The Shift In Christian Demography:

The demographic shift in the traditional map of Christendom in the late twentieth century to the nations within the two thirds world is one of the greatest realities of the contemporary Christian landscape. These younger dynamic and growing Churches in Africa, South America & Asia are taking on the challenges of World Mission. The largest and fastest growing Christian congregations in the UK are West African Churches in London. Black and other minority ethnic Churches are springing up and  burgeoning in most cosmopolitan cities in Europe. Most of these churches have been planted by Church planters and evangelists from the young and growing Churches of the Global South. Initially this was to meet the particular needs of these ethnocentric communities who have migrated to Europe. As these new Churches have settled and are maturing they have been relating to indigenous denominational churches and have started to welcome members from the host communities to join them and become part of these fresh expressions and movements of God.

Some features of these new confident minority ethnic Christian churches:

These minority ethnic churches have deep Christian faith, vitality, enthusiasm, financial and skilled human resources. They have a strong commitment to evangelism, Bible teaching, prayer, fasting, tithing and care. They believe that in Jesus there are solutions and resources to the dilemmas of Europe. They are not intimidated by the presence of other faiths, but see religious pluralism as a context for confident Christian witness. They also see the fragmentation of post industrial societies in Europe as the reason why the local Church offers hope in terms of creating  a real sense of community and provides   opportunities for people across multiple social, economic, political, religious and cultural barriers to meet, greet and grow in terms of interaction and collaboration on the ground which are real positive signs of social cohesion.

The New Realities Confronting The Church in Europe:

The Christian Church no longer enjoy their traditional role and influence in society which they once did. Today Christians are a a minority within European society. It is an even smaller proportion of those who share sympathy with the Christian faith that go to Church or view themselves as a part of the worshipping Christian community.  Most Europeans do not look to the Church for its intellectual, moral or ethical moorings let alone energy. The Church is largely dismissed to the margins and is seen as a fringe group.  Pope Benedict would describe the culture of Europe today as an “aggressive atheistic secularism”.

The 1990’s presented us with the unexpected collapse of Communism as an ideology within a hitherto bipolar world. Modern economics, material prosperity and the Capitalist mantra marched forward! The nations of Western Europe have been evolving into post-Christian & post-modern societies seeking to enable their people to enjoy a materially prosperous way of life. This prosperity and emphasis on the welfare state have created an illusion of peace, stability and economic prosperity. This has led to the vision that the West was a paradise where people enjoyed life, peace and prosperity. It is no surprise that peoples flocked here to Europe and the United Kingdom from contexts of natural disasters, economic deprivation, political upheavals and military adventurism  In some ways it is a case of the empire striking back  i.e. peoples from Europe’s former colonies coming to these nations because of their historic colonial link of language culture and a shared history.

Britain herself has not been unaffected with a growing immigrant and refugee community. Multi-ethnic & multi-religious issues confront society in general & the Church in particular. This has meant that historic Churches & agencies have had to engage with the realities of our present context and relate to a growing mission field right here at our doorstep. One no longer needs to go overseas to engage with the nations they are here in our neighbourhoods and are a part of the demographic tapestry of European society today.

The Changing Face of Christian Mission:

Mission is here and now! The challenge we are confronted by are  the realities of materialism and economic inequality, the gap between the rich and poor is widening!  The immigration of a range of people groups from non european nations has led to  the growth of ethnic diversity but sadly also in ethnic prejudice.  The spread and growth of Islam and the rise of religious fundamentalism  is leading to a new religious intolerance.   The  confusion in sexual identity and the confidence and momentum of the gay agenda has led to heated arguments about the rights and wrongs of  accepting them as a ‘normal’ part of society.  There is an interesting and growing interest in the spiritual i.e. new age, occult, tarot cards, astrology and eastern religious practices like yoga, meditation etc. The traditional Church institutions of Europe are seen as obsolete and irrelevant, European society is increasingly dismissing the Church to the margins of society and does not see it as representing the main stream desire for their spiritual aspirations.  

The European Church Needs to Learn the Grace of Receiving:

It is in such a context that the Churches of the West will need to increasingly learn to shift from the privilege of sending to the grace and humility of receiving.   The gift of God’s mission by and through the Church of the poor i.e. personnel from the growing Churches of the majority world  will be challenging because we in the West have got used to telling every body else how to live when over a perios of time we have forgotten how to live well and at ease with one another. The new ethnic minority churches might be able to offer their experience of growth, confidence in the power of prayer, a real dependence on God, knowledge of the Bible and the gifts of imagination and boldness to respond to these and other issues.  It is interesting that God in the Biblical  narrative has consistently used the outsider to challenge the status quo. They have today become the gospel bearers and they serve as the catalyst  to initiate change, renewal & revival.