The light of the star guided the Persian astrologers. The light of men was born in Israel; “I am the light of the world,” declared the bright Morning Star. “You are the light of the world,” said the Son.
At Christmas we celebrate the arrival of “God-with-us.” Immanuel's best friend wrote in his memoirs about Him, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”
Could this somehow supply a clue as to why only 0.4% of all Spaniards are evangelical compared to a whopping 35% of all Americans ?! (Whether these people are born again is another issue, but by definition evangelicals consider their ranks to be individuals who have received spiritual life by God’s unmerited favor through trust in Christ’s salvific work. And there are of course regenerate people who are not evangelical.) These percentages mean that:
...if one randomly selected 300 Americans to receive free tickets to the Super Bowl, 105 of them would claim to be evangelical.
...if one randomly selected 300 Spaniards to receive free tickets to the World Cup final, there would be 1, that’s right just ONE, very lonely Spanish evangelical !
Now, the apostle John went on to write, “Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” In light of the above reliable Joshua Project statistics, a syllogism could go like this: Americans love good and therefore receive the light, while Spaniards love evil and therefore remain in darkness. Hm-m-m, I think I just heard the tearing of cloth as David and Paul rent their garments in unison (Psalm 14:1-3; Romans 3:10-12).
So how then might one explain such numbers, an enthusiastic response in one part of the West — U.S. Americans = 35% evangelical, and lack thereof in another, Western Europe — English = 8.5% evangelical, Portuguese = 3.1%, Germans = 2.9%, French = 0.5%, Spanish = 0.4%, Czechs = 0.25% ?
This will be the first in a series of blog posts about missional dynamics in Europe entitled, “Smoke, mirrors and incandescence.” (Editor's note: Originally posted on January 5, 2006; I have updated the statistics for 2010.) We will explore differences between the N. American and European contexts salient to the spread of the gospel because there are reasons for why there is just 1 Spanish evangelical among 300, as compared to 105 Americans.
Three factors, relatively unimportant in the United States, that have forged the European ethos provide some enlightenment: 1) religious carnage that led to 2) atheistic philosophy, both of which were embodied in 3) high civilization. These three factors form a triple-thick, all-but-impervious full-body armor worn by a vast majority of Europeans.
So sometime within the next few weeks we’ll plunge into “RELIGIOUS SMOKE (part one): the Crusades.” (To prepare for this, all of you Orlando Bloom fans may want to re-watch the film “The Kingdom of Heaven.”)
But before signing off, a few observations. One thing is obvious, the sparse evangelical presence in Western European cannot be attributed to a lack of quality or faithfulness of the Christian workers serving among these people groups because these are statistics for ALL evangelical denominations.
A second observation, I believe we can readily understand that the one Spaniard would be confronted by a more daunting task, face different challenges and use different means to reach the other 299 ticket winners for Christ, than would the one-hundred-five Americans to reach the remaining 195 people. Equity would, therefore, dictate sending at least a handful of the 105 to help the lonely Spanish brother in need of reinforcements.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Monday, March 01, 2010
The "Jerry and Jon" parable explained
What spiritual lessons flow from the “Jerry and Jon on mission” parable? (See previous entry to refresh your mind.) Here are some missiological considerations :
Note from Dr. Klaw: In order to free up needed time to focus on some projects I am re-entering blogs that were stimulating and helpful to readers. Thanks for understanding both the reason for these "re-runs" and any lack of response on my part if you post a comment.
This blog was first posted on August 2005.
Pastor Hale’s church members decided to support Jonah; they had qualms about Jeremiah.
Jon is Jonah. He was God’s instrument to bring about a citywide movement among the Watubi. Jon wrote his book supposing that his method was the contextualized key to the Watubis’ response, when in fact, it was a sovereign work of the Spirit.
Jerry is Jeremiah who after decades of faithful ministry saw his “stiff necked people” judged and sent into exile. Their rejection of his message was not because he was poor at his craft (his book shows cultural sensitivity, missional creativity and spiritual boldness), but because the people hardened their hearts toward God. Their refusal contributed to the fulfillment of God’s sovereign plans for the nations.
Missionaries must be faithful, God gives the growth
Theologically we know that it is the evangelist/church planter’s responsibility to be faithful in sowing the gospel (1 Cor. 4:2) and equipping spiritual leaders (2 Ti. 2:2), yet God alone calls people to Himself and gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:7). In light of these truths, I, as regional director, track and stimulate the faithfulness of our church planters in everything from prayer for unbelievers to discipleship groups, from equipping spiritual leaders to catalyzing new church plants (Heb. 10:24).
Pastor Hale’s church decided to support Jon and his Watubi work. This was a good decision. Jon catalyzed a true movement of God! Thanks to the prayers and giving of Pastor Hale’s church he could continue to serve among those idol worshipping Watubi who so desperately needed the truth. The church council members, however, did not understand many of the spiritual-historical-cultural dynamics of the two ministries. How could they?
But might there not be other churches that would pray for and give toward Jerry’s ministry as well? The people of Metropolis, though they are cultured and their sin is sophisticated (so much like Europeans), are as ignorant about the true gospel as the Watubi and need to encounter Christ, even though the cost is high.
Why is the high cost of mission in Europe so high?
To sum it up, some people feel that mission in Europe costs too much and produces too little (see Evangelical Missions Quarterly, Jan. 2005 article, “Should We Send Missionaries to France?” Anonymous). Church planting in Western Europe is expensive.
But let me try to explain it this way. Could you imagine how you would feel if gas prices rose from their current $2.50/gallon to $5 in the next few years?! How would it affect you, your family vacation and your church’s ministries? That is what exactly happened to my family in Dijon, and to our team in Europe. In just 18 months’ time gas prices almost doubled; the price of one gallon of diesel went from $2.84 to $5.12, and unleaded is even more expensive! [Editor's note: little did I know that diesel — which is what I use — would go over $8.00 / gallon.]
The dollar has plummeted in value compared to the euro. In June 2003, the GBIM single-missionary salary of approximately $20,000 had the buying power of 23,200 euros. In July 2005, the value of that same salary dropped to 16,600 euros. [Editor's note: today the equivalent would be 14,700 euros.] Because your Europe missionaries are supported in dollars, all costs of mission in Europe have risen. Could you imagine the repercussions for your business, church or home if all costs rose by 28% in just two years? This is what has happened to your missionaries in Europe and is why our support levels have increased so dramatically.
But the cost does not change the fact that Europeans need Christ.
But Western European countries are Christian; shouldn’t we send missionaries to people who have never heard the good news of Christ?
Let me state it bluntly. Yes, we must send missionaries where the gospel has never been preached! Please support those going to Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam…. But no, the vast majority of Western Europeans have neither trusted Christ, nor even heard of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus.
I will use France as an extreme yet representative European example. One French sociologist summarized the dilemma saying, “France is a secular country with a Catholic culture.” Even the Vatican considers France a mission field!
In 1944, when American GIs entered what they supposed was the Christian country of France, they were shocked to see the great need for the gospel of grace. A wave of missionaries ensued in the 50s. By 1970 there were 769 evangelical churches in all of France (one evangelical church per 65,020 people). In 2004 the number of evangelical churches rose to 1852 (one evangelical church per 32,000 people). DAWN missiologists tell us that one church per 10,000 people is required to truly reach one’s own people.
To illustrate today’s pressing need for churches in Europe, could you imagine an American city like Fort Wayne, Indiana or St. Petersburg, Florida (about 250,000 inhabitants) with just 5 evangelical churches?! (Do a Google search for “Fort Wayne evangelical churches” or “St. Petersburg evangelical churches” for pages and pages of results.) But that is exactly the case of Dijon where I live—there is a charismatic Baptist, conservative Baptist, Assembly of God, Full Gospel and Grace Brethren church (about 850 believers total); one church for every 50,000 inhabitants.
So in spite of the cost, God continues to call missionaries to Western Europe because of the dearth of evangelical churches and paucity of believers. And thanks to the work of our missionary God, much is happening in Europe through your missionaries (see preceding blogs). Tim, for example, shared this highlight from Porto:
“We held a special Celebration Service at the request of my motorcycle club. The officers organized the whole thing and invited everyone. The end result was a gathering of 26 club members for the service. (As this is a national club, some drove over 3 hours to be there.) I had 1 hour and 30 minutes to share. My theme was, ‘Why I exist.’ I was able to present the gospel message beginning with Genesis and connecting with the gospel of John. [People] were really connected. I offered each couple a Bible, which they received with great enthusiasm. In fact they wanted Julie and me to sign them as a special gift. Several said they had no Bible in their house.
“We joined together for a dinner afterward and had about 10 more join us after they finished work. I was still able to offer them Bibles and explain the purpose of the gathering. This represents about a third of our club. Pray for what God is going to do next.… This was probably one of the best weekends of my ministry in Portugal. God is doing great things. All the news is on the falling dollar (which is a big concern to all of us), but God is working in great ways.”
Thank you for your giving and prayers for both Jon and Jerry ;-) Thank you because your giving and prayers are sending the good news of Jesus around the world, that includes literally thousands of Europeans who have neither heard, nor understood the gospel of grace.
Note from Dr. Klaw: In order to free up needed time to focus on some projects I am re-entering blogs that were stimulating and helpful to readers. Thanks for understanding both the reason for these "re-runs" and any lack of response on my part if you post a comment.
This blog was first posted on August 2005.
Pastor Hale’s church members decided to support Jonah; they had qualms about Jeremiah.
Jon is Jonah. He was God’s instrument to bring about a citywide movement among the Watubi. Jon wrote his book supposing that his method was the contextualized key to the Watubis’ response, when in fact, it was a sovereign work of the Spirit.
Jerry is Jeremiah who after decades of faithful ministry saw his “stiff necked people” judged and sent into exile. Their rejection of his message was not because he was poor at his craft (his book shows cultural sensitivity, missional creativity and spiritual boldness), but because the people hardened their hearts toward God. Their refusal contributed to the fulfillment of God’s sovereign plans for the nations.
Missionaries must be faithful, God gives the growth
Theologically we know that it is the evangelist/church planter’s responsibility to be faithful in sowing the gospel (1 Cor. 4:2) and equipping spiritual leaders (2 Ti. 2:2), yet God alone calls people to Himself and gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:7). In light of these truths, I, as regional director, track and stimulate the faithfulness of our church planters in everything from prayer for unbelievers to discipleship groups, from equipping spiritual leaders to catalyzing new church plants (Heb. 10:24).
Pastor Hale’s church decided to support Jon and his Watubi work. This was a good decision. Jon catalyzed a true movement of God! Thanks to the prayers and giving of Pastor Hale’s church he could continue to serve among those idol worshipping Watubi who so desperately needed the truth. The church council members, however, did not understand many of the spiritual-historical-cultural dynamics of the two ministries. How could they?
But might there not be other churches that would pray for and give toward Jerry’s ministry as well? The people of Metropolis, though they are cultured and their sin is sophisticated (so much like Europeans), are as ignorant about the true gospel as the Watubi and need to encounter Christ, even though the cost is high.
Why is the high cost of mission in Europe so high?
To sum it up, some people feel that mission in Europe costs too much and produces too little (see Evangelical Missions Quarterly, Jan. 2005 article, “Should We Send Missionaries to France?” Anonymous). Church planting in Western Europe is expensive.
But let me try to explain it this way. Could you imagine how you would feel if gas prices rose from their current $2.50/gallon to $5 in the next few years?! How would it affect you, your family vacation and your church’s ministries? That is what exactly happened to my family in Dijon, and to our team in Europe. In just 18 months’ time gas prices almost doubled; the price of one gallon of diesel went from $2.84 to $5.12, and unleaded is even more expensive! [Editor's note: little did I know that diesel — which is what I use — would go over $8.00 / gallon.]
The dollar has plummeted in value compared to the euro. In June 2003, the GBIM single-missionary salary of approximately $20,000 had the buying power of 23,200 euros. In July 2005, the value of that same salary dropped to 16,600 euros. [Editor's note: today the equivalent would be 14,700 euros.] Because your Europe missionaries are supported in dollars, all costs of mission in Europe have risen. Could you imagine the repercussions for your business, church or home if all costs rose by 28% in just two years? This is what has happened to your missionaries in Europe and is why our support levels have increased so dramatically.
But the cost does not change the fact that Europeans need Christ.
But Western European countries are Christian; shouldn’t we send missionaries to people who have never heard the good news of Christ?
Let me state it bluntly. Yes, we must send missionaries where the gospel has never been preached! Please support those going to Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam…. But no, the vast majority of Western Europeans have neither trusted Christ, nor even heard of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus.
I will use France as an extreme yet representative European example. One French sociologist summarized the dilemma saying, “France is a secular country with a Catholic culture.” Even the Vatican considers France a mission field!
In 1944, when American GIs entered what they supposed was the Christian country of France, they were shocked to see the great need for the gospel of grace. A wave of missionaries ensued in the 50s. By 1970 there were 769 evangelical churches in all of France (one evangelical church per 65,020 people). In 2004 the number of evangelical churches rose to 1852 (one evangelical church per 32,000 people). DAWN missiologists tell us that one church per 10,000 people is required to truly reach one’s own people.
To illustrate today’s pressing need for churches in Europe, could you imagine an American city like Fort Wayne, Indiana or St. Petersburg, Florida (about 250,000 inhabitants) with just 5 evangelical churches?! (Do a Google search for “Fort Wayne evangelical churches” or “St. Petersburg evangelical churches” for pages and pages of results.) But that is exactly the case of Dijon where I live—there is a charismatic Baptist, conservative Baptist, Assembly of God, Full Gospel and Grace Brethren church (about 850 believers total); one church for every 50,000 inhabitants.
Captain Joshua
The Joshua Project, a reference for reliable worldwide mission statistics (see www link at right), reports the following percentages of total evangelicals among the dominant people groups in the seven European countries in which GBIM missionaries currently minister (I have included the American people group in the United States as a benchmark):
- Irish = unknown (research currently being done)
- Czech = 0.25 %
- Spanish = 0.35 % [2010 +0.05% = 0.40%]
- French = 0.40 % [2010 +0.10% = 0.50%]
- German = 2.90 %
- Portuguese = 3.10 %
- English = 8.50 %
- American (USA) = 35.00 %
So in spite of the cost, God continues to call missionaries to Western Europe because of the dearth of evangelical churches and paucity of believers. And thanks to the work of our missionary God, much is happening in Europe through your missionaries (see preceding blogs). Tim, for example, shared this highlight from Porto:
“We held a special Celebration Service at the request of my motorcycle club. The officers organized the whole thing and invited everyone. The end result was a gathering of 26 club members for the service. (As this is a national club, some drove over 3 hours to be there.) I had 1 hour and 30 minutes to share. My theme was, ‘Why I exist.’ I was able to present the gospel message beginning with Genesis and connecting with the gospel of John. [People] were really connected. I offered each couple a Bible, which they received with great enthusiasm. In fact they wanted Julie and me to sign them as a special gift. Several said they had no Bible in their house.
“We joined together for a dinner afterward and had about 10 more join us after they finished work. I was still able to offer them Bibles and explain the purpose of the gathering. This represents about a third of our club. Pray for what God is going to do next.… This was probably one of the best weekends of my ministry in Portugal. God is doing great things. All the news is on the falling dollar (which is a big concern to all of us), but God is working in great ways.”
Thank you for your giving and prayers for both Jon and Jerry ;-) Thank you because your giving and prayers are sending the good news of Jesus around the world, that includes literally thousands of Europeans who have neither heard, nor understood the gospel of grace.
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