By Jeff Fountain

YWAM Europe Director

Over two millennia, Europe´s ´Christian´ identity has been forged by apostolic bands, wandering monks, scholars, reformers, revivalists, social reformers and countless anonymous witnesses to the transforming power of Jesus Christ.

Today, at the start of the third millennium, this ´Christian´ identity is becoming obsolete. In short, Europe is becoming a mission field of neo-pagans. The centre of gravity of the worldwide church has moved from Europe and the West over the past two decades to the Two-Thirds World.

Did you know..

Europe´s New "Unreached Tribes"

Upheavals in Europe´s politics and society over the past decade have
created large new social "tribes" alienated from the gospel. New
strategies and paradigms are needed for the mission field of 21st
century Europe. These include the following four social groupings:

1. • Post-Christian Europeans -- reject the Christian worldview and its
   values as old-fashioned, irrelevant and inhibiting. Modernity (the
   summation of those forces shaping today´s society like urbanisation,
   science, technology and industrialistion) has marginalised faith in
   many European minds. Traditional churches are losing members rapidly in
   both Catholic and Protestant lands.
   Initiatives from renewed traditional churches, like the Alpha Course
   are proving to be effective tools for introducing post-Christian
   Europeans to the gospel message.
   

2. • Post-Communist Europeans -- have rejected the Marxist gospel that
   science and the state are the saviours of the human race. Communism´s
   collapse left a great spiritual, psychological and ideological vacuum.
   From gun-toting Albanian rebels to Moscow´s nouveau-rich,
   post-Communists share a common mistrust for authority figures, an
   aversion to accepting responsibility or to think for oneself, and a
   generally hopeless outlook on the future. Openings abound for ministry
   among the millions of Post-Communist Europeans, but strategies need to
   be long-term and impacting the whole person.
   

3. • Post-Modern Europeans -- mainly under 30 years -- reject the Modern
   (scientific, rationalist) worldview and all ´-isms´ and
   rational attempts to create a better future, in favour of hopelessness,
   cynicism and nihilism. Post-modernity is a chaos of irrational and
   contradictory beliefs in which there is no ultimate meaning or
   direction. The goal of this Generation X is simply survival -- and fun
   -- in a godless, mindless universe. Post-modern Europeans are open to
   spirituality and even to the Spirit. They reject the materialism of
   their post-Christian parents, and are in search of authentic community.
   

4. • Post-Migrant Europeans -- are the children of (mainly Muslim)
   immigrants to Europe´s cities, who reject their parents´ national
   identity and faith in favour of European youth culture. They comprise a
   significant proportion of many urban populations. In Amsterdam, 60% of
   those under 20 years are post-migrants. They have no Christian
   heritage, but will greatly influence the city´s future for better or
   for worse. A new breed of missionary is needed to engage in friendship
   evangelism among post-migrants, with such strategies as street sports,
   social centres and job creation.
   

And After the ´Post´?

Anything named ´post-´ is temporary. Because it has no clear identity
of its own yet, it is defined by what preceded it. The terms
post-Christian, post-communist, post-modern and post-migrant describe
many of today´s Europeans. But what will follow in ten years? or
twenty?

When Roman order collapsed across Europe, chaos and fragmentation
reigned, until messengers of the Gospel came telling their Story. The
communities they established in time became the building blocks of the
new order, western civilisation.
With the current rejection of the modern order, today´s messengers of
the Gospel may have a new opportunity to lay fresh foundations for
tomorrow´s Europe.