October 22, 2007

GREECE -- Christians taking part in the European Evangelical Alliance Assembly have been told not to lose their passion for the gospel.

Maria Mackay, writing for Christiantoday.com says European Evangelicals were challenged not to lose their passion for proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ on the first full day of the European Evangelical Alliance’s (EEA) annual assembly in Greece this week.

Dr Derek Copley, an EEA Associate, led the afternoon forum of General Secretaries from across Europe’s various national-level Evangelical Alliances, in which he stressed the need for a “gospel intentionality” behind all works of compassion.

While he praised churches for running fringe activities that care for the marginalized and people in need, he criticized churches for failing to use such activities as opportunities to reach people for Christ.

“There really must be a passion for the gospel even when we are doing humanitarian and social works,” Copley said

He added, “Transformation has to be proclamation as well as a demonstration of the power of Jesus Christ.”

Youth, mission overseas, prayer and evangelism at home emerged as top priorities for European evangelicals during the meeting.

To avert serious decline in church numbers, the General Secretaries were encouraged to unite with Christians already working in youth outreach and to train young people to “multiply themselves” through one-to-one evangelism.

Dr Copley added that the national Evangelical Alliances had to take the lead in encouraging churches to re-establish “gospel priorities” in Europe and teaching believers how to take risks for the gospel again.

“We have to get churches back into the habit of witnessing Jesus Christ,” he stressed, adding: “Some Evangelical Alliances have lost their passion for reaching people without Christ. Others have simply been diverted.

“I want to see us be not simply an influence in Europe. I want to see the gospel re-gain ground in Europe.”

Assembly prays for martyred Christians in Turkey

The annual assembly opened in Greece on Tuesday with a heart-wrenching appeal from the Evangelical Alliance in Turkey to pray for believers there following the horrific murder of three Bible publishing workers in April.

Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel of Turkey, and native German Tilman Ekkehart Geske became the first martyrs in Europe for centuries when they were killed in their Bible publishing office in Malatya.

Zekai Tanyar of the Evangelical Alliance in Turkey wept as he spoke of the shock he had felt at the time of the killings.

“It was as if suddenly all hell had been let loose,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. Sometimes I still can’t.”

Assembly delegates were left visibly moved as Tanyar, who knew the three men personally, appealed to them to pray for believers in Malatya and for the wider church in Turkey, which he said was suffering from a “sense of tiredness.”

The killings have prompted some believers to leave Malatya, while others have stopped coming to church altogether. The EU, meanwhile, remains concerned by the killings and the suspicion over the presence of missionaries that is commonplace in majority-Muslim Turkey.

Delegates at the EEA Assembly joined in prayers of solidarity for relatives and colleagues of the three Christians as well as believers in Turkey, while special prayers were said over Tanyar and his continuing ministry in the country.

A Turkish prosecutor is believed to be pressing for extended life sentences for the five men suspected of the killings.

Tanyar stressed at the Assembly his forgiveness towards the perpetrators of the crime. “We’re sad but we don’t hate,” he said.

Gordon Showell-Rogers, General Secretary of the EEA, urged evangelicals in Europe to keep Tanyar and believers in Turkey in their prayers.

He said: “The love of Christ has a unique and powerful contribution to make in a suffering world. The Turkish Christians’ appeal for prayer for the families of the victims as well as the young murderers is a powerful reminder of that. Europe’s evangelicals are convinced that the whole region needs this power of the love of Christ as much as ever.”

One hundred and twenty EEA leaders gathered on the Greek island of Evia for the annual Assembly, hosted this time around the theme of “Increasing our influence in Europe.”

© 2007 ASSIST News Service, used with permission