not know Jesus. A lot of people don't know much about the church except what they see in the media. And I am not sure that does a lot to make it look attractive...

Is this what church should look like?

I was in Northern Ireland this past week meeting with the man heading up European Christian Mission's work there. He used to do church planting in Peru, so we had some fascinating discussions about what church should look like.

After I returned home my wife showed me this 3 minute video called "Sunday's Coming Movie Trailer". Watch it and see if you recognise any of your church in it. Watch out for the tatoo!


http://vimeo.com/11501569

Church on tap

Okay, so this isn't really from Europe. But Canada is a bit like Europe, right?

Someone forwarded this to me. It follows on well from the church in the pub of my last blog:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1meHxCN3-U&feature=youtu.be

Church. In a rugby club!

Today I drove to the services near Junction 13 of the M4. It was crowded and loud, but a convenient place to meet up with the head of Church Planting Initiatives and his wife. 

Over coffee (I had a latte if you must know -- is there a personality test you can run based on what someone drinks?) he mentioned a church plant being run in a rugby club. This church plant meets at a  time when people are in there drinking at the bar. They room is divided in two, with the bar on one side and the church on the other. But to get to the toilets you have to walk through the back of the church area!

What creative thinking! Can't wait to hear how it goes...

Image used courtesy of Tina Phillips: 

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=503

Big numbers, little numbers

The current population of the UK is nearly 62 million.That's a big number.

I recently ran across some research (I believe by Peter Brierley) that says if you add up all the evangelicals in the UK you only get 1,266,400 people. That is, by comparison to the population of the UK, a little number.

Is that really bad news? That got me thinking. 

Some networking "experts" say that the average person has about 200 relationships. If you are an optimistic person you can think about it as the number of people who would want to show up at your wedding. If you are more pessimistic, think of it as those who would want to attend your funeral.

If there is one evangelical for every 50 people in the UK (that is 62 million divided by 1.27 million), then a lot of people in the UK actually know more than one Christian! 

If those of us who know Jesus are just willing to be salt and light to those who know us, a lot of the country would be lighter and saltier by the end of the week.

Go for it! There ARE enough of us to make a difference. Little numbers can reach the big numbers.