A Personal Perspective on European Missions

Recently, my wife Mychelle and I were able to take a trip to both England and Italy.  While the main reason for the trip was some banking business in England, the ulterior motive that excited us was to visit with some of our missionaries, and we were not disappointed.

Spending some time in the countrysides of England and Italy gave us a sense of awe for God’s creation.  And the food!!! From fish and chips to pizza and pasta we were well fed. We left with a burning desire to one day return.

But the food and the beautiful landscapes were not what stood out the most to us.  What moved us most was the old, now vacant, churches in England coupled with the elaborate but spiritually empty cathedrals in parts of Italy.  The more we talked with our missionaries and heard their passion for the people God had called them to, the deeper we felt it…apathy and angst…despair and depression…carnality and carelessness.  A common question that our missionaries sense from these people is, “Why do I need what you’re offering?”  In England, Christianity is an “old” religion.  In Italy, the seat of Roman Catholicism, the line of thought is something to the effect of…”Nah, we’re good.”

While our experience was limited to just two European countries, I’m sure that these barriers to the Gospel are present in many others as well.  In many of these countries, affluency leads to apathy, an influx of displaced peoples which leads to mixed religious messaging, and the stronghold of other “religions” contributes to slow and sometimes stifled growth.  Lack of converts and committed believers make ministering in many European nations a difficult task.  Therefore, longevity is the key!  Most of the missionaries that we visited have been faithfully serving for 20, 30 and even 40+ years.  Though the road has been difficult, the blessings they have experienced from a lifetime of dedicated service leads one to believe that they would do it all over again.

The perseverance of these missionaries is to be applauded and rewarded.  However, that does bring up the obvious need for more missionaries to come behind them to carry on and complete the work.  Would you pray with us that God would raise up more missionaries to reach Europe?!

Philippians 1:6: Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

-by Brian Garrison, BBFI Associate Mission Director