Planting Churches in Budapest and Beyond

Wednesday October 15, 2008 ~ 8 Comments

Church planters are always a unique group. And, planting in postmodern Europe requires a certain way of viewing the world. As I listened to the Strategy Coordinators we met with, I could certainly see that to be the case. (I earlier described what a Strategy Coordinator does, but basically the SC helps to facilitate church planting.) These SCs want to change the world for the gospel and they press ahead even in a resistant field.

I thought I would share a couple of videos with you that tell part of that story.

Trey Shaw

One of the men we spent some time with was Trey Shaw. Trey was clear about his beliefs and his challenges in church planting-- and he reminds me of some other planters I know well. God is raising up many planters in the states who are planting missional churches in emerging culture. And, it seemed that Trey would fit right in with many of them (even calling himself missional and Reformed on the video).

I find it interesting that we see planters like Trey in Budapest thinking like planters in Portland, Seattle, or Troy, NY. It should not surprise us that when church expressions follow a similar pattern: missional ministry will look similar in (somewhat) similar cultures. The challenge for church planters like Trey is that most partnering churches in our denomination are traditional or blended. Nothing wrong with either-- but churches that sing two hymns and three seventies-era choruses on Sunday may have a harder time relating to church plants in Europe that talk about missional incarnational witness, acts of mercy to advance the Kingdom, and planting churches that multiply. All are welcome, but I want to see more churches that call themselves "missional" acting, well, missionally around the globe.

All of which makes me wonder-- where are the contemporary, missional, emerging, and Reformed churches engaged in God's global mission. I know they are... but I did not see much of them in Europe this week. And, let's not argue about who is doing more-- let's ALL do more. We need all kinds of churches to plant all kinds of biblically faithful churches throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

Listen to Trey describe his ministry here (keep in mind that all these videos are raw and need some work-- particularly with the coughing!):

I asked Trey what he needs most to plant churches in Budapest. Some things did not come up: crusades preached by Americans, choir tours, or evanga-cubes (all good in some places, but not here). Instead, they are looking for churches wanting to make a long term impact and personnel who want to live incarnationally for the gospel and the Kingdom.

Mark Edworthy

I also had the chance to sit down with the regional leader, Mark Edworthy-- even though I, Ed, did not feel worthy ;-).

Mark, although he does not tell you, is kinda' a big deal. He oversees several hundred missionaries in 30 countries. We had a candid conversation about the region, its challenges, who can work with the IMB, and why emerging missional churches in the states can be great partners in Central and Eastern Europe.

I know this is not a famous video where someone calls church planters pirates, or some speaking blooper that gets played over and over, but I do hope that you will take the time to watch these videos.

This is what matters most to me-- the world is in need of a savior. Millions of people in Central and Eastern Europe are far from Christ. And, he has tasked us, the church, to reach them. Maybe that is not as catchy as the video you can't get out of your head, but it is a mission you need in your heart.

And, here is one more video of me telling you what I just wrote above:

Good news: Trey is going to be around to answer questions so feel free to drop him some today.

Posted on October 15, 2008 at 2:02 AM ~ 8 Comments

Tagged with: church planting, eastern europe, imb

8 Comments

By Jay on October 15, 2008 2:54 PM

Trey

Thanks for your work over there, man. So, what have the partnering churches you have worked with in the past done really well? What does a good example look like?

By Christine T. on October 15, 2008 4:43 PM

The posts this week have been very encouraging and insightful.

A few quick questions (probably for Trey)

1) How did the gospel lose so much ground over the years in Europe?

2) What are the roots of why people consider it odd for someone who is "smart" to also be a "Christian"?

(I apologize if you answered these in the videos, I can't see them on my work computer.)

By Trey on October 16, 2008 9:10 AM

First off, thank you Ed for the opportunity to talk to you and the pastor's you brought. I was really blessed by the whole experience as I hope you all were too.

So to answer some questions:

Jay - The churches that we have had the best experiences with seem to all have one trait in common. They all understand that for our (by "our" I mean our partnership) work to really be effective there has to be a strong commitment to, what I call, permanence. By this I mean making the commitment to be in this mission for the long haul. Certainly a church or other partner can make an impact with one visit, but to see a lasting, more far reaching impact, multiple visits are necessary. A good example of this has been our partnership with North Greenville University (South Carolina). When they come in March 2009, it will be the 5th straight year they have come to minister with us. The English camps we do with them have a continuity about them that is irreplaceable. In our part of the world flux and change are the rule (which causes an overwhelming insecurity in the vast majority of people). When we can demonstrate the permanence of Christ in our work we counteract that for God's glory and prayerfully, for their salvation.

Anyway, I hope this answers your question. Thanks for asking.

By Glenn on October 16, 2008 9:41 AM

Trey,

Thanks for all you do. I was curious, what type of people do you need to move over there and live incarnationally? Are they better to be single? Or have families? Things like that.

By Trey on October 16, 2008 9:50 AM

Ok, now to answer Christine's questions. 1) How did the gospel lose so much ground over the years in Europe? That is a very heavy question that requires a pretty good answer. But my answer will have to suffice. In talking to a lot of my colleagues we have come to believe that there are three or four main factors. The first is, and this is a hard one to admit, the abuses of the church in Europe over the last few centuries. There isn't room for examples here, but I think we are all pretty familiar with the checkered past of the church in Europe (Catholic and Protestant). Europeans are have much longer memories than Americans and old beliefs die hard. Another factor is the role of communism (I work in the former Warsaw Pact area of Europe). It is truly remarkable, in a bad way, how devastating communism was on the spiritual condition of Europe. In a nutshell, it systematically de-sensitized Europeans toward spiritual matters and strengthened latent atheistic leanings. There is still one other factor but it is harder to pin down. Basically Central and East Europeans have been inoculated against the Gospel. I don't mean that the Gospel has no power here...not at all. What I mean is that Jesus is not unknown like he is in other parts of the world. His name is well known and taken for granted. Most people already believe that they know everything they need to know about Him. Lastly, at least for my very brief list, postmodernism is not a concept here, it is a way of life. This belief system was born in Europe and thrives here, especially in countries that pride themselves in being intellectual like Czech, Hungary and Estonia to name a few. Truth, for these people, is what those in power use to control the masses, or what one individual uses to control another. Therefore if I seek to make another believe what I believe to be true then I am exerting power over them. And no good postmodern would allow himself to be controlled. All of these things and many others (I haven't even touched on the palpable spiritual oppression) work against someone believing and following Christ and they have all worked to cause the Gospel to lose ground as you put it.

2) What are the roots of why people consider it odd for someone who is "smart" to also be a "Christian"? The basic roots of this stem from what Bonhoeffer calls "a world come of age". Europeans have "outgrown" the need to use God to define things. Modern Europe gets along just fine without God (or so it believes). An example of this is in the EU constitution. The document completely and knowingly ignores Christianity's role in the development of Europe. This line of thinking (which is perhaps the apex of postmodernism) leaves room only for Man and his logic and intellect. Any admission to needing a god for explaining the universe is childish. God in essence is for kids at Christmas and for old people (old fashioned) but definitely not for an educated adult.

I hope this helps. I really do appreciate the questions and your interest.

By Les Puryear on October 16, 2008 11:18 AM

Trey,

I would like to speak with you about the possibility of becoming a SCC. How can I contact you?

Les

By Trey on October 16, 2008 2:00 PM

Glenn,

There are disadvantages and advantages for any person, family or couple that moves overseas to work. When I talk with people who are thinking about going overseas I try to be as forthright as possible. I have single colleagues, married ones, married with kids, over 65 and under 25. Whoever comes will have his share of trying times, so there is no "perfect" missionary type. Ultimately, God sends whom He will to do the work He leads them to.

By Zoli on November 6, 2008 1:38 PM

Hey, thanks a lot for that info,
I am a guy who loves Jesus and wants to see new churches planted in urban Hungary especially Budapest.
I have longed to find someone on the same team like Trey Shaw
I think that i did now!!