Looking to Europe

Whether we want to admit it or not the religious landscape of North America is changing. Rapidly. Living in the Pacific Northwest, the most unchurched region of the U.S., this is very evident, but it is a much more widespread reality. Unfortunately, however, many Christians do not know how to handle the shifting scenes, and common reactions are denial or entrenchment.

Certainly within my own district we are attempting new approaches to respond to these changes, and my current doctoral work is exploring missional communities, one of the emerging fresh expressions of the church in response. Much of my inspiration comes from watching what is happening in the Church of God in Europe through the Three Worlds missions effort. I've had an opportunity to see some of this first-hand during a visit there, and I continue to observe how the various efforts of 3W unfold in a number of countries.

Patrick and Jamie Nachtigall lead the 3W team, as Regional Coordinators in Europe/Middle East for Global Missions of the Church of God. In a recent blog post, "COG Europe:  'The Silicon Valley of the Church of God'", Patrick points out that the vision for 3W is to be "a hub of innovation and experimentation for the Church of God," much like the technology center located in the south Bay Area of northern California.

I am convinced that there are many lessons we can learn from Europe, both in terms of cultural trends that seem to be inevitably making their way to North America, and in how the Church of God is responding with a spirit of risk for the sake of expanding God's Kingdom.

This is an important article to read: LINK.