Christians in Davos: prayer gatherings and conversations about Jesus

After five days of discussions, the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland) will come to an end today.

More than 3,000 participants (and an estimated crew and staff members of another 8,000) have come to this town of little more than 11,000 inhabitants in the Eastern Canton of Grisons.

International organisations, powerful companies, political lobbies, all want to be part of the annual WEF gathering. But also committed Christians use the opportunity to join the conversation.

A church in Davos. / AFP

It is the case of the Free Evangelical Church of Davos, located in the centre of the town. Its pastor Marc Schmed told AFP that he and other church members “gather together every evening to pray for the World Economic Forum and for the decisions that are taken here”. During this week, their church building was rented out to one of the dozens of companies who need places around the main venues for their special activities.

The Protestant Church in the town has been open throughout the week, according to Swiss news website Reformiert. In the evenings, the “prayer and silence” vigil has been organised every day - lasting for 3 hours. The initiative started 20 years ago. “We don’t understand ourselves as a protest movement, but as a counterpoint to economy and growth. God has called us to a life to its fullness, but this does not mean that we in the Western world should live wasting resources and exploiting others elsewhere”, a representative said.

World Economic Forum. / Min Industria Brasil (Flickr, CC)

Meanwhile, a group of Swiss students of Youth With a Mission (YWAM) has also spent some days in Davos, according to evangelical news agency Idea Schweiz. Their aim was to start conversations on the streets with some of the thousands of attendants. They were supported by a team of evangelists from Ukraine, who focused on Russian and Ukrainian-speaking people. They had opportunities to pray for people, as evangelist Stephan Maag shared on Facebook: “With rich and poor, we just want to share the message of love and hope of the gospel”.

In addition, the movement prayforwef has also been following the big gathering in Davos closely. According to Idea Schweiz, this movement contacts attendants of the forum offering to pray for specific issues. Based on the biblical command to pray for the authorities (1 Timothy 2:2), the movement commits to having at least one person praying for the World Economic Forum at any time throughout the week.