Islam in Europe
The arrival of hundreds of thousands of mostly Muslim refugees in Europe have drawn renewed attention to the continent’s Muslim population. In many European countries, including France, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, concerns about growing Muslim communities have led to calls for restrictions on immigration. Germany and France have the largest Muslim populations. The Muslim share of Europe’s total population has been increasing steadily. By 2030 Muslims are projected to make up 8% of Europe’s population. The average age of Muslims throughout Europe is eight years younger than the median for all Europeans. Views of Muslims vary widely across European countries, but ten nations in eastern and southern Europe have prevailing negative views while respondents in the UK, Germany, France, Sweden and the Netherlands gave Muslims a favourable rating. We can pray for the Church to develop culturally relevant and powerful evangelism tailored specifically for our Muslim neighbours.
Turkey: EU membership and Christian persecution
The European Parliament has voted to suspend Turkey's EU membership talks because of the Turkish government's crackdown since the coup attempt in July. The MEPs' non-binding vote has already been dismissed as "worthless" by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Meanwhile the Church in the country is being affected by the presence of radical Islam, the ethnic conflict, and a regime that aims to Islamise the country. The renewed fighting between the government's military forces and the Kurds is stimulating Turkish nationalism to new heights, which is impacting all believers, but converts from Islam most of all. Pressure on Christian converts from both family and community is acute. The presence of Islamic fundamentalists has already proved to be a huge threat for Protestant pastors; Open Doors say that Muslim-background believers can expect similar treatment. But we can praise God for signs of reconciliation between Armenian and Turkish Christians; ask Him to make the Church in Turkey healthy and strong. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38090121
Lost Media - 3 million people on Facebook hearing about Jesus
A new initiative hopes to drop evangelistic messages into people's Facebook news feed. Not cheesy cliché-ridden content, but attention-grabbing Christian content. This resource is focusing on the hundreds of millions of unchurched who need the gospel in the UK, Europe and America. Lost Media’s mission is to reach those who have no connection to Christianity and build a bridge with entertaining, relevant content which challenges their perceptions of Jesus, the Bible and Christianity. They will do this exclusively on Social Media. Lost Media TV will create and distribute high-quality Christian content across social media channels to promote the Gospel message and they hope to launch this Christmas if they get enough funding.
England, N.Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brexit
The Government is appealing against a High Court ruling that MPs must vote on triggering Article 50. The Scottish and Welsh Governments’ senior law officers will also take part in the appeal. Further, an ancient Scottish ‘Claim of Right’ is to be used - triggering article 50 without MPs’ vote would be in breach of a Scottish 1689 ‘radical revolutionary tradition’ that has been ‘enshrined in Scottish law for more than 300 years’. Northern Ireland’s Attorney General is expected to take part in the court hearing, increasing the chances that the cross-border deal with the Republic of Ireland in the Good Friday agreement will also become part of the legal argument. We can pray that the activation of Article 50 and Brexit deadline will align with God’s timing and that the influence of the Scottish Parliament, Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies, every Court Decision and vote of Parliament will come together in God’s timing.
