Posted on April 19, 2008 - by Larry

Where I Live

I often will be asked in the states “where do you live?”
I tell them Western Europe. They really feel sorry for me.

Of course I could not imagine why. grin.
I think we suffer in other ways like the 1.62 exchange rate. When we moved to Europe in 2001 we could go to the grocery store and spend 100 euros and only 70 US dollars came out of our account. Now 162.00 dollars comes out. The views are expensive for sure.

But this is not why we are here. We have a desire to see people here come to know, experience and live abundantly by as followers of Jesus.

So while we may have some cool views. We most certainly have beautiful castles and churches however it does not take long being here to realize that for all of the “Coolness” of Europe it is a place in need of Jesus.

Check out this article that a co-worker passed to me this week. It helps paint a picture of the spiritual condition of the young people here. While there are glimpses where we see how young people desire spiritual conversations it is not the Christian church where they are going to find their answers. In fact they are going almost everywhere but the church. This presents a problem if your church is trying to “attract” young people (I would add anyone for that matter).
If you are trying to attract people to your church then you are assuming that you have people wanting to come. I think that day is over here. The church (people not a building, place or just the pastor) has to find ways to live out their faith in their daily lives (incarnationally) so that they have natural opportunities to share Jesus in a every day context.

I would also add that even though this article speaks of how some German youth are seeking spirituality I do not think it is the norm. For many spirituality is not a bleep on the radar screen. in Europe. I hope as you read this article you might say a prayer for the youth in Europe. Say a prayer for the people that are serving over here both as internationals trying to make a difference and for nationals who are trying to reach young people for Christ in Europe.

adios.
LMc