Decline and renewal characterise the European church

Europe is a continent marked by church decline but it is not entirely dying, says Niek Tramper.

In fact, the General Secretary of the European Evangelical Alliance believes the word “paradox” is best describes the state of the church in the region.

Just a few weeks ago he attended a service at an Anglican church in Venice – he and just six others.

“You can hardly discern a future for such a church and there are many traditional churches like this in villages and cities all over Europe,” he concedes.

Conversely, he recalls a meeting with a Ghanaian who came to Dusseldorf in Germany 20 years ago with a desire to return the love back to the continent that brought Christianity to his own country. He now pastors a 1,000-strong multinational church that holds six services every Sunday and includes many Germans among its members.

This pastor is not alone. There are many African pastors coming to Europe to share the Gospel – GATE (Gift from Africa to Europe) is an umbrella organisation set up specifically to support them.

What they all remark on is Europe’s undeniable material wealth and equally undeniable spiritual poverty.

“This used to be a mission sending continent. Now it has become a continent to be missionised again,” Tramper told the Mission-Net congress in Erfurt, Germany. To read more, click here.