If we are open to hear the voice of the global Church, to receive its help, and to serve it; then Europe still has a key part to play in the evangelisation of the earth.

So much has changed since the last European Parliament election in 2019, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the influence of nationalism. If anything, it is a bigger issue in 2024 than it was in 2019 or back in 2010. 

Members underlined “God’s faithfulness” as they looked back to history. International speakers reflected on mission in Europe and the impact on Italian Christians of the Lausanne 1974 Congress.

In its 20 years of existence, a news website about current affairs and the church in Spain has managed to bring together more than 500 authors from all kinds of evangelical denominations and backgrounds.

The National Council of Evangelicals in France approved a document to “bring vision and unity to the mission of the churches, without denying their diversity”.

The European Lausanne Movement gathering in Budapest brought together Christian leaders from 37 countries. It was an open conversation using new formats, say Jim Memory and Usha Reifsnider.

160 people gathered in Barcelona to reflect on the need to prioritise Europe in the mission.

From over 16 nations across Europe, younger leaders gathered in Poland to connect, share hearts, be prayed for and learn about Europe and what Spirit-filled leadership will mean for today.

In Europe, we have become used to the arrival of asylum seekers and refugees, most notably when some 2 million people fleeing the conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan. Yet the Ukraine migration crisis has been different.

From 17^th to 21^st October 2022, 600 Christian leaders from across Asia gathered in Bangkok (Thailand) under the theme of “Rethinking Church and Mission: God’s Agenda for Today”.

Although much of the focus was on preparations for the fourth Lausanne congress (Seoul 2024), participants were constantly challenged to think towards 2050 and beyond.

The muted voices of the church in Europe were heard more prominently in Lausanne Europe 20/21 than at any other European evangelical gathering, but we still have work to do.

Spain as a model for research.

With Jim Memory and Usha Reifsnider at the helm, Lausanne Europe gets a dynamic leadership team, as diverse as the continent itself.

A selection of the most interesting conversations: a world-class astronomer, a jailed Cuban pastor, the representative of Algerian evangelicals, a survivor of the Brussels terrorist attack...

Missiologist Jim Memory analyses the main trends in church and society. He will be one of the speakers at this week’s Lausanne Europe 20/21 gathering.

We find ourselves on a mission frontier, on the periphery of world Christianity. That should cause European Christians to be humble but also hopeful.

Europe 2021 is a document which church and mission leaders everywhere should download and study. It is an evangelical rarity.

A fifty-page report summarises key trends in Europe. Jim Memory’s work frames the context for Christian mission with the insights of analysts from all over the continent.

“We should consider what is actually going on in our country, region or city, before jumping to conclusions”, says Jim Memory, who leads a summer course on mission in Europe.

Apologetics that is targeted on atheism is only reaching a tiny proportion of Europe’s population. The much greater challenge is reaching the huge number of unbelieving Europeans who are indifferent to Christianity and consider religion an irrelevance in modern life.  

Whether Covid-19 will lead to a resurgence of faith in Europe will be seen in years to come but, for now, it has forced churches to innovate in their responses to grief and death and share the hope in Christ beyond the walls of the church.

“We need to put more emphasis on missional discipleship”, says a report of the Lausanne Movement in Spain about how evangelical churches understand mission.

The online event looked back on the impact of the Cape Town Lausanne Movement global gathering, 10 years ago. ‘Impact groups’ shared about how they prepare for the 2021 European conference.

A new narrative will be required as missionaries return to the new ‘normal’; narratives that define the shape of God’s mission in Europe.