Europe

Europe is the continent where Christianity became organized as a state religion, gave rise to the Protestant Reformation and sent missionaries around the world. From Portugal to Russia, from Malta to Iceland, the continent’s 59 countries and territories have cathedrals, monasteries and churches in almost every city, a visible reminder of a deeply Christian past.

Today, that same continent is one of the most secularized places on the planet. In its major capitals, historic places of worship still stand, but the congregations within them have often dwindled. The Christian faith remains a cultural reference point, but much of the population no longer lives it out, and nominal Christianity, professed as an identity but not practiced, is a hallmark of the region.

The figures reflect this picture: only 2.6% of Europe’s population is evangelical, a small fraction for a continent with 1,456 cataloged Bible translations, of which 447 still have no part of Scripture in their language. Among the 523 people groups living in Europe, 263 are considered unreached, many linked to recent migration from other parts of the world and to historical minorities that have never had a church of their own.

The missionary challenge in Europe is to replant living faith where Christendom has grown old, rather than break new ground where the gospel has never arrived. Pray for a continent that needs to rediscover at home the message it once took to the world.