Common Strategies in Evangelizing Europeans
The European continent is not a homogenous mission field. Each country has its own religious heritage. For example, Holland has both Roman Catholic and Reformed roots, while other countries are predominantly Roman Catholic like Poland, Croatia, and Italy. Along with these historical roots, each country has its present-day challenges to evangelism, perhaps the largest stemming from the secularization of Europe over the twentieth century.
In much of Europe there is now a disdain for religion, which is most notable in certain regions and among younger generations. In France, most young people would identify with atheism, and over seventy percent of the population of the Czech Republic is religiously unaffiliated.[1] In the Netherlands more individuals identify as atheists than as religious.[2] In the traditionally strong Lutheran country of Finland, two-thirds of the population formally belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church,[3] but the secularization of the Finnish government and culture, plus the liberalization of Lutheran churches, has created a general hostility toward biblical Christianity. As for Spain, while its national identity is Roman Catholic, the country is now shifting “post-Christian,” causing an environment of indifference and disdain for conversations about faith or spirituality.
The post-Christian reality in Europe requires missionaries to develop creative strategies for effective evangelism. From the author’s personal survey of experienced missionaries in Europe, at least four strategies have emerged that commonly help drive evangelistic efforts to both religious and non-religious Europeans. These are removing misconceptions, building personal relationships, utilizing media technology, and trusting God for fruit in unexpected ways.
Removing Misconceptions
In countries like Croatia, France, and Poland, evangelicals are viewed with deep suspicion and their churches are seen as religious sects or cults. In response, evangelical churches have sought to design awareness and outreach strategies in their communities that reduce the barriers raised simply by their evangelical identity. Examples of these include offering free computer or English classes, sports events and camps, musical events, and children’s ministry events. For example, church planting missionary Tomasz K. in Poland reports regularly distributing baked goods in the early years of their ministry to surrounding businesses in order to gain visibility and express kindness. When they held events, people in the community knew who they were. Miško H. and Kris B., missionaries in Croatia, also use events and camps to invite people to an active church. Yet, many European missionaries say that a large majority of conversions come through individual contacts and personal relationships.
Building Personal Relationships
All missionaries the author surveyed underscore the importance of developing personal relationships with people as the top strategy for evangelism. Literature distribution and street-evangelism, for example, have proven to be effective in exposing people to the gospel, and they have provided opportunities for more experienced evangelists to mentor inexperienced believers on how to share the gospel and answer objections. However, most missionaries struggle to find one example of someone who has come to know the Lord through cold contact with strangers.
In most European contexts, God seems to primarily use personal relationships for the progress of the gospel. These relationships are established and deepened through practicing hospitality with neighbors and with others encountered through community involvement and church outreach events, such as reported by Jonathan M. in the Czech Republic. Rob A. in Marseille, France reports that church members are encouraged to join associations and that clubs allow relationships to be developed through sports, music, or even community service. Getting someone to accept an invitation to the missionary’s home often requires significant effort, but the Lord blesses these expressions of genuine interest, respect, and friendship. Pastors and missionaries who regularly practice hospitality towards unbelievers set a wonderful example for other believers to do the same.
However, one must be cautious about differing cultural boundaries with new relationships. For example, in Spain and Finland people generally only invite close friends into their homes. In the small town of Krapina, Croatia, a local pastor there told the author that people are cautious about being seen going to the home of an evangelical because of the stigma associated with evangelicalism. In cases like these, relationships would need to be deepened through some other means, like meeting at a local restaurant or coffee shop, or pursuing a hobby together.
Reaching the Lost Digitally
Many missionaries in Europe will testify that they interact with very few genuinely religious people. Therefore, in countries where the historically Reformed denominations have fallen to the Liberal Protestantism of the previous two centuries, or where other churches have fallen to the “prosperity gospel,” an online media ministry can be immensely useful in reaching people in search of spiritual depth. Publishing digital media—such as sermon audio, podcasts, videos, reels, or blogs that teach Scripture expositionally, doctrinally, and apologetically—not only edify the church body but can be shared by them and reach into the homes of their unbelieving neighbors or even strangers. In some cases, it has reached people of Roman Catholic backgrounds and even Jehovah’s Witnesses for the gospel. Then, such online resources draw people to church meetings where they begin relationships with believers. Although few people actively seek out online church resources, the low initial investment can yield remarkable returns.
Trusting God for Fruit
The peoples of Europe possess a deeply religious heritage, presently manifested in decaying Roman Catholic and mainline Protestant churches. Yet, they express religious indifference due to the rise of secularism in their cultures. Unsurprisingly the fruit of European evangelism often appears slowly. Missionaries Miško H. and Kris B. highlight a doctoral study on conversion among Baptists in Croatia, which concluded that the time from the initial contact with the gospel to baptism averages nine years.[4] Those ministering the gospel must persevere through initial rejection, indifference, and skepticism, patiently praying and seeking opportunities to further sow the seed of the Word (Mark 4:13; Luke 8:11).
God is sovereign in salvation, and at times uses the most unexpected means to draw people to Himself so that He receives all the glory (Jer 9:23–24; 1 Cor 1:26–31; 2 Cor 4:7–10). Rob A. reports how God sovereignly intervened in the life of an individual in Marseille, France who found a Bible in a trash pile, read some of it, and asked in the evangelical bookstore what it meant. In Rome, Italy, missionary David S. reported of someone who found a gospel tract in the gutter of a street in Rome and, by it, came to know the Lord.
The strategies listed here are but a few. There is no magic formula for guaranteeing evangelistic success across Europe. Most conversions are coming through sustained personal relationships, which implies that the majority of outreach efforts should be invested in individuals. What is guaranteed, however, is that God always uses His Word as the instrument for conversion (Rom 10:17). He uses other, subsidiary means—a web ministry, a tract, an outreach event, a persistent relationship—to make His Word succeed, just as He promised (Isa 45:23; 55:11).
[1] Kelsey Jo Starr, “Once the Same Nation, the Czech Republic and Slovakia Look Very Different Religiously,” Pew Research Center, January 2, 2019, accessed January 30, 2023, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/02/once-the-same-nation-the-czech-republic-and-slovakia-look-very-different-religiously/.
[2] Joep de Hart, Pepijn van Houwelingen, and Willem Huijnk, “Buiten Kerk en Moskee” (Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau, 2022).
[3] “Alueelliset erot näkyvät kirkon jäsenyydessä,” February 1, 2022, accessed January 30, 2023, https://evl.fi/uutishuone/tiedotearkisto/-/items/item/42117/Alueelliset+erot+nakyvat+kirkon+jasenyydessaAlueelliset.
[4] See Eric Kane Maroney, “Conflict, Change, and Conversion: Four Decades of Conversion Among Baptists in Croatia 1970-2010” (PhD diss., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, December 2015), accessed November 30, 2023, https://repository.sbts.edu/bitstream/handle/10392/5055/Maroney_sbts_0207D_10299.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y/.