Ed Stetzer in Europe

Our friend Ed Stetzer is in Krakow, Poland, to speak with church planters there about global trends and planting Kingdom churches. Ed’s gone guerrilla movie making this time, posting interviews and vlogging. Please go check it out.

Next week, Ed will be visiting Rome and Marseilles in advance of next spring’s trip with Darrin Patrick ( May 22 to June 1, 2009). A couple of posts ago, Ed wrote about the Upstream Collective, and the Jet Set Tour we’re planning together for the Spring. Please follow this site for more information. Remember that plans for a trip to Europe are a little more involved than a weekend conference- if you want to participate, please plan ahead!

Why Europe?

Of all the places in the world, in the face of tremendous spiritual need, why would we focus on Europe? Aren’t France and Spain famous for their cathedrals? Wasn’t Germanic Europe the seat of Reformation thought?

The truth of the matter is this: neither church buildings nor history save. The spiritual climate of Europe is a dismal one- less than 2% of Europeans claim to have a relationship with God through a relationship with Jesus. In most of Europe, that percentage is less than one percent. Nevertheless, it wasn’t the great need that brought us to Europe.

We might point to the unprecedented access to the hundreds of unreached people groups that are represented in Europe as a good reason for missions there. In every European country there is significant representation of “the nations.” Besides free access to these people, there is the added opportunity to meet the immense social and physical needs that accompany immigration. We thank God for the chance to befriend, assist, and influence unreached refugees and immigrants, but this isn’t our primary motivator either.

While we’re taking a look at the list of reasons to be on mission in Europe, let’s scratch “comfort,” “ease,” and “results” off that list as well.

No the reason for Europe is not that we picked it at all, but that God picked us for it. Our desire to see all the peoples of Europe come to faith has everything to do with obedience to what God has told us. We go because He compels us. He leads us with a vision of Spanish Cathedrals reclaimed as houses of worship. He motivates us with spiritual conversations with Germans over coffee. He guides us with supernatural insight into the global influence of the European worldview.

In the end, it all comes down to calling. We’re just some regular people on a quest to seek God and obey His direction. A big part of that is seeking out others who may be similarly called.

Nevermind all the other reasons for going- is God calling you to impact Europe with the gospel of Christ?

Alan Hirsch

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Alan Hirsch (The Forgotten Ways, Forge Network, Shapevine). His mission (according to me) is to pull the American church (perhaps kicking and screaming) out of the modernism that limits us to traditional, religious, attractional expressions of our faith. If you don’t know Alan, be sure to pick up The Shaping of Things to Come ( written with Michael Frost,) and then move on to The Forgotten Ways.

Anyway, we really like Alan, and appreciate his voice in the conversation. Especially good is Alan’s participation in an ongoing discussion about the use and meaning of the word “missional.”

Why Europe?

For some time now, Europe has been ignored as a mission field. Part of this may have to do with the fact that it doesn’t seem, well, foreign enough to us. France? Spain? People go to Europe on vacation, how lost could  European people be? Myanmar, Azerbaijan and any place ending in -stan -its the unpronounceable places that are mission fields.

Europe doesn’t have great physical need. It’s socialist governments insure food and shelter, medical care, and affordable education for its citizens and residents. It doesn’t have high crime (discounting, of course, pickpocketing, traffic violations, and vandalism) compared to most places. There’s a chapel or cathedral in every neighborhood.

What many folks don’t recognize, however, is that Europe is a model. Its postmodern, post-Christian
cultures are examples of what happens when wealth, education, and humanism are valued above all else. Despite being nominally Catholic, most Europeans consider themselves to be atheist or agnostic. According to a recent article by DAWN Ministries, between one and  four percent of indigenous European people claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

By the way, significant numbers of people from those unpronounceable countries can be found in major European cities. Being displaced, they tend to be in greater need of friends and more open to new ideas. In Europe, there is open access to these people groups who would otherwise be inaccessible.

Most importantly, God is moving in the hearts of American believers to become more actively involved in missions in Europe. We think that the common global experience makes you especially prepared to share life with people in Europe.

Free

Allow me a sports analogy:

When I was a kid, we used to played soccer in the street. There were like eight of us in the neighborhood, and all we needed was a ball and a little bit of organization. We’d pick teams, draw out the boundaries, and just play. Anyone could play, even the little kids. Except Lance, the kid who lived on the corner. But that’s a different story.

It wasn’t until I was in college that I played golf for the first time. That was a whole other world. Everything was expensive. Green fees. Clubs. Balls. Lots and lots of balls. It was complicated, frustrating, and even if there were friends in the cart with you, you’re playing the game all by yourself.

We think that missions should be more like soccer than golf. It shouldn’t cost a lot of money. It shouldn’t be overly complicated. It should be fun. It should be done in teams.

Some of you have asked how much these little get-togethers we’re doing this summer are going to cost. We’re aware that many of you have huge budgets for things like conferences and meetings and fancy ink pens, but we prefer to do things the old fashioned way. Free.

We just want to share from our experience on the mission field in Europe. We think that missions is something that all believers should do. We’re looking forward to talking with you about some innovative ways for you to get more directly involved.

Free.

By the way, we used to hear rumors of a missionary who played golf as part of his church planting strategy. I’m not sure how that worked out, but I bet it was fun!

Coming to a City Near You

This summer, we’re traveling around the U.S. to talk to churches about practical ways for them to get more directly involved in missions by engaging people of all nations in Europe.

Somewhere along the way, the church moved into a more passive role in missions, and started outsourcing missions to para-church organizations and agencies. These days, most churches think their options for missions are sending money or a week-long trip of prayerwalking and tract distribution.

Our goal is to see missional churches engaging people Europe in redemptive relationships.

We think that the Great Commission belongs to the church. Your leadership, service, gifting, and creativity make you perfectly qualified for innovative approaches to sharing life with people from around the world. You strive toward incarnation of the gospel in your local community. You need to be doing that same sort of missional engagement globally.

Europe is the perfect place to connect with people from all over the world, from postmodern Europeans to Muslim immigrants to African refugees. Post-Christian Europe isn’t just a vital mission field; your interaction will give you insight into the coming American reality.

This summer, we’re visiting sixteen cities across the country. We’re asking friends to invite a dozen or so of their friends to meet with us for a few hours to share some of our experience in Europe, and how you might fit in to what God is doing there. The get-togethers will be like informal missions conferences, with lots of practical ides for how to select a people group or city, how to begin to develop a strategy for reaching them, and how to cast that vision for your church

For more information, or if you’re interested in hosting one of our meetings, please check out the “format” page.

Thanks for stopping by.