Going to the nations
Why Italy?
"Isn't Italy one of the most religious places on earth?"
We've been asked this question on our support-raising journey several times. While it is true that many Italians claim to be catholic, very few have a relationship with Jesus. In fact, less than 2% of the population actually claim to be born-again believers.
More and more Italians are becoming self-reliant, living for themselves and not realizing the need for Jesus in their lives. In fact, many have not even heard of Jesus!
Our field leader shared a story with us about a man who decided to work as a police officer at the Vatican, hoping to learn more about Jesus. Upon asking him what he has learned so far, he replied with, "Nothing."
Another story from our team was about a lady who needed healing in her body. Our team member decided to pray for her, which completely threw her off. She had been a part of the Catholic Church for 60 years and had never known it was possible to pray directly to God (without using a specific Catholic prayer)!
We are hearing story after story about people in Italy who are in the dark of what a true relationship with Jesus looks like. We are learning that people are interested and hungry to learn more - they just need the people to show them!
We are excited and ready to be vessels for God in this country, and can't wait to see how He will move through us!
Statistics (from the "Joshua Project")
Over 90% of Italians profess to be Catholic, but less than 1% attend church more than three times a year. This includes weddings and funerals.
Secularism is growing among Italians. Islam and the occult are the two fastest growing religions in Italy.
Operation World writes:
“The need for expatriate workers
has not diminished, but it has
changed. Helping the existing Italian
Church mature, expand and reach
out, as partners and with a servant
attitude, is now needed. Attrition is
traditionally high here, often due to
inadequate preparation, entrenched
opposition and relatively low
fruitfulness.”
From the "Joshua Project":
“Missionaries are needed to live out
1 John. Italians need people like
Jesus to come and be with them,
live among them, and be full of grace
and truth. Because the country on
paper is 98% Christian, missionaries
often do not go, but there are closed
countries that have more evangelical
christians than Italy. The Italian
people need the true gospel of Jesus
Christ brought to them with love
and grace.”
Leonardo De Chirico says:
“…the evangelical community in Italy has
always been a tiny persecuted minority until the second half of the 20th century. Having learned to survive, churches are made of solid believers who nonetheless tend to be inward-focused and suspicious of others…
Evangelicals represent roughly 1 percent of Italy’s 61 million people. So the work ahead of us is massive”
NOVEMBER 25, 2015 | IVAN MESA TGC
This GEM video shows the current need that's in Italy.
Reach Europe. Change the world!