Keswick speaker Hélder Favorin writes: Amalia, from Eastern Europe, shared these words: ‘I turned 20 recently and I cannot stop appreciating how full of colour and meaning my life has become. I feel secure and confident about my future. I’ve had anxiety attacks and even a few severe panic attacks; I couldn’t handle it alone. But because of my faith in Jesus, I have found peace and protection. He is my rock and I know that I can rely on Him in any situation.’(1)
Amalia’s honest testimony may feel like an oasis in the desert-like spiritual landscape of European youth, the most secularised, atheistic and agnostic demographic in the world. At the same time there might be many more oases – and even rivers of God’s activity among youth in Europe – than we realise. The tide keeps turning.
With its point of reference in Nietzsche’s popular 19th-century affirmation that ‘God is dead,’(2) the general secular view proclaimed that scientific progress would create advanced societies in which God and religion would be unnecessary and consequently disappear, at least from the public sphere. Nineteenth-century European thinkers such as Max Weber, Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud, underscored by rationalism, embraced this view. The prominent Spanish sociologist Eduardo Bericat rightly observes that the history of Europe is intimately linked to a project of cultural modernity that considered both institutional religion and personal religion a vestige of past eras. Thus, since its inception, modern progress has been made alongside a process of intense secularisation, which has made Europe the most secular society on the entire planet.(3)
Nevertheless, there seems to be a general agreement among sociologists and philosophers that the classical theories of secularisation were incorrect. The renowned German-Slovene sociologist Thomas Luckmann believes that the enlightenment predictions, which said that religion would be a passing historical phenomenon, have proven to be profoundly wrong.(4) The Spanish philosopher Diego Bermejo asserts: ‘The survival of religion in modern societies forces philosophy to rethink the classical secularisation.’(5) Wolfgang Jagodzinski, a professor at the University of Cologne, concurs: ‘There is no doubt that a social transformation of religiousness is under way, but it is certainly not a unidirectional change towards unbelief.’(6) The German author Jurgen Habermas, a leading voice in European sociology and philosophy, is credited with the popularisation of the term post-secularisation to describe the new reality of Western society, including Europe.(7) Evert Van de Poll, a Dutch professor and an evangelical expert in European studies, has coined the appropriate term ‘SMR’ to describe the present European society: secularised (or secularising) and multi-religious at the same time.(8) Indeed, both secularisation and spirituality are growing among European society, including its youth.
Disenchantment with both institutional religion and atheistic naturalism characterises the European youth. Still, our existential need for transcendence cannot be silenced. A ‘selfie spirituality’ in which I choose what to believe based on personal preferences and selecting from a variety of religious expressions is on the rise. I find Bericat’s words quite revealing: ‘…Europe is immersed in a cultural crossroads and will have to decide about its future.’(9)
As we navigate unprecedented waters in Europe, the church’s mission remains the same, of course: we are sent by God to make disciples of Christ among the younger generations with boldness, humility, love and creativity. As we acknowledge the challenges, but also the massive opportunities of post-secularisation, let me bring to your attention a few examples of ministries that I am familiar with who are seizing the moment, contextualising the mission of the church, and serving the younger generations at a continental level (needless to say, the service of thousands of local churches in Europe is key in this process):
The European Young Evangelists (EYE) Network(10) exists to equip young evangelists who will faithfully proclaim the gospel and equip believers to do likewise. With training in six countries and a 2023/24 goal to train 200 evangelists over a two-year cycle, the EYE Network is laser focused, in partnership with the local church, on identifying and equipping young evangelists. The network is strengthened by our biennial ‘Behold Europe’ gathering and an ongoing mentoring initiative for selected evangelists.
Steiger(11) mobilises next-generation leaders and influencers to reach the global youth culture and impact secular society in cities around the world. They establish missional teams in cities, who invest long term in reaching the millions of Millennials and Gen Zs who are not connected to a church. In 2023, Steiger teams are active in 40 cities across Europe.
Revive(12) exists to fan the flames of revival through European students and young adults. Revive hosts catalytic events (including a major gathering for thousands every two years), invests in emerging revivalists, and adds fuel to the fire where God is on the move across Europe.
Amalia, whose life transformation I briefly shared before, has become one of our European young leaders at Community Bible Study (CBS)(13), a local and global movement seeking to make disciples of Jesus in our communities through caring, in-depth Bible study, available to all. CBS has participants in 115 countries and more than 85 languages, engaged with Scripture through groups meeting in university campuses, refugee camps, homes, prisons, church buildings, war zones, online and in other contexts – including thousands of participants in numerous European countries.(14)
Jesus said to Peter: ‘the gates of hell will not prevail against my church’ (Matt.16:18). The church, by the Lord’s power, will continue to overcome evil among the youth in Europe. Despite tragic spiritual drought in the continent, the river of God continues to flow in Europe in surprising ways. As Jim Memory, co-director of Lausanne Europe and a mentor, concludes his brilliant missiological report, ‘Though Europe’s soil today might appear arid and unyielding, the seed of the Kingdom is being sown and will produce fruit. Our task is to sow. Our motivation is our love of God and of His world (…). So, “let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Gal. 6:9)’(15)
Hélder is Global Director of Youth & Young Adults at ‘Community Bible Study’, a missionary, author, founding pastor of ‘C29 Granada’ church in southern Spain and the ‘European Young Evangelists Network’ co-founder. He preaches internationally in Portuguese, Spanish and English. His website is www.helderfavarin.com
Hélder will be hosting a two-part seminar series during Week 3 of Keswick Convention on The Gospel in Europe Today. The seminars will be held in PF 2.01 on Monday and Tuesday 9:30–10:30am and available to catch-up following Convention.
FOOTNOTES 1. Quoted here with Amalia’s permission. 2. Friedrich Nietzsche, Die fröhliche Wissenschaft [The Gay Science] (1882), in section 108, 125 and 343. 3. Eduardo Bericat Alastuey, ‘El Escepticismo religioso y secular en Europa’ in El fenómeno religioso, p.41. 4. Thomas Luckman, ‘Reflexiones sobre religión y moralidad’ in El fenómeno religioso, p.60. 5. Diego Bermejo, Repensar la Secularización no.263, 2014, p.34. 6. Wolfgang Jagodzinski, ‘Do Modernization and Religious Competition Affect Religious Change?’ in ISSP (International Social Survey Programme) Data Report on Religious Attitudes and Religious Change, p.84. 7. Jürgen Habermas, ‘Notes on Post-Secular Society’, in New Perspectives Quarterly p.17–29. 8. Evert Van de Poll, Secularization and Europe Today, January 2019, p.2. 9. Eduardo Bericad Alastuey, ‘Duda y posmodernidad: el ocaso de la secularización en Europa’ in Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas (2008) p.13–14. 10. www.eye-network.org 11. www.steiger.org/campaign-europe 12. www.reviveeurope.org 13. www.communitybiblestudy.org 14. www.cbseurope.org 15. Jim Memory, Europe 2021: A Missiological Report, p.51
