The Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission (CSPM) is an Adventist Mission Global Mission Center at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. It exists to help the Seventh-day Adventist Church better understand secular and post-modern people and to help them live a real experience with God.
The Adventist Mission department of the Inter-European Division (EUD) organized the last of three pieces of training on mission and church planting in the European context in Vimeiro, Portugal, from April 15-18, 2024. This training followed two previous ones, in Spain and Romania, all with the aim of discussing tools for understanding the diversity and mentality trends in Europe and methodologies for accelerating missionary action on the continent, with a focus on opportunities for planting new churches in territories without an Adventist presence.
Florian Ristea, director of the Adventist Mission, Sabbath School, and Personal Ministry departments, emphasized the importance of understanding the context of each community for a true missionary plan, giving examples of how it is necessary to adapt the evangelistic effort to the group you want to reach. He also explained the importance of training leaders and their vocation for this fundamental work in advancing the Adventist message, as well as the necessary integration of all the means and tools available, including the media.
In addition to Ristea and a number of speakers on specific topics, Jonatan Contero, the associate director of the CSPM, and Mário Brito, the president of the Inter-European Division, were also present. Brito stated the importance of adapting and tailoring the Adventist message to the interlocutors, so that it becomes understandable and meaningful to them. This is why this type of training is so important.
“When we try to help others, we, ourselves, grow. People know when we are concerned with their wellbeing. Secularized people are aware of their needs, and many feel a void. There is an opportunity in that void,” commented Brito.
Around 70 participants from the 20 countries that make up the Inter-European Division shared their experiences of the impact of their projects. Gabriel Monet, from the Campus Adventiste du Saléve, and Marvin Brand, from the German-Suisse Federation, were some of the speakers.
Mariarosa Cavalieri, director of the Adventist Mission, Sabbath School, and Personal Ministries departments in Italy, helped us understand the Adventist mission in that country, which has a Catholic tradition and is undergoing an advanced process of secularization.
Switzerland, which Ristea pointed to as an example of diversity in Europe and where Contero will be a missionary sent by the General Conference very soon, is a small country of eight million inhabitants, divided into 26 cantons and with four official languages. It is a concrete example of European diversity. Here, 5,000 Adventists from 58 churches divided between two conferences, keep the flame of the message burning brightly and spreading.
Stefan Dilly, pastor, and missionary in the Aarau region, tells us about his experience in his region and in this training program.
The Inter-European Division, from its headquarters in Bern, Switzerland, provides inspiration to six conference unions and five unions of churches. Its publishing houses, schools, media center, hospitals, health center, etc., provide resources for 20 countries and in 18 languages.
The original article was published on the Inter-European Division website.