We’ll be honest. When we first felt called to missions, Europe wasn’t what we had in mind. We assumed we would end up in Africa or Asia. After all, Europe already has the gospel, right?

world-1264062It’s true that most Europeans know about the gospel. Approximately 71% identify as Christian. However, according to Operation World, only 2.5% of Europeans are evangelical Christians. That’s a smaller percentage than in Africa, Asia, North or South America. If you visit Europe you might see all the beautiful church buildings and think Christianity is thriving. Instead, Europe is a post-Christian culture where negative views of Christians are more likely than positive ones. Scotland is no different, with a recent study by Barna finding only 3% of adults qualify as Evangelical Christians.  Europe knows all about religion, but for the most part, they haven’t actually met Jesus. 

Negative “religious experiences” in Europe have made atheists out of many. In one breath, someone might say, “I’m Catholic, but I don’t believe in God.” – Ed Stetzer

There is clearly an incredible need in Europe for world-surprising churches. We believe that the church is God’s primary instrument for bringing the gospel to the world and making disciples of all nations.  When local churches live as Kingdom communities of love and reconciliation, holiness and compassionate service, there is no greater apologetic for the gospel on earth. God wants to bring spiritual renewal to Europe through His church, and we want to be a part of it.

That’s where AT3 comes in. AT3’s desire is to launch leaders into ministry. We do that by partnering with local churches to help develop leaders for ministry in a post-Christian context. To find out more about AT3, visit https://at-3.org.