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thinking together about the crucial issues for mission in Europe today
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Muslims in Europe and the Response of the Church
How should the church in Europe respond to the growing visible presence of Muslims in our continent? I suggest in a fourfold way, with i. a compassionate heart; ii. an informed mind; iii. an involved hand; and iv. a witnessing tongue....
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The Church in a Sexualised Culture
There is probably no other area where Europe’s Evangelical Christians so often clash with the secular humanistic culture as the area of sexuality. On the one hand, this is certainly nothing new, as also the early church clashed with...
0
LECTIO DIVINA … VISIO DIVINA
This spiritual exercise connects the verbal with the visual. Beginning with Origen in the third century, Lectio Divina is an Early Church practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and...
1
We Seek Your Kingdom
You could be at work. Maybe you’re looking after the kids. Or seeing friends (finally). But whatever sphere of society you’re in, God can work through you to bring his kingdom there – as in heaven....
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Bearing Witness to Christ in the Realm of Ideas: A Holistic Missional Approach to Apologetics in Europe
My first encounter with Christian apologetics was during my high school years. I was deeply encouraged as a disciple and witness when I discovered that the biblical Gospel makes sense as a worldview, is founded on historical facts, and...
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The Ecclesial Apologetic for God: Becoming a Good Church in the Eyes of a Watching World
As a lecturer in apologetics, teaching others to defend and commend the Christian faith, I’m convinced that Christianity makes more sense of our human experience than any other worldview, religious or secular. Followers of Jesus,...
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Understanding and Discipling Youth
Photo by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash I am so thankful that from a young age my parents introduced me to the Bible and took me to kid’s camp, conferences and youth groups. I met some wonderful people that loved children and teenagers, and...
1
The Legacy of John Stott through the Lausanne Movement
John Stott was a colossus. As Jim Packer said on hearing news of his death in 2011, ‘He had no peer, and we should not look for a successor.’ As decades pass, history will further unfold the extent of his influence on theological...
0
Church Planting in Europe: Perspectives of an African Pastor in Romania
Church planting is a command from the Lord Jesus Christ himself, the Master and founder of the Church who said: “I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). It is the best strategy for bringing...
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Resilience: Hope and Patience Embrace Each Other
Resignation seems to be the word that best sums up the present moment (according to sociologists). After a period of struggle and resistance has come a period of weariness and resignation. People feel disoriented, frightened, and...
1
Conversation Report | February – April 2020
This is a brief summary of the conversations for the first quarter of 2020. For each month the main points of the postings in response to an article and discussion questions were read. Then the principal themes were identified and...
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Advocating for Persecuted Christians in a Way That Reinforces our Christian Witness
As Evangelicals who believe in salvation by grace, through faith - a personal and individual decision – our desire is for every human being to live in a context where he or she has the opportunity to freely choose Jesus Christ as...
1
The Challenges for Christians in Secular Western European Contexts
The nature of society in Europe is changing. My experience is primarily in the UK and even here gone are the days when culture was automatically framed by Judeo-Christian values, and laws passed based on these timeless truths. Since...
1
Freedom of Religion or Belief – An Introduction
The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, hugely influenced by the prominent Christians who helped to draft its articles, begins by recognising the inherent dignity, worth and equality of the human person and family. The premise...
1
‘Engage’ inspired mission with insights by evangelicals from around Europe
The online event looked back on the impact of the Cape Town Lausanne Movement global gathering, 10 years ago. ‘Impact groups’ shared about how they prepare for the 2021 European conference. Over 300 people from 36 countries joined...
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Gospel, Church and World – the impact of the three ‘Wholes’ ten years later
Republished with permission by Evangelical Focus, see original article herePhoto by Lausanne Movement on Flickr Three years prior to Cape Town 2010, the Lausanne Theology Working Group had been meeting. It had a core of about 12...
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Transforming Communities: Making an Impact through Making Disciples
This article serves as a call to action, for us as Christ-followers to imitate Him through seeing those in all kinds of physical, emotional, relational and spiritual need around us, and engaging with them to provide comfort and...
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Reaching Europe – Jesus’ Strategy for Today?
Was Jesus right about the way to do mission? That’s the question. Across Europe, across the Western nations, we’ve been looking for ways to reach our nations with the gospel of Jesus. We’ve seen two decades of extraordinary creativity....
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Discipleship in a Context of Suffering and Loss
This article [1] explores the relationship between mission and suffering with a particular focus on how we disciple people during and post COVID-19. The pandemic has been on a global scale, affecting at the time of writing 213...
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The Lausanne Covenant
The Lausanne Covenant is widely regarded as one of the most significant documents in modern church history. Emerging from the First Lausanne Congress in 1974, with John Stott as its Chief Architect, it served as a great rallying call...
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An Intercultural Church Perspective on Mission in Europe
One of the most daunting challenges I have ever faced in my whole life was relocating from the spiritually vibrant Global South to the spiritually tepid Global North, specifically when I moved from my native Zimbabwe to my adopted...
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Jars of Clay
‘All the unhappiness of men comes from one thing, which is not knowing how to be at rest in a room.’ Pascal...
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Burnout
Burnout is something I hear about often in my conversations with people. Our self-test for burnout (Are You Showing Signs of Burnout?) has been a very popular resource over the years. Through my consultations with aid workers and...
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Reconciled to Changing Circumstances: Missionaries and COVID-19 in Europe
COVID-19 restrictions are posing challenges for missionaries in Europe and across the globe. In late April, the Vista editors asked Darrell Jackson to develop a questionnaire to explore the response of two European mission agencies:...
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Reconciliation and Coronavirus
Kathryn Jean Lopez’s article in the Catholic News magazine “Our Sunday Visitor” on reconciliation in times of Corona has inspired me deeply.(1) “Maybe it is time for reconciliation” states Lopez to her Catholic readers. Locked in our...
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Reconciling a Wounded Planet in the Midst of a Pandemic
I am writing this looking out into my garden. I can hear the birds singing loudly and the silence from the lack of traffic noise is stark. If I stand outside and look up at the sky, it is clear blue with no airplane trails across it....
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Forgiveness – Why Not Europe?
There’s no question that we, in Europe, need reconciliation. East and West, North and South - our great continent has witnessed numerous wars and conflicts....
0Reconciliation in the Conflicted Continent
Europe's history is a story of conflict. For centuries, the nations of Europe have fought bloody wars over territory, power and religion. However, since 1945 Europe has experienced an unprecedented period of peace. Of course, that...
1
From the Housetop
Workplace ministry has taken on a new meaning for us here in Spain. For most of us our workplace is now located in our homes. This has levelled the playing field in that all of us have a similar workplace and are facing similar...
1
The coronavirus and the ministry of touch
I lead a congregation in Rome that thrives on handshakes, greet kisses, and physical contact. This winter, the coronavirus has taught Italians the cautions of distance and isolation....
1A Psalm in the epidemic: Trust overcomes fear
Psalm 91 has breathed encouragement and peace into millions of believers in the midst of trial. Its message is very relevant to our current epidemic situation....
1Press Release | Lausanne Europe 2020 Postponed
Press Release 30 April 2020 Lausanne Europe 2020 Lausanne Europe 2020 Conversation and Gathering Dynamic Gospel – New Europe Postponed until November 2021 The Lausanne Europe 2020 Coordination Team has taken the decision to...
0Lausanne Global Classroom: Nominalism
This Classroom episode is on Nominalism. Nominalism is a problem that is as old as Christianity itself. It means to be identified with a religion in name only. People may self-identify as a member of a religion or belief system, but...
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Olof Edsinger: Christians Must Oppose Secular European Lifestyle.
The general secretary of the Swedish Evangelical Alliance says that part of our European way of living is downright harmful. As an example he mentions shopping or consumerism. He points out that shopping is a necessity, but it can...
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Usha Reifsnider: Mission Needs Decolonisation
Born a Hindu Usha Reifsnider is saying that Western culture is very much a hinderance for reaching non-western people with the gospel. With her Indian background her experience was that you became British in order to be a Christian....
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No Discrepancy Between Talk and Walk
The early Church (in the countries around the Mediterranean) experienced violent persecution. Countless sisters and brothers were martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ. It began at the first Church in Jerusalem with a deacon Stephen...
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Being a Disciple in Europe in a Media Age
Wherever we live in today’s world, media technologies and messages increasingly influence our everyday lives, our Christian witness, and our Christian ministries. The missional issues related to media engagement are therefore of real...
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Creating a Discipleship Culture
Creating a discipleship culture is key for mission in Europe today. Creating a discipleship culture is to create a biblical culture that shines a bright light against ungodly aspects of society. I would argue that discipleship is not...
0How Can We Overcome the Gods of Europe
The topic of this article may seem a bit odd. Not least since, to a large extent, today’s Europe is perceived as a ”godless continent”. As an example, data from the European Social Survey 2014–16 showed that in twelve of the European...
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Lausanne Europe Launches Major Initiative
Lausanne Europe 2020 sets out to host 800 invited delegates in a gathering in Wisla, Polen 21-25. October. They will represent every country in Europe, men and women, young and old. They are church leaders and professionals and there...
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Nominal Christianity – A Typical European Phenomenon
One of the most striking aspects of the socioreligious context of Europe is the high proportion of so-called nominal Christians. These are people who are affiliated to a Church and/or identifying as ‘Christian’ in surveys. They only...
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Optimism or Despair?
Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the health of Christianity in Europe? And speaking on behalf of your network, agency or church, what makes you optimistic about the church and mission in Europe? All the leaders who responded to...
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The Headline
Speaking on behalf of your network, agency or church, what do you think is the most important message to be communicated about mission in Europe today? This question elicited some very passionate, interesting and profound reflections....
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Vox Pop
In what ways do you or your agency/church make a distinct contribution in outlining a vision or addressing a challenge for mission in Europe? In answering this question, respondents demonstrated a wide range of approaches and...
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Opening the Floor
How can we make sure that these voices are heard? What kinds of platform can we provide for them to speak from? Given our tentative identification in Theme 1 of some of the voices being marginalised or ignored within European mission...
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Stop Talking and Listen for a Minute
Who are the dominant voices speaking for Europe within the churches or mission networks with which you are most familiar? Not surprisingly, our respondents’ answers depended very much on their own context. Some interpreted “dominant”...
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A Romanian Perspective on Mission in Europe
When analysing the crosscultural mission of the European Churches, one might see different characteristics. We will share a few observations from a Romanian perspective....
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Rethinking Mission in Europe: An African Contribution
I am an African. I was born and raised up in Southern Malawi. I have worked in Europe and the United States for the past twenty years. I came to Europe in 2000 to teach at a now defunct school of ministry in Saint Gallen, Switzerland....
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A Woman’s Perspective on Mission in Europe
Many women across Europe face incredible challenges due to their gender. Sadly, the church often contributes to these as well. Reflecting on some of these here will also highlight some beautiful initiatives where churches and networks...
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The Spiritual Hunger of a Secularised European Youth Culture
A study released in 2018 entitled “Europe’s Young Adults and Religion,” by British professor of theology and sociology of religion Stephen Bullivant, demonstrates one of the most crucial issues for mission in Europe today....
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Reimagining Europe
Long after the UK had joined the European Union (on New Year’s Day, 1973) it was not uncommon to hear Brits tell me they were ‘going to Europe for their holiday’. To be fair, when I started visiting the Scandinavian countries, I heard...
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