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Ninety European evangelical leaders from 16 different countries joined in Madrid to share and explore better ways to develop church planting in Europe.
One of the conferences during the meeting in Madrid.
The interest for church planting gathered 90 evangelical leaders from 16 countries in Madrid. From September 28 to 30, they took part in a meeting propeled by several European leaders involved in founding churches, as well as members of national missional movements.
There have been several editions of this meeting already. This one had the following aims:
The program included times of worship, Bible studies, national and European roundtables; as well as the exposition of procedures that are already working in Europe, like the French and the Norwegian models.
One of the group discussions.
PERSONAL AND PRACTICAL DISCIPLESHIP
There was an emphasis in systems and procedures focused on a personal and practical discipleship, with the aim of creating a lifestyle centered on national procedures of cooperation for church planting.
The necessity of investing in the youth, motivating, training and sending them to reach their own generation; was one of the meeting´s conclusions.
Each country had time to reflect and look for God´s direction, to know what He was telling them about their own situation regarding church planting.
There were other two issues highlighted during the whole meeting. On one side, the importance of having a daily and intimate communion with God. On the other, the need for friendships between those who are involved in a process of seeing Europe transformed by the power of the Gospel.
According to the organizers, church planting movements which are successful, have emphasised:
A closer look at the eight key arguments of Luther's 1525 masterpiece.
As Paul says, people ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Corinthians 4:1).
Jesus understood that when religion springs out of fear it becomes really a religion of power.
‘Being’ is more important than ‘doing’ (because without a relationship with God, only death awaits). In short, whatever you do, let it be inspired by love!
Jesus taught a spiritual lesson that we often forget: what there is inside us is what really matters.
They are ruminating animals, capable of running more than one hundred kilometres a day without eating or drinking anything. Hence they were trained in Arabia in the 13th century before Christ, as the basis of what has come to be known as the "camel civilisations".
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Gary Wilkerson: The Bible, the Holy Spirit and the Reformation
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Israel, the UN resolution and the long conflict
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Lindsay Brown: Islam and the Gospel in Europe
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Thomas Bucher: Vision of the EEA
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Evi Rodemann: Youth and mission
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Greg Pritchard: European Leadership Forum
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Pablo Martinez comments on Evangelical Focus’ launch
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‘Reconciliation’ in the Basque Country
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WPF17: A look at the world’s current issues
A selection of pictures of World Press Photo 2017.
The Progress of Europe, deeply connected to Bible
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“Spain, we pray for you”
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Individualism: from the Protestant Reformation to 21st century capitalism
Indian author Vishal Mangalwadi on how the Protestant Reformation underlined individualism as a means to please God, and how secular Europe corrupted it.
Mangalwadi: Education and the Reformation
Indian author Vishal Mangalwadi talks about how a renwed view of the Bible changed education systems in Europe.
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Evi Rodemann (Germany) talks about the unique contributions to society that only the Church can make.
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You-To live-How?
The Roldan Camacho are a Spanish couple with deafness. They tell us how the whole family experiences everyday life through sign language. A video report by Gabriela Pérez.
Philip Yancey interview
An 8-minute interview with Philip Yancey on the role of Christians in a secularised society. Recorded in Madrid, September 2016.
An interview with Prof. John Lennox
New atheism, the definition of "faith", Christianity in Europe, the role of the Bible in mission, and the need to listen more. An exclusive interview recorded at "Forum Apologética" (Tarragona, Spain) in May 2016.
Opinions expressed are those of their respective contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of Evangelical Focus.
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