Michael Ots reflects on ten years of the Fellowship of Evangelists in the Universities of Europe (FEUER)
The name FEUER is a slightly tenuous acronym, using English words to spell the German word meaning ‘fire’.
It would have been hard to imagine back at the beginning how significantly the new movement would affect the whole continent of Europe. I also had no idea how it would over the years massively affect me personally: up until then I had only worked within the UK, but now, ten years later, at least 50% of my time is spread across the rest of Europe. I have learned that we certainly follow a God who is able to do above and beyond what we ask or imagine.
As nearly 200 of us evangelists gathered together last Autumn in the sunshine of Spain, it was a good time to reflect back on what has been achieved.
1. A rediscovery of confidence in the public proclamation of the gospel
In Acts we see how the gospel took the first-century world by storm – it involved a combination of one- to ‐one, small group and public evangelism.
However, as many student groups across Europe are small in size, they had previously felt that they couldn’t organise anything public and mainly focused on evangelism through small groups. This had limited impact, and was often hidden away. But it has been great to see how individuals have gained new confidence to proclaim the gospel publicly. Even in highly secular and atheistic countries like the Czech Republic we have seen hundreds of students gathering for public lectures on science and faith.
2. The massive growth of mission weeks happening across Europe
Ten years ago the UK and Germany were the only European countries where university missions were happening regularly. This year around 200 will take place, in nearly 40 countries. This explosion of growth has been quite remarkable.
3. More university evangelists
The purpose of FEUER was to identify, train and release a whole team of evangelists across the continent. University evangelism requires unique gifts and those known to be using these gifts have been quite few and far between. It’s been a joy to see this number grow.
4. Birth of National Training Networks
In UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and Ukraine national networks have been developed to train students and graduates in public evangelism. It was wonderful to hear from the Danish movement that they now have 100 students in their network – many of whom are now speaking at missions. Being local, they connect well to the culture and are able to be appropriately involved in the ongoing follow‐up.
5. Christian academics being equipped for evangelism
In the last three years a new wing of FEUER has begun – identifying Christian academics and training them to use their positions and expertise for the gospel. People such as Professor John Lennox have modelled this over many years. This is a great help in many countries, where such individuals can open doors within the university where it may have been hard for other evangelists. It also demonstrates how the gospel is connected to all areas of life, and encourages students to see how their studies relate to the gospel.
6. Brave evangelism despite opposition
When FEUER started there were certain places where it was felt that it would be very difficult to hold a mission. One such country was Belarus, where such unauthorised public gatherings remain illegal. It was moving to hear from Katia of the Belarusian movement, as she shared how they have now held missions in nearly every student city in Belarus. However, this hasn’t been without opposition. This year she, and several other staff, were arrested and charged after police raided one of the mission events. This hasn’t stopped them, though. With some minor adjustments they have continued to hold successful mission weeks across the country.
7. Perseverance despite discouragements
In some countries, such as Albania, it has taken several years to discover a model of mission that works in the context. The first few missions in Albania did not work so well, but, over time and with perseverance, they have, more recently, seen much fruit. In the Netherlands it is taking time to mobilise the large, but sometimes introspective, student groups. In both cases perseverance comes from the conviction that Christians should publicly proclaim the gospel because it is biblical, not just because it works. This belief gives the ability to cope with disappointments, and to persevere until a breakthrough is seen.
8. A rise in creativity within proclamation
While proclamation is central, it has been good to see how this can be supplemented (not, note, supplanted) with creative elements – such as music, drama, testimony, poetry, etc. Good examples of these approaches were modelled during the FEUER weekend.
9. Better follow- up
Alongside the growth of missions there has also been an explosion in the use of the Uncover seeker- Bible‐study resources. A parallel track commenced last year at the conference to train people in using this resource, and to help them become mobilisers in their own countries. By giving students training and resources in this area they are much better prepared to follow-up effectively those who become interested in the Bible through mission events.
10. People coming to faith!
Ultimately the greatest joy of all is seeing that, across the continent, people have come to faith in Christ. A conference highlight for me was interviewing someone who had come to faith through a university mission last year. Since then they have graduated… and become a staff member of their local movement. However, we long for more to find Christ, and for a real breakthrough in responses in Europe in the years to follow.
Why has FEUER been so effective? Here are five reasons.
1. Focus
FEUER has always had a clear focus – the public proclamation of the gospel in the universities of Europe. To attend the conference all delegates are required to be committed to being involved in at least one mission in the following year, and to be at least exploring if not practising a gift in public evangelism. Numbers offered this opportunity of attending the conference are therefore deliberately limited. Numerical growth beyond a certain level is not always helpful, and FEUER attendees have benefitted from its limited size, not least because it has, over the years, maintained a sense of community. This has fostered deep relationships leading to fruitful gospel partnerships.
2. Equality
No speaker gives more than one talk at the weekend. This stops the conference having any kind of hierarchy. Seasoned evangelists pray, share and mix with undergraduates who have come for the first time. This has very much been modelled by the humble leadership of Lindsay Brown.
3. Partnership
While FEUER is an IFES initiative it is not limited to IFES staff, and benefits from having some of the most gifted people in Europe from a number of different organisations and churches. The need in Europe is so great that we need ‘all hands on deck’. FEUER is about the proclamation of the gospel; not the promotion of any one organisation.
4. Momentum
My highlight of the conference each year is hearing reports of missions from around Europe. Each meeting begins with several testimonies of these exciting and encouraging mission reports, first hand. There is an atmosphere of thanksgiving and wonder as we hear of faith- filled ventures… and students turning to Christ! This, in turn, is a great motivation for all, for their year ahead, and sparks new, creative ideas. Momentum gathers, year after year…
5. Example
Younger evangelists have benefitted so much from having the presence and godly example of the more senior evangelists sharing their lives over the weekend.
Sadly, Michael Green was unable to be with us this year, for health reasons, but it was a joy to hear extended interviews with Samuel Escobar, Dick Dowsett, and John Lennox. Their example is a great inspiration.
Finally, on the Saturday evening of the conference we celebrated ten years of FEUER together, with a birthday cake (though, due to a spelling error, we instead inadvertently celebrated ten years of ‘FEVER’!). At the close, Andy Mayo poignantly sang a song that he had written for the occasion, based on Paul’s words at the end of Romans 11. They reminded us that, for all that we have seen, we give God the glory!
