Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings from an old missionary here, whos been spending most of the last 3 decades with my flock, spreading the Gospel to the 4 corners of the Earth. I recently turned 80so please forgive the computer illiteracy of an old codger herebut when one reaches such a ripe old age, one really starts to think about the most important goals for his and future generations. So after working around the world for so many decades, Ive come to the conclusion that theres one region of the world, now more thirsty than any other for the Gospel to be delivered to them: Europe. Yes, Europeand specifically, the European Continent.
This may not have been the first guess of most people, but its something that Ive gradually come to realize after so many years as a messenger on the ground, wondering where I and my flock should go next, where the urgency is greatest and where people most want to listen to the Gospel. The European Continent, of course, is where our faith in its evangelical form was bornwhere it first found a home in Rome during Constantines time as the holy catholic church for all Christians, and then in Germany in the 16th Century, where Martin Luther ignited the Protestant Reformation.
Thus Continental Europe might seem to be a curious choice of a place to launch a mass evangelizing mission, but Europe today, of course, has essentially become a secular society hungering for a spiritual past which it has largely lost, and does not quite know how to regain. This is a place where we, the Christians of North America and Australia, can make such an integral contribution in a Great Re-Awakening that will be nothing less than historic in its scope and impact. The torch of the Christian faith that was initiated in Europe was carried to North America and continues to burn strong here; we, in turn, therefore have a special historical opportunity here, to help bring the faith back to the land which had given it to us in the first place, but in which it has now waned.
The headquarters for this fledgling Great Re-Awakening in Continental Europe is Germany, particularly northern Germany. I have been there on several occasions, and there is already a stirring interest in connecting to the creed that began in Germany itself so many centuries ago when Martin Luther ignited the Reformation, more than anywhere else. I would also include France, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy as countries that I have found to be hearteningly receptive to such a re-awakening, and where we could accomplish something truly historic hereand in this I include both Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, and even Armenian and Orthodox denominations as messengers of the Gospel. I am not here to encourage any sort of sectarian divide or competitionour common issue in Europe is the secularism and the weak but gradually more receptive audience for preaching the Gospel in general, and our collaborative efforts will be symbiotic, even if we differ on details. Thus far, I have not found either the Netherlands or the United Kingdom to be very receptive to such a possible missionary effort and therefore at this time, they are probably not fruitful destinations for our labors.
I want to emphasize that this is a very special and unusual type of missionary effort. It would not have central coordination, but would be a collaborative, yet independent effort of many individuals from many churches and denominationsI am merely, I hope, planting the seed.
Moreover, such a missionary effort to help facilitate a Christian Great Re-Awakening in Europe, would not be a matter of briefly preaching and returning home. To accomplish our historic objectives, we will need an effort far more sustained and dedicated. We need more than cosmetic changes to existing ecclesiastical organizations on the Continentto bring the Word to a group of people, for many of us our own ethnic kinsmen, who are seeking to re-connect with it, we need to rebuild the Church from the ground up. We must initiate our own churches and religious organizations in Germany, France, Italy and elsewhere as members of those countries ourselves, open them to the public, then provide examples from our own lives and our faith, hope and charity to bring the Message back to our kinsmen across the Atlantic Ocean. We must, in other words, fully integrate ourselves into the fabrics of the societies in Europe, as citizens there ourselves.
Therefore, the bearers of the Good News to Europe, seeking to re-ignite the ancient flame of Christian belief in the countries above, will have to emigrate from the USA and permanently resettle, with their families, in their new adopted nations in Europe. Those of you who choose to take up this historic mantle will become citizens of your new lands, along with your spouses and children, and raise them there. I recognize that this is no minor life adjustment for people. It would take an especially dedicated, focused, and capable collection of individuals to embark on such a pivotal mission, but it is in fact the only way that we can accomplish this great and very necessary effort.
Those of you who do take up the call for this crucial mission will be accomplishing something not only historic, but you will be the central leaders in perhaps the most important advance for our faith since the spread of Christianity to the Western Hemisphere. You should take great pride in what you are doing, and you will earn the well-deserved praise and gratitude of Christians worldwide and particularly in Europe, who will once again be connecting to their religious and intellectual home. You will be acting in the great tradition of pioneers, and naturally, once you have initiated this effort, you will smooth the path for others to follow in your footsteps, in much greater numbers.
Some practical aspects to consider:
1. Again, keep in mind that this very special and unique effort involves helping to rebuild the church communities in these countries from the grass roots, and that means actually immigrating to Germany and other European countries ourselves. Just as our ancestors left Europe to resettle in North America to spread their faith, so would we be leaving North America to resettle in Europe, permanently. We would be living in our adopted countries and taking citizenship there, becoming Germans, French, Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Austrians and Belgians, and raising our children as such. Those of you who are Americans would still retain many American privileges, could return periodically to visit family here, vote in US elections and of course retain your US passport in many cases. However, you will be joining your new countries as integral members of their societies.
In practical terms, this means that you will have to deal with the specific legal and social systems that each of these countries has in place to handle immigration and naturalization. In Germany, for exampleprobably the most important nation for this mission with the greatest potentialimmigration laws are written to selectively give settlement and citizenship rights to immigrants with occupational skills, which can include both manual professions such as electricians, craftsmen, plumbers, painters, metallurgists and woodworkers, as well as engineers, computer scientists, nurses, scientists, physicians, and also lawyers, teachers and accountants. Farmers with skills are welcome in Germanys rural regions, and people with experience in areas such as manufacturing and high-technology fields are given fast tracks to citizenship. Skilled workers in general have their immigration applications expedited and have an easy time settling down in Germany (as well as in Austria, France, Italy and Belgium), and entrepreneurs who plan on starting a business, in particular, are given top priority in obtaining work permits in Germany.
2. Germany and many of the other countries mentioned above also have a ius sanguinis principle to supplement their general ius solis immigration stream. The latter legal principle means that those with years of lawful residence and economic contributions to the country obtain citizenship rights regardless of their ethnicity, while the former principle, ius solis, provides a special category for fast-track citizenship for those with German or other Germanic ancestry at least in part. In the United States and Canada, of course, there are over 150 million people with German, Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon, Dutch, Swiss, Austrian or other Germanic ancestry (Volga Germans, Italian Lombards, French Norman or Frankish, for example), who therefore can have their efforts at gaining citizenship facilitated, speeding the process of immigration there. Naturally, anyone can gain citizenship through ius solis principles, but those with ethnic German or Germanic ancestry have additional means to win citizenship there.
3. Germany and all of the other countries noted above also give strong preference to immigrants who have families or are planning to have them sometime soon. Thus, such a focus on the Christian family is integral not only to our new ministries in Europe, but also in regard to the practical issues of immigrating there in the first place.
4. This leads to perhaps the most important point here: You must, unequivocally, master the language or languages of your host country if you hope to have a successful mission there. German, French, Italian, Dutch or another relevant language must become the first language for you, your spouse and your children, and it must be the language in which you conduct both your ministry and your own daily business.
I cannot emphasize this enough. One of the most common blunders of otherwise eager and hard-working missionaries is to fail to appreciate the need to learn and communicate in the native language, on a fluent basis. In Africa, for example, many of the countries have a European language such as French, English, Portuguese or Spanish as one of their official languages for communication, and many citizens of these countries do speak these languages. However, the core individuals in African nations generally speak tribal languages as their native tongues and as the ones in which they conduct their daily business. These are the languages of their emotional experience and the ones in which they think and dream, and thus, only those missionaries who made sure to master the local tongue enjoyed success.
This is obviously easier for those of us who minister in Europe, since the languages on the Continent are similar enough to English and Spanish that they are easy to learn. However, we must learn and communicate in these languages at the highest levels, and in fact, we must adopt them as our own standards of communication, for us and our families. Many people in southern Italy, for example, speak French or English, but only a ministry in fluent Italian can reach people at their emotional core. Likewise, in the Tirol region in northern Italy, German is more of a native language than Italian, and missionaries in that region should therefore adopt the German tongue as their own and to conduct their ministries in it. Both French and Dutch are used in different regions in Belgium, and in France, although French predominates, Breton is important in some seaside enclaves. (Irish Gaelic is of great emotional importance to people in Ireland, and a ministry in this language would be of great appeal to the people.)
In other words, you must tailor your ministry to local conditions and culture, and immerse yourself in that culture. Naturally, you should work to learn as much of the language as you can before leaving to go abroad. This can be accomplished through formal courses, language sessions with your church missionary groups, tapes and books and/or DVDs and software (just about any major or minor brand at a bookstore or library is fine), and simple practice with native speakers, whether in the US or abroad. Total mastery of the local language is absolutely crucial for successful missionary work, and to fully immerse yourself into the societies into which you will be spreading the Gospel, you should adopt that language and the local culture for yourself and your children.
5. Emphasize positive, productive and ecumenical aspects of our faith as much as possible to your new flocks. Be inclusive with your teachings, and while you are of course inculcating your congregation into the great traditions and history of our faith, you should make your ministry relevant by tailoring your sermons and your announcements to a degree in line with the conditions of your community.
6. In your new ministries, your first congregants may well be other Americans, Canadians or Australians drawn to your adopted nationthis can help to seed the new churches in Europe and provide an early, sustained congregation to draw in new members from the native societies themselves. Again, make sure to conduct your services in the local language and be cognizant of local traditions.
7. Finally, befriend and work with local authorities both in establishing ministries and in obtaining work yourselves in your new countries. You should emphasize, as much as possible, that your efforts will be a benefit in every way for your new nationsfrom a social, religious and economic perspectiveand not a disruptive factor. Naturally, it can also be very helpful to obtain suggestions from local religious authorities and contribute to their own efforts in addition to initiating your own, so as to reinforce the religious community in general and make it more tightly-knit.
Greetings from an old missionary here, whos been spending most of the last 3 decades with my flock, spreading the Gospel to the 4 corners of the Earth. I recently turned 80so please forgive the computer illiteracy of an old codger herebut when one reaches such a ripe old age, one really starts to think about the most important goals for his and future generations. So after working around the world for so many decades, Ive come to the conclusion that theres one region of the world, now more thirsty than any other for the Gospel to be delivered to them: Europe. Yes, Europeand specifically, the European Continent.
This may not have been the first guess of most people, but its something that Ive gradually come to realize after so many years as a messenger on the ground, wondering where I and my flock should go next, where the urgency is greatest and where people most want to listen to the Gospel. The European Continent, of course, is where our faith in its evangelical form was bornwhere it first found a home in Rome during Constantines time as the holy catholic church for all Christians, and then in Germany in the 16th Century, where Martin Luther ignited the Protestant Reformation.
Thus Continental Europe might seem to be a curious choice of a place to launch a mass evangelizing mission, but Europe today, of course, has essentially become a secular society hungering for a spiritual past which it has largely lost, and does not quite know how to regain. This is a place where we, the Christians of North America and Australia, can make such an integral contribution in a Great Re-Awakening that will be nothing less than historic in its scope and impact. The torch of the Christian faith that was initiated in Europe was carried to North America and continues to burn strong here; we, in turn, therefore have a special historical opportunity here, to help bring the faith back to the land which had given it to us in the first place, but in which it has now waned.
The headquarters for this fledgling Great Re-Awakening in Continental Europe is Germany, particularly northern Germany. I have been there on several occasions, and there is already a stirring interest in connecting to the creed that began in Germany itself so many centuries ago when Martin Luther ignited the Reformation, more than anywhere else. I would also include France, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy as countries that I have found to be hearteningly receptive to such a re-awakening, and where we could accomplish something truly historic hereand in this I include both Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, and even Armenian and Orthodox denominations as messengers of the Gospel. I am not here to encourage any sort of sectarian divide or competitionour common issue in Europe is the secularism and the weak but gradually more receptive audience for preaching the Gospel in general, and our collaborative efforts will be symbiotic, even if we differ on details. Thus far, I have not found either the Netherlands or the United Kingdom to be very receptive to such a possible missionary effort and therefore at this time, they are probably not fruitful destinations for our labors.
I want to emphasize that this is a very special and unusual type of missionary effort. It would not have central coordination, but would be a collaborative, yet independent effort of many individuals from many churches and denominationsI am merely, I hope, planting the seed.
Moreover, such a missionary effort to help facilitate a Christian Great Re-Awakening in Europe, would not be a matter of briefly preaching and returning home. To accomplish our historic objectives, we will need an effort far more sustained and dedicated. We need more than cosmetic changes to existing ecclesiastical organizations on the Continentto bring the Word to a group of people, for many of us our own ethnic kinsmen, who are seeking to re-connect with it, we need to rebuild the Church from the ground up. We must initiate our own churches and religious organizations in Germany, France, Italy and elsewhere as members of those countries ourselves, open them to the public, then provide examples from our own lives and our faith, hope and charity to bring the Message back to our kinsmen across the Atlantic Ocean. We must, in other words, fully integrate ourselves into the fabrics of the societies in Europe, as citizens there ourselves.
Therefore, the bearers of the Good News to Europe, seeking to re-ignite the ancient flame of Christian belief in the countries above, will have to emigrate from the USA and permanently resettle, with their families, in their new adopted nations in Europe. Those of you who choose to take up this historic mantle will become citizens of your new lands, along with your spouses and children, and raise them there. I recognize that this is no minor life adjustment for people. It would take an especially dedicated, focused, and capable collection of individuals to embark on such a pivotal mission, but it is in fact the only way that we can accomplish this great and very necessary effort.
Those of you who do take up the call for this crucial mission will be accomplishing something not only historic, but you will be the central leaders in perhaps the most important advance for our faith since the spread of Christianity to the Western Hemisphere. You should take great pride in what you are doing, and you will earn the well-deserved praise and gratitude of Christians worldwide and particularly in Europe, who will once again be connecting to their religious and intellectual home. You will be acting in the great tradition of pioneers, and naturally, once you have initiated this effort, you will smooth the path for others to follow in your footsteps, in much greater numbers.
Some practical aspects to consider:
1. Again, keep in mind that this very special and unique effort involves helping to rebuild the church communities in these countries from the grass roots, and that means actually immigrating to Germany and other European countries ourselves. Just as our ancestors left Europe to resettle in North America to spread their faith, so would we be leaving North America to resettle in Europe, permanently. We would be living in our adopted countries and taking citizenship there, becoming Germans, French, Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Austrians and Belgians, and raising our children as such. Those of you who are Americans would still retain many American privileges, could return periodically to visit family here, vote in US elections and of course retain your US passport in many cases. However, you will be joining your new countries as integral members of their societies.
In practical terms, this means that you will have to deal with the specific legal and social systems that each of these countries has in place to handle immigration and naturalization. In Germany, for exampleprobably the most important nation for this mission with the greatest potentialimmigration laws are written to selectively give settlement and citizenship rights to immigrants with occupational skills, which can include both manual professions such as electricians, craftsmen, plumbers, painters, metallurgists and woodworkers, as well as engineers, computer scientists, nurses, scientists, physicians, and also lawyers, teachers and accountants. Farmers with skills are welcome in Germanys rural regions, and people with experience in areas such as manufacturing and high-technology fields are given fast tracks to citizenship. Skilled workers in general have their immigration applications expedited and have an easy time settling down in Germany (as well as in Austria, France, Italy and Belgium), and entrepreneurs who plan on starting a business, in particular, are given top priority in obtaining work permits in Germany.
2. Germany and many of the other countries mentioned above also have a ius sanguinis principle to supplement their general ius solis immigration stream. The latter legal principle means that those with years of lawful residence and economic contributions to the country obtain citizenship rights regardless of their ethnicity, while the former principle, ius solis, provides a special category for fast-track citizenship for those with German or other Germanic ancestry at least in part. In the United States and Canada, of course, there are over 150 million people with German, Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon, Dutch, Swiss, Austrian or other Germanic ancestry (Volga Germans, Italian Lombards, French Norman or Frankish, for example), who therefore can have their efforts at gaining citizenship facilitated, speeding the process of immigration there. Naturally, anyone can gain citizenship through ius solis principles, but those with ethnic German or Germanic ancestry have additional means to win citizenship there.
3. Germany and all of the other countries noted above also give strong preference to immigrants who have families or are planning to have them sometime soon. Thus, such a focus on the Christian family is integral not only to our new ministries in Europe, but also in regard to the practical issues of immigrating there in the first place.
4. This leads to perhaps the most important point here: You must, unequivocally, master the language or languages of your host country if you hope to have a successful mission there. German, French, Italian, Dutch or another relevant language must become the first language for you, your spouse and your children, and it must be the language in which you conduct both your ministry and your own daily business.
I cannot emphasize this enough. One of the most common blunders of otherwise eager and hard-working missionaries is to fail to appreciate the need to learn and communicate in the native language, on a fluent basis. In Africa, for example, many of the countries have a European language such as French, English, Portuguese or Spanish as one of their official languages for communication, and many citizens of these countries do speak these languages. However, the core individuals in African nations generally speak tribal languages as their native tongues and as the ones in which they conduct their daily business. These are the languages of their emotional experience and the ones in which they think and dream, and thus, only those missionaries who made sure to master the local tongue enjoyed success.
This is obviously easier for those of us who minister in Europe, since the languages on the Continent are similar enough to English and Spanish that they are easy to learn. However, we must learn and communicate in these languages at the highest levels, and in fact, we must adopt them as our own standards of communication, for us and our families. Many people in southern Italy, for example, speak French or English, but only a ministry in fluent Italian can reach people at their emotional core. Likewise, in the Tirol region in northern Italy, German is more of a native language than Italian, and missionaries in that region should therefore adopt the German tongue as their own and to conduct their ministries in it. Both French and Dutch are used in different regions in Belgium, and in France, although French predominates, Breton is important in some seaside enclaves. (Irish Gaelic is of great emotional importance to people in Ireland, and a ministry in this language would be of great appeal to the people.)
In other words, you must tailor your ministry to local conditions and culture, and immerse yourself in that culture. Naturally, you should work to learn as much of the language as you can before leaving to go abroad. This can be accomplished through formal courses, language sessions with your church missionary groups, tapes and books and/or DVDs and software (just about any major or minor brand at a bookstore or library is fine), and simple practice with native speakers, whether in the US or abroad. Total mastery of the local language is absolutely crucial for successful missionary work, and to fully immerse yourself into the societies into which you will be spreading the Gospel, you should adopt that language and the local culture for yourself and your children.
5. Emphasize positive, productive and ecumenical aspects of our faith as much as possible to your new flocks. Be inclusive with your teachings, and while you are of course inculcating your congregation into the great traditions and history of our faith, you should make your ministry relevant by tailoring your sermons and your announcements to a degree in line with the conditions of your community.
6. In your new ministries, your first congregants may well be other Americans, Canadians or Australians drawn to your adopted nationthis can help to seed the new churches in Europe and provide an early, sustained congregation to draw in new members from the native societies themselves. Again, make sure to conduct your services in the local language and be cognizant of local traditions.
7. Finally, befriend and work with local authorities both in establishing ministries and in obtaining work yourselves in your new countries. You should emphasize, as much as possible, that your efforts will be a benefit in every way for your new nationsfrom a social, religious and economic perspectiveand not a disruptive factor. Naturally, it can also be very helpful to obtain suggestions from local religious authorities and contribute to their own efforts in addition to initiating your own, so as to reinforce the religious community in general and make it more tightly-knit.
What a wonderful blessing this would be!
