Notice how many buddha statues or wall hangings are for sale in local garden centres, or in home improvement centres, or cosmetic shops.

The Turkish President continues inflammatory rhetoric against EU leaders. April referendum could expand his powers.

Eight in ten citizens voted in key elections. Far-right candidate only gets 13% of the vote and Right-wing Liberal Mark Rutte will try tro form government. Christians are called to “ministry of reconciliation”, evangelicals say.

A climate of tension surrounds the Dutch general election, which will be held on Wednesday 15. The Missie Nederland General Secretary, Jan C. Wessels, hopes “the values of the Dutch people, which are partly rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition, will conquer.”

Whether the election results swing left or right, the church will always steer its own course. And she will not be afraid to be critical of the government where the gospel would require. A manifesto by theologians Janneke Stegeman and Alain Verheij.

The European Evangelical Alliance warns about “the growing phenomenon of angry, polarising, post-truth rhetoric that is infecting political debate in many nations, including the Netherlands.”

Experts in migration Anita Delhaas and Noemi Mena have founded “a platform which helps refugees through building networks, education and employment opportunities.”

I wish our public discourse would reflect the complexity of life more fully.

“It is known that a good part of the women who are recruited for prostitution are minors”, says sociologist Richard Poulin.

All pregnant women in the Netherlands will have access to the Non Invasive Prenatal Testing to know if they have children with Down syndrome.

A report from an independent commission advised in February to slow down euthanasia to prevent abuses.

Walk for Freedom in many European cities dennounced that “every 30 seconds, someone becomes a victim of modern-day slavery”. Churches had Freedom Sunday special worship services.

In response to television programmes romanticising adultery, one parliamentarian in Netherlands raised sponsorship for roadside adverts stating: ‘Adultery–the family game where everyone loses’.

“Christians should be prepared to argue for positions which advance the international common good even at the apparent expense of their national interests”, Dr Jonathan Chaplin said in Amsterdam (May 8-9).

Robert Strong (OM Netherlands) on the experience of opening the church building to offer tea and a safe place changes the perspective of Christians and creates opportunities to speak about God.

What can members of local churches do to welcome asylum seekers living in their region? Robert Strong (Netherlands) suggests some easy steps we can follow.  

Agape created a mobile app for refugees. It helps them to communicate better and get valuable information to feel welcome in their new surroundings.

Freedom needs spiritual values, internalised discipline and self-government. The truth will set us free, Jesus promised.

Joseph Fiennes is a Roman Centurion tasked with finding the corpse of Jesus Christ after his resurrection. The film will be released in European countries throughout March.

The cultural context of universities in Bulgaria, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Spain and Denmark is very different. But Christian student movements agree on one thing: non-believers discover the Christian faith through deep personal relationships with believers:

A German pastor cycles from Holland to the south of Italy, gets in touch with local churches and raises money for three missionary projects.

Human Rights Watch's 2015 report denounces issues in Croatia, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, UK, Poland, Netherlands and France. “Over 155,000 people had reached EU shores, 3,000 died at sea."

Study shows 17% of the Dutch believe in God, slightly more than 25% describe themselves as atheists and the absolute majority, 60%, waver between belief and unbelief. Number of believers amongst young people is higher than amongst older people.