Europe as seen from North America
While I certainly wouldn’t consider myself an authority on Europe, what follows are my own perceptions that come from many years of involvement in mission in Europe. They may not reflect the view of most North Americans but reflect my own exposure to Europe during my years with GEM and ECM.
At the moment the economic problems of Europe dominate the news in the US media. The economic problems of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain have introduced us to a new acronym for these countries – PIGS. In much of the media there is clear critique of socialism: “See this is what socialism has done”. Europe is often introduced into arguments as an example of the dangers of government intrusion. The US is split down the middle between conservatives and liberals and media outlets that tend to cater to one or the other so Europe is often used as a political football.
At the same time, the press also recognizes the economic power of Europe. There is a degree of fear due to the problems of the Euro and its impact on the US economy if it were to collapse. However, many Americans consider that the European economic model chokes individual initiative. Much was made of the move of Gerard Depardieu to Russia to avoid abusive tax rates in France. It appears that there is an assumption in Europe that personal wealth is evil. In the US you see many people with personal wealth being very generous, helping society in ways the government cannot. The government cannot do much and what it does, it often does poorly or in excess. Help in society is best left to philanthropic individuals or organizations. Volunteerism is very strong in the US as measured by the number of hours volunteered and money given to charitable causes. So generosity and individual initiative could be encouraged more in Europe.
In addition to the economic arena the US also tries to influence Europe in other ways. The US government has worked hard to get other countries on the same page with respect to global threats - for example, the enrichment of uranium in Iran. At another level Hillary Clinton tried to address with the UN the issue of women’s rights across the world. But how does that influence the significant Muslim population in Europe? I don’t know. What is clear is that human rights issues are a bit of a hot potato. America is seen as something of a hypocrite in this area. Some Americans would celebrate the EU social agenda of homosexual rights and drug laws. Yet, we are puzzled by France’s stance on wearing the burqa or the cross. It seems culturally appalling that the country of liberty and free expression would censor such things.
The majority of Americans still view Europe as “Christian”. There is still a widespread ignorance as to how secular Europe has become, unless of course they have visited. Most who do visit Europe comment on how empty the churches are. When I speak to Roman Catholics in the US and I say the Pope has declared France to be a mission field, they find that surprising, if not shocking.
With regards to attitudes among evangelicals concerning mission to Europe, it is certainly the case that the “10/40 window” agenda of prioritizing unreached people groups reduces the sense of urgency in reaching Europe. The tacit question seems to be: since Europe has been reached, why do we have to reach it again? Mission agencies like ECM and GEM sometimes find it challenging to justify themselves.
“there is a growing awareness that Europe is a mission field”
At the same time there is a realisation that the US is also becoming quite secularized. I found The Next Evangelicalism, a book by Korean missiologist Soong-Chan Rah’s, really challenging. He highlights the changing demographic in the US, and cites studies that predict minority populations in the US will become the majority by 2042, and 54% by 2050. The Latino, or Hispanic population will make up nearly 30% of the US population by 2050. He argues that the current growth of evangelical immigrant and minority churches will be the salvation of evangelicalism in North America.
The increasing importance of Latino Christianity is even being picked up by the popular media. The cover story of the April 19, 2013, issue of TIME Magazine is entitled “The Latino Reformation: Inside the new Hispanic churches transforming religion in America.” As a mission agency we need to face up to this missiological reality and think very carefully about how we can mobilize Asians and Hispanics for mission in Europe and around the world.
In conclusion, there is a growing awareness that Europe is a mission field. Among many there is still something of a romantic appeal of going to Europe. The younger US generation are ready to go anywhere and there is a great deal of interest in short-term mission trips to Europe, partly because it is perceived to have the comforts of modern, Western society. However, we must be careful that such mission trips to Europe don’t become a sort of glorified vacation. The call and cost of Christian discipleship is the same as it was 2000 years ago, that of taking up our cross daily and seeking to serve rather than be served.
George Brown
George Brown has been involved in cross cultural ministry for nearly 30 years and was a missionary in France for 7 years with Greater Europe Mission. For the last five years he has been the National Director for ECMI USA.