Europe: The Field of Reams
by Christopher Hendrix
The mention of Europe invokes a dreamy place filled with old castles, unique food, and a rich history. It’s a field of dreams! Within this rich history we can see that Europe was once the missionary sending capital. The chronicles of evangelistic European missions tell many stories that inspire and motivate people to evangelism. Stories of European missionaries sent out, such as Samuel Dyer, David Livingstone, and William Carey, recount the days the gospel held a prominent place in Europe. Yet now, the Dyers, Livingstones, and Careys of missions must return to Europe to create stories that see Europeans coming to Christ. Stories that create iron in the veins for other missionaries to recognize the utmost need for missions to Europe. Are these stories occurring now? Indeed, they are! Natives in every European country fight daily for the gospel's advancement. But they need support. They don’t need to be told what to do. They need brothers and sisters to join, learn from, and fight with them. What lessons can we learn from the European missionaries in the past for present and future missions in Europe? Three commonalities appear in these European missionary stories: the predicament of the people, the persecution from the people, and the proclamation to the people.
A Biblical Example
These three commonalities aren’t new revelations in the life of prior missionaries but appear in the Scriptures as well. In Acts 21, Paul goes to Jerusalem. While there, he receives a word of advice to make peace with the Jews (Acts 21:20–26). Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles stirred the Jews, and lies formed about Paul. To dispel these lies, he proceeded to make peace by following some of the Jewish purification customs. This scene unfolds the predicament of the people. The Jews held a self-righteous worldview. They misunderstood the law and treated the works of the law as how they laid claim to salvation. They prided themselves on their heritage and hated the Gentiles. Their predicament was sinners living in their sin, seen explicitly through their self-righteousness and racism.
Paul’s attempt to make peace failed as the Jews stirred up the crowd. They captured Paul and incited others to join them through lies and misperceptions. Paul then experienced persecution. They dragged Paul out of the temple, beat him, and planned to kill him (Acts 21:27–32). Though Paul followed the Jewish customs, he still experienced persecution by the people. The tribune came, and instead of dealing justice rightly with the mob, Paul continued to face persecution by being arrested.
“Every Gospel proclamation must describe the nature and work of Christ, but it must also identify the sins of the people who need the grace of God to cover them.”
After Paul’s arrest, the guards were hauling him off when Paul spoke up. Paul remained sober-minded and composed, for it dispelled the tribune’s assumptions that led him to arrest Paul. Paul’s calmness even led the tribune to let Paul speak. Paul then began a proclamation to the people. He wasted no opportunity and preached. At first, the crowd listened, but it wasn’t until the very end they went ballistic. What happened? Paul touched on their sin. Every Gospel proclamation must describe the nature and work of Christ, but it must also identify the sins of the people who need the grace of God to cover them. For the Jews, they responded wrathfully to Paul’s proclamation. This short narrative in Paul’s life models the work needed for European missions.
The Predicament of Europeans
The ravages of secularism appear around every street corner, from the excessive graffiti in many public places to the hopelessness deep in the European’s eyes. Secularism’s left-hand feeds the people with humanism, while its right hand governs the people with statism. It controls the education in the public schools and maneuvers the powers in the state churches. It seeks to take control of children while killing them in the womb. It claims to love and care for women while objectifying them and destroying their bodies. It tears down masculinity and aims to replace the man’s role as leader in the community, home, and church with the bureaucrats. Worst of all, secularism proclaims to be the way of freedom, but it chains people and proves to be a cruel master. The results involve a population that despairs, idolizes health and safety, and is more concerned with experiences and entertainment than reality, especially the reality of the people’s eternal state. Most churches are empty. Even in those that have people, the gospel is not preached, and the Bible is not opened. Secularism controls many pulpits and has wreaked havoc in Europe. Many people have never been exposed to one verse in the Bible, even more, the good news and hope of Jesus Christ.
The Persecution from Europeans
Though secularism has brought about hopelessness and unrest, most Europeans have not softened to the gospel. Part of the deceitfulness of secularism is to harden people towards the Scriptures. Christians and gospel-centric churches aren’t welcomed or given social status in Europe. In my country of service, Italy, an Italian church fought a long, hard battle with the Italian government over whether its location could be considered a church. The final ruling went against the church, claiming that the church lacked images and altars. Therefore, a gospel-centric Protestant church does not qualify as an actual church in the eyes of the state. In this case, the government has taken the authority to determine what is a church. Likewise, my church has experienced persecution by being forbidden to meet where we gather for worship. We’ve had to take legal action in order to not suffer fines and other potential consequences. In Northern Europe, A Finnish MP (a representative in the Parliamentary system) faces criminal prosecution for posting a bible verse against homosexuality on social media. In the UK, a pro-life advocate stood outside of an abortion clinic and prayed silently, but the police arrested her for this. She disturbed no one and prayed to herself, but she was apprehended.
The Proclamation to Europeans
Like Paul and the missionaries of the past, the predicament and persecution of Europeans provide an opportune time to proclaim the gospel. True gospel churches in Europe don’t shy away from preaching the true gospel. They don’t water down the truth. They engage with the sin of the culture and demonstrate the need for grace. They show sin's horrendous nature while magnifying the Triune God's glorious nature. They see the bride of Christ built slowly but faithfully.
Across Europe, the Lord has a remnant, but they need the global church’s support to make disciples. With sober-mindedness and compassion, the need for missionaries to come and proclaim the gospel proves great. Missionaries must come and join with the local national Christians who are already deep in the fight. They must come with humble hearts and a willingness to learn from the context. They must be courageous to preach the gospel. They must come with hearts that desire Christ, repentant towards sin, and compassion for those trapped in secularism. Europe is a place that desperately needs the gospel. Next time you hear the mention of Europe, try not to consider it a field of dreams, a place with sites to see, food to eat, and beauty to behold. Sure, those things are here and are enjoyable. But adjust your perspective to what matters most: an eternal viewpoint. Reams of people need the gospel brought to them. So, next time you hear of Europe, think of it as a field of reams.