By Larry Barker, Regional Coordinator for Europe and North America and Vice President of Strategy and Training

What develops culturally, even spiritually, in Europe eventually makes its way to North America. In the United States nearly half of adults (48%) describe themselves as both religious and spiritual. That number has grown at an alarming rate from 19% to 27% of those who now say they are spiritual but not religious. Comparing that to Western Europe, 53% of adults say they are neither religious nor spiritual, and that philosophy is growing and spreading at an unprecedented speed.

Yes, the opportunities are plentiful, but the soil is very hard and requires a lot of cultivating because of the post-Christian culture that permeates. One country is the poster child for this sad lack of spirituality: Czech Republic, where missionaries Larry and Tammy Wood work  alongside our ChangeMaker Milan Bulak. Almost 90% of Czechs aged 16-29 say they have no religion. Over 70% of the same age group say they never pray and only attend services on very special occasions. 

Pray for Czech Republic.

Missions in France (Sean and Kendall Pasley) is very similar, and the reality of living in a secular culture is evident everywhere they look. Because the church has existed on European soil for 2,000 years, we might assume all is well, but the exact opposite is true. The terms that fit France and much of Western Europe are post-Christian culture, post-Christian society, post-Christian ethics, and post-Christian values. This is why our missionaries and ChangeMakers are so important to spread the gospel. 

Pray for France.

Portugal’s percentages are not as bad as France’s or Czech Republic’s, but in talking with ChangeMaker Marco Gaspar and other pastors, it is a difficult field where most men feel that going to church is not manly and is for women and children only. The churches there are small but determined to remain faithful to sound doctrine and to their calling no matter how difficult it might become. We recently held a leaders’ retreat in Portugal focused on encouragement, and God moved mightily. 

Pray for Portugal.

God is moving in both Western and Eastern European countries through the efforts of Larry and Tammy Wood and our ChangeMakers. Please pray for the people there. We hear reports that even though there are severe hardships, they remain resolved and encouraged that the Lord will be with them no matter what happens. We talk about persecution here, but in our much easier lives we really do not understand nor can we relate to the hardships of those living in a war zone. 

Pray for Ukraine.

Portugal, France, Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Romania comprise my region. Romania has a very dear place in my heart, after having lived there in 2000 and 2001. With the exception of the COVID year, we have been making trips there since 1997. Our ChangeMakers are Dani Bagosi and Bogdan Bilav. We have American missionaries, Bryan and Pam Risner and Cristian and Vanessa Martinez (He grew up in Mexico and she is Romanian).  We also have two single ladies working in-country: Candra Barnett with the Risners and Sara Filimon (Vanessa Martinez’s sister) working with the Martinezes. 

Romania’s population is decreasing. A country of 22 million not too long ago, it has decreased to 18 million. In a 98% Orthodox nation the Romanian Baptist Union recently reported that in the last ten years the number of Baptists has decreased from 120,000 members to 90,000. Obviously, Baptists are losing ground in their ability to effectively reach Romania with the gospel. Western Europe is challenged with secularism while Eastern Europeans (Ukraine and Romania) believe they do not need the gospel because they are “Christian” nations. However,  their religion is works-based, very ritualistic, and ceremonial.

Pray for Romania.

Yes, the fields are white unto harvest, but they are difficult because people believe, from different perspectives, that they are okay and do not need to change. Pray for our workers there that God will raise up laborers (Luke 10:2), provide their needs (Phil. 4:19), open doors of opportunity (Col. 4:3), and produce fruit that will remain (John 15). Please commit to praying for  them and their families that they will remain encouraged and focused on the task God has called them to and placed before them. 

Pray for Europe!