The triennial gathering organised by the European Evangelical Alliance is meant to become an experience for 280 evangelical leaders to share strategies, best practices and valuable insights.
Theme of Hope for Europe 2022, gathering 4-8 October on Sarajevo. / Photo: EEA
On 4 October 2022, the Hope for Europe 2022 Experience, or Hope 2022 in short, is going to begin in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The special gathering, hosted by the European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) normally takes place every three years (last in Tallinn, Estonia in 2018, Covid resulted in a postponement of one year) and convenes hundreds of evangelical leaders from across Europe to share strategies, best practices and valuable insights. The motto of Hope 2022 is „Builders connecting – Celebrating the Kingdom of God”.
Approximately 280 participants will engage with three main themes covering three main thrusts of the Gospel from Tuesday 4 October to Saturday 8 October 2022: (1) Connected in Proclamation, (2) Connected in Good Deeds and (3) Connected in Speaking Up.
At the heart of HOPE 2022 are 17 thematic networks of the European Evangelical Alliance, covering topics ranging from "Collaborating for Shalom in our Cities/Developing a Missional City Vision" (EEA Cities Network) and "Helping churches to deal with the immediate and long-term effects of war and occupation" (Refugee Highway Partnership) to "Women and men partnering for God's work" (Women in Leadership Network).
The speakers at the conference include a variety of voices from the evangelical community from different corners of Europe, as well as names such as Thomas Schirrmacher (Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance), Usha Reifsnider (Co-Regional Director for Europe of the Lausanne Movement), Jeff Fountain (Director of the Schuman Centre for European Studies), Dele Olowu (Continental Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God) and Leanne Rhodes (Executive Director of the European Freedom Network).
Hope 2022 also provides a fitting setting for an important step within the European Evangelical Alliance: on Wednesday evening, 5 October 2022, long-time EEA General Secretary Thomas Bucher (Switzerland) will officially hand over the baton to the new leadership duo of Connie Main Duarte (Portugal) and Jan Wessels (Netherlands). At the handover ceremony, EEA President Frank Hinkelmann will give the ceremonial address for Thomas Bucher and thank him for his commitment to the EEA and the Evangelical Movement in Europe.
“During the Hope for Europe Experience, we will not only have a chance to listen but also to participate, to share, to create, to question, to respond, to network, to understand, to learn, to grow, to plan and to be encouraged together as Evangelicals living and working in Europe”, says Connie Main Duarte, one of the incoming General Secretaries of the EEA. Jan Wessels, her General Secretary colleague adds: “These are challenging times but there is no better time to share the hope that we have across Europe and the World. HOPE 2022 is not just about listening and learning. It’s about getting involved and engaging together in projects, ideas, strategies and plans. This is a dynamic opportunity to see what God is doing in all spheres around Europe.”
The EEA will post news and updates about HOPE 2022 on its Facebook profile throughout the week. And on the closing night (Friday 7 October 2022), it will also reveal who is the recipient of this year's Hope Award.
Learn more about the conference on the Hope for Europe website.
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